Revelations published in Evening and Morning Star (, OH), vol. 1, nos. 1–10 and 12, and vol. 2, no. 13; edited by . The copy used for this transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes marginalia and archival notations.
Evening and Morning Star, an edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star, presents revelations throughout its first thirteen issues, except for the April 1833 issue, which was printed in June 1836. When printing Evening and Morning Star, the editors revised the revelations found in The Evening and the Morning Star, changing wording and sometimes order and position on the page. One revelation printed in the earlier newspaper was not reprinted in this edition of the paper. The page size of Evening and Morning Star was smaller than that of its predecessor. Each issue has eight leaves (sixteen pages), with two columns on each page, each page measuring 9¼ × 5¾ inches (23 × 15 cm). Because Evening and Morning Star was a reprint, its issues maintained the dating of the original issues; thus, the first issue of Evening and Morning Star is dated June 1832, though it was printed in January 1835, as indicated by a publisher’s notice on the last page of the issue.
The original owner of the volume used for this transcription is unknown. The upper right corner of the second free endsheet is cut away, and based on a residual ink flourish on the recto near the cut, it appears that a signature was removed from the book at some point. This volume is held at the Church History Library, but its provenance is unknown.
Revelation,16 Apr. 1830, in “The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star,June 1832, [1]–[2] [D&C 22].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Historical Introduction
In December 1833, six months after the in , Missouri, was and publication efforts there were permanently halted, printing commenced on a newly acquired press in , Ohio. That press, operated by , continued printing The Evening and the Morning Star, the newspaper begun in , through September 1834. The September 1834 issue of that paper contained a prospectus announcing that the paper’s two volumes would be reprinted.
The first issue of the reprinted newspaper, which appeared under the slightly modified title Evening and Morning Star, was published in January 1835. Though touted as a reprint that would correct typographical and other errors, Evening and Morning Star actually contained significant changes to the revelation texts. In the first issue, editor explained the revisions he was making in the reprinted versions of the revelations:
On the revelations we merely say, that we were not a little surprised to find the previous print so different from the original. We have given them a careful comparison, assisted by individuals whose known integrity and ability is uncensurable. Thus saying we cast no reflections upon those who were entrusted with the responsibility of publishing them in , as our own labors were included in that important service to the church, and it was our unceasing endeavor to have them correspond with the copy furnished us. We believe they are now correct. If not in every word, at least in principle.
Despite the implications of ’s statement, very few of the changes in the reprint represent a restoration back to the earliest text, though Cowdery consulted early manuscript sources when reprinting some of the revelations. Because the revelations were meant to be used as a guide for the current operations of the church, they were edited in 1835 to reflect current organization, doctrine, and practice, which had continued to develop since the revelations were first dictated. For example, the version of a 9 February 1831 revelation printed in Evening and Morning Star includes discussion of the duties of elders, priests, teachers, bishops, high priests, and the high council. Early versions of the revelation, however, make no mention of the office of high priest, which did not exist until June 1831, or of the high council, a body that was not organized until February 1834. The revelation was revised in 1835 to reflect these additional roles. Most of the changes made to revelations in the early issues of Evening and Morning Star are also reflected in the same revelations as published in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1835), and the editing work on that volume, in turn, influenced the presentation of revelations in later issues of Evening and Morning Star.
The table that follows lists each of the revelatory items printed in the Star and its reprint, along with its bibliographic information. See Revelations Printed in The Evening and the Morning Star for a side-by-side comparison of the revelations printed in the Star and its reprint.
Key to column titles
Vol: Issue:
Volume and issue number
Star Print Date:
Month in which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Star Pages:
Pages on which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Reprint Print Date:
Month in which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Reprint Pages:
Pages on which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Date:
Date of item, followed by section number in Doctrine and Covenants, 1981 edition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The title that appears in the newspaper’s nameplate was likely shortened because of a reduction in the newspaper’s size. The longer original title, The Evening and the Morning Star, is printed at the middle and end of each issue with other publication information. For the sake of clarity, the reprinted paper is referred to by its shortened title for all references in The Joseph Smith Papers.
Notice, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 (Jan. 1835), 16. The prospectus to Evening and Morning Star also states “that in the first 14 numbers, in the Revelations, are many errors, typographical, and others, occasioned by transcribing manuscript; but as we shall have access to originals, we shall endeavor to make proper corrections.” (“Prospectus,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 192.)
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
On 4 February 1835, Cowdery wrote to Newel K. Whitney requesting that the latter send “the original copy of the Revelation given to 12 elders Feb. 1831 called ‘The Law of the Church.’” Cowdery explained, “We are preparing the old Star for re-printing, and have no copy from which to correct, and kno[w] of no other beside yours.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Newel K. Whitney, 4 Feb. 1835, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in “Extract of Covenants for the Church of the Latter Day Saints,” Evening and Morning Star, July 1832 (Feb. 1835), 30–31 [D&C 42].
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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).
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).
Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the great I AM, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made: the same who knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes: I am the same who spake and the world was made, and all things came by me: I am the sam[e] who have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom: and verily I say, even as many as have believed on my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I plead before the Father for them: But behold the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, which shall come at the end of the earth; and even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo is their doom.
But behold, verily, verily I say unto you, that mine eyes are upon you; I am in your midst and ye cannot see me, but the day soon cometh that ye shall see me and know that I am: for the vail of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day: wherefore gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold the kingdom is yours and the enemy shall not overcome.
Verily I say unto you, ye are clean but not all: and there is none else with whom I am well pleased, for all flesh is corruptible before me, and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, am[o]ng the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven, which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned: and behold the enemy is combined.
And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing wh[i]ch is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction, in process of time, and ye knew it not, but now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief, for verily some of you are guilty before me; but I will be merciful unto your weakness. Therefore, be ye strong from henceforth; fear not for the kingdom is yours: and for your salvation I give unto you a , for I have heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons. And I have made the earth rich, and behold it is my footstool: wherefore, again I will stand upon it, and I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise; a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh: and I will give it unto you for the land of your , if you seek it with all your hearts: and this shall be my with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.
But verily I say unto you, that in time ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you. Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws, when I come, for I am your Lawgiver, and what can stay my hand? But verily I say unto you, teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you, and let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me. And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself: for what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter to them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one, be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other, be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there, and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just. [p. 125]
Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in “Revelation Given January, 1831,” Evening and Morning Star, Jan. 1833 (Apr. 1836), 125–126 [D&C 38]. This version closely corresponds to the version in section 12 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, suggesting that the latter was used as a source text for the former.
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.