Joseph Smith's Prayer for the Protection of the United Order

On January 11, 1834, in Kirtland, Ohio, Joseph Smith united in prayer with Frederick G. Williams, Newel K. Whitney, John Johnson, Oliver Cowdery, and Orson Hyde. The petition, recorded by Oliver Cowdery in Joseph Smith’s 1832–1834 journal, arose from a climate of intense fear and instability. The Church’s leadership was reeling from the recent violent expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri, and the destruction of the Church’s printing office there in July 1833. Compounding this were the financial struggles of the United Firm, which was burdened by debt incurred from fulfilling stewardship obligations and purchasing a new printing press for Kirtland. Furthermore, the Kirtland leaders faced direct local threats; apostate Philastus Hurlbut was actively campaigning against the Church, lecturing on the supposed fraudulent origins of the Book of Mormon and threatening Joseph Smith’s life. B. F. Norris, a local resident, noted that Smith had to be guarded by armed men nightly, and Cowdery reported intimidation attempts, including the firing of a cannon at midnight. In this atmosphere of potential mob violence and financial ruin, the six men gathered to plead with the Lord for divine protection over their persons and families, the safety of the Church’s new press, and the financial means to satisfy their creditors and preserve the reputation of the Saints.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

On the evening of the 11th of January, Joseph Smith, jun., Frederick G. Williams, Newel K. Whitney, John Johnson, Oliver Cowdery, and Orson Hyde united in prayer, and asked the Lord to grant the following petitions:— That the Lord would protect our persons and precious in His sight; that He would watch over our persons, and give His angels charge concerning us and our families, that no evil nor unseen hand might be permitted to harm us. That the Lord would also hold the lives of all the United Order; and not suffer that any of them shall be taken. That the Lord would grant that our lives might be prolonged, and that we might bring forth much fruit to the glory of His name. That the Lord would grant that we might obtain means to liquidate all our debts, that we might become humble before Him, and be able to provide for our families, that we might not be left in bondage, and that the Lord would preserve the printing press and the Church from all the secret plans of the secret combinations of men, and from all the power of the enemy. That the Lord would grant that our enemies might not have power over us, to bring us to shame, or to destroy us; and that the Lord would grant that we might be able to perform the work which He has commanded us to do, and that we might be able to build the house of the Lord, and provide for the poor, and that the Lord would grant that we might be able to obtain the means to pay our debts, and that we might be able to provide for our families, and that the Lord would grant that we might be able to perform the work which He has commanded us to do, and that we might be able to build the house of the Lord, and provide for the poor, and that the Lord would grant that we might be able to obtain the means to pay our debts, and that we might be able to provide for our families, and that the Lord would grant that we might be able to perform the work which He has commanded us to do, and that we might be able to build the house of the Lord, and provide for the poor.