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Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68]
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time of the Lord other Bishops to be set apart unto the church to minister even according to the first12 wherefore it shall be an high priest who is worthy & he shall be appointed by a confrenc of high priests13
And again no Bishop or judge14 which shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime save it be before a confrence of high priests & inasmuch as he is found guilty before a confrenc of high priests by testimony that cannot be impeached he shall be condemned or forgiven according to the Laws of the church15 And again inasmuch as parents have children in Zion that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance faith in Christ the Son of the living God & of baptism & the gift of the Holy Spirit by the laying <on> of the hands when eight years old the sin be upon the head of the parents for this shall be a Law unto the inhabitants of Zion & their children shall be baptised for the remission of their sins when eight years old & receive the laying on of the hands16
& they also shall teach their children to pray & to walk uprightly before the Lord & the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe to the Sabath day to keep it holy17 & the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faithfulness for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord now I the Lord am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion for there are idlers among them18 & their children also are grow ing up in wickedness they also seek not earnestly the riches of Eternity19 but their eyes are full of greediness20 these things ought not to be & must be done away from among them wherefore let my servant Oliver [Cowdery] cary these sayings unto the land of Zion21
& a com mandment I give unto them that he that obse[r]veth <not> his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof let them be had in remem brance before the judge of my people these sayings are true & faith ful22
wherefore transgress them not neither take therefrom behold I am Alpha & Omega23
& I come quickly Amen
An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, he functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...
View GlossaryThe 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...
View GlossaryEdward Partridge was appointed bishop in February 1831. (See Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 41:9].)
An ecclesiastical office. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed an order of high priests who were called to teach the commandments of God and serve as leaders in...
View GlossaryA meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...
View GlossaryExtant records predating this revelation generally use the term “high priesthood” instead of “high priests.”a After this revelation, the term “high priests” is increasingly used in records.b Although a conference of elders appointed “assistants” to Edward Partridge, there is no extant record of a conference appointing Partridge bishop.c A license created for Partridge, however, states that Partridge had been appointed bishop “with and by the consent of the whole church.”d
aSee, for example, Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein; and Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX.
bSee, for example, Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B, p. XXX herein [D&C 107 (partial)]; and Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–A, p. XXX herein [D&C 72:1].
cMinutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX.
dLicense for Edward Partridge, ca. 4 Aug.1831–ca. 5 Jan. 1832, p. XXX herein.
An August 1831 revelation explained that one of the functions of a bishop was to “be a Judge in Israel” and “to Judge his people by the testimony of the Just.” (Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 58:17–18].)
Principles given to the church and its members in February 1831 revelations. In January 1831, a revelation promised the saints in New York that the law would be given after they gathered in Ohio. Once in Ohio, on 9 and 23 February 1831, JS dictated two revelations...
View GlossaryThe February 1831 revelation of the “Laws of the Church of Christ” stated, “If he [Partridge] transgress another shall be appointed in his Stead.” This same revelation provided instructions on how to deal with church members who committed adultery or offended other members of the church. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 42:10]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 42:80–83, 88–93].)
JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoAn ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...
View GlossaryAfter baptism, new converts were confirmed members of the church “by the laying on of the hands, & the giving of the Holy Ghost.” According to JS’s history, the first confirmations were given at the organization of the church on 6 April 1830. By March 1831...
View GlossaryJS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoAccording to an 1829 revelation, children were not to be baptized until they had reached the “years of accountability.” Sometime between 1 February 1831 and 7 March 1831, JS revised Genesis 17:11 so that it explained “that children are not accountable before me till eight years old.” (Revelation, June 1829–B, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 18:42]; Old Testament Revision 1, p. 41, [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 17:11]; see also Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 64.)
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Old Testament Revision 1 / “A Revelation Given to Joseph the Revelator June 1830,” 1830–1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 75–152.
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoSee Revelation, 7 Aug. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 59:12–13].
JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoJS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoThe “Laws of the Church of Christ” specifically prohibited idleness, stating “he that is Idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garment of the labourer.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 42:42].)
See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 38:39].
See Revelation, 15 June 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 56:17].
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...
View Full BioJS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...
More InfoSidney Gilbert, who had returned to Kirtland, Ohio, in August 1831 to “procure the necessaries” for his Independence, Missouri, store, was similarly told to communicate “that which he hath seen & heard . . . unto my Deciples” in Missouri “that they perish not & for this cause have I spoken these things.” (Edward Partridge, Independence, MO, to Lydia Clisbee Partridge, 5–7 Aug. 1831, Edward Partridge, Letters, 1831–1835, CHL; Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 64:19].)
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Partridge, Edward. Letters, 1831–1835. CHL.
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...
View Glossary27 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 BioSee Revelation 22:6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 119 [2 Nephi 31:15]; and Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 66:11].
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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.
“Alpha & Omega,” as a title for Jesus Christ, occurs in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and earlier JS revelations. (See, for example, Revelation 1:8; 21:6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 474 [3 Nephi 9:18]; and Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 35:1].)
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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.
Given a in Hiram November first 1831 by Joseph the Seer [p. 114]
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 InfoThe Book of Mormon identified a seer as a “revelator, and a prophet also,” specifying, however, that a seer was “greater than a prophet.” A seer could “know of things which has past, and also of things which is to come.” The work of a seer included translation...
View GlossaryOn 1–2 November 1831, ten elders convened a conference in Hiram, Ohio, to discuss the publication of the Book of Commandments, a compilation of JS’s revelations.1 According to a later JS history, four of the conference attendees—Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson, and William E. McLellin—approached JS during the conference and requested to know the Lord’s will concerning them.2 This revelation came in response to their inquiry.3 The revelation provided more information about the evangelizing duties of the four men specifically and of elders in general. While Hyde, McLellin, and Luke Johnson were all ordained to the high priesthood at a conference held in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a week earlier, Lyman Johnson was ordained to the high priesthood at the Hiram conference on 2 November.4
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 InfoFor more information on this conference, see Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.
8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...
View Full Bio3 Nov. 1807–8 Dec. 1861. Farmer, teacher, doctor. Born at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of John Johnson and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs. Lived at Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, when baptized into LDS church by JS, 10 May 1831. Ordained a priest by Christian Whitmer...
View Full Bio24 Oct. 1811–20 Dec. 1859. Merchant, lawyer, hotelier. Born at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of John Johnson and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs. Moved to Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, Mar. 1818. Baptized into LDS church by Sidney Rigdon, Feb. 1831. Ordained an elder...
View Full Bio18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into LDS church by Hyrum Smith...
View Full BioJS History, vol. A-1, 163. A few days earlier, JS had dictated a revelation to McLellin regarding God’s will for him, but McLellin and his copetitioners apparently desired more direction. (Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 66].)
Located about five miles south of Kirtland Township. Area settled, 1815. Organized 1820. Population in 1830 about 300. Population in 1838 about 800. Sixty-five Latter-day Saints lived in township, by Nov. 1830. Joseph and Julia Murdock, twins adopted by JS...
More InfoMinutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831, p. XXX herein; Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.
After closing the portion of the revelation addressed specifically to the four men with an “Amen,” the document shifts its audience to the church in general and gives additional information about the office of bishop, as well as counsel to members of the church “in Zion” about teaching and baptizing their children and avoiding idleness and greed. The text may originally have been dictated as two discrete revelations, which, like some other revelations closely related in time or content, were then copied together and presented as a single, unified text. All extant copies of the text—whether in manuscript or published form—present both parts as one revelation.
The original manuscript of the revelation is not extant, and the conference minutes do not mention the revelation.5 However, the copy in Revelation Book 1 is dated 1 November 1831 and a heading states that it was “given in Hiram Nov. 1. 1831.”6 John Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1, probably soon after its dictation.7
See Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein.
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 InfoA 2 November date for the revelation cannot, however, be ruled out. A later JS history places the revelation as the final event of the two-day conference. (JS History, vol. A-1, 157–163.)
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 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 BioCowdery and Whitmer left for Missouri on 20 November 1831 with Revelation Book 1, and the revelation was likely copied before they left. When this revelation was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, additional verses were included. (Whitmer, History, 38, in JSP, H2:49; Doctrine and Covenants 22, 1835 ed.)
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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.
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).
Revelation, Hiram Township, OH, 1 Nov. 1831. Featured version, titled “70 A Revelation to Orson Luke Lyman & William,” copied [ca. Nov. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 113–114; handwriting of Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer; CHL. Includes redactions.
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...
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 Bio