Uzzah, Zerubbabel, and the Priesthood Order in Doctrine and Covenants 85

David was angry. As the newly anointed king of Israel, he wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-5). He felt this would rejuvenate his people’s faith in God and restore appropriate modes of worship (1 Chronicles 13:1-4). Consequently, he had commanded a group of men to load the ark onto a “new cart,” which was the same approach the Philistines had followed when they returned the stolen ark years earlier (1 Samuel 6:7-8). But God had given precise instructions about how Israel should handle His ark. It was to be carried by Levites of the house of Kohath, using staves which were slid through rings on its sides (Exodus 25:12-15). It was to be covered, and even the Levites were not to touch it (Numbers 4:5, 15).

Somehow, David had missed those instructions. As his two chosen cart-drivers, Uzzah and Ahio, moved toward Jerusalem, the cart shook. Instinctively, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, and he died instantly (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

The text suggests that David was angry with God. He likely thought this was a severe punishment for a small, well-intentioned infraction. But he learned from the event. When it came time to move the ark the rest of the way, he instructed the Levites to sanctify themselves:

For because [you didn’t carry the ark the first time], the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 15:13-15

David learned an important lesson: If you’re going to do God’s work, you need to do it God’s way.

Hundreds of years later, Ezra the priest was more careful. His people were returning to Jerusalem after years of captivity in Babylon and Persia. As he organized temple worship, he carefully reviewed the genealogy of those who would serve as priests in the temple. A certain group of people claimed to be Levites but were not found in the official records. Ezra and the governor instructed them not to officiate in temple ordinances until their eligibility could be confirmed by revelation:

The Tirshatha [governor] said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

Ezra 2:63

Sometimes we’re in a hurry. We’re eager to help, and we’d prefer not to wait or do things inefficiently. Maybe we wonder why documentation is so important, when we’d rather be doing something than writing about it. We can remember the example of King Benjamin who taught his people to “see that all these things are done in wisdom and order” (Mosiah 4:27). After they entered a lifelong covenant with God, Benjamin “thought it was expedient … that he should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments” (Mosiah 6:1).

In November 1832, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to W. W. Phelps in which he reiterated these same principles. “It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk,” he wrote, “to keep a history, and a general church record of all things that transpire in Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 85:1). If you try to “steady the ark of God” like Uzzah, you will fail (Doctrine and Covenants 85:8). If your name is not on the official records of the church, you will run into the same issue as the people who tried to serve in the temple in the time of Ezra (Doctrine and Covenants 85:11-12). The written record provides evidence of your membership and your authority. It enables church leaders to maintain order in our collective worship and to ensure that we are collectively following God’s instructions.

Today, I will strive to do the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way. I will be grateful for leaders who strive to follow all of the Lord’s instructions, including the instruction to keep accurate records.