Doctrine and Covenants Section 59

Historical Background

The Saints who had traveled from Ohio and Colesville, New York, were anxious to receive instructions from the Lord. They had come expecting to build the New Jerusalem. The Lord, in this revelation, gives them the rules they were to live by. One day prior to this revelation being received, Sister Polly Knight, wife of Joseph Knight, Sr., passed away. Joseph Smith had lived with the Knight family in Colesville. They had shown him great kindness for many years. Of the passing of his wife, Joseph Knight, Sr., wrote: “Joseph [Smith] and Sidney [Rigdon] and a number of the brethren came. And they looked out and entered a considerable land for the people to settle on. We found it a new county with some settlers on it. There was one Joshua Lewis that had come into the Church the winter before, he and his wife. And they were faithful and good to us and took us into their house, my wife being sick as before stated. She died the seventh day of August, and Joseph and Sidney attended her funeral on the eighth. She was buried in the woods [at] a spot chosen, and by ourselves. I was along by where she was buried a few days after. And I found the pigs had begun to root where she was buried. I being very unwell. But I took my ax the next day and went and built a pen around it. It was the last I done for her” (Dean Jesse, “Joseph Knight’s Recollections of Early Mormon History,” Brigham Young University Studies 16 (Autumn 1976): 29-39; spelling and punctuation standardized).

This revelation was received the day Polly Knight passed away.

D&C 59:1-4 Blessings to Those Who Come to Zion

Find the blessings that the Lord promises to those who come to Zion, whether they live or die.

D&C 59:5-8 The Commandments for Those Who Come to Zion

Why would it be important for people who live in Zion to obey these commandments?

D&C 59:9-14 The Sabbath

Notice that this commandment is given “that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world.” How does keeping the Sabbath Day holy keep you “more fully” protected from the influence of the world? Notice that the word “Sabbath” never appears in these verses. What terms does the Lord use to describe the day we call the Sabbath Day? What can we do to make it the Lord’s Holy Day?

D&C 59:15-24 A Promise from God

Read through these verses looking for promises God makes to faithful people. What do the words “these things” mean in verse 15? Remember that the Lord has not only spoken about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, but about other commandments as well. How can keeping the commandments listed in this revelation give you “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (verse 23).