Revelation, 8 June 1831 [D&C 53]

  • 55 56th Commandment June 8th. 1831

    A Revelation to Sidney Gilbert his Call &c

    Behold I say unto you my servent Sidney that I have heard your  prayers & ye have called upon me that it should be made known  unto you of the lord your God concerning your calling & election  in this Church which I the Lord have raised up in these last days [p. 89]

This revelation followed soon after the historic June 1831 conference, where several elders were assigned to travel separate routes and preach and others were commissioned to accompany JS to Missouri to identify the location for the New Jerusalem. Not among those originally appointed to travel west, Sidney Gilbert personally approached JS two days later to learn the Lord’s will for him. This revelation directed Gilbert to travel to Missouri with JS but also called for his ordination as an elder and his appointment as business “agent” for the church, a position suited to his considerable mercantile experience.

John Whitmer copied the text  into Revelation Book 1, where it is designated “56th Commandment June 8th 1831,” sometime in June 1831. Sidney Rigdon and Sidney Gilbert also made copies in summer 1831. The 1833 Book of Commandments dates the revelation to June 1831 at Kirtland, Ohio, while the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants gives the same date but no location.

Facts

Editorial Title
Revelation, 8 June 1831 [D&C 53]
ID #
6514