"The Law"

In section 38 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord promises the saints: "I will give unto you my law" in Ohio. (D&C 38:32) The fulfillment of this promise is seen in section 42. This revelation was originally headed by the words, "The Laws of the Church of Christ". Section 42 gives commandments in response to questions that Joseph Smith asked the Lord. For example, before our verse one was written in the original manuscript: "First shall the church come together into one place or continue in separate establishments?" However, the Lord did not only answer this question. In fact, the Lord did not very clearly answer this question at all. Instead, He gave them information that was more important. God had already told the saints that in the short run they were supposed to gather to Ohio, so God used Joseph's willingness to listen for an answer to his question as an opportunity to give revelation that would best help the kingdom move forward. As part of section 42, the Lord reiterates some of the ten commandments that were given to Moses at Mount Sinai in Exodus. He also gave guidelines for missionaries and about the law of consecration.

Interestingly, this bestowal of the "law" has interesting parallels to the time when the law was given to Moses at Sinai. Like the Israelites fleeing from their captors, the Egyptians, members of the Church were told to leave New York and come to Ohio "because of the enemy". Before reaching the promised land, the Israelites came to a mountain, where the presence of God was strong. Similarly, before going to a "promised land" where they were finally left alone, Latter-day Saints stopped in Ohio. There they built a temple where, like the mountains in the days of old, the presence of the Lord was strong. There, Joseph received the "Law" for the church. This correspondence between Joseph and Moses is illustrated in 2 Nephi 3. In verse 17, this similarity, especially in relation to the "Law" being given is evident: "I will raise up a Moses; and... I will write unto him my law". Like Moses, Joseph led the saints of the Church out of danger to a modern-day Mount Sinai, where the Lord could give them commandments for the increased happiness of the saints.