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Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18]

Source Note

Revelation, , Seneca Co., NY, to , , and the future twelve disciples, June 1829. Featured version, titled “Chapter XV,” typeset [ca. early 1833] for Book of Commandments, 34–39. copied this revelation [ca. Mar. 1831] into Revelation Book 1, but the pages on which it was copied were removed at some point from that volume and are no longer extant. The version found in the Book of Commandments and featured below is the earliest extant version. For more complete source information, see the source note for the Book of Commandments.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Revelation Book 1, p. [207].

Historical Introduction

JS dictated this revelation in , New York, within the first few days of June 1829. Although the first portion of the revelation is addressed to , the remainder provides direction for Cowdery and jointly, including a call for them to find twelve . The revelation then speaks to an intended future audience for JS’s revelation, addressing these unidentified twelve disciples. Previous revelations had always addressed the individuals directly involved as they or a scribe recorded the words JS dictated.
This revelation opens with an admonition that “rely upon the things which are written,” especially the finished portion of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Just weeks earlier Cowdery had recorded from JS’s of the an account of Jesus Christ choosing twelve disciples and calling them to lead the church that he established. The revelation featured here then describes the duties of twelve leaders yet to be selected, using terminology similar to the Book of Mormon manuscript, including the responsibilities to preach, , and “ and to declare my gospel, according to the power of the which is in you, and according to the callings and gifts of God unto men.” While the Book of Mormon uses both disciples and apostles, distinguishing between the twelve “disciples” in America and the twelve “apostles” in Jerusalem, the terms seem to refer to comparable offices. This revelation uses the term disciple to describe the calling of the twelve, but it is unclear whether in 1829 JS and Cowdery thought of the terms disciple and apostle as interchangeable, as they did later.
It is also not known when and began to search for the twelve disciples or . At a of the church on 26 October 1831, Cowdery informed those in attendance that he had recently been told that the twelve “would be ordained & sent forth from the Land of Zion.” In February 1835, when twelve apostles were called, Cowdery stated that since the time of this revelation in 1829, “our minds have been on a constant stretch to find who these Twelve were.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    In the index to Revelation Book 1, John Whitmer listed this as the second of five revelations that were apparently dictated in June. (The text of these five revelations is not extant in Revelation Book 1.) This revelation was likely dictated after David Whitmer’s baptism, which also occurred in June, and before Oliver Cowdery’s 14 June letter to Hyrum Smith. (Revelation Book 1, p. [207]; JS History, vol. A-1, 23; Oliver Cowdery, Fayette, NY, to Hyrum Smith, 14 June 1829, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 5–6.)

    JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.

  2. [2]

    Later in June Cowdery wrote “Articles of the Church of Christ,” which he labeled “a commandment from God unto Oliver how he should build up his Church & the manner thereof.” It relied upon passages in the Book of Mormon (and especially in the book of Moroni) as a model. (“Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829.)

  3. [3]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 574–575 [Moroni 2–3].

  4. [4]

    A passage in the Book of Mormon specifies “the manner which the disciples, which were called the Elders of the church, ordained priests and teachers.” (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 575 [Moroni 3:1]; see also JS History, vol. A-1, 27.)

  5. [5]

    When JS and Cowdery convened a meeting to select twelve apostles in February 1835, they referred to the proceedings as being a fulfillment of this revelation. Similarly, although the text featured here (from the 1833 Book of Commandments) refers to the calling of “disciples,” the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants describes the purpose of the same revelation as the “calling of twelve apostles,” as does JS’s history begun in 1838. (Minute Book 1, 14 Feb. 1835; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Record, 14 Feb. 1835; Doctrine and Covenants 43, 1835 ed.; JS History, vol. A-1, 27.)

  6. [6]

    Minute Book 2, 25–26 Oct. 1831.

  7. [7]

    Minute Book 1, 14 and 21 Feb. 1835.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18] Book of Commandments, 1833 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] History, circa 1841, draft [Draft 3] History, circa 1841, fair copy “History of Joseph Smith” Doctrine and Covenants, 1844

Page 37

25 Wherefore all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day:
26 Wherefore if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father.
27 And now behold, there are others which are called to declare my gospel, both unto and unto Jew: Yea, even unto :
28 And the twelve shall be my , and they shall take upon them my name:
29 And the twelve are they which shall desire to take upon them my name, with full purpose of heart:
30 And if they desire to take upon them my name, with full purpose of heart, they are called to go into all the world to preach my gospel unto every creature:
31 And they are they which are of me to in my name, according to that which is written; and you have that which is written before you:
32 Wherefore you must perform it according to the words which are written.
33 And now I speak unto the twelve:
34 Behold my grace is sufficient for you: You must walk uprightly before me and sin not.
35 And behold you are they which are ordained of me to ordain priests and teachers to declare my gospel, according to the power of the which is in you, and according to the callings and gifts of God unto men:
36 And I Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it.
37 These words are not of men, nor of man, but of me: [p. 37]
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Page 37

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18]
ID #
4689
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D1:69–74
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [13]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 166–167 [Mosiah 5:7–12]. Oliver Cowdery wrote to Hyrum Smith on 14 June 1829, urging him to “stir up the minds of our friends aganst the time we come unto you that then they may be willing to take upon them the name of Christ for that is the name by which they Shall be called at the Last day and if we Know not the name by which we are called I fear we shall be found on the [left] hand.” The similarity in the language between the revelation and this letter suggests that JS dictated the revelation prior to 14 June 1829. (Oliver Cowdery, Fayette, NY, to Hyrum Smith, 14 June 1829, in JS Letterbook 1, p. 6.)

    JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.

  2. [14]

    Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 485 [3 Nephi 15:11–12].

  3. [15]

    See Mark 16:15; and Matthew 28:19.

  4. [16]

    This is one of the earliest statements in JS’s revelations defining who had the authority to baptize. This passage is also the first extant reference in JS’s revelations to authority outside of angelic or divine authority. (See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 575 [Moroni 3]; compare Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 74, 193, 238, 258 [2 Nephi 6:2; Mosiah 18:18; Alma 6:1; 13:1].)

  5. [17]

    Instructions for performing baptisms are found in Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 478 [3 Nephi 11:23–27].

  6. [18]

    See 2 Corinthians 12:9.

  7. [19]

    This description of the responsibilities of the twelve is similar to instructions given to the twelve Nephite disciples as “the elders of the church” in the Book of Mormon. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 575 [Moroni 3].)

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