The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]

Source Note

Revelation, , OH, 1 Mar. 1832. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Mar. 1832]; handwriting of ; two pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes notation, docket, and archival marking.
One leaf of laid paper ruled with thirty-four blue horizontal lines (now faded). Slight deviations on the left and right edges indicate the page was cut from a book. The excised leaf measures 12¾ × 8 inches (32 × 20 cm). The leaf was folded in half and then tri-folded in letter style. A notation, also in the handwriting of , names “” as the recipient of the document. The document was later refolded for filing and docketed by Newel K. Whitney in graphite: “a command relative to | Newel, Joseph & Sidneys | Going to Zion 1 March 1832”.
This document and several other revelations, along with many other personal and institutional documents kept by , were inherited by his daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who married Isaac Groo. This collection was passed down in the Groo family and donated by members of the family to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University during the period 1969–1974.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Andrus et al., “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” 5–6.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie. “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” Sept. 1998. BYU.

Historical Introduction

This revelation deals with the church’s mercantile and publishing endeavors. As church members gathered to , Missouri, in 1831 to establish , the need for money to purchase land became pressing. In July 1831, a revelation instructed , who was a partner with in , to “establish a ” in , Jackson County, so that the church could receive “money to buy lands for the good of the Saints.” Gilbert opened a store in in early 1832 that was funded in part by Whitney and operated under the name Gilbert & Whitney. Whitney, who remained in , Ohio, to run his own (which had been in existence since at least 1824), received direction in 1831 to provide funding for the establishment of Zion.
Money was also needed to fund the publication of JS’s revelations, another venture church leaders began exploring in 1831. On 12 November 1831, a special conference in , Ohio, gave JS, , , and the responsibility of managing the “sacred writings” of the church, including the revelations. That same day, a revelation directed that JS, Cowdery, Whitmer, Rigdon, , and be ordained “ over the revelations & ” and that any “profits” they gained from publishing church materials over and above their needs be placed in the Lord’s to benefit “the inhabtants of Zion & . . . their generations.”
On 1 March 1832, JS, who was in on a short visit, assembled a group of , presumably to discuss the coordination of the church’s publication and mercantile endeavors. At the meeting, JS dictated this revelation, which instructed himself, , and to organize a “firm” to manage the “Literary and Merchantile establishments” of the church. The revelation also required JS, Rigdon, and Whitney to travel to and “sit in councel” with the church there and emphasized the need for church members to be equal in temporal things in order for unity to prevail in spiritual matters.
The original manuscript of the revelation is not extant. , who spent some time in March 1832 copying revelations into Revelation Book 2, made a copy of the document for , probably at the same time Williams recorded it in Revelation Book 2. Although it is unclear exactly when the Whitney copy was made, Williams probably made the entry in Revelation Book 2 sometime between 8 March (the date of a note that precedes the revelation) and 1 April (when JS departed for ). He titled the Revelation Book 2 copy “A Revelation given for Joseph & Newel to go an[d] sit in council with the elders in Zion, March 1— 1832.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8].

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:42–43]; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, 1827–1909, vol. B, p. 33, 20 Feb. 1832, microfilm 1,017,978, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Eakin and Eakin, Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 127, 143–144; Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 209.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Eakin, Joanne C., and O. B. Eakin, comp. Jackson County Missouri Court Minutes Book 1, 1827–1833, with Index; and Jackson County Missouri Death Register, 1883–1891. Independence, MO: By the author, 1988.

    Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, 12 Nov. 1831.

  4. [4]

    Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:3, 8].

  5. [5]

    Note, 8 Mar. 1832.

  6. [6]

    See Revelation Book 2, Index, [1].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78] Revelation Book 2 Revelation Book 1 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [2]

ensample which I give unto you whereby you may accompish the which are given to you that through the providenc of your Father notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you you may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the that you may come up unto the crown prepared for you and be made rulers over many kingdom[s] saith the Lord God the holy one of Israel Verily Verily I say unto you ye are little children and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the father has put into his own hands and prepared for you and ye cannot bear all things now nevertheless be of good cheer for I will lead you along, the kingdom is yours and the blessings there of are yours and the riches of Eternity are yours & he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious in the things of this world even an hundred fold yea more wherefore do the things which I have commanded you saith your redeemer even Jesus Christ who prepareth all things before he cometh and then he will come even with the church of the first born & receive you in the clowd and appoint evry man his portion & he that is a faithful & wise shall inherit all things Amen—— [6 lines blank]
Ohio [p. [2]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]
ID #
1472
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:197–200
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “creature” as “that which is created; every being besides the Creator, or every thing not self-existent. The sun, moon and stars; the earth, animals, plants, light, darkness, air, water, &c., are the creatures of God.” (“Creature,” in American Dictionary [1828], italics in original.)

    An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.

  2. [7]

    The account of the 16 February 1832 vision stated that those who inherited the celestial world were crowned “kings” and were “given all things.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:55–56].)

  3. [8]

    See Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50:40].

  4. [9]

    The account of the 16 February 1832 vision stated that those who inherited the celestial kingdom were the “church of the first born.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:54].)

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06