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43990394
Book of Commandments, 1833
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Church leaders took the first formal step toward printing the Book of Commandments
at a conference of elders at Hiram, Ohio, on 1 November 1831. The minutes for this conference
open with a request from Oliver Cowdery that the conference determine “the mind of
the Lord” on the subject of how many copies to print. The conference decided to publish
ten thousand copies.1
This resolution was likely the product of prior discussion, but no
record of any such discussion exists.
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 Info3 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 BioMinute Book 2, 1 Nov. 1831.
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Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
A July 1831 revelation had already appointed William W. Phelps to be church printer
and Cowdery to assist him.2
Phelps acquired a printing press and type in Cincinnati, Ohio,
en route to Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, where he and his family settled in
early 1832.3
The previous summer, Edward Partridge purchased a lot near the center of town upon which the building that likely became the printing office already stood.4
Cowdery,
who arrived in Missouri shortly before Phelps, wrote to JS on 28 January 1832 that they
were nearly ready to begin printing and hoped that Martin Harris could supply the paper.5
The following month, Phelps issued a printed prospectus for an official church newspaper
to be titled The Evening and the Morning Star,6
indicating that by this time the press was
functional despite a shortage of paper.7
A revelation dictated by JS in Ohio on 20 March
1832, in response to the above letter from Cowdery, directed Bishop Newel K. Whitney to
purchase printing paper—by credit if necessary—and JS and his associates to transport it
to Missouri. They did so, purchasing paper in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia),
around the first of April 1832 and arriving in Missouri later that month.8
In May, after JS
had departed on the return journey to Ohio, Phelps, Cowdery, John Whitmer, and several
others met at the printing office, which was located south of the courthouse and public
square, to formally dedicate the building and the materials.9
Active publishing began the
following month, when issues of the Star first began to appear. Around this same time,
the Mormon printing office also began to publish issues of the Upper Missouri Advertiser, a
community newspaper.10
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 Bio3 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 BioRevelation, 20 July 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 27:5, 1835 ed. [D&C 57:11–13]. An earlier revelation
appointed Phelps to assist Cowdery in printing the revelations. (Revelation, 14 June 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 68:2, 1835 ed. [D&C 55:4].)
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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).
Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...
More InfoLocated 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. Mormon population by summer...
More InfoJS History, vol. A-1, 154. After the Independence printing office was destroyed in summer 1833, Phelps claimed that five thousand pounds of type had been lost, which would have been about five times
the amount normally on hand in a printing office at this time. (Declaration, in Missouri Circuit Court [5th Circuit], Feb. 1834 term, Phelps and Cowdery v. Olmstead et al., Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO; Stower, Printer’s Grammar, 57, as excerpted in Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:232.)
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JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). CHL. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
Missouri Circuit Court (5th Circuit). Feb. 1834 term. William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery v. Nathaniel K. Olmstead et al. Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO. City of Aurora, Hiram Village, Hiram Township, 1803–1995. Vol. 11, Portage County Ohio Cemeteries. Ravenna, OH: Portage County Genealogical Society, 1995.
Stower, Caleb. The Printer’s Grammar; or, Introduction to the Art of Printing: Containing a Concise History of the Art, with the Improvements in the Practice of Printing, for the Last Fifty Years. London: Caleb Stower, 1808. As excerpted in Richard-Gabriel Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress, 2 vols. (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2004).
27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...
View Full BioJS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More InfoJackson Co., MO, Deed Records, bk. A, pp. 111–113, microfilm 1,017,978, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:51–52.
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U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
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...
More Info18 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 at Palmyra...
View Full BioOliver Cowdery, Independence, MO, to JS, Kirtland Mills, OH, 28 Jan. 1832, JS Collection, CHL.
In a postscript and a now-missing notation to be used as a bill or receipt, Cowdery apparently informed
JS how much paper should be purchased in order to provide enough stock for ten thousand copies of the
Book of Commandments.
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Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
The prospectus for The Evening and the Morning Star, dated 23 February 1832 and no longer extant,
was included as the first item in the first issue of the later, Ohio-based Evening and Morning Star.
(William W. Phelps, The Evening and the Morning Star Prospectus, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 [Jan. 1835], 1–2; see also Phelps, “Short History,” [2]–[3]; and “To Man,” The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [6].)
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Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Phelps, William W. “A Short History of W. W. Phelps’ Stay in Missouri,” 1864. CHL.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
The next known publication of the press was a political circular (no longer extant) dated 21 May
1832. (Lilburn W. Boggs, “To the People of Missouri,” Missouri Intelligencer, 2 June 1832, [2]; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:33.)
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Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser. Fayette. 1827–1835.
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 2 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997, 2005.
French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More Info3/5 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 BioRevelation, 20 Mar. 1832, in Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; Newel K. Whitney, Statement,
ca. 1842, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, CHL; Minute Book 2, 30 Apr. 1832. It is unknown
exactly how much paper JS and his associates brought to Missouri, but Phelps and Cowdery listed the
total amount of paper lost in the July 1833 destruction of the printing office at one hundred reams. If
Phelps and Cowdery’s accounting is accurate, it is unclear whether the listed one hundred reams of paper
was only the amount that was lost or was the total amount of paper brought to Missouri. (Declaration, in Missouri Circuit Court [5th Circuit], Feb. 1834 term, Phelps and Cowdery v. Olmstead et al., Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.)
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Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, ca. 1839–1856. CHL.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Missouri Circuit Court (5th Circuit). Feb. 1834 term. William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery v. Nathaniel K. Olmstead et al. Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO. City of Aurora, Hiram Village, Hiram Township, 1803–1995. Vol. 11, Portage County Ohio Cemeteries. Ravenna, OH: Portage County Genealogical Society, 1995.
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 BioIndependence became county seat for Jackson Co., 29 Mar. 1827. First courthouse, single-story log structure located on lot 59 at intersection of Lynn and Lexington Streets, completed, Aug. 1828. Second courthouse, two-story brick structure located at center...
More InfoMinute Book 2, 29 May 1832; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:51–52.
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Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:34–35.
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Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 2 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997, 2005.
While JS and other leaders were in Missouri in April 1832, the Literary Firm met.
Acting in their capacity as overseers of church publications, the firm decided to reduce the original print run of ten thousand copies to three thousand, a decision probably based on
the amount of paper that had been purchased and brought to Missouri.11
The firm appointed
a committee of three individuals—William W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, and John
Whitmer—“to review the Book of Commandmants [that is, the “Book of Commandments
& Revelations,” or Revelation Book 1] & select for printing such as shall be deemed by
them proper, as dictated by the Spirit & make all necessary verbal corrections.”12
The committee
acted upon that instruction by both selecting and revising manuscripts, using
Revelation Book 1 as their primary source text. The committee did not include all items
found in Revelation Book 1; some items therein were explicitly marked for exclusion from
the Book of Commandments, and some others bear no such mark but were nonetheless
excluded.13
The title page of the Book of Commandments indicates that the book was
printed by W. W. Phelps & Co., and while Phelps is traditionally recognized as the publisher
and printer, all three individuals appointed to review the revelations contributed to
the work of printing the Book of Commandments.14
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...
More InfoMinute Book 2, 30 Apr. 1832. Assuming that the Book of Commandments was to comprise six
gatherings (with two identical gatherings printed on each sheet), and assuming five hundred sheets per
ream, a print run of ten thousand copies of the Book of Commandments would require sixty reams,
whereas a print run of three thousand copies would require eighteen reams. Paper was expensive and in
short supply and would need to be divided among several printing projects. Besides the Book of
Commandments and the two newspapers, an almanac and a hymnal were also planned (but ultimately
neither was published in Missouri). It is possible JS and his companions purchased the paper on credit,
which could suggest they did not have sufficient funds to purchase the amount of paper originally contemplated.
(See Revelation, 20 Mar. 1832, in Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
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Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
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 Bio3 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 Bio27 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 BioMinute Book 2, 30 Apr. 1832.
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Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
See, for example, Explanation of scripture, ca. Dec. 1830, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 60–61, in JSP,
MRB:91–93 [D&C 74], which bears the notation “Not to be printed.” Revelation, ca. early 1830, in
Revelation Book 1, pp. 30–31, in JSP, MRB:31–33, which bears no such notation, was also omitted from
the Book of Commandments. That there was a systematic review of Revelation Book 1 is suggested by a
notation on page 76 of Revelation Book 1: “Compared thus far by J[ohn Whitmer] & O[liver Cowdery].”
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Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume 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, 2009).
Late in his life Phelps stated, “I was ordained and appointed to take the lead in printing, as printer
to the church . . . with Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer as my assistants.” (Phelps, “Short History,” [2]–[3]; see also Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to William W. Phelps, [Clay Co., MO], [30 Mar. 1834], in Cowdery, Letterbook, 36–38; and Declaration, in Missouri Circuit Court [5th Circuit], Feb. 1834 term, Phelps and Cowdery v. Olmstead et al., Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.)
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Phelps, William W. “A Short History of W. W. Phelps’ Stay in Missouri,” 1864. CHL.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Missouri Circuit Court (5th Circuit). Feb. 1834 term. William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery v. Nathaniel K. Olmstead et al. Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO. City of Aurora, Hiram Village, Hiram Township, 1803–1995. Vol. 11, Portage County Ohio Cemeteries. Ravenna, OH: Portage County Genealogical Society, 1995.
Many of the revelations in the Book of Commandments appear in Revelation Book 1
with editing marks that were made in preparation for the publication. Revelation Book 1 was
not, however, the sole source for the Book of Commandments. One revelation and part of
another that appear in the Book of Commandments do not appear in Revelation Book 1;
the manuscript sources for these revelations are unknown.15
Furthermore, some revelations
that appeared in the Book of Commandments had been printed earlier in The Evening and
the Morning Star. When revelations had already been printed in the Star, the editors appear
to have used the newspaper, rather than Revelation Book 1, to set type for the Book of
Commandments.16
Revelation, May 1829–B, in Book of Commandments 11 [D&C 12]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831, in
Book of Commandments 47 [D&C 42:78–93].
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A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833. 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).
See “Table 1: Relationship between Items in Revelation Book 1 and The Evening and the Morning Star,” in JSP, MRB:695–697. In most cases, the revelations as published in the Star were typeset from
Revelation Book 1.
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JSP, MRB / Jensen, Robin Scott, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds. Manuscript Revelation Books. Facsimile edition. First volume 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, 2009.
The incomplete Book of Commandments contains most of the revelations known
to have been dictated by JS through
September 1831, organized largely chronologically.
Seven items that were dictated
before September 1831 and copied into
Revelation Book 1 were not published in
the Book of Commandments.17
Within Revelation Book 1, see the following: Revelation, ca. June 1829, pp. 23–24, in JSP, MRB:21–
23; Revelation, ca. early 1830, pp. 30–31, in JSP, MRB:31–33; Explanation of scripture, ca. Dec. 1830,
pp. 60–61, in JSP, MRB:91–93 [D&C 74]; Revelation, 15 May 1831, p. 85, in JSP, MRB:143; Revelation,
20 May 1831, pp. 86–87, in JSP, MRB:145–147 [D&C 51]; and Revelation, 20 July 1831, pp. 93–94, in JSP,
MRB:159–161 [D&C 57]. The seventh revelation in this category is Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17].
A partial index to Revelation Book 1 indicates that this revelation was copied on page 25 of the manuscript
book, but the page on which it was inscribed is among those now missing. (See Revelation Book 1,
p. [207], in JSP, MRB:385.) There is no apparent pattern among these seven items to explain why they
were not published.
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Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume 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, 2009).
The apparent intent of editorial work
on the revelations—and in any case, the
result of that work—was primarily to polish
the revelations for publication. Most of
the editorial revisions were in the nature
of copyediting changes: inserting versification;
standardizing language; correcting
punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and
spelling. A smaller subset of revisions was
significant, usually involving the addition
of a phrase or the substitution of a word or
two.18
In a few cases, revisions served to
update the revelations to reflect changes
that had occurred in church government or
policy since the time the revelations were
first dictated, but such updating was not
done systematically. In the majority of
cases, revelations that could have been updated
were not. For example, although the first ordinations to the office of high priest had
occurred in June 1831,19
the editors preparing the Book of Commandments for publication
did not introduce the term “high priest” into revelations predating June 1831 where it would
have been logical to do so. A 9 February 1831 revelation, for instance, states that the bishop is to be assisted in certain duties by the elders. In 1835, as part of an effort to update the
revelations to reflect changes in church government and policy, this language was expanded
to clarify that the high priests are also to assist in these duties.20
The update presumably
could have been made earlier, for inclusion in the Book of Commandments, but was not.
In fact, the office of high priest is not mentioned anywhere in the Book of Commandments.
More systematic updating of the revelations to reflect changes in church government
and policy occurred two years later in connection with the publication of the Doctrine and
Covenants.
For a list of revelations published in the Book of Commandments identifying the
types of editing marks made in Revelation Book 1 to prepare each revelation for publication, see “Table 2:
Relationship between Items in Revelation Book 1 and the Book of Commandments,” in JSP,
MRB:697–700.
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JSP, MRB / Jensen, Robin Scott, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds. Manuscript Revelation Books. Facsimile edition. First volume 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, 2009.
Minute Book 2, 3 June 1831.
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Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in Book of Commandments 44:26, 54 [D&C 42:31, 71]; Revelation, 9 Feb.
1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 13:8, 19, 1835 ed. [D&C 42:31, 71].
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A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833. 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).
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).
Printing standards of the day called for printers to recopy heavily edited manuscripts
to provide a clean copy for typesetting.21
Some of the text of Revelation Book 1 was almost
certainly recopied before the Book of Commandments was typeset, as evidenced by differences
between the text in the marked-up Revelation Book 1 and the final printed Book of
Commandments.22
De Vinne, The Printers’ Price List, 402, as excerpted in Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:822–823.
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De Vinne, Theodore Low. The Printers’ Price List: A Manual for the Use of Clerks and Book-Keepers in Job Printing Offices. New York: Francis Hart, 1871. As excerpted in Richard-Gabriel Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress, 2 vols. (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2004).
The mark-up of Revelation Book 1, including versification, does not always match the final version of the text printed in the Book of Commandments. While it is technically possible that the discrepancies between the texts as edited in Revelation Book 1 and as printed in the Book of Commandments could have resulted from corrections introduced in the galley proof stage (the stage at which the typeset page was proofed for the last time), the amount of labor that would be involved in changing versification and paragraphing in galleys strongly suggests that these discrepancies were introduced on an interim copy rather than in galleys.
The Independence print shop was small enough that it likely carried only one size of
paper. Considering this, the Book of Commandments was likely printed on royal-size
paper, which measures approximately 25 × 20 inches (64 × 51 cm), because The Evening
and the Morning Star was printed on royal quarto (a royal-size sheet folded twice, yielding
four leaves approximately 12½ × 10 inches [32 × 25 cm] each).23
Had the Book of Commandments,
which was printed in sextodecimo format, been printed on royal-size paper with a
sheetwise technique (one gathering per sheet), the process would have yielded sixteen leaves
measuring approximately 6¼ × 5 inches (16 × 13 cm) each, a page size significantly larger
than was needed for the Book of Commandments, which measures approximately 4½ × 3⅛
inches (11 × 8 cm) (allowing for small variations in page size for different copies). This is not
an impossibility, because the excess paper around the margins could have been trimmed.
However, some untrimmed or partially untrimmed extant copies of the Book of
Commandments have roughly half an inch (1 cm) of excess paper (beyond the point where
the edge should be trimmed) on the bottom of the leaves, suggesting a far more likely scenario:
If a work-and-turn technique (printing two copies of the same gathering per sheet) had been used, each sheet would have yielded thirty-two leaves measuring 5 × 3⅛ inches
(13 × 8 cm) each, leaving only half an inch to be trimmed from each leaf.
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. Mormon population by summer...
More InfoJS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More InfoMacKellar, American Printer, 271, as excerpted in Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:459. The paper size for The Evening and the Morning Star was noted in its prospectus, and
measurements of extant copies confirm that the paper was indeed printed on royal quarto–size paper.
(William W. Phelps, The Evening and the Morning Star Prospectus, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 [Jan. 1835], 1–2.)
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Mackellar, Thomas. The American Printer: A Manual of Typography, Containing Complete Instructions for Beginners, as Well as Practical Directions for Managing All Departments of a Printing Office. Philadelphia: L. Johnson, 1866. As excerpted in Richard-Gabriel Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress, 2 vols. (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2004).
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Textual and other sources suggest time frames in which the individual gatherings of
the Book of Commandments were likely typeset and printed. In this regard, analyzing the
filial relationship between common texts in Revelation Book 1, the Book of Commandments,
and The Evening and the Morning Star is especially useful.24 Though editors of the
Book of Commandments could have started printing that volume in late April 1832 (after
the paper arrived from Virginia) or June 1832 (when the first issue of the Star was printed),
analysis of typefaces used at the Missouri printing office suggests that typesetting for the
first gathering (pages 1–32) began no earlier than November 1832.25 At the latest, typesetting
and printing began in December 1832, the month a notice in the Star stated that the Book
of Commandments was “now Printing” and would “be published as soon as the Lord
will.”26
Because the Book of Commandments and The Evening and the Morning Star share a common source (Revelation Book 1) for many texts, and because different layers of editing within Revelation Book 1 clearly pertain to one published version or the other, it is often possible to determine whether a particular text was first printed in the Book of Commandments or in the Star.
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...
More InfoJS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More InfoThe first six issues of The Evening and the Morning Star (June through November 1832) were printed in two sizes of type: long primer (about 10 point) and brevier (about 8 point). Beginning with the December 1832 issue and continuing for the remainder of the Missouri publication, the newspaper was printed in only long primer. Because the Book of Commandments was printed in brevier size, it is likely that the printers stopped using brevier for the newspaper in November 1832 so they could use it instead for the Book of Commandments. While it is not known how much type the Missouri printers began the operation with, they apparently started running out of brevier while typesetting two different gatherings of the Book of Commandments, suggesting a supply limited enough that it could not support two printing projects at once.
Notice, The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1832, [8]. JS noted in his journal on 1 December 1832
that he “wrote and corrected revelations.” If typesetting for the Book of Commandments did not begin
until at least November 1832, a proof of the first gathering probably could not have been printed and
delivered to Ohio in time for JS to be reviewing it on 1 December. (JS, Journal, 1 Dec. 1832, in JSP, J1:10.)
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Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
JSP, J1 / Jessee, Dean C., Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, eds. Journals, Volume 1: 1832–1839. Vol. 1 of the Journals 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, 2008.
The second gathering (pages 33–64) was of course printed after the first, meaning after
December 1832. Moreover, independent textual evidence definitively places the typesetting
date of the second gathering after September 1832.27 The third gathering (pages 65–96)
was printed sometime after January 1833 and before circa May 1833.28
The fourth (pages 97–128) and fifth (pages 129–160) gatherings were printed after the third gathering (circa
May 1833) and before the destruction of the printing office (July 1833). Additionally, independent
textual evidence places the typesetting date of the fifth gathering after February
1833.29
A comparison of the different layers of editing marks in Revelation Book 1 clearly indicates that Revelation, September 1830–A [D&C 29], was typeset for the September 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star before it was typeset for chapter 29 of the Book of Commandments, which begins on page 61, in the second gathering, and continues into the third.
A comparison of the respective versions of Revelation, 2 January 1831 [D&C 38], in Revelation
Book 1, the January 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, and chapter 40 of the Book of
Commandments indicates that the newspaper version was typeset before the Book of Commandments
version. JS and others wrote a letter dated 25 June 1833 in which they made corrections to a proof sheet of
the third gathering, likely sent to them sometime in late May. A letter from JS and others dated a week
later, 2 July, responded to a 7 June letter from Independence, suggesting that the galley sheet was put in
the mail to Ohio no later than circa 31 May. (JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to Edward Partridge et al., Independence, MO, 25 June 1833, JS Collection, CHL; Sidney Rigdon et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Brethren,” [Independence, MO], 2 July 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 51–54.)
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Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL.
JS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More InfoEditing marks in Revelation Book 1 indicate that Revelation, 30 August 1831 [D&C 63], was typeset for the February 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star before it was typeset for chapter 64 of the Book of Commandments, which is in the fifth gathering.
By mid-1833, a reported seven individuals were working in the Independence printing
office30
and were likely close to completing their work on the Book of Commandments. On
13 February 1833, W. W. Phelps & Co. filed for a copyright on the book, depositing a copy
of the title page with the federal district court in Missouri, as required by law.31
In May,
The Evening and the Morning Star published a revelation intended as the last revelation, or
“appendix,” for the new book.32
In the same issue, editors of the paper announced that the
finished volume would “be published in the course of the present year” and cost “from 25,
to 50 cents a copy.”33
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. Mormon population by summer...
More InfoJS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More Info“To His Excellency, Daniel Dunklin,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 114–115.
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The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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...
More InfoThe original copyright registration has not been located. A certified copy was made in 1921 by H. C.
Geisberg. (Woodford, “Development of the Doctrine and Covenants,” 1:31; Wheaton and Wheaton, Book of Commandments Controversy Reviewed, 52–53.)
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Woodford, Robert J. “The Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants.” 3 vols. PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1974.
The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities. Biographical Sketches, with Steel Engraved Portraits. St. Louis: American Biographical Publishing, 1884.Wheaton, Clarence L., and Angela Wheaton. The Book of Commandments Controversy Reviewed. Independence, MO: Church of Christ (Temple Lot), 1950.
Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 116–121, in JSP, MRB:205–215 [D&C 133];
“Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [1]–[2].
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Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume 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, 2009).
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
“Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [1].
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The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
In a letter dated 25 June, JS and his associates in Ohio responded to questions from the
Missouri printers about binding the books and authorized them to release books without
binding in order to get them into circulation sooner.34
The same letter gave minor corrections
to chapters 40 and 44 of the Book of Commandments.35
Inasmuch as chapter 44 ends
on page 96 and the book was being printed on gatherings comprising thirty-two pages
each, these corrections suggest that JS and his associates in Ohio had probably received
copies of the first three gatherings of the volume, either to proofread or as a courtesy.36
The
corrections, however, arrived in Missouri too late to be incorporated into the printed volume.37
Letters could take anywhere from about ten days to a month to make the journey
between northeastern Ohio and Independence, Missouri, depending on the mode of delivery
and other factors.38
The delay in communication between JS and those printing the
revelations prevented JS from maintaining a close supervisory role over the press. That JS
saw advance sheets of the Book of Commandments, however, indicates Phelps, Cowdery,
and Whitmer made efforts to keep him informed.
French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoArea 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...
More InfoJS et al., Kirtland, OH, to Edward Partridge et al., Independence, MO, 25 June 1833, JS Collection,
CHL.
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Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to Edward Partridge et al., Independence, MO, 25 June 1833, JS Collection, CHL. The corrections were as follows: “The following errors we have found in the commandments
as printed 40th Chap 10th verse third line, instead of corruptable put corrupted 14 verse of the same chapter
5th line instead of respecter to persons, put respecter of persons, 21st verse 2nd line of the same chapter,
instead of respecter to, put respecter of 44 Chapter 12 verse last line, instead of hands, put heads.” In the
Woodruff copy of the Book of Commandments (featured herein), these corrections are marked in an
unidentified hand.
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Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
William E. McLellin, who lived in Independence in 1833 and therefore may have had firsthand
knowledge of some details of the printing operation, later stated that the Missouri editors sent a gathering
of the Book of Commandments to Kirtland for correction. (William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872, typescript, Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, CHL.)
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McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872. Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, no date. Typescript. CHL. Original at CCLA.
The 25 June 1833 letter with the corrections arrived in Independence 29 July 1833, by which time the
first five gatherings had been printed and the printing office had been destroyed by vigilantes. (John Whitmer with William W. Phelps postscript, Independence, MO, to JS and Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 July 1833, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 52–56; see also Hartley, “Postal History,” 185.)
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JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL.
Hartley, William G. “Letters and Mail between Kirtland and Independence: A Mormon Postal History, 1831–33.” Journal of Mormon History 35, no. 3 (Summer 2009): 163–189.
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. Mormon population by summer...
More InfoHartley, “Postal History,” 176.
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Hartley, William G. “Letters and Mail between Kirtland and Independence: A Mormon Postal History, 1831–33.” Journal of Mormon History 35, no. 3 (Summer 2009): 163–189.
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 Bio3 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 Bio27 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 BioWhat proved to be the final known communication from church headquarters in
Ohio to the printers in Missouri regarding the printing of the Book of Commandments
was given 2 July 1833. On that date, in response to a letter of 7 June that is no longer extant,
JS and counselors Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams sent instructions for shipping
copies of the Book of Commandments to Kirtland.39
French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoArea 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...
More Info19 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 Bio28 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 BioLocated 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...
More InfoSidney Rigdon et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Brethren,” [Independence, MO], 2 July 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 51–54.
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JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL.
By the time that letter could reach Independence, the printing project had come to an
abrupt end. On 20 July 1833, a group of four to five hundred Missouri vigilantes stormed
the printing office, destroyed or confiscated much of the contents, and halted the printing
of not only the Book of Commandments but of all Mormon publications in Independence.
According to claims Phelps and Cowdery made in a lawsuit filed against several dozen of
the vigilantes early the following year, the mob “forced open the door [to the print shop],
tore down the same, forced and tore off the roof from the said printing office[,] forced . . .
and tore down the walls of the same and then and there totally and wholly demolished tore
down and destroyed the said printing office.” Furthermore, the Missourians “seised [seized,]
tore down and forcibly took and carried aw[ay] and converted to their[—]the said defendants[—]own use a certain printing press of the plaintiffs then and there set up and in use
in the said printing office.” Phelps and Cowdery valued the printing office at three thousand
dollars and the press at five hundred dollars.40
The assailants gave the press, which
had apparently been pushed out of the second-story window and damaged in the fall, to
Robert Kelly and William Davis, who used it beginning in early January 1834 to publish a
newspaper in Liberty, Missouri, titled the Upper Missouri Enquirer.41
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. Mormon population by summer...
More InfoArea 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...
More InfoJS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More Info17 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 Bio3 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 BioDeclaration, in Missouri Circuit Court [5th Circuit], Feb. 1834 term, Phelps and Cowdery v. Olmstead et al., Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.
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Missouri Circuit Court (5th Circuit). Feb. 1834 term. William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery v. Nathaniel K. Olmstead et al. Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO. City of Aurora, Hiram Village, Hiram Township, 1803–1995. Vol. 11, Portage County Ohio Cemeteries. Ravenna, OH: Portage County Genealogical Society, 1995.
Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...
More InfoMissouri Writers’ Project, Missouri, 108; JS History, vol. A-1, 412. One author has tracked the press
to mid- and late-nineteenth-century newspapers published in Colorado and New Mexico. (Gladden, “An Early Printing Press Used in Colorado.”)
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Missouri Writers’ Project, Works Progress Administration, comp. Missouri: A Guide to the “Show Me” State. American Guide Series. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). CHL. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
Gladden, Sanford C. “An Early Printing Press Used in Colorado.” Unpublished paper. Boulder, CO, 1977. Copy at CHL.
Several Latter-day Saints were able to save sheets of the unbound Book of Commandments,
and copies were later individually bound for private use. It is unclear how many
copies were saved and bound, but fewer than three dozen are currently known to exist. Also
unclear is how those who saved the sheets from the attackers were able to salvage sheets
from all five gatherings. Inside the print shop, each sheet would have been placed in an uncollated stack, with one stack for each gathering, meaning that the salvagers would have
had to hurriedly gather a sample from each of the stacks after the stacks were thrown from
the print shop.42
If the process of folding and collating the sheets had already begun, however,
it would have been easier to collect all five sheets.43
JS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of LDS church’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street just south of courthouse square....
More InfoFor an overview of folding and collating practices of the time, see Gaskell, New Introduction to Bibliography, 6, 143–145.
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Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2009.
Another possible explanation for why so many volumes contain all five sheets is that a small number
of advance copies may have been nearly completed, in which case it is possible that the majority of the
surviving copies come from this advance collation. A David Whitmer reminiscence suggests as much,
though he evidently misunderstood or misremembered what state the volume was in when he received it:
“I received my Book of Commandments, complete before the press was destroyed by the mob, as did
many other brethren.” It is also possible that those gathering sheets collected many redundant sheets that
were later discarded after complete volumes were assembled. (Whitmer, Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon, 5.)
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Whitmer, David. An Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon. Richmond, MO: No publisher, 1887.
John Whitmer’s daybook documents that he sold six copies of the Book of Commandments
to various individuals for twenty-five cents each.44
Whether official agents were appointed
to sell copies is unknown, but it appears that church leaders gathered known copies
and distributed them.45
The scarcity of the volume likely contributed to church leaders’
prompt renewal of interest in printing a compilation of revelations—an objective that would
not be realized until the 1835 publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in Kirtland, Ohio.
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 BioWhitmer, Daybook, 6 and 13 July 1834; 3 and 12 Aug. 1834; 16 Sept. 1834.
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Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL.
For example, Mary Elizabeth Lightner recalled later that Oliver Cowdery took the several sheets
saved by Lightner and her sister Caroline and bound them, giving one assembled copy to Lightner. (Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, “Ran from the Mob,” Deseret Evening News, 20 Feb. 1904, 24.)
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Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
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...
More InfoA Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according
to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830; Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps & Co., 1833; incomplete (printing
interrupted); [1]–160 pp.; includes typeset signature marks and copyright notice. The copy presented
herein is held at CHL; includes 22 pages of handwritten texts; also includes early and later marginalia as
well as archival stamps and notations.
This book was printed in sextodecimo format on five sheets and folded into five gatherings of
sixteen leaves (thirty-two pages) each, making a text block of 160 pages. The sheets were probably
printed using a work-and-turn technique, yielding two copies of the same gathering for each sheet. In
the copy of the book featured in this volume, three nonprinted gatherings were also bound with the
printed gatherings: two folio gatherings of two leaves each, and an octavo gathering of eight leaves,
which includes the back pastedown. The pages of the book featured herein measure 4½ × 3⅛ inches (11 ×
8 cm), but these dimensions vary somewhat in other extant copies of the volume. The book’s final
printed gathering ends on page 160, partway through the revelation labeled “CHAPTER LXV.” That
at least one more gathering was intended is evident from several sources, including editing marks made
in Revelation Book 1, which was the source text for much of the Book of Commandments.1
Changes
made during printing resulted in variations among known copies of the Book of Commandments, the
most obvious of which are the differences found on the title page.2
See Phelps, “Short History,” [3]; and Frederick G. Williams, Kirtland, OH, to John Murdock, 10 Oct. 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 61–62.
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Phelps, William W. “A Short History of W. W. Phelps’ Stay in Missouri,” 1864. CHL.
JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL.
The title page of the Book of Commandments appears in two different formats, the first without a decorative border. Sometime during the printing, a border was inserted, forcing the compositor to compress the spaces between and within the lines of text. A systematic analysis of printing variants among extant copies of the Book of Commandments is beyond the scope of this volume.
Because destruction of the print shop halted printing and destroyed most of the stock before any
books were bound, the bindings of the surviving copies vary. The copy presented in this volume, which
belonged to early church member and leader Wilford Woodruff, measures 4½ × 3¼ × ⅞ inches (11 × 8 ×
2 cm). The cover is made from heavy paperboard material and bound in brown leather, which is now
worn. In both the material and the manner of binding, the binding is similar to that of Woodruff’s first
journal, which was begun sometime in late 1834, suggesting both books were bound at the same time.3
The thread used in sewing the volume is visible along the spine of the book. A piece of blue-lined paper,
measuring 1⅞ × 2⅛ inches (5 × 5 cm), is pasted to the outside front cover of this copy of the Book of
Commandments. “No. 1” is written in red ink on this label, and an additional notation, reading “Book
of Commandments”, is written in graphite. On the inside front cover, a notation written in black ink in Thomas Bullock’s hand reads “Presented to the | Historian’s Office | by Wilford Woodruff | July 19
54 [July 19, 1854]”. In the center of the same page, a library notation that was written in ink but has
since been erased reads “No 904”. The recto of the front flyleaf bears a notation in graphite, apparently
in Woodruff’s handwriting: “Wilford | Woodruff | Woodruff”. On this same page, a stamp applied
sideways in purple ink reads “HISTO[RI]AN’S OFFICE. | Chur[ch] of Jesus Christ | of Latter-day
Saints.” The same stamp appears on the copyright page three pages later, at the bottom of page 60, and
on the inside back cover. The flyleaf’s verso bears several inscriptions: Woodruff’s signature (with the
first name spelled “Willford”) in black ink near the top of the page; “Tuskalusa | Allabama” in graphite
in the middle of the page; and “6” followed by an illegible character, both written sideways in black ink
roughly three-quarters down the page. On eleven of the twelve blank leaves he bound into the back of
this book, Woodruff copied the remaining text of the partially printed chapter 65, another revelation,
and several hymns.4 Because this volume of The Joseph Smith Papers presents the revelations in their
printed form, Woodruff’s later handwritten additions are not included herein.
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into LDS church by Zera Pulsipher, 31 Dec. 1833, near Richland. Ordained...
View Full BioWilford Woodruff , Journal, 1834–1838, Wilford Woodruff , Journals and Papers, CHL.
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Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. Also available as Wilford Woodruff’s Journals, 1833–1898, edited by Scott G. Kenney, 9 vols. (Midvale, UT: Signature Books, 1983–1985).
The twelfth leaf is the back pastedown, which Woodruff left blank. He completed Revelation, 11 September 1831 [D&C 64], and copied in full Revelation, 27 February 1833 [D&C 89], after which he copied eight hymns, four of which he gave headings. Each hymn was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, and all four of Woodruff’s hymn headings match the headings given in the Star. The hymn that begins “Age after age has roll’d away” was printed in the May 1833 issue of the Star; “The great and glorious gospel light,” in July 1833; “Ere long the vail will rend in twain,” in May 1833; “Come ye children of the kingdom,” in April 1833; “My soul is full of peace and love,” in June 1833; “The happy day has rolled on,” in June 1833; “Beyond these earthly scenes in sight,” in July 1832; and “There is a land the Lord will bless,” in September 1834.
Woodruff likely acquired this copy of the Book of Commandments on 12 August 1834.5
He
appears to have retained this volume until he donated it to the Church Historian’s Office on 19 July
1854. Library markings indicate the volume has remained in continuous church custody.6
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into LDS church by Zera Pulsipher, 31 Dec. 1833, near Richland. Ordained...
View Full BioWhitmer, Daybook, 12 Aug. 1834.
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Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL.
“1303” is written in black ink on the bottom of page [3]. This number corresponds to an entry made
sometime after 1930 in an early Church Historian’s Office catalog book. In addition, the Church
Historian’s Office stamp used to mark several pages of the volume appears to have been in use in the late
nineteenth century and possibly in the early twentieth century. (“Library Record,” book no. 1303.)
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“Library Record for the Listing or Cataloguing of Books.” In Historian’s Office, Library Accession Records, ca. 1890–ca. 1930. CHL.
