In July of 1836 JS Hyrum Smith OC SR travelled to Salem, MA. They arrived on 5 August and rented a house on Union Street for the next 3 weeks. The revelation in section 111 might have been received there, BUT There is no contemporary evidence that tells us why they were there. THe contemporary evidence we do have, included in the JOseph Smith Papers, is a letter from Oliver to his brother Warren and a letter from Joseph to Emma, they talk of preaching and visiting historic places, of their financial worries for the church, but little else. And this was a long trip for little else. Finishing the Kirtland temple (known as the House of the Lord) and buying up land in Ohio left the church in a precarious financial situation. 

There are two late accounts of individuals who were not on the trip that suggested they went to Salem to find hidden money. 

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