Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82]

her stakes

The ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to...

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must in be strengthened yea I verily I say unto you Zion must arise & put on her beautyful garments5

See Isaiah 52:1, 54:2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 587 [Moroni 10:31].
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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.

Therefore I give unto you this commandment that ye bind yourselves by this covenant & it shall be done according to the Laws of the Land behold here is wisdom also in in me for your good & your are to be equal or in other words you are to have equal claims on the properties6

This reiterated a commandment given in a 12 November 1831 revelation. The properties of the firm at this time were likely not extensive. Whitney and Gilbert both had stores, and Phelps had his printing operation in Independence. Partridge, meanwhile, had bought around twelve hundred acres of land to be used as “inheritances” for the Saints. Eber D. Howe, editor of the Painesville Telegraph and a persistent critic of JS, later observed that by the end of 1831, the church had “a capital stock of ten or fifteen thousand dollars.” However, Howe probably did not have access to such information, and the lack of precision casts doubt on the accuracy of Howe’s estimate. (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 70:14]; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 Jan. 1832, p. XXX herein; Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 128–129.)
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Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

for the benefits of managing the concerns of your stew artship

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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every man according to his wants & his needs inas much as his wants are Just7

See Revelation, 20 May 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 51:3].

& all this for the benefit 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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of the living God that every man may improve upon his tallents that he may gain other tallents yea even an hundred fold to be cast into the Lords Storehouse

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The Book of Malachi directed the House of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

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to become the common property of the whole conduct Churc[h]8

Those acting as stewards over the revelations were to place any “profits” above “their necessities & their wants” into the storehouse, “& the benefits thereof shall be consecrated unto the inhabtants of Zion & unto their generations.” (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 70:7–8].)

every man seeking the interest of his neighbour & doing al[l] things with an eye single to the glory of God this firm I have [appointed] to be an everlasting firm unto you & unto your Successor◊9

TEXT: Possibly “s”, “&”, or an overextended ink mark; line ending obscured by a badly worn edge.

inasmuch as you sin not & the soul that sins against th[e] covenant & holdeth hardeneth his heart against it shall be dealt with according according to the laws of my Church

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...

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The “Articles and Covenants” of the church stated that “any member of this church of Christ transgressing, or being over taken in a fault, shall be dealt with according as the scriptures direct, &c.” More specific instructions were given in a 23 February 1831 revelation. (Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 20:80]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 42:74–93].)

& shall be delivered over to the buffitings of Satan untill the day of Redemtion11

The March 1832 revelation directing the organization of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors similarly stated that these entities were to be organized “by an everlasting covinent which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto the buffitings of satan.” (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832, p. XXX herein [D&C 78:11–12].)

And now verily I say unto you & this is wisdom make unto yourselves friends with the mamon of unrightness12

See Luke 16:9.

& they will not destroy you leave Judgement alone with me for it is mine & I will repay Peace be with you my blessings continue with you for even yet the kingdom is yours & shall be forever if ye fall not from your Steadfastness even so Amen [p. 129]

This revelation was dictated in the second half of the first day of a council of high priests and elders held 26–27 April 1832 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, Missouri.1

For additional information on this revelation, see Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832, p. XXX herein.

Its contents reflected some of the business transacted by that council, including the resolution of a disagreement between 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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and Edward Partridge

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...

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. The first part of the revelation acknowledged Rigdon and Partridge’s reconciliation, forgave them for the offenses in their earlier conflicts, and required the recipients of the revelation to forgive each other and obey God’s commandments. The second part of the revelation reiterated the need to organize a governing firm for the church’s business and publishing interests and named the individuals who were to participate in this organization.2

The first revelation on this subject was dated 1 March 1832. (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832, p. XXX herein [D&C 78].)

They included five men living in Missouri (Partridge, 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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, 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 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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) and four living in Ohio

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 ...

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(JS, Rigdon, Newel 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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, and 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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).3

Although Jesse Gause was a counselor to JS and accompanied him on this trip, there is no evidence that he was made a member of the firm. This may have been because, unlike the nine listed here, Gause did not already have a role in the management of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 209; and Note, 8 Mar. 1832, p. XXX herein.)

The revelation indicated that each of these individuals had a stewardship over some aspect of church business and that uniting them in the firm would allow them to draw on each other’s resources to manage these endeavors, thereby producing more “tallents,” or surplus, for the church’s storehouses.

The revelation also highlighted the evolving relationship between the church in 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, and the church 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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. A January 1831 revelation designated Kirtland as a temporary place for members of the church to stay until the Lord identified the location of the New Jerusalem.4

Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 38].

Subsequent revelations indicated, however, that the Mormon settlement at Kirtland was not to be quite so short lived. A May 1831 revelation stated that the Lord had consecrated Kirtland “for a little season untill I the Lord shall provide for them otherwise.”5

Revelation, 20 May 1831, in JSP, D1:XXX [D&C 51:16].

In July 1831, a revelation designated Independence

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as the “centre place” of Zion, where the church would build the New Jerusalem in preparation for Christ’s second coming,6

Revelation, 20 July 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 57].

but a September 1831 revelation explained that the Lord would still “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland for the space of five years.”7

Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831, p. XXX herein [D&C 64:21].

The 26 April revelation featured here, evoking imagery used in Isaiah 54:2–3, designated Kirtland as a “stake” of Zion, or a place that would support the establishment of Zion.

As the clerk of the 26–27 April council, Whitmer

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likely recorded this revelation as JS dictated it, though the original manuscript is no longer extant. Whitmer likely copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1 shortly after its dictation.8

The revelation that precedes this in Revelation Book 1 was likely recorded in that volume by Whitmer before he left for Missouri in late 1831. This 26 April revelation begins on a new page and is followed by several revelations given in Kirtland and Hiram, Ohio, which Whitmer presumably entered in Missouri after receiving copies of them from JS in April. (Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 125–127, in JSP, MRB:223–227 [D&C 1].)

Sometime later, Whitmer wrote “Not to be published now” on the first page of the manuscript in Revelation Book 1. The second page of the manuscript was crossed out, likely also to indicate the intention not to publish the revelation at that time.9

Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129, in JSP, MRB:229–231.

This is consistent with a similar notation, “Not to be printed at present,” in the manuscript of a 20 July 1831 revelation mandating extensive acquisition of land for Zion in 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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.10

Revelation, 20 July 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 93, in JSP, MRB:159 [D&C 57].

Church leaders apparently believed that publication of plans for their commercial and real estate ventures could be detrimental to their larger goals. The 26 April revelation was not published in the Book of Commandments, but it was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, with pseudonyms for the names of the elders in the revelation and for the name of the church’s governing business firm, which by 1835 had been discontinued.11

Doctrine and Covenants 86, 1835 ed. See also “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants,” in JSP, R2:708–711.
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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).

Facts

Editorial Title: Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82]
ID #: 6753