Following the Latter-day Saints' expulsion from Missouri, and while they worked to make a new home in Navu, Illinois,

Joseph Smith received several revelations that brought divine insight into earthly problems. For instance,

what do you do for those who could not afford to live in Navu, or who desire to live in small cities surrounding the city of Joseph?

How long could a person work before they needed a break? How do you ensure your life doesn't fall apart when circumstances beyond your control take over your life?

And how are you supposed to keep track of the many important things that you've been asked to do in your limited time?

In my mind, the revelations that we examine here, sections 125 to 128,

answer these questions by pointing to the importance of focusing on two audiences,

God and the communities around us. My name is Joseph Stewart. I'm the public communication specialist

of the Neil A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. And along

with Janice Johnson, a Willis Center research associate at the Institute, we'll be discussing each week's block of reading from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Come Follow Me Curriculum. We aren't here to present a lesson, but rather to hit on a few key themes from the scripture block

that we believe will help fulfill the Maxwell Institute's mission to inspire and fortify Latter-day Saints in their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to engage the world of religious ideas.

Section 125 is a really short section.

It's only four verses long.

What stuck out to you from it, Janice?

Well, I think that the saints are wondering, like, is there room for all of us in Navu?

Is it okay?

People are choosing farms outside. Some of there are in Iowa

across the water from Navu, across the Mississippi from Navu. And so they want to know some direction.

And so here we've got a record of Joseph's specific question, what's the will of the Lord

concerning the saints in the territory of Iowa? And the Lord says, gather together and specifically

build a city opposite the city of Navu and let the name of Zarah be named upon it.

...