Footnotes
Backman, Heavens Resound, 354–355. The influx of Saints from Kirtland was at least in part the result of a 12 January 1838 revelation directing the First Presidency to move to Far West as soon as possible and for loyal Latter-day Saints to follow. (Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.
See Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3].
“Revelations,” Ensign of Liberty, Aug. 1849, 98–99; see also William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872, typescript, Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, CHL; and Pratt, Autobiography, 65.
Ensign of Liberty. Kirtland, OH. Mar. 1847–Aug. 1849.
McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872. Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, no date. Typescript. CHL. MS 9090. Original at CCLA.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
Beginning with this 26 April revelation, the Scriptory Book appears to have been kept regularly, suggesting that the revelation was inscribed sometime in late April or early May. The revelation was later published in the church’s newspaper at the time, the Elders’ Journal. (JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, pp. 32–38; “An Extract of Revelation,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 52–53.)
This directive followed the precedent set with the design of the temple in Kirtland. In 1833 JS dictated a revelation stating that the Lord would reveal the pattern of the Kirtland temple.a Within a few days, JS and his counselors in the church presidency reported a vision in which they saw a model of the temple.b Soon thereafter, they sent drawings of the model, which they called a “pattern,” to the church in Jackson County to use in building a temple there.c
(aRevelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:14]; see also Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833. bAngell, Autobiography, 14–15; see also Truman Angell, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to John Taylor, 11 Mar. 1885, First Presidency [John Taylor] Correspondence, CHL; and Orson Pratt, in Journal of Discourses, 9 Apr. 1871, 14:273. cLetter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833; Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833; see also Robison, First Mormon Temple, 9.)Angell, Truman O. Autobiography, 1884. CHL. MS 12334. Also available in Archie Leon Brown and Charlene L. Hathaway, 141 Years of Mormon Heritage: Rawsons, Browns, Angells—Pioneers (Oakland, CA: By the authors, 1973), 119–135.
First Presidency (John Taylor). Correspondence, 1877–1887. CHL.
Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1855–1886.
Robison, Elwin C. The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997.
See Revelation, 2 Aug. 1833–A [D&C 97:11].
Earlier revelations directed the church to purchase land not only at Independence and other areas in Jackson County but also “in the adjoining Counties round about.” The Saints may have interpreted these revelations to mean that church members could venture to new settlements outside of Caldwell County.a A committee was created in November 1837 to explore the land northward, searching for locations for additional settlements.b By April 1838, Lyman Wight moved north to Daviess County, and the church was considering settling Saints to the east in De Witt, Carroll County.c This expansion conflicted with the understanding of Missourians in neighboring counties that the Latter-day Saints would confine themselves to Caldwell County.d
(aRevelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:3–6, 14]; Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:71]; Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:28]. bTravel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837; Minute Book 2, 6–7 Dec. 1837; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 21 Jan. 1838. cMinutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838; JS, Journal, 18 May–1 June 1838; Letter from David Thomas, 31 Mar. 1838. dSee LeSueur, “Missouri’s Failed Compromise,” 113–144.)LeSueur, Stephen C. “Missouri’s Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons.” Journal of Mormon History 31, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 113–144.
See Matthew 16:19. JS’s revelations affirmed that God had given him the “keys” of the kingdom. (See, for example, Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:4–5]; Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:12–13]; and Questions and Answers, between ca. 16 and ca. 29 Mar. 1838–A [D&C 113:6].)