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, May 1829–A [D&C 11]

Source Note

Revelation, , Susquehanna Co., PA, to , May 1829. Featured version, titled “Chapter X,” typeset [between 1 Nov. and 31 Dec. 1832] for Book of Commandments, 28–30. 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

In May 1829, JS’s older brother, , arrived in , Pennsylvania, to visit JS and , who were engaged in the Book of Mormon. At Hyrum’s “earnest request,” JS “enquired of the Lord through the , and received for him” the revelation featured here.
and other members of JS’s family had long supported JS’s efforts to obtain and translate the . After JS and his wife moved from , New York, to in 1827, the Smith family continued to stay in touch and provide assistance. Early in 1829, and traveled from Manchester to visit JS and Emma in Harmony. During that visit JS dictated a revelation for his father that declared the urgency of the work in which JS was engaged and encouraged others to participate. In mid-May, not long after JS and each other, Samuel made another visit to Harmony, during which he was convinced of the truthfulness of the work and was baptized by Cowdery. JS’s history states that Samuel then “returned to his father’s house greatly glorifying and praising God, being filled with the . Not many days afterwards, my brother Hyrum Smith came to us to enquire concerning these things.” This revelation followed.
Although had been told, “If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work,” the revelation to qualified that message and cautioned him that “you need not suppose you are called to preach until you are called.” He was instructed to wait until his knowledge was deeper and the translation of the plates was completed. The revelation identified its source as Jesus Christ and told Hyrum to put his trust “in that Spirit which leadeth to do good.” The text is similar to the revelations addressing a month earlier, with the first three paragraphs reflecting the initial April 1829 revelation to Cowdery and subsequent paragraphs reiterating themes and phrases from the other instructions Cowdery received.
Although the exact date JS dictated this revelation is unknown, the heading given in the Book of Commandments placed it in May 1829. The time frame can be further narrowed because the revelation originated sometime between 15 May, when JS and baptized each other, and the end of May, when arrived in to help move JS and Cowdery to , New York. Further, JS’s history states that arrived “not many days” after ’s departure and that Samuel was baptized at least “a few days” after 15 May. Given this sequence of events, the revelation was likely dictated in late May but before JS, Cowdery, and Whitmer departed for around 29 May. Hyrum’s arrival late in the month, and JS and Cowdery’s prompt move thereafter, probably account for his not being baptized until after the relocation to Fayette.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 19.

  2. [2]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 11; Knight, Reminiscences, 5. Though JS recalled that Samuel Smith then returned to Palmyra, he likely remained in Harmony until at least 6 April, when he signed and witnessed a land agreement between JS and Isaac Hale. During this time he worked as a farm laborer and briefly served as JS’s scribe. (JS History, vol. A-1, 18–19; Agreement with Isaac Hale, 6 Apr. 1829; Hale, Ledger, 20 Mar. 1829, p. [19]; JS History, ca. Summer 1832, [6].)

    Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.

    Hale, David. Ledger, 1827–1869. David and Ira P. Hale, Papers, 1827–1888. BYU.

  3. [3]

    Revelation, Feb. 1829 [D&C 4].

  4. [4]

    In accounts written in 1834 and 1838–1839, Cowdery and JS respectively described receiving authority to baptize from a resurrected John the Baptist. (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15–16; JS History, vol. A-1, 17–18.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  5. [5]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 19.

  6. [6]

    Revelation, Feb. 1829 [D&C 4:3].

  7. [7]

    Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6:1–9]; see also Revelation, Apr. 1829–B [D&C 8]; and Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9].

  8. [8]

    See JS History, vol. A-1, 17–21. David Whitmer later said that the translation completed at his “father’s occupied about one month, that is from June 1 to July 1, 1829.” The nearly hundred-mile trip to Fayette would have taken roughly three days. (“Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1].)

    Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.

  9. [9]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 18–19. JS’s history reported that Oliver Cowdery baptized Samuel Smith “on the [blank] day of that same month [May].” James Mulholland, JS’s scribe for the history, left this blank space, but it was later filled by the insertion “twenty fifth” in what appears to be the handwriting of Thomas Bullock, who began clerking in JS’s office on 16 June 1844 and was Willard Richards’s main scribe for JS’s history in 1845. Concerning Samuel’s baptism, Lucy Mack Smith wrote that he was baptized the same day as JS and Cowdery. She was not present for Samuel’s baptism, however, and because JS was, the latter’s first-person account takes precedence. If the insertion in the history is correct, this revelation was dictated sometime after 25 May. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [4].)

  10. [10]

    “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; JS History, vol. A-1, 23.

    Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Revelation, May 1829–A [D&C 11], in handwriting of Hyrum Smith *Revelation, May 1829–A [D&C 11] 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 30

convincing of men: but now hold your peace; study my word which hath gone forth among the children of men; and also study my word which shall come forth among the children of men; or that which you are : Yea, until you have obtained all which I shall grant unto the children of men in this generation; and then shall all things be added thereunto.
11 Behold thou art , my son; seek the kingdom of God and all things shall be added according to that which is just. Build upon my Rock, which is my gospel; deny not the Spirit of revelation, nor the Spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things: therefore, treasure up in your hearts until the time which is in my wisdom, that you shall go forth: Behold I speak unto all who have good desires, and have thrust in their sickles to reap.
12 Behold I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God: I am the life and the light of the world: I am the same which came unto my own, and my own received me not: but verily, verily I say unto you, that as many as receiveth me, them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name: Amen. [p. 30]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 30

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, May 1829–A [D&C 11]
ID #
4684
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D1:50–55
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [5]

    Similar affirmation of prophecy and revelation is found repeatedly in the Book of Mormon, which was then being translated. (See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 269, 417, 513 [Alma 17:3; Helaman 4:23; 3 Nephi 29:6].)

  2. [6]

    See John 1:11–12.

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