Section 54

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Newel Knight, at Kirtland, Ohio, June 1831 (see History of the Church, 1:180–81). Members of the Church in the branch at Thompson, Ohio, were divided on questions having to do with the consecration of properties. Selfishness and greed were manifest, and Leman Copley had broken his covenant to consecrate his large farm as a place of inheritance for the Saints arriving from Colesville, New York. Ezra Thayre was also involved in the controversy. As a consequence, Newel Knight (president of the branch at Thompson) and other elders had come to the Prophet asking how to proceed. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and received this revelation. (See also section 56, which is a continuation of the matter.)