D&C 52 — The Pattern of Travel, Discernment, and Work

I have a shelf in the shop where I keep patterns. They are templates I cut from scraps of birch plywood, one for each joint or curve I need to reproduce. When I build a chair with a curved back rail, I do not measure and cut each time. I pull the pattern and trace it onto the fresh stock, then cut the same line I cut last time. The pattern is what keeps the second piece true to the first. Without it, every cut is a guess.

Section 52 in the Doctrine and Covenants reads like a pattern. It was given in June 1831 at a conference in Orange, Ohio. The Lord called a group of elders to travel to Missouri for the next conference and gave them a specific set of instructions for the road. The section covers travel routes, spiritual discernment and daily work but all of it hangs on one word the Lord repeats throughout.

Pattern.

The Lord gives the pattern for the work and the pattern for discernment. He gives the pattern for how to preach and how to travel and how to live. It is not a long section, but it contains some of the clearest practical instruction in the whole book.

Meaning of the Pattern in D and C 52

The Lord starts by telling Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and others to prepare to travel to Missouri. He promises them that if they are faithful, they will receive further light and knowledge about their inheritance in that land. Faithfulness comes first and the direction follows.

Then He turns to the elders who will travel with them and gives them a pattern for preaching:

And let them journey from thence preaching the word by the way, saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith. Let them go two by two, and thus let them preach by the way in every congregation, baptizing by water, and the laying on of the hands by the water's side. — D&C 52:9

The phrase “preach by the way” catches my attention. The trip itself was the mission. They were not just traveling to get to Missouri. They were to preach in every place they passed through, and the travel was the work.

That reminds me of something I learned in my twenties, on my mission in Brazil. There were days when we would walk for hours between appointments. I thought of those walks as empty time between the real work. But the walking itself was the work. The conversations on the road, the people we met at convenience stores and bus stops, the families who invited us in for water on a hot afternoon. Much of what I remember from those two years happened on the way to something else.

How to Discern Spirits According to D and C 52

The middle of the section contains what I consider the most practical teaching in the chapter. The Lord warns that Satan is trying to deceive some of the elders. Then He gives a pattern for telling the difference between a spirit that comes from God and one that does not.

He says that a spirit of God will lead a person to be contrite and meek and edifying to others. It will make them ready to tremble under God’s power and quick to confess sins. A spirit not of God will produce the opposite. It leads to contention and pride and a refusal to confess.

I have thought about that list for years. The question is not what you feel but what you produce. A spirit from God leaves you softer instead of harder. More teachable instead of more certain. More willing to listen instead of more eager to correct.

In the shop, when a joint is wrong, the wood tells you. It splinters at the edges or leaves a gap you can see from across the room. You do not have to argue about whether the joint is good because the evidence is in the fit. The same principle applies here. The evidence of a good spirit is in what it produces.

Why Did Elders Travel to Missouri in D and C 52

The specific instruction for the travel was practical. The elders were paired off and told to go two by two. Each pair had a designated route and a specific destination. Parley P. Pratt was paired with Lyman Wight, and Orson Pratt was paired with John Whitmer. Thomas B. Marsh and Ezra Thayre were to go together.

Earlier in the section, the Lord also gave a separate assignment to Lyman Wight and John Corrill to take their trip speedily. That was a specific errand, not part of the two-by-two preaching pairs listed later. So Lyman Wight appears twice in the section, once with John Corrill for a direct assignment and once with Parley P. Pratt for the broader preaching circuit.

The pairs were told not to build on another man’s foundation. That means they were not supposed to overlap. Each pair had their own assignment and their own territory, and the work was coordinated.

There is a kind of efficiency in that sort of arrangement. When I build a piece of furniture, I do not start cutting until I know which parts go where. If I cut two left legs and no right leg, I have wasted time and material. The Lord was applying the same logic to the missionary work. Do not duplicate and do not overlap. Cover the ground you are assigned and trust the other elders to cover theirs.

The warning to Lyman Wight is worth noting here. The Lord tells him that Satan desires to sift him as chaff. That is a serious warning, delivered publicly in a revelation. It suggests that high callings and strong spirits can attract proportionally strong opposition, and the solution the Lord gives is humility and faithfulness.

I wrote about D&C 51 in an earlier article on Edward Partridge and stewardships, and the pattern of order continues here. The Lord is building a church with systems that work.

Significance of Laboring With Own Hands in D and C 52

At the end of the section, the Lord turns to the elders who are not traveling to Missouri. They are told to watch over the churches in their areas, but they are also told something that might have surprised them. They are commanded to labor with their own hands.

The context is important. Some of the early saints had gathered to Zion expecting to receive an inheritance without working for it. Others may have assumed that full-time ministry meant being supported by the church. The Lord corrected that assumption and told them to work. Physical work that keeps your hands busy and your mind grounded.

He connects working with the hands to avoiding idolatry and wickedness. That connection is not accidental. When you sit idle, your mind wanders and you start chasing things that do not matter. Work is the anchor.

I think about that every time I spend a Saturday in the shop. There is something about planing a board or cutting a dovetail that settles the mind. You cannot think about your pride or your frustrations when you are paying attention to the grain. The work itself is a kind of prayer.

The Lord also says to remember the poor, the needy, the sick and the afflicted. That command sits right next to the command to labor. Working with your hands gives you the means to serve and keeps you honest, pointing your attention outward instead of inward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the meaning of the pattern in D&C 52

The Lord uses the word pattern to describe a repeatable way of doing things. The section gives patterns for travel, preaching, discernment and daily living. A pattern ensures consistency and protects against deception, and without a pattern every decision becomes a guess. The Lord gives specific signs for each area.

How do you discern spirits according to D&C 52

The Lord gives specific signs. A spirit from God produces contrition, meekness and edification along with a willingness to confess sins. A spirit that is not from God produces contention, pride and resistance to correction. The test is not how you feel but what the spirit produces.

Why were the elders sent to Missouri two by two

The two-by-two pattern mirrors the one Jesus used in Matthew 10 and provides mutual support and accountability. It also prevents overlapping work by giving each pair a specific route and territory. The instruction not to build on another man’s foundation ensured the work was coordinated.

What is the significance of laboring with your own hands

The Lord commands the elders who stayed behind to work physically so they avoid idleness and the spiritual problems that come with it. Working with your hands keeps you grounded and provides for your needs while giving you something to share with those who are poor, sick or afflicted.

Why did the Lord warn Lyman Wight specifically

The Lord gave Lyman Wight a direct warning that Satan desired to sift him as chaff. This suggests that his calling and spiritual capacity made him a target. The warning was not a condemnation. It was a caution to stay humble and faithful.

I keep the pattern for the chair rail mounted on the wall in the shop. It is a piece of plywood with a curve cut into it, and it has been used on six chairs so far. Every time I pick it up, I trace the same line and it comes out right. The pattern does not change, and that is what makes it reliable.

The Lord gave a pattern in this section that does not change either. Contrition leads to meekness and meekness leads to edification. Work leads to steadiness and faithfulness leads to direction. The line is already drawn and we just have to follow it.

-- D.