Revelation, 20 March 1832

  • First Shall we procure the paper required of our  breatheren in their letter and carry it with us or not  and if we do what moneys shall we use for that purpose[?]

    It is expedient saith the Lord unto you that the paper is  shall <be> purchesed for the <printing of the> book of the Lords commandments and it  must needs be that you take it with [you] for it is not expedient  that my servent Martin [Harris] should as yet go up unto the land  of Zion let the purchase be made by the Bishop of [if] it  must needs <be> by hire let whatsoever is done be done in  the name of the Lord

    Second shall we finish the translation <of the New testament> before we go to  Zion or wait till we return[?]

    It is expedient saith the Lord that there be no delays  and this saith the Lord for the greatest good and benef[i]t of  the church wherefore omit the translation for the  present time

    <20 March 1832 at Hyrum> [p. [1]]

By March 1832, JS’s primary concern for more than a year had been the establishment of Zion as an earthly New Jerusalem and divinely appointed gathering place. In conjunction with this focus, two other interests figured prominently—the publication of a Book of Commandments and the completion of his revision of the Bible. This revelation addressed both projects. At the time of JS’s departure for Missouri in April 1832, he and Sidney Rigdon were halfway through the revision of the New Testament.

In a January 1832 letter sent from Missouri, Oliver Cowdery indicated that he and William W. Phelps were almost ready to print the Book of Commandments. Apparently, they lacked only an adequate supply of paper. Traveling along waterways to Missouri in April 1832, JS and his companions stopped in Wheeling, West Virginia, and purchased paper for the Missouri printing press, as authorized by this revelation.

Sidney Rigdon transcribed this text, probably in late March 1832. It may be the original transcription or a contemporaneous copy given to Newel K. Whitney just prior to his departure with JS for Missouri in April 1832. Perhaps in late March 1832, Frederick G. Williams copied the text into Revelation Book 2, where it appears without a formal title but with the location and date of “Hiram Portage County Ohio March 20th. 1832.”

Facts

Editorial Title
Revelation, 20 March 1832
ID #
119