Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840

I am happy in being informed by your  letter that your mission swells “larger and larger”; it  is a great and important mission, and one that is  worthy of those inteligences who surround the throne of  Jehovah to be ingaged in; Altho it appears great  at present, yet you have but just begun to realize the  greatness, the extent and glory of the same. If there is any  thing calculated to interest the mind of the saints, to awaken  in them the finest sensibilities; and arouse them to enterprise,  and exertion, surely it is the great and precious promises,  made by our heavenly Father to the children of Abraham;  and those engaged in seeking the outcasts of Israel, and  the dispersed of Judah, cannot fail to enjoy the Spirit of  the Lord, and have the choisests blessings of Heaven rest  upon them in copious effusions, Bretheren you are in the  path way to Eternal Fame! and immortal Glory; and  inasmuch as you feel interested for the covenant people  of the Lord, the God of their Father shall bless you. Do  not be discouraged on accou[n]t of the greatness of the work;  only be humble, and faithful, and then you can say, “ what art thou, O, great mountain, “before Zerubbable shalt  thou be brought down” He who scattered Israel has prom ised to gather

As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land...

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them; therefore, inasmuch as you are to be  instrumental in this great work, he will endow

The terms endow, endowed, and endowment—as well as endued and enduement—were used to describe the bestowal of spiritual blessings upon the Latter-day Saints. In common usage, these terms meant essentially the same thing: to clothe, to put on, to furnish, ...

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you with  power, wisdom, might, and inteligence; and every qual ification necessary; while your minds will expand wid er and wider, untill you can circumscribe the Eearth, &  the Heavens, and reach forth into eternity; contemplate  the mighty acts of Jehovah, in all their variety & glory

In answer to your inquiries, respecting the translation  and publication, of the Book of Mormon, Hymn Book, History  of 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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, &c, &c; I would say, that I entirely approve  of the same; and give my consent, with the exception of  the Hymn Book, as a new edition, containing a greater  variety of Hymns, will be shortly published or printed  in this place; which, I think will be a standard work

As soon as it is printed, you shall have some [p. 146]