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Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118]

Source Note

Revelation, , Caldwell Co., MO, 8 July 1838. Featured version copied [probably between Apr. and Sept. 1839], in Brigham Young, Journal, 4 May 1837–28 Mar. 1845, 105–106[b]; handwriting of ; Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.
’s journal for 4 May 1837–28 March 1845 is a pocket-size blank book measuring 5⅝ × 3¾ × ½ inches (14 × 10 × 1 cm). The text block consists of sixty-four leaves. The bound volume contains white pastedowns and two matching flyleaves, which Young inscribed, on each side of the text block. The volume was constructed using a tight-back binding, covered with red textured leather. At some point in the nineteenth century, two archival paper labels were pasted onto the spine of the volume. Young inscribed the volume using a number of media, including graphite and black, brown, and blue ink.
The journal was apparently used to help draft ’s history, which was serially published in the Deseret News starting in January 1858, suggesting the volume likely entered the custody of the Church Historian’s Office sometime before 1858. The journal may have been returned to Young in 1862. The volume was listed in a Historian’s Office inventory in 1878 and has remained in continuous institutional custody since at least that time.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, CHL; and “History of Brigham Young,” Deseret News, 27 Jan. 1858, 369.

    Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Woodruff, Journal, 26 Feb. 1862; “Historian’s Office Catalogue Book March 1858,” [24]; “Index of Records and Journals in the Historian’s Office 1878,” [15], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

Historical Introduction

On Sunday, 8 July 1838, JS dictated five revelations in , Missouri, each of which concerned church leadership or finances; one of these revelations regarded the . The had not been immune to the dissent and disaffiliation that plagued the church in 1837 and 1838. Apostles and renounced the church in December 1837 and were consequently excommunicated by the . In the quarterly conference held 7–8 April 1838, gave a report on the quorum and stated that he could not recommend or . Lyman Johnson, who may have sympathized with his brother Luke, was excommunicated for various transgressions on 13 April 1838. McLellin, who had been troubled with the church and JS for some time, was “found in transgression” in a church trial held 11 May. JS apparently began selecting replacements for disaffected members of the quorum before he departed , Ohio, for Far West on 12 January 1838. For example, and had been designated as replacements for Luke Johnson and Boynton by early January 1838.
Despite the turmoil in the church, most of the apostles remained loyal to JS or repaired their relationships with him, and many were serving missions or were expecting to serve in the near future. Under JS’s direction, apostles and undertook a dramatically successful mission to from June 1837 to May 1838. During the year prior to the dictation of this 8 July 1838 revelation, JS dictated revelations for senior apostles , , and , with each revelation mentioning or implying forthcoming proselytizing assignments. The revelation for Patten directed him to prepare to embark on a mission the following spring and implied that the other apostles would go with him. On 6 July 1838, JS received a letter from Kimball and Hyde reporting on their return from England and the hundreds of new converts they had brought into the church.
Two days later, in a leadership meeting held before the Sunday worship services for “the congregation of the saints,” JS dictated this revelation regarding the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Sunday leadership meeting was probably associated with the quarterly conference held the previous two days. When wrote about the leadership meeting to , he recounted that “Prest. Joseph Smith Jr. and somome others ware assembled togeather to attend to some church business.” In JS’s journal, wrote that the revelation was “given to the Twelve Apostles”; however, Marsh was the only apostle present at the meeting. According to JS’s journal, the meeting included “J smith Jr. , , , T[homas] B, Marsh & G[eorge] W, Robinson,” all of whom held positions of leadership. JS, Rigdon and Hyrum Smith composed the . Partridge was the of , and Morley was the first counselor in the . Carter was the captain general of the , and Avard was the society’s brigadier general. Marsh was the pro tempore of Zion and the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Robinson, the church recorder and clerk as well as the scribe for the First Presidency, was probably present in a clerical capacity.
In JS’s journal, this revelation appears as the first of five revelations dictated on 8 July. JS’s journal entry for 8 July introduces the first three revelations by stating they were read to the congregation that met later that day but does not specify whether the fourth and fifth revelations were read at the same time. The fifth revelation—addressed to , , and —was copied into a letter the First Presidency wrote later in the day to Marks and Whitney. The letter states that the revelation had been “recd. this morning.” The order in which the revelations were copied into JS’s journal suggests that all five revelations were dictated on the morning of 8 July, apparently in the leadership meeting mentioned in the introduction to the first revelation.
In the letter that wrote to , he explained that JS dictated this revelation “when it was thought proper to select those who ware designed of the Lord to fill the places of those of the twelve who had fallen.” As presented in JS’s journal, the revelation was a direct response to the plea to “show unto us thy will O, Lord concerning the Twelve.” The revelation named new apostles—, , , and —to replace those who had been removed, and it also directed all the members of the quorum to prepare for a mission “over the great waters” the following spring. This and the other 8 July revelations were probably transcribed by as JS dictated them.
The text of this 8 July revelation was read aloud in the worship meeting for all church members later in the day. responded to the revelation by calling for a meeting the next day with and the four other members of the quorum who were available in the area. They agreed to contact absent and newly appointed members of the quorum to inform them of their expected mission abroad.
In addition to the copy of the revelation transcribed in JS’s journal, copies were also made by , , and . A comparison of the copies suggests that Young’s version most closely represents the wording of the original revelation; therefore, this version is featured here. Young inscribed the revelation in a book that he intermittently used as a notebook and a journal. Contextual evidence suggests that Young copied the revelation between April 1839 and 12 October 1840. He apparently copied two other documents at the time that he copied the revelation. One of these documents, a 30 March 1839 letter wrote from to Young in indicates Young did not copy the revelation until at least April 1839, after receiving the letter from Hyde. Immediately following the three copied documents, Richards inscribed a page and a half of his own genealogical information. Just below this information, Young recorded a journal entry for 12 October 1840. Because the genealogical information written by Richards included dates from 1839, Richards apparently inscribed it sometime after Young joined him in in April 1840 but no later than 12 October 1840, when Young added the new journal entry. Based on the reception of Hyde’s letter and the inscription of Richards’s genealogical information, it can be determined that Young copied the three documents sometime between April 1839 and 12 October 1840.
Other clues further narrow the likely time of copying to mid-1839. ’s journal entries between 14 September 1839 and September 1840 are inscribed in blue ink or in darker ink than that used for the 8 July revelation, suggesting he copied the revelation prior to 14 September. Additionally, Young used the volume on 14 July 1839 to record at least one person to contact when he arrived in to proselytize, suggesting that during summer 1839, Young was already planning to take his journal with him on his mission. At the time, other apostles, such as , were copying JS revelations and discourses into personal volumes that they intended to bring on their mission. It seems plausible that Young also copied relevant texts while preparing for the overseas mission and that he copied the featured revelation between April and mid-September 1839.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838; John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL.

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

  2. [2]

    Minutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 11 May 1838; see also Porter, “Odyssey of William Earl McLellin,” 321–324.

    Porter, Larry C. “The Odyssey of William Earl McLellin: Man of Diversity, 1806–83.” In The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836, edited by Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, 291–378. Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.

  5. [5]

    John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; see also Hepzibah Richards, Kirtland, OH, to Willard Richards, Bedford, England, 18–19 Jan. 1838, Willard Richards, Papers, CHL; and Quorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 23 Jan. 1838, 40.

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

  6. [6]

    See Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” chap. 6; and Shepard and Marquardt, Lost Apostles, chap. 6.

    Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).

    Shepard, William, and H. Michael Marquardt. Lost Apostles: Forgotten Members of Mormonism’s Original Quorum of Twelve. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2014.

  7. [7]

    See Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, between 22 and 28 May 1838.

  8. [8]

    Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:7, 17]; Revelation, 11 Apr. 1838 [D&C 114:1]; Revelation, 17 Apr. 1838.

  9. [9]

    See Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, between 22 and 28 May 1838.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 8 July 1838; Minute Book 2, 6–7 July 1838.

  11. [11]

    Thomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, to Wilford Woodruff, Vinalhaven, ME, 14 July 1838, Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  12. [12]

    JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.

  13. [13]

    Minutes, 7 Nov. 1837.

  14. [14]

    Reed Peck, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [56], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes (Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838), in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; see also Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 46–47, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; JS, Journal, 7–9 Aug. 1838; and Constitution of the Society of the Daughter of Zion, ca. Late June 1838. Peck also wrote that Avard was “the most busy actor and sharpest tool of the Presidency.” (R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 50–51.)

    Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

  15. [15]

    Minutes, 6 Apr. 1838.

  16. [16]

    Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838.

  17. [17]

    The content of the revelations suggests that Robinson transcribed them in the order they were dictated. For example, a revelation explaining how to raise revenue for the church is immediately followed by a revelation identifying which church officers were to determine how to use the revenue. (See Revelation, 8 July 1838–C [D&C 119]; and Revelation, 8 July 1838–D [D&C 120].)

  18. [18]

    Thomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, to Wilford Woodruff, Vinalhaven, ME, 14 July 1838, Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  19. [19]

    JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.

  20. [20]

    This revelation, as well as other 8 July revelations, may also have been shared with the Saints in Adam-ondi-Ahman when JS, his counselors in the presidency, and Robinson visited the town about two days later. (JS History, vol. B-1, 804; see also JS, Journal, 26 July 1838.)

  21. [21]

    Minutes, Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 61. Within a week, Marsh wrote to Woodruff regarding Woodruff’s appointment.a Decades later, Taylor recounted that a messenger brought him a letter of appointment from the First Presidency.b A notice in the Elders’ Journal requested that Woodruff, Taylor, Richards, and Page “come immediately to Far West, to prepare for a great mission.”c With the exception of Willard Richards, who was proselytizing in England, the newly appointed apostles were ordained and formally joined the quorum by April 1839.d The apostles left on their mission later that year and arrived in England in early 1840.e

    (aThomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, to Wilford Woodruff, Vinalhaven, ME, 14 July 1838, Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL. bTaylor, Succession in the Priesthood, 15. cNotice, Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 62. dMinute Book 2, 19 Dec. 1838; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Apr. 1839; see also Richards, Journal, 14 Apr. 1840. eAllen et al., Men with a Mission, 67–83.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Taylor, John. Succession in the Priesthood: A Discourse by President John Taylor, Delivered at the Priesthood Meeting, Held in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, Friday Evening, October 7th, 1881. [Salt Lake City?], [1881?].

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Allen, James B., Ronald K. Esplin, and David J. Whittaker. Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.

  22. [22]

    Woodruff, “Book of Revelations,” [9]–[10]; Richards, “Pocket Companion,” 3–4.

    Woodruff, Wilford. “Book of Revelations,” ca. 1837–1860. CHL.

    Richards, Willard. “Willard Richards Pocket Companion Written in England,” ca. 1838–1840. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, box 2, fd. 6.

  23. [23]

    Comparisons of the versions of the five 8 July 1838 revelations show that Robinson added introductory phrases and made other slight revisions to polish the texts when he copied them into JS’s journal.

  24. [24]

    The three documents, in the order copied, are a 30 March 1839 letter from Orson Hyde, JS’s 8 July 1838 revelation regarding the Quorum of the Twelve, and JS’s 23 July 1837 revelation for Thomas B. Marsh. All three documents are apparently in the same ink, suggesting they were copied at the same time.

  25. [25]

    Young, Journal, 1837–1845, 12 Oct. 1840.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

  26. [26]

    Young, Journal, 1837–1845, 6 Apr. 1840; Richards, Journal, 9 Apr. 1840.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  27. [27]

    Young, Journal, 1837–1845, 14 July 1839.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

  28. [28]

    See, for example, Discourse, 27 June 1839.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Journal, March–September 1838
*Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118]
History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 105

Revelation given July 8th. 1838 at Caldwell Co Mo
Shew unto us thy will O Lord concerning the —
Ans— Verily thus saith the Lord let a conference be held immediately let the Twelve be organized and let men be appointed to supply the place of those who are fallen let my servant remain for a little season in the Land of to publish my word let the remainder continue to prech from that hour and if they will do this in all lowliness of [p. 105]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118]
ID #
4441
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:175–180
Handwriting on This Page
  • Brigham Young

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Robinson’s version adds “in the presence of J smith Jr. S[idney] Rigdon, H[yrum] smith, E[dward] Partridge I, Morly [Isaac Morley] J[ared] Carter, S[ampson] Avard T[homas] B, Marsh & G[eorge] W, Robinson Making known the will of the Lord concerning the Twelve.” (JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.)

  2. [2]

    TEXT: Young inscribed two dashes, one on top of the other, possibly intending an equal sign.

  3. [3]

    Thomas B. Marsh was the publisher of the church newspaper as well as “sole proprietor of the printing establishment.” A year earlier, JS had dictated a revelation for Marsh directing him to “let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house, for I the Lord have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men.” (Minutes, 21 Apr. 1838; Prospectus for Elders’ Journal, 30 Apr. 1838; Minute Book 2, 23 June 1838; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:6].)

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