Footnotes
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.
Footnotes
Revelation, 1 Dec. 1831 [D&C 71:2].
JS History, vol. A-1, 179.
Revelation, 1 Dec. 1831 [D&C 71:7]; Sidney Rigdon, “To the Public,” Ohio Star (Ravenna), 15 Dec. 1831, [3]; “To the Public,” Ohio Star, 12 Jan. 1832, [3].
Ohio Star. Ravenna. 1830–1854.
JS History, vol. A-1, 179.
JS History, vol. A-1, 179–180. A conference held in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on 25–26 October 1831 appointed 25 January 1832 as the date of the next “General Conference.” (Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.)
Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 314.
Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.
The document appears to be a copy for several reasons. After a revelation was taken down from oral dictation, one or more fair copies were generally made and the copies were kept or distributed. Rigdon wrote “N K. Whitney Kirtland ohio” on the back of this revelation. That this document was marked as being intended for Whitney suggests that it was a copy, not the original. The replacement in the body of the initial inscription of “it is expedient” (a later phrase in the revelation) with “it is practicable” is apparently the correction of a copying error, which also suggests that this document is a copy. Whitney may have received a copy because a December 1831 revelation instructed “the Elders of the church” in Ohio to “render an account of their stewardship unto the Bishop” in Ohio. “Stewardship” in this instance may have encompassed responsibilities to preach. Whatever the reason, elders sent accounts of their missions to Whitney in 1831 and 1832. As is evident from analysis of the Newel K. Whitney Papers at Brigham Young University, Whitney received copies of revelations and other documents as well, perhaps in his role as overseer of church property and resources in Ohio. (See, for example, revelations in Newel K. Whitney Papers, BYU; and Joseph Coe, Report, 7 Mar. 1832, Missionary Reports, 1831–1900, CHL; see also Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–A [D&C 72:5].)
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Missionary Reports, 1831–1900. CHL. MS 6104.
The 25–26 October 1831 conference minutes list approximately thirty individuals as either “those ordained to the Highpriesthood” or as elders. (Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.)
The next conference was held on 25 January in Amherst, Ohio. (Revelation, 25 Jan. 1832–A [D&C 75:1–22]; Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.)
There were many congregations of church members in northeastern Ohio at this time. (See Hyrum Smith, Diary and Account Book, 19 Dec. 1831–27 Jan. 1832; John Smith, Diary, 4–21; and Cahoon, Diary, June–Dec. 1831.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary and Account Book, Nov. 1831–Feb. 1835. Hyrum Smith, Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1.
Cahoon, Reynolds. Diaries, 1831–1832. CHL. MS 1115.
By 20 November, when John Whitmer left Ohio for Missouri, JS’s revision of the Bible was completed at least through Mark 9:1, at which point the handwriting changes from Whitmer’s to Rigdon’s. By 16 February 1832, JS was reviewing John chapter 5. (Whitmer, History, 37–38; New Testament Revision 2, p. 24 [second numbering] [Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 9:1]; Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 67; Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:15].)
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.
See 1 Peter 1:13; and Revelation, 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61:38].