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Revelation, 3 November 1831 [D&C 133]

Source Note

Revelation, , OH, 3 Nov. 1831. Featured version, titled “72 A Revelation Recd. Nov 3, 1831,” copied [ca. Nov. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 116–121; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.

Historical Introduction

According to a later history, JS dictated this revelation on 3 November 1831 in answer to ’ questions about “the ” and “preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth.” The history indicates that this revelation was dictated following the two-day in , Ohio, which focused on the publication of JS’s revelations in the Book of Commandments. This revelation, which was later designated as the “appendix” to the Book of Commandments, followed the 1 November dictation of the “preface” to that book. The preface placed JS’s revelations in a millenarian context, and this 3 November revelation continued in that millenarian theme. Beginning with a call for the Saints to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ by leaving Babylon and gathering to , the revelation then extended this message to all people. It warned of Christ’s imminent return to the earth in power and glory and of the events that would precede and accompany that return. It also provided an explicit statement that God wanted JS’s revelations to go to the world to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for Christ’s return.
Because two early copies of this revelation bear different dates, there is some uncertainty about the exact date of this revelation. When copied it into Revelation Book 1, likely before leaving for on 20 November 1831, he dated it 3 November. JS’s later history also places this revelation after the 1–2 November conference. However, another copy of the revelation in ’s handwriting was inserted into Revelation Book 1 as a loose copy, bearing the endorsement “s Nov 2 1831” in unidentified handwriting, suggesting it may have been written during the 1–2 November conference, which Johnson attended. Because Rigdon transcribed this copy on loose leaves, it is difficult to determine exactly when the copy was made. It may have been placed into Revelation Book 1 before Whitmer left for Missouri, but it could have been inserted much later as well. Whitmer, on the other hand, likely copied the revelation into the bound book before Whitmer and took the book to Missouri on 20 November 1831. Whitmer’s copy is apparently an earlier transcript than the Rigdon copy and therefore more reliable regarding the date—a conclusion corroborated by the fact that the 1–2 November conference minutes do not mention this revelation, and no other sources confirm its presentation on either 1 or 2 November.
Although the 3 November revelation does not refer to itself as an “appendix,” it may have been dictated specifically to serve as an appendix to JS’s revelations—much like the 1 November revelation was presented as the preface. The copy contains the endorsement “An appendix to Revelation,” suggesting an early designation of the revelation as an appendix. When the revelation was first published in the May 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, explained that it was known as “the close” or “the Appendix,” indicating it had received that designation at least by the spring 1833. According to a later JS history, it was called the appendix because of “its importance, and for distinction.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 166.

  2. [2]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 166; Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.

  3. [3]

    Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1].

  4. [4]

    Whitmer, History, 38.

  5. [5]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 166.

  6. [6]

    Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [5], in JSP, MRB:403 [D&C 133]. The date of the revelation’s dictation is also given as 2 November at another location in this document, although an unknown scribe later changed that date to 3 November.

    Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.

  7. [7]

    See “Proposed Sixth Gathering of the Book of Commandments.”

  8. [8]

    Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1; Whitmer, History, 38.

  9. [9]

    See Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.

  10. [10]

    “Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [1]; Appendix 1: Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [6], in JSP, MRB:405 [D&C 133].

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

    Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.

  11. [11]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 166. The revelation was never published in the Book of Commandments, probably because it was to be one of the last items printed and the printing of the book was halted by violence in Missouri. The revelation was labeled as the appendix in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. (See “Proposed Sixth Gathering of the Book of Commandments;” Doctrine and Covenants 100, 1835 ed., 247–250.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Revelation, 3 November 1831 [D&C 133]
Revelation Book 1 Appendix 1: Revelation, 3 November 1831, Sidney Rigdon Copy [D&C 133] Revelations printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832–June 1833 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836 Revelation, 3 November 1831, as Published in Times and Seasons [D&C 133] History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 116

<​72 A Revelation Recd. Nov 3, 1831​>
Hearken oh ye People of my —— saith the Lord your <​God​> & hear the word of the Lord concerning you the Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple the Lord who shall come down with a curse to Judgement yea upon all the Nations that forget god & upon all the ungodly amongst you for he shall make bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the Nations & all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of their god wherefore prepare ye prepare ye oh ye my People Sanctify yourselves gether ye together oh ye People of my Church upon the Land of all you that have not been commanded to tarry go ye out from Babylon be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord call your & speak often one to another & let every man call upon the name of the Lord yea verily I say unto you again the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you go ye out of Babylon gether ye out from among the nations from the four winds from one end of Heaven to the other send forth the of my Church unto the nations which are afar off unto the ilands of the sea send forth unto foreign lands call upon all nations firstly upon the & then upon the Jews & Behold & Lo this shall be their Cry & the voice of the Lord unto all People go ye forth unto the Land of that the borders of my People may be enlarged & that her may be strengthened that may go forth—unto the regions round about— yea let the cry go forth among all people awake & arise & go forth to meet the Bride-groom Behold & Lo the Bride-groom Cometh— go ye out to meet him prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour let them therefore which are among the gentiles— flee unto Zion & let they which be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem unto the Mountains of the Lords house go ye out from among the Nations even from Babylon [p. 116]
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Page 116

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 3 November 1831 [D&C 133]
ID #
6532
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:114–121
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Whitmer

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    John Whitmer assigned this number to the revelation after recording it in Revelation Book 1.

  2. [2]

    See Malachi 3:1; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 503 [3 Nephi 24:1]; and Revelation, 9 Dec. 1830 [D&C 36:8].

  3. [3]

    See Isaiah 34:5.

  4. [4]

    See Isaiah 52:10; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 182, 188, 488, 498 [Mosiah 12:24; 15:31; 3 Nephi 16:20; 20:35].

  5. [5]

    Although earlier revelations indicated that JS would have the ability “to descern by the spirit those who shall go up unto the land of Zion & those of my Desiples that shall tarry,” and that some would have to wait for “many years” before they could gather, the instructions here seem to direct all who had not specifically been commanded to tarry to go to the land of Zion. (Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:41]; Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:44]; see also Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21–22].)

  6. [6]

    See Isaiah 52:11; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 498 [3 Nephi 20:41]; and Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:42].

  7. [7]

    The phrase “solemn assembly” appears a number of times in the Old Testament, usually referring to a gathering of elders in a spirit of fasting and prayer. (See, for example, Joel 1:14; 2:15.)

  8. [8]

    See Malachi 3:16.

  9. [9]

    See Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27; Zechariah 2:6; and New Testament Revision 1, p. 56b [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 1:37].

    New Testament Revision 1 / “A Translation of the New Testament Translated by the Power of God,” 1831. 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), 153–228.

  10. [10]

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

  11. [11]

    See Matthew 25:6, 13.

  12. [12]

    See Isaiah 2:2–3; Micah 4:1–2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 86 [2 Nephi 12:2–3].

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