31845

Revelation, circa 2 November 1831 [D&C 67]

 
Lo mine eyes are upon you & the heavens & the earth are  in mine hands & the riches of eternity2

See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 38:39]; and Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–A, p. XXX herein [D&C 68:31].  

 
 are mine to give[.]  ye endeavour to believe that you ye should receive the blessing  which was offered unto you but behold verily I say unto  you there were fears in your hearts & verily this is the  reason that ye did not receive3

Although the “blessing” not received that is discussed here may refer to the efforts of some elders to obtain confirmation that JS’s revelations truly came from God, it may also refer to the promise given at the end of the revelation that individuals could see God by his Spirit. At a conference a week earlier, JS declared that “could we all come together with one heart and one mind in perfect faith the vail might as well be rent to day as next week or any other time.” (Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein.)  

 
 & now I the Lord give  unto you a testimony of the truth of those commandm ents which I are lying before you your eyes have  been upon my Servent Joseph & his language you  have known & his imperfections you have known  & you have sought in your hearts knowlege that  you might express beyond his language this you also  know now seek ye out of the Book of commandments  even the least that is among them & appoint him that  is the most wise among you or if there be any among  you that shall make one like unto it then ye are  Justified in saying that ye do not know that is true  but if you cannot make one like unto it ye are under  condemnation if you ye do not bear that it is true for ye  know that there is no unrighteousness in it & that which  is righteous cometh down from above from the father of  lights4

See James 1:17.  

 
 & again verily I say unto you that it is your  privilege & a promise I give unto you that have been  ordained unto the ministry that in as much as ye strip  yourselves from Jealesies & fears & humble yourselves  before me for ye are not sufficiently humble the veil shall  not be wrent5

See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 38:8].  

 
 & you shall see me & know that I am6

See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 479 [3 Nephi 12:1–2]; Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 38:8]; and Revelation, 9 May 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 50:45].
Comprehensive Works Cited

 

 

The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.

 not with the  carnal neither natural7

When this revelation was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the word “mind” was inserted here. (Doctrine and Covenants 25:3, 1835 ed.)
Comprehensive Works Cited

 

 

Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).

 but with the spiritual for no man  hath seen God at any time in the flesh but by the Spirit of  God8

See John 1:18; and 1 John 4:12.  

 
 neither can any natural man abide the presence of God9

When JS revised the first chapters of Genesis in June 1830, he added an account of Moses talking to God “face to face.” According to the revision, after this encounter, Moses sees God not with his “own eyes” but through God’s “glory” resting on him and “transfiger[ing]” him. (Visions of Moses, June 1830, in JSP, D1:XXX [Moses 1:11].)  

 
  neither after the carnal mind ye are not to able to abide the presence  of God now neither the ministering of Angels wherefore continue  in patience untill ye are perfected let not your minds turn  back & when ye are worthy in mine own due time ye shall see  & know that which was confirmed <upon you> by the hands of my Ser[v]ant  Joseph10

“That which was confirmed upon you” may refer to the high priesthood. Of the ten conference participants listed in the minutes, seven of them had been ordained to the high priesthood and one was ordained at the 1–2 November conference. (Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX; Minute Book 2, 28 Aug. 1831; Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein; Minutes 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.)  

 
 Amen [p. 115]
At a 1–2 November 1831 conference that discussed the publication of the Book of Commandments, JS “received” a “testimony of the witnesses to the book of the Lord’s commandments.”1

JS History, vol. A-1, 162. For additional information on this conference, see Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.  

 
 Several elders signed the statement and, by so doing, testified that the Holy Ghost had “born record” that the revelations “are given by inspiration of God & are profitable for all men & are verily true.”2

Testimony, ca. 2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.  

 
 At this same conference, JS dictated this revelation, which addressed the fact that some of the elders had not received such a spiritual conviction. That manifestation had not come, the revelation explained, because of “fears” in the hearts of the elders. The revelation also disclosed that some of the elders questioned the “imperfections” in the language JS used in the revelations, even though another revelation that emerged from the conference declared that the commandments were given to God’s “Servents in their weakness after the manner of their Language.”3

Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, p. XXX herein [D&C 1:24].  

 
 To dispel the hesitation to testify about the source of the revelations, this November revelation challenged the elders to write a revelation “like unto” those dictated by JS, emphasizing that if the elders failed, they would be justified in testifying to the world of the divine origin of JS’s revelations and condemned if they did not so testify.
The original manuscript of this revelation is not extant, but 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...

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 dated it 2 November when he copied it into Revelation Book 1, sometime before his departure 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. Mormon missionaries...

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 on 20 November 1831.4

See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1, in JSP, MRB:5; Whitmer, History, 38, in JSP, H2:49.
Comprehensive Works Cited

 

 

JSP, H2 / Davidson, Karen Lynn, Richard L. Jensen, and David J. Whittaker, eds. Histories, Volume 2: Assigned Historical Writings, 1831–1847. Vol. 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman. Salt Lake City, Church Historian’s Press, 2012.

 Unlike the minutes for proceedings of the conference on 1 November, the minutes for 2 November do not specifically mention dictation of a revelation, leaving open the possibility that this revelation could be the one referred to in the 1 November minutes as coming after JS “asked the conference what testimony they were willing to attach to these commandments.” According to the minutes, several elders “arose and said that they were willing to testify to the world that they knew that they were of the Lord.” Thereafter, a revelation was “received relative to the same”—perhaps this revelation, despite its being dated 2 November.5

Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.  

 
 A later JS history supports this possibility, stating that after the dictation of the preface to the Book of Commandments on 1 November, “some conversation was had concerning Revelations and language.” The history then presents this revelation as following that conversation.6 Although this is a plausible scenario for the production of the revelation, it does not explain why Whitmer then dated the document 2 November.7

It is possible that Whitmer simply made an error in dating the document—either because he copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1 on 2 November or because he remembered the date of its dictation incorrectly. It is also possible that the JS history is mistaken about the revelation’s date.  

 
 Whatever the case, it is clear that the revelation—addressed to “ye Elders of my Church who have assembelled yourselves together”—was dictated sometime during the 1–2 November conference.

Facts

Editorial Title
Revelation, circa 2 November 1831 [D&C 67]
ID #
6531