The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]

Source Note

Revelation,
Kirtland Township

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, OH, 1 Mar. 1832. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Mar. 1832]; handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
; two pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes notation, docket, and archival marking.
One leaf of laid paper ruled with thirty-four blue horizontal lines (now faded). Slight deviations on the left and right edges indicate the page was cut from a book. The excised leaf measures 12¾ × 8 inches (32 × 20 cm). The leaf was folded in half and then tri-folded in letter style. A notation, also in the handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
, names “
N. K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
” as the recipient of the document. The document was later refolded for filing and docketed by Newel K. Whitney in graphite: “a command relative to | Newel, Joseph & Sidneys | Going to Zion 1 March 1832”.
This document and several other revelations, along with many other personal and institutional documents kept by
Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
, were inherited by his daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who married Isaac Groo. This collection was passed down in the Groo family and donated by members of the family to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University during the period 1969–1974.
1

Andrus et al., “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” 5–6.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Andrus, Hyrum L., Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie. “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” Sept. 1998. BYU.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Andrus et al., “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” 5–6.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie. “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” Sept. 1998. BYU.

Historical Introduction

This revelation deals with the church’s mercantile and publishing endeavors. As church members gathered to
Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

More Info
, Missouri, in 1831 to establish
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
, the need for money to purchase land became pressing. In July 1831, a revelation instructed
Sidney Gilbert

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

View Full Bio
, who was a partner with
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
in
N. K. Whitney & Co.

A partnership between Newel K. Whitney and Sidney Gilbert; later the branch of the United Firm responsible for overseeing the church’s mercantile endeavors in Kirtland, Ohio. In late 1826 or early 1827, Whitney and Gilbert established this partnership to ...

View Glossary
, to “establish a
store

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, directed A. Sidney Gilbert, Newel K. Whitney’s Ohio business partner, to establish store in Independence. Gilbert first purchased vacated log courthouse, located on lot 59 at intersection of Lynn and Lexington Streets, to...

More Info
” in
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Jackson County, so that the church could receive “money to buy lands for the good of the Saints.”
1

Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8].


Gilbert opened a store in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
in early 1832 that was funded in part by Whitney and operated under the name Gilbert & Whitney. Whitney, who remained in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, to run his own
store

In Apr. 1826, Whitney purchased quarter-acre lot on northeast corner of Chardon and Chillicothe roads and built two-story, 1500-square-foot, white store. Mercantile store also functioned as Kirtland Mills post office. Whitney met JS at store, 4 Feb. 1831....

More Info
(which had been in existence since at least 1824), received direction in 1831 to provide funding for the establishment of Zion.
2

Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:42–43]; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, 1827–1909, vol. B, p. 33, 20 Feb. 1832, microfilm 1,017,978, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Eakin and Eakin, Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 127, 143–144; Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 209.


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Eakin, Joanne C., and O. B. Eakin, comp. Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 1827–1833, with Index; and Jackson County Missouri Death Register, 1883–1891. Independence, MO: By the author, 1988.

Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.

Money was also needed to fund the publication of JS’s revelations, another venture church leaders began exploring in 1831. On 12 November 1831, a special conference in
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

More Info
, Ohio, gave JS,
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
,
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
, and
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
the responsibility of managing the “sacred writings” of the church, including the revelations.
3

Minutes, 12 Nov. 1831.


That same day, a revelation directed that JS, Cowdery, Whitmer, Rigdon,
Martin Harris

18 May 1783–10 July 1875. Farmer. Born at Easton, Albany Co., New York. Son of Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham. Moved with parents to area of Swift’s landing (later in Palmyra), Ontario Co., New York, 1793. Married first his first cousin Lucy Harris, 27 Mar...

View Full Bio
, and
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
be ordained “
stewards

One who managed property and goods under the law of consecration; also someone given a specific ecclesiastical responsibility. According to the “Laws of the Church of Christ,” members of the church were to make donations to the bishop, who would record the...

View Glossary
over the revelations &
commandments

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

View Glossary
” and that any “profits” they gained from publishing church materials over and above their needs be placed in the Lord’s
storehouse

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The book of Malachi directed the house of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

View Glossary
to benefit “the inhabtants of Zion & . . . their generations.”
4

Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:3, 8].


On 1 March 1832, JS, who was in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
on a short visit, assembled a group of
high priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
, presumably to discuss the coordination of the church’s publication and mercantile endeavors.
5

Note, 8 Mar. 1832.


At the meeting, JS dictated this revelation, which instructed himself,
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, and
Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
to organize a “firm” to manage the “Literary and Merchantile establishments” of the church. The revelation also required JS, Rigdon, and Whitney to travel to
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
and “sit in councel” with the church there and emphasized the need for church members to be equal in temporal things in order for unity to prevail in spiritual matters.
The original manuscript of the revelation is not extant.
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
, who spent some time in March 1832 copying revelations into Revelation Book 2, made a copy of the document for
Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
, probably at the same time Williams recorded it in Revelation Book 2. Although it is unclear exactly when the Whitney copy was made, Williams probably made the entry in Revelation Book 2 sometime between 8 March (the date of a note that precedes the revelation) and 1 April (when JS departed for
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
). He titled the Revelation Book 2 copy “A Revelation given for
Sidney

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
Joseph & Newel to go an[d] sit in council with the elders in Zion, March 1— 1832.”
6

See Revelation Book 2, Index, [1].


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8].

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:42–43]; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, 1827–1909, vol. B, p. 33, 20 Feb. 1832, microfilm 1,017,978, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Eakin and Eakin, Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 127, 143–144; Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 209.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Eakin, Joanne C., and O. B. Eakin, comp. Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 1827–1833, with Index; and Jackson County Missouri Death Register, 1883–1891. Independence, MO: By the author, 1988.

    Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, 12 Nov. 1831.

  4. [4]

    Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:3, 8].

  5. [5]

    Note, 8 Mar. 1832.

  6. [6]

    See Revelation Book 2, Index, [1].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]
Revelation Book 2 Revelation Book 1 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
March 1◊ 1832
Hearken unto me saith the Lord your God O ye who are
ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

View Glossary
unto the
High Priesthood

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

View Glossary
of my
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
who have assembled yourselves together
1

These high priests were likely JS, Sidney Rigdon, Newel K. Whitney, Reynolds Cahoon, Joseph Coe, and Hyrum Smith. Hyrum Smith recorded in his diary that these individuals met in Kirtland, Ohio, on 1 March. The diary reports that “farther Coe” was there—probably in reference to Joseph Coe. Smith and Cahoon were appointed counselors to Bishop Newel K. Whitney on 10 February 1832 and likely attended the meeting in that capacity. (Hyrum Smith, Diary and Account Book, 10 Feb. and 1 Mar. 1832.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Hyrum. Diary and Account Book, Nov. 1831–Feb. 1835. Hyrum Smith, Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.

& listen to the councel of him who has ordained you from on high who shall speak in your ear the words of wisdom that salvation may be unto you in that thing which you have presented before me saith the Lord God for verily I say unto you the time has come and and is now at hand and behold & lo it must needs be that there be an organization of the Literary and Merchantile establishments of my church both in this place and in the land of
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
for a perminent and everlasting establishment and firm unto my church to advance the cause which ye have espaused [espoused] to the salvation of man and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven that you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things yea and earthly things also for the obtaining of heavenly of heavenly things for if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly thing[s]
2

A February 1831 revelation gave specific directions to the church and its leaders concerning the consecration and distribution of property to attain economic equality. Those instructions came in response to a previous revelation that promised such a law as a means of achieving temporal unity. This revelation further admonished the members of the church that “if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:1–72]; Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:27].)


for if ye will that I give unto you a place in the
celestiel world

Highest kingdom of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the sun. According to a vision dated 16 February 1832, inheritors of the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, & believed on his name, & were baptized,” “receive...

View Glossary
3

JS and Sidney Rigdon reported experiencing a vision of the “celestial world” two weeks prior to this revelation. (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].)


you must prepare yourselves by doing <​the​> thing which I have commanded & required of you & now verily thus saith the Lord it is expedient that all things be done unto my glory that ye should who are joined together in this firm or in other words that my Servant
Newel [K. Whitney]

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
4

When this revelation was first published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the names here were replaced with substitute names to protect the identities of those involved. (Doctrine and Covenants 75, 1835 ed.; see also Whittaker, “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith,” 103–112; and “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.”)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whittaker, David J. “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith.” BYU Studies 23 (Winter 1983): 103–11.

and my servant Joseph and my servant
Sidney [Rigdon]

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
sit in councel with the saints who are in
zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
otherwise
satan

A fallen angel, or son of God, known by many names, including Lucifer, the devil, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, perdition, and the adversary. In the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s Bible revisions, Satan was described as a tempter of men...

View Glossary
seeketh to turn there hearts away from the truth that they become blinded & understand not the things which are prepared for them wherefore a
commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

View Glossary
I give unto you to prepare an[d] organize yourselves by an everlasting covinent
5

The copy of this revelation that John Whitmer made in Revelation Book 1 sometime after April 1832 has “a bond or an everlasting covenant” here. At some point, JS inserted “a bond or” before “an everlasting covenant” in the copy in Revelation Book 2. (Revelation Book 1, p. 145, and Revelation Book 2, p. 16 [D&C 78].)


which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto the buffitings of satan untill the day of redemption, Behold this is the preperation wherewith I prepare you and the foundation & the [p. [1]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [1]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]
ID #
1472
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:197–200
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    These high priests were likely JS, Sidney Rigdon, Newel K. Whitney, Reynolds Cahoon, Joseph Coe, and Hyrum Smith. Hyrum Smith recorded in his diary that these individuals met in Kirtland, Ohio, on 1 March. The diary reports that “farther Coe” was there—probably in reference to Joseph Coe. Smith and Cahoon were appointed counselors to Bishop Newel K. Whitney on 10 February 1832 and likely attended the meeting in that capacity. (Hyrum Smith, Diary and Account Book, 10 Feb. and 1 Mar. 1832.)

    Smith, Hyrum. Diary and Account Book, Nov. 1831–Feb. 1835. Hyrum Smith, Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.

  2. [2]

    A February 1831 revelation gave specific directions to the church and its leaders concerning the consecration and distribution of property to attain economic equality. Those instructions came in response to a previous revelation that promised such a law as a means of achieving temporal unity. This revelation further admonished the members of the church that “if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:1–72]; Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:27].)

  3. [3]

    JS and Sidney Rigdon reported experiencing a vision of the “celestial world” two weeks prior to this revelation. (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].)

  4. [4]

    When this revelation was first published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the names here were replaced with substitute names to protect the identities of those involved. (Doctrine and Covenants 75, 1835 ed.; see also Whittaker, “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith,” 103–112; and “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.”)

    Whittaker, David J. “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith.” BYU Studies 23 (Winter 1983): 103–11.

  5. [5]

    The copy of this revelation that John Whitmer made in Revelation Book 1 sometime after April 1832 has “a bond or an everlasting covenant” here. At some point, JS inserted “a bond or” before “an everlasting covenant” in the copy in Revelation Book 2. (Revelation Book 1, p. 145, and Revelation Book 2, p. 16 [D&C 78].)

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06