54. And again a commandment I give unto you concerning your stewardships which I have appointed unto you.
55. Behold, all these properties are mine, or else your faith is vain, and ye are found hypocrites, and the covenants which ye have made unto me are broken;
56. And if the properties are mine, then ye are stewards, otherwise ye are no stewards.
57. But, verily I say unto you, I have appointed unto you to be stewards over mine house, even stewards indeed;
58. And for this purpose I have commanded you to organize yourselves even to shinelah (print) my words, the fullness of my scriptures, the revelations which I have given unto you, and which I shall hereafter, from time to time, give unto you,
59. For the purpose of building up my Church and Kingdom on the earth, and to prepare my people for the time when I shall dwell with them, which is nigh at hand.
60. And ye shall prepare for yourselves a place for a treasury, and consecrate it unto my name;
61. And ye shall appoint one among you to keep the treasury, and he shall be ordained unto this blessing;
62. And there shall be a seal upon the treasury, and all the sacred things shall be delivered into the treasury, and no man among you shall call it his own, or any part of it, for it shall belong to you all with one accord;
63. And I give it unto you from this very hour; and now see to it, that ye go to and make use of the stewardship which I have appointed unto you, exclusive of the sacred things, for the purpose of shinelane (printing) these sacred things as I have said;
64. And the avails of the sacred things shall be had in the treasury, and a seal shall be upon it, and it shall not be used or taken out of the treasury by any one, neither shall the seal be loosed which shall be placed upon it, only by the voice of the order, or by commandment.
65. And thus shall ye preserve the avails of the sacred things in the treasury for sacred and holy purposes:
66. And this shall be called the sacred treasury of the Lord; and a seal shall be kept upon it that it may be holy and consecrated unto the Lord.
67. And again, there shall be another treasury prepared, and a treasurer appointed to keep the treasury, and a seal shall be placed upon it;
68. And all moneys that you receive in your stewardships, by improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle, or in all things save it be the holy and sacred writings, which I have reserved unto myself, for holy and sacred purposes, shall be cast into the treasury as fast as you receive moneys, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by twenties, or by tens, or by fives;
69. Or in other words, if any man among you obtain five talents (dollars), let him cast them into the treasury; or if he obtain ten, or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, let him do likewise;
70. And let not any among you say that it is his own, for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it;
71. And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the order.
72. And this shall be the voice and common consent of the order; that any man among you say to the treasurer, I have need of this to help me in my stewardship;
73. If it be five talents (dollars), or if it be ten talents (dollars,) or twenty, or fifty, or a hundred, the treasurer shall give unto him the sum which he requires, to help him in his stewardship.
74. Until he be found a transgressor, and it is manifest before the council of the order plainly, that he is an unfaithful and an unwise steward;
75. But so long as he is in full fellowship, and is faithful, and wise in his stewardship, this shall be his token unto the treasurer, that the treasurer shall not withhold.
76. But in case of transgression, the treasurer shall be subject unto the council and voice of the order.
77. And in case the treasurer is found an unfaithful and an unwise steward, he shall be subject to the council and voice of the order, and shall be removed out of his place, and another shall be appointed in his stead.
78. And again, verily I say unto you, concerning your debts, behold it is my will that you shall pay all your debts;
79. And it is my will that you shall humble yourselves before me, and obtain this blessing by your diligence and humility, and the prayer of faith;
80. And inasmuch as you are diligent and humble, and exercise the prayer of faith, behold, I will soften the hearts of those to whom you are in debt, until I shall send means unto you for your deliverance.
81. Therefore write speedily to Cainhannoch (New York), and write according to that which shall be dictated by my Spirit, and I will soften the hearts of those to whom you are in debt, that it shall be taken away out of their minds to bring affliction upon you.
82. And inasmuch as ye are humble and faithful, and call upon my name, behold I will give you the victory.
83. I give unto you a promise, that you shall be delivered this once out of your bondage;
84. Inasmuch as you obtain a chance to loan money by hundreds, or thousands, even until you shall loan enough to deliver yourselves from bondage, it is your privilege:
85. And pledge the properties which I have put into your hands, this once, by giving your names by common consent or otherwise, as it shall seem good unto you
86. I give unto you this privilege, this once, and behold, if you proceed to do the things which I have laid before you, according to my commandments, all these things are mine, and ye are my stewards, and the master will not suffer his house to be broken up. Even so. Amen.
Footnotes
1. The closing paragraph of the order of the court in the Hurlburt case is as follows: "Wherefore it is ordered and adjudged by the court that the said Doctor P. Hurlburt enter into a new recognizance, with good and sufficient security, in the sum of two hundred dollars, hereafter to keep the peace and be of good behavior to the citizens of the state of Ohio generally, and to the said Joseph Smith, Junior, in particular, for the period of six months; and it is further ordered, that the said Doctor P. Hurlburt pay the costs of this prosecution, taxed at the sum of one hundred and twelve dollars and fifty-nine cents. And thereupon came the said Doctor P. Hurlburt, with Charles A. Holmes and Elijah Smith as his sureties, in open court, entered into a recognizance in the penal sum of two hundred dollars each, conditioned that the said Doctor P. Hurlburt shall, for the period of six months from and after this day, keep the peace and be of good behavior to all the citizens of the state of Ohio generally, and to the said Joseph Smith, Jun., in particular."
(Signed) "M. Birchard, P. J."
2. See vol. I., pp. 483-488. The papers alluded to include a second petition to the President of the United States; a letter from A. S. Gilbert et al. accompanying same; one from W. W. Phelps et al. to Governor Dunklin, informing him of the petition to the President; and one from W. W. Phelps to Senator Thomas H. Benton, informing him of the petition to the President, etc.
3. Doctrine and covenants, sec. 104.
CHAPTER V.
Zion's Camp—Its Journey From Kirtland to Missouri.
Aid for the Redemption of Zion.
About the last of April I received, by letters from friends in the East, and