Revelation, 30 August 1831 [D&C 63]

nevertheless I the Lord am with them & will come down in Heaven from  the presence of God & consume the wicked with unquenchable fire & behold this  is not yet but by & by Wherefore seeing that I the Lord have decreed all these  things upon the face of the earth I willeth that my saints should be asse mbled upon the land of Zion

In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the work JS was called to do. However, the term Zion was soon used more specifically to describe a community of believers who live in harmony and equality. The Book of Mormon explained...

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& that every man should take righteousness  in his hands & faithfulness upon his loins & lift a warning voice unto the  inhabitants of the earth & declare both by word & by flight that desolation  shall come upon the wicked Wherefore let my Desiples in Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

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arrange  their temporal concerns which dwell upon this farm let my servant Titus [Billings]

24 Mar. 1793–6 Feb. 1866. Stonemason, carpenter, musician. Born in Greenfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Ebenezer Billings and Esther Joyce. Moved to Mentor, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1817. Married Diantha Morley, 16 Feb. 1817, in Geauga Co. Moved to...

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 who has the care thereof dispose of the land that he may be prepared in the  coming spring to take his journey up unto the land of Zion with those  that dwell upon the face thereof excepting those whom I shall reserve unto  myself that shall not go until I shall command them & let all the  moneys which can be spared (it mattereth not unto me whether it  be little or much) sent up unto the land of Zion unto them whom I  have appointed to receive. Behold I the Lord will give unto my servant  Joseph power that he shall be enabled to descern by the spirit those who shall  go up unto the land of Zion & those of my Desiples that shall tarry Let 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...

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retain the his 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. ...

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or in other words the 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. ...

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yet for  a little season nevertheless let him impart all the money which he can  impart to be sent up unto the land of Zion behold these things are in  his own hands let him do according to wisdom verily I say let him be or dained

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...

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as an agent unto the Desiples that shall tarry & let him be ordained  unto this power & now speedily go with <visit> the churches expounding these things  unto them with my servant 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...

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behold this is my <will> with obtaining mo neys even as I have directed he that is faithful & endureth shall over come the world he that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion shall  receive an inheritance

Generally referred to land promised by or received from God for the church and its members. A January 1831 revelation promised church members a land of inheritance. In March and May 1831, JS dictated revelations commanding members “to purchase lands for an...

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in this world & his works shall follow him & also  a reward in the world to come yea & blessed are the dead that die in  the Lord from henceforth when the Lord shall come & old things shall pass  away & all things become new they shall rise from the dead & shall  not die & shall receive an inheritance before the Lord in the Holy City

The Book of Mormon indicated that, in preparation for Jesus Christ’s second coming, a city should be built on the American continent and called the New Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon further explained that the remnant of the seed of Joseph (understood to be...

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& he  that liveth when the Lord shall come & have kept the faith blessed is he nev ertheless it is appointed unto him to die at the age of man Wherefore children  shall grow up until they become old. Old men shall die but they shall not sleep in the  dust but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye Wherefore for this cause  preached the apostles

A title indicating one sent forth to preach; later designated as a specific ecclesiastical office. By 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery were designated as apostles. The articles and covenants of the church explained that an “apostle is an elder” and, as such, had...

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unto the world the resurrection of the dead these  things are the things that ye must look for & speeking after the manner of the Lord  they are now nigh at hand & in a time to come even in the day of the coming of the  Son of man & until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise &  & at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous & the wicked & in  that day will I send mine angels & pluck out the wicked & cast into unquen chable fire And now <behold> verily I say unto you I the Lord am not pleased with  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...

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he exaulted himself in his heart & received not counsel  but grieved the spirit Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord  & he shall make another & if the Lord receive it not behold he standeth no longer in  the office which he hath appointed him And again verily I say unto you let  those who desire in their hearts in meekness to warn sinners to repentance let  them be ordained unto this power for this is a day of warning & not a day of many  worlds words for I the Lord am not to be mocked in the last days Behold  I am from above & my power lieth beneath I am over all & in all & through  all & searcheth all things & the days cometh that all things shall be subject  unto me. Behold I am Alpha & Omega even Jesus Christ Wherefore let all  men be ware how they take my name in their lips for behold verily I say  that many there be who are under this condemnation who useth the name of the  Lord & useth it in vain having not authority Wherefore let the 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...

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repent of  their sins & I the Lord with <will> own them otherwise they shall be cut off.  Remember that that cometh which cometh from above is sacred & must be  spoken with care & by constraint of the spirit & in this there is no condemnation [p. [2]]