Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]

ensample which I give unto you whereby you may accompish the 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...

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which are given to you that through the providenc of your Father notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you you may stand independent above all other creatures6

Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “creature” as “that which is created; every being besides the Creator, or every thing not self-existent. The sun, moon and stars; the earth, animals, plants, light, darkness, air, water, &c., are the creatures of God.” (“Creature,” in American Dictionary [1828], italics in original.)
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An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.

beneath the Celestial 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...

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that you may come up unto the crown prepared for you and be made rulers over many kingdom[s]7

The 16 February 1832 vision stated that those who inherited the celestial world were crowned “kings” and were “given all things.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, p. XXX herein [D&C 76:55–56].)

saith the Lord God the holy one of Israel Verily Verily I say unto you ye are little children and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the father has put into his own hands and prepared for you and ye cannot bear all things now8

See Revelation, 9 May 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 50:40].

nevertheless be of good cheer for I will lead you along, the kingdom is yours and the blessings there of are yours and the riches of Eternity are yours & he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious in the things of this world even an hundred fold yea more wherefore do the things which I have commanded you saith your redeemer even Jesus Christ who prepareth all things before he cometh and then he will come even with the church of the first born & receive you in the clowd and appoint evry man his portion9

The account of the vision of the afterlife that JS and Rigdon experienced in February 1832 stated that those who inherited the celestial kingdom were the “church of the first born.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, p. XXX herein [D&C 76:54].)

& he that is a faithful & wise steward

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...

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shall inherit all things Amen——[6 lines blank]

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...

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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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Ohio

[p. [2]]

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...

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, Missouri, in 1831 to establish Zion, 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, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio; ...

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, who was a partner with Newel K. Whitney

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in N. K. Whitney & Co., to “establish a store” 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. Mormon population by summer...

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

Revelation, 20 July 1831, p. XXX herein [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. Mormon missionaries...

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

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, Ohio, to run his own store (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, p. XXX herein [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.
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U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Eakin and Eakin, Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, [page]

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...

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, 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...

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, 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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, 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...

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

Minutes, 12 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.

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 at Palmyra...

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, 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,...

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be ordained “stewards over the revelations & commandments” and that any “profits” they gained from publishing church materials over and above their needs be placed in the Lord’s storehouse to benefit “the inhabtants of Zion & . . . their generations.”4

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

On 1 March 1832, JS, who was in Kirtland

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on a short visit, assembled a group of high priests, presumably to discuss the coordination of the church’s publication and mercantile endeavors.5

Note, 8 Mar. 1832, p. XXX herein.

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

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, and Whitney

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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 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...

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

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, 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

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

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

See Revelation Book 2, Index, [1], in JSP, MRB:413.

Facts

Editorial Title: Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]
ID #: 1472