What's happening
This is a brief, practical revelation — six verses — directing that the scattered elders be called together for a conference, with a promise of the Spirit when they gather and a charge to keep caring for the poor. It is small, but it sits at a hinge moment: the Church was growing fast in Ohio, the law had just been given (Section 42), and it was time to assemble the leaders, organize legally, and consolidate.
Given at Kirtland in late February 1831, Section 44 directed that the elders be summoned from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, by letter or some other way (v. 1) — a Church-wide gathering. The conference it called for was held that June. The revelation is mostly forward-looking: it promises that the assembled elders will be filled with the Spirit, sent out to preach, and that the resulting growth will give the Church the strength and numbers to organize yourselves according to the laws of man — that is, to secure legal standing and protection. And it closes by returning, as the law of the Church always does, to the poor.
Gather, be filled, go forth (verses 1–5)
And it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as they are faithful, and exercise faith in me, I will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together. — D&C 44:2
The promise attached to gathering is the outpouring of the Spirit — in the day that they assemble themselves together. There is a grace that comes specifically through the gathering of the Saints that does not come in isolation; assembling in faith is itself an act that draws down the Spirit. The purpose is missionary: they will go forth into the regions round about, and preach repentance (v. 3), and many shall be converted (v. 4).
Then a notably practical promise:
...insomuch that ye shall obtain power to organize yourselves according to the laws of man; That your enemies may not have power over you; that you may be preserved in all things... — D&C 44:4–5
Organize yourselves according to the laws of man. The Lord directs the Church to take legal form under civil law — to incorporate, to claim the protections the law of the land affords. This is the same realism seen in Section 20:1, where the Church was organized agreeable to the laws of our country. The kingdom of God does not float above the legal order; it uses the lawful structures of society for the protection of its people, that your enemies may not have power over you. Faith and prudence work together: the Spirit is poured out, converts are gained, and with the resulting strength the Church secures itself legally against those who would destroy my people.
Visit the poor (verse 6)
Behold, I say unto you, that ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief, that they may be kept until all things may be done according to my law which ye have received. Amen. — D&C 44:6
The revelation cannot end without the poor. Even in a short administrative word about conferences and legal organization, the Lord returns to the heart of the law just given in Section 42: ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief. And the phrase until all things may be done according to my law shows the bridge being built — the immediate, hands-on relief of the poor is to continue while the fuller system of consecration is being put in place. Charity does not wait for the perfect structure; the poor are cared for now, even as the larger order is established.
How the section is built
Six verses, a complete administrative arc with a moral anchor. It opens with the call to gather (v. 1): summon the elders from every direction. It gives the promise and purpose (vv. 2–5): the Spirit poured out in the assembly, missionary success, and the strength to organize legally for the Church's protection. And it closes with the moral anchor (v. 6): visit the poor. The structure is instructive in miniature — the practical work of building an institution (conferences, legal incorporation, growth) is framed at its end by the unchanging duty to the needy. Organization serves the gospel; it never replaces it.
How this sits in the documentary record
Where this lands
Section 44 is a small revelation that models a large balance: faith and prudence, the Spirit and the statute book, the kingdom and the courthouse. The Lord promises to pour out my Spirit on the gathered elders — and in the same breath directs them to organize yourselves according to the laws of man for their legal protection. There is no embarrassment here about the Church using ordinary civil structures. The same God who sends the Spirit tells His people to incorporate, to claim the law's shelter, to be wise about their enemies. Spiritual power and practical wisdom are not rivals; a faithful people is also a sensible one.
And the closing verse keeps the whole thing honest. After the conferences and the legal organizing, the last word is visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief. It is the Lord's quiet refusal to let administration drift away from the gospel's heart. However a church organizes itself — and it must organize — the test of whether it is still Christ's is whether the poor are being cared for now, not someday when the structures are perfect. Section 44 builds the institution and, in its final line, reminds the institution what it is for.