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, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82]

Source Note

Revelation,
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Jackson Co., MO, 26 Apr. 1832. Featured version, titled “78 Revelation Independence Jackson County Missori April 26. 1832,” copied [between 26 Apr. and ca. Aug. 1832] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129; handwriting of
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.

Historical Introduction

This revelation was dictated in the second half of the first day of a
council

A gathering of church leaders assembled “for consultation, deliberation and advice”; also a body responsible for governance or administration. As early as 9 February 1831, a revelation instructed that “the Elders & Bishop shall Council together & they shall...

View Glossary
of
high priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
and
elders

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
held 26–27 April 1832 in
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Jackson County, Missouri.
1

For additional information on this council, see Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.


Its contents reflected some of the business transacted by that council, including the resolution of a disagreement between
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
and
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
. The first part of the revelation acknowledged Rigdon and Partridge’s reconciliation, forgave them for the offenses in their earlier conflicts, and required the recipients of the revelation to forgive each other and obey God’s
commandments

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

View Glossary
. The second part of the revelation reiterated the need to organize a governing
firm

An organization that supervised the management of church enterprises and properties from 1832 to 1834. In March and April 1832, revelations directed that the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors be organized. In accordance with this direction, the...

View Glossary
for the church’s business and publishing interests and named the individuals who were to participate in this organization.
2

The first revelation on this subject was dated 1 March 1832. (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78].)


They included five men living in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
(Partridge,
Sidney Gilbert

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

View Full Bio
,
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
,
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
, and
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
) and four living in
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
(JS, Rigdon,
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
, and
Martin Harris

18 May 1783–10 July 1875. Farmer. Born at Easton, Albany Co., New York. Son of Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham. Moved with parents to area of Swift’s landing (later in Palmyra), Ontario Co., New York, 1793. Married first his first cousin Lucy Harris, 27 Mar...

View Full Bio
).
3

Although Jesse Gause was a counselor to JS and accompanied him on this trip, there is no evidence that he was made a member of the firm. This may have been because, unlike the nine listed here, Gause did not already have a role in the management of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 209; and Note, 8 Mar. 1832.)


The revelation indicated that each of these individuals had a
stewardship

One who managed property and goods under the law of consecration; also someone given a specific ecclesiastical responsibility. According to the “Laws of the Church of Christ,” members of the church were to make donations to the bishop, who would record the...

View Glossary
over some aspect of church business and that uniting them in the firm would allow them to draw on each other’s resources to manage these endeavors, thereby producing more “tallents,” or surplus, for the church’s
storehouses

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The book of Malachi directed the house of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

View Glossary
.
The revelation also highlighted the evolving relationship between the church in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, and the church in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. A January 1831 revelation designated Kirtland as a temporary place for members of the church to stay until the Lord identified the location of the
New Jerusalem

The Book of Mormon indicated that, in preparation for Jesus Christ’s second coming, a city should be built on the American continent and called the New Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon further explained that the remnant of the seed of Joseph (understood to be...

View Glossary
.
4

Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38].


Subsequent revelations indicated, however, that the Mormon settlement at Kirtland was not to be quite so short lived. A May 1831 revelation stated that the Lord had consecrated Kirtland “for a little season untill I the Lord shall provide for them otherwise.”
5

Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51:16].


In July 1831, a revelation designated
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
as the “centre place” of
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
, where the church would build the New Jerusalem in preparation for Christ’s second coming,
6

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


but a September 1831 revelation explained that the Lord would still “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland for the space of five years.”
7

Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21].


The 26 April revelation featured here, evoking imagery used in Isaiah 54:2–3, designated Kirtland as a “
stake

Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...

View Glossary
” of Zion, or a place that would support the establishment of Zion.
As the clerk of the 26–27 April council,
Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
likely recorded this revelation as JS dictated it, though the original manuscript is no longer extant. Whitmer likely copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1 shortly after its dictation.
8

The revelation that precedes this in Revelation Book 1 was likely recorded in that volume by Whitmer before he left for Missouri in late 1831. This 26 April revelation begins on a new page and is followed by several revelations given in Kirtland and Hiram, Ohio, which Whitmer presumably entered in Missouri after receiving copies of them from JS in April. (Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 125–127 [D&C 1].)


Sometime later, Whitmer wrote “Not to be published now” on the first page of the manuscript in Revelation Book 1. The second page of the manuscript was crossed out, likely also to indicate the intention not to publish the revelation at that time.
9

Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129.


This is consistent with a similar notation, “Not to be printed at present,” in the manuscript of a 20 July 1831 revelation mandating extensive acquisition of land for
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
in
Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

More Info
.
10

Revelation, 20 July 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 93 [D&C 57].


Church leaders apparently believed that publication of plans for their commercial and real estate ventures could be detrimental to their larger goals. The 26 April revelation was not published in the Book of Commandments, but it was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, with pseudonyms for the names of the elders in the revelation and for the name of the church’s governing business firm, which by 1835 had been discontinued.
11

Doctrine and Covenants 86, 1835 ed. See also “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.”


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For additional information on this council, see Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.

  2. [2]

    The first revelation on this subject was dated 1 March 1832. (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78].)

  3. [3]

    Although Jesse Gause was a counselor to JS and accompanied him on this trip, there is no evidence that he was made a member of the firm. This may have been because, unlike the nine listed here, Gause did not already have a role in the management of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 209; and Note, 8 Mar. 1832.)

  4. [4]

    Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38].

  5. [5]

    Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51:16].

  6. [6]

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

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21].

  8. [8]

    The revelation that precedes this in Revelation Book 1 was likely recorded in that volume by Whitmer before he left for Missouri in late 1831. This 26 April revelation begins on a new page and is followed by several revelations given in Kirtland and Hiram, Ohio, which Whitmer presumably entered in Missouri after receiving copies of them from JS in April. (Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 125–127 [D&C 1].)

  9. [9]

    Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129.

  10. [10]

    Revelation, 20 July 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 93 [D&C 57].

  11. [11]

    Doctrine and Covenants 86, 1835 ed. See also “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.”

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82] 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 129

her
stakes

Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...

View Glossary
must in be strengthened yea I verily I say unto you
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
must arise & put on her beautyful garments
6

See Isaiah 52:1, 54:2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 587 [Moroni 10:31].


Therefore I give unto you this
commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

View Glossary
that ye bind yourselves by this covenant & it shall be done according to the Laws of the Land behold here is wisdom also in in me for your good & your are to be equal or in other words you are to have equal claims on the properties
7

This reiterated a commandment given in a 12 November 1831 revelation. The assets of the firm at its organization were likely not extensive. Whitney and Gilbert both had stores, and Phelps had his printing operation in Independence. Partridge, meanwhile, had bought around twelve hundred acres of land to be used as “inheritances” for the Saints. Eber D. Howe, editor of the Painesville Telegraph and a persistent critic of JS, later observed that by the end of 1831, the church had “a capital stock of ten or fifteen thousand dollars.” However, Howe probably did not have access to such information, and the lack of precision casts doubt on the accuracy of Howe’s estimate. (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:14]; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 Jan. 1832; Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 128–129.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

for the benefits of managing the concerns of your
stewartship

One who managed property and goods under the law of consecration; also someone given a specific ecclesiastical responsibility. According to the “Laws of the Church of Christ,” members of the church were to make donations to the bishop, who would record the...

View Glossary
every man according to his wants & his needs inasmuch as his wants are Just
8

See Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51:3].


& all this for the benefit of the
Church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
of the living God that every man may improve upon his tallents that he may gain other tallents yea even an hundred fold to be cast into the Lords
Storehouse

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The book of Malachi directed the house of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

View Glossary
to become the common property of the whole conduct Churc[h]
9

Those acting as stewards over the revelations were to place any “profits” above “their necessities & their wants” into the storehouse, “& the benefits thereof shall be consecrated unto the inhabtants of Zion & unto their generations.” (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:7–8].)


every man seeking the interest of his neighbour & doing al[l] things with an eye single to the glory of God this
firm

An organization that supervised the management of church enterprises and properties from 1832 to 1834. In March and April 1832, revelations directed that the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors be organized. In accordance with this direction, the...

View Glossary
I have [appointed]
10

John Whitmer later inserted “appointed” here.


to be an everlasting firm unto you & unto your Successor◊
11

TEXT: Possibly “s”, “&”, or an overextended ink mark; line ending obscured by a badly worn edge.


inasmuch as you sin not & the soul that sins against th[e] covenant & holdeth hardeneth his heart against it shall be dealt with according according to the laws of my Church
12

The “Articles and Covenants” of the church stated that “any member of this church of Christ transgressing, or being overtaken in a fault, shall be dealt with according as the scriptures direct, &c.” More specific instructions were given in a 23 February 1831 revelation. (Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:80]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:74–93].)


& shall be delivered over to the buffitings of Satan untill the day of Redemtion
13

The March 1832 revelation directing the organization of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors similarly stated that these entities were to be organized “by an everlasting covinent which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto the buffitings of satan.” (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78:11–12].)


And now verily I say unto you & this is wisdom make unto yourselves friends with the mamon of unrightness
14

See Luke 16:9.


& they will not destroy you leave Judgement alone with me for it is mine & I will repay Peace be with you my blessings continue with you for even yet the kingdom is yours & shall be forever if ye fall not from your Steadfastness even so Amen [p. 129]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 129

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82]
ID #
6753
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:233–237
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Whitmer

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    See Isaiah 52:1, 54:2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 587 [Moroni 10:31].

  2. [7]

    This reiterated a commandment given in a 12 November 1831 revelation. The assets of the firm at its organization were likely not extensive. Whitney and Gilbert both had stores, and Phelps had his printing operation in Independence. Partridge, meanwhile, had bought around twelve hundred acres of land to be used as “inheritances” for the Saints. Eber D. Howe, editor of the Painesville Telegraph and a persistent critic of JS, later observed that by the end of 1831, the church had “a capital stock of ten or fifteen thousand dollars.” However, Howe probably did not have access to such information, and the lack of precision casts doubt on the accuracy of Howe’s estimate. (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:14]; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 Jan. 1832; Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 128–129.)

    Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

  3. [8]

    See Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51:3].

  4. [9]

    Those acting as stewards over the revelations were to place any “profits” above “their necessities & their wants” into the storehouse, “& the benefits thereof shall be consecrated unto the inhabtants of Zion & unto their generations.” (Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:7–8].)

  5. [10]

    John Whitmer later inserted “appointed” here.

  6. [11]

    TEXT: Possibly “s”, “&”, or an overextended ink mark; line ending obscured by a badly worn edge.

  7. [12]

    The “Articles and Covenants” of the church stated that “any member of this church of Christ transgressing, or being overtaken in a fault, shall be dealt with according as the scriptures direct, &c.” More specific instructions were given in a 23 February 1831 revelation. (Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:80]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:74–93].)

  8. [13]

    The March 1832 revelation directing the organization of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors similarly stated that these entities were to be organized “by an everlasting covinent which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto the buffitings of satan.” (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78:11–12].)

  9. [14]

    See Luke 16:9.

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