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Classification of Scriptures, not before 17 July 1833

Note by Frederick G. Williams Page [0] Scriptures on High Priesthood Page [0] Scriptures on Repentance Page [0] Scriptures on Sabbath Day Page [0] Scriptures on Aaronic Priesthood Page [0] Scriptures on Covenants Page [0] Scriptures on Baptism Page [0] Scriptures on Holy Ghost Page [0] Scriptures on Second Coming of Christ Page [0] Scriptures on Holy Ghost Page [0] Scriptures on Unknown Subject–A Page [0] Scriptures on Unknown Subject–B Page [0] Scriptures on Faith Page [0]

Source Note

Classification of Scriptures, , Geauga Co., OH, not before 17 July 1833; handwriting of and ; five ledger covers and thirteen pages; pages comprise four loose leaves, one leaf in a thirty-six-leaf gathering, and seven pages across three bound books (an eighth page is missing); JS Collection, CHL; JS History, 1839, Draft, CHL; Kirtland Elders Quorum, “Record,” CCLA; Kirtland Egyptian Papers, CHL.
The documents that compose the classification of project are found in various collections held by two repositories. The extant material of the project comprises four loose leaves, one leaf in a gathering of thirty-six pages, and seven pages in three ledger volumes.
The four loose leaves appear to have been part of blank books or ledger books, but they do not appear to be from the same book or from any of the other known ledger volumes associated with the classification project. The first leaf is an unruled sheet measuring 12¼ × 7½ inches (31 × 19 cm); written on the top of the leaf is a note dated 17 July 1833. This leaf was unevenly cut from an unknown volume that likely had green-stained edges. A second leaf is a ruled sheet measuring 12⅜ × 7⅞ inches (31 × 20 cm). Scripture references relating to are written on the first four of thirty-three greenish-blue lines. This leaf was also unevenly cut from an unknown volume. A third leaf bears scripture references relating to the order of Aaron on the first eight lines of a ruled sheet. Though the lines are now faded, the sheet appears to bear thirty-four lines of a possible blue hue. This leaf measures 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) and was cut from an unknown volume. A red adhesive wafer is attached to the upper left of the page, indicating that the page may have once been attached to a book or that another document was once attached to it. A final leaf is ruled with thirty-four blue lines; scripture references relating to the were inscribed on a little more than half of the leaf. This leaf measures 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) and was unevenly cut from an unknown volume. A red wafer is attached to the upper left of the page. These four leaves have been stored with JS Letterbook 1 in the Church History Library since at least the mid-twentieth century. It is unknown if they were stored with other documents before that time.
The leaf bearing the title “Scriptures on Covenants” is found within a makeshift thirty-six-page gathering made of nine loose leaves, each measuring 12⅜ × 15¾ inches (31 × 40 cm). The leaves were folded in half to form eighteen unlined leaves, each measuring 12⅜ × 7⅞ inches (31 × 20 cm). The loose leaves are held together by a piece of string threaded through two holes in the upper half of the centerfold of the leaves. Other holes in the folds indicate that additional sewing was in place at some point. inscribed the first page of the gathering, which bears the title “Scriptures on Covenants”, followed by five lines containing references to JS’s revision of Genesis. Williams lined the entire page in graphite. A remnant of a wafer is found on the upper left corner of the first page. Apparently in preparation to be used for ’s 1839 draft of JS’s history, the fold of the gathering was inverted so that the original first and last pages became the center of the gathering (pages 18 and 19) and the original center spread became the first page and last page. Mulholland inscribed the history draft on twenty-five pages of the gathering, leaving eleven pages blank. The location of this gathering from its creation through the early twentieth century is unknown, though it presumably remained in LDS church custody.
The ledger book now known as JS, Journal, 1835–1836, was initially part of the scripture classification project and bears two titles pertaining to the project on each outside cover: “Repentence.” and “Sabbath Day | No 9”. The two pages that contain scripture citations are the first inscribed page after the cover titled “Repentence,” and the first inscribed page after the book is reoriented so the other cover, titled “Sabbath Day”, becomes the front cover. The spine of the book is labeled “No 8”. It is unknown if this number relates to the classification of scripture effort. The text block is found on 114 leaves—including single flyleaves and pastedowns in the front and back—measuring 12¼ × 8 inches (31 × 20 cm). The 110 interior leaves are ledger paper with thirty-four lines on each page in faint brown ink. The book has nine gatherings of about a dozen leaves each. The text block was sewn all along over cloth tapes. The volume was constructed with front and back covers of pasteboard and a tight-back case binding with a brown calfskin quarter-leather binding. The outside covers are adorned in shell marbled paper, with dark green body and veins of light green. The bound volume measures 12⅜ × 8¼ × 13/16 inches (31 × 21 × 2 cm). This volume is listed in Nauvoo, Illinois, and early Utah inventories of church records, indicating continuous institutional custody.
The ledger book now known as the Elders Quorum “Record” was initially part of the scripture classification project and bears two titles on each outside front cover: “Second Comeing of Christ | No 3” and “Gift of the Holy Ghost”. The two titles are not written in the same style: “Gift of the Holy Ghost” is in block letters, and “Second Comeing of Christ” is in cursive. The book contains seventy-six pages of written material. Five leaves interspersed throughout the book contain material related to scripture classification. The scriptures relating to the second coming of Jesus Christ are found on the first page after one flyleaf. When the book is reoriented so that the other cover becomes the front, scriptures relating to the appear on the first page following the other flyleaf. The three remaining leaves are not titled and follow the orientation of the side of the book devoted to the topic of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Several pages were removed from the book, but of the remaining leaves, the fifth one bears scripture references. This leaf is followed by several blank leaves, a leaf with a brief notation regarding scripture classification, several more pages, and a final leaf bearing scriptural citations. According to , the RLDS church obtained the Kirtland Elders Quorum “Record” from John Norton sometime before 1893.
A final ledger book likely contained a leaf pertaining to the classification of scriptures project, but that leaf is no longer extant. The front cover of the volume, used by clerks to record the Egyptian alphabet and grammar, bears the title “Faith. | 10”. On the bottom of the spine of the book is “3”. It is unknown if this number relates to the classification of scripture effort. Following the two front flyleaves, accidental ink transfer provides evidence that an initial page was once present and that a scribe likely created a list of scriptures relating to the topic of faith. It is unknown when this leaf was removed. This book has been in continual custody of the LDS church since its creation.
Note: The images of pages from the Kirtland Elders Quorum “Record” published on this website are © Community of Christ and are licensed to the Joseph Smith Papers Project. Community of Christ–copyrighted images are marked with an identifying watermark. To inquire about high-resolution images of Community of Christ–copyrighted images for scholarly use, please contact the Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS Letterbook 1, JS Collection, microfilm, 12 Nov. 1968, CHL; Microfilming Report, entry no. JP 1068, Historical Department, Microfilm Reports, 1949–1975, CHL.

    JS Letterbook 1, JS Collection. Microfilm, 12 Nov. 1968. CHL. MSS 155, reel 1.

    Historical Department. Microfilm Reports, 1949–1975. CHL.

  2. [2]

    See Source Note for History, circa June–October 1839.

  3. [3]

    See Source Note for JS, Journal, 1835–1836.

  4. [4]

    “Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue,” [1], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 7.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

    Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.

  5. [5]

    Joseph Smith III, Testimony, Independence, MO, 25 Jan. 1892, p. 75, questions 269–270, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, Testimonies and Depositions, CHL.

    Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894). Typescript. Testimonies and Depositions, 1892. Typescript. CHL.

Historical Introduction

On 2 July 1833, JS and finished work on the Bible revision project that had begun three years earlier. A little more than two weeks later, Williams began an effort he described as “classifying the different Subject of the and reviwing the same.” This effort appears to have been an attempt to provide a reference guide for the Bible revision. Several factors suggest that this endeavor to categorize scriptures by topic was more than a personal project and was likely carried out under the direction of JS or the entire . For instance, , the clerk for the presidency, inscribed much of the text of these documents. Further, in one document, the presence of Williams’s signature indicates he was a scribe for the project; the signature combined with the official tone of Williams’s statement announcing the beginning of the project suggests this project was under the direction of the presidency.
Soon after JS finished his translation work on the Bible, he and other church leaders expressed their intention to publish the project. They may have intended for this reference guide to form part of that publication. Although a small excerpt from the Bible revision had already been published in the church’s first newspaper, The Evening and the Morning Star, JS and other leaders planned to publish the complete translation to a wider audience. In a letter to church leaders in , JS stated that “it is not the will of the Lord to print any of the new translation in the Star but when it is published it will all go to the world together in a volume by itself, and the new Testament and the book of Mormon will be printed together.” In a subsequent letter to Missouri church members, JS stated that “the printing of the New translation . . . cannot be done until we can attend to it ourselves, and this we will do as soon as the Lord permit.” Scribes edited the Bible revision manuscript, applying verse numbers and making changes in wording, to prepare the manuscript for publication.
A month after JS and completed the Bible revision, JS dictated a revelation the presidency of the high priesthood to build a in , Ohio, “for the work of the printing of the translation of my scripturs and all things whatsoever I shall command you.” Four days later, the presidency wrote to leaders explaining the need “to print the new translation here at kirtland for which we will prepare as soon as possible.” JS and other leaders soon received news of the destruction of the church in , Missouri, which meant they had no choice but to follow their plans to publish JS’s Bible revision in Kirtland. Despite immediate efforts to publish the revision, the work was never fully published during JS’s lifetime. Failure to publish the revision may be the reason Williams and others eventually abandoned the scripture classification project.
Determining the exact makeup, intent, and hoped-for outcome of the project is impossible; neither the Bible revision nor the classification of scriptures project was ever published in JS’s lifetime, and the remnants of the projects appear to be incomplete. By the time the classification project was abandoned, only the first several pages of the Old Testament Revision, which is now part of the Book of Moses, had been organized into topics. Nevertheless, this classification of the Book of Moses provides important insight into the way the early leaders of the church read and interpreted the new sacred text and gives a glimpse into the rapidly developing doctrine, theology, and teachings of the early church. And even though what church leaders intended for the completed project is unknown, the surviving documents, as well as the broader use of similar scriptural guidebooks in the , suggest some likely possibilities. Several topical guides to the Bible were published in the first half of the nineteenth century. These guides were intended both to facilitate Bible study and, as one compiler of such a guide stated, “to present divine truth in its due proportions.” Such an arrangement, the compiler continued, would “surprise the careful student at the comparative fulness of different topics, when exhibited in the symmetry which they bear as coming from the mind of the Spirit.” These attempts to facilitate the study of the Bible while also capturing the spirit of the book may have influenced leaders of the in their efforts to publish the Bible revision with an accompanying guide.
Three ledger books, one gathering of thirty-six pages, and three loose leaves make up the classification of scriptures project (a final loose leaf associated with this project simply bears ’s dated statement regarding the beginning of the project). The make and size of the paper of the three loose leaves do not match each other or the pages of any of the three ledger books, so it is possible some of the loose leaves came from ledger volumes no longer extant. The thirty-six-page gathering indicates that Williams used material other than ledger volumes for this project. Two of the three ledger books classify two gospel-related terms each; every other source contains scripture citations that pertain to only one topic. Altogether, the documents concern a total of nine gospel topics.
The three ledger volumes bear numerals on the outside covers—3, 9, and 10. Thus, had they been part of a sequential numbering system, there would have been at least ten volumes used in the project. This assemblage of sources and the possibility of at least ten ledger volumes indicate that the project was meant to be extensive. The ten volumes would have served as indexes for various topics and likely would not have been entirely filled. The following transcript comes from the sources identified above and has been divided into sections with editorially supplied titles. Footnotes indicate the record from which each section comes and, where applicable, provide verse numbers from the book of Moses in the current edition of the Pearl of Great Price that correspond to the scripture citations in the featured text.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 2 July 1833; see also Old Testament Revision 2, p. 119.

    Old Testament Revision 2 / Old Testament Revision Manuscript 2, 1831–1833. CHL. 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), 591–851.

  2. [2]

    For background information on this effort, see Jensen, “Ignored and Unknown Clues of Early Mormon Record Keeping,” 147–154.

    Jensen, Robin Scott. “Ignored and Unknown Clues of Early Mormon Record Keeping.” In Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints, edited by Richard E. Turley Jr. and Steven C. Harper, 135–164. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2010.

  3. [3]

    “Extract from the Prophecy of Enoch,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [2]–[3] [Moses chap. 7].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  4. [4]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 21 Apr. 1833.

  5. [5]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833. JS’s statement was apparently an answer to a question posed by William W. Phelps, the church printer, in a letter that has not been located..)

  6. [6]

    Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 232–233, 587–588.

    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.

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 2 Aug. 1833–B [D&C 94:10].

  8. [8]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 6 Aug. 1833.

  9. [9]

    See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 7–8.

    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.

  10. [10]

    Parsons, Biblical Analysis, ix.

    Parsons, John Usher, comp. The Biblical Analysis; or, A Topical Arrangement of the Instructions of the Holy Scriptures. Adapted to the Use of Ministers, Sabbath School and Bible Class Teachers, Family Worship, and Private Meditation. Boston: William Peirce, 1837.

  11. [11]

    The numeral 3 appears on the ledger book containing the Kirtland Elders Quorum “Record,” the numeral 9 appears on the volume containing JS’s 1835–1836 journal, and the numeral 10 appears on the ledger containing the Egyptian alphabet.

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Classification of Scriptures, not before 17 July 1833
ID #
6613
Total Pages
21
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:176–186
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [69]

    TEXT: Wafer residue suggests a slip of paper, no longer extant, was attached to this page. Given the amount of space obscured by the remnants of the adhesive wafer, this citation likely refers to only one verse. The chapter, of course, is unknown.

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