Church History
Joseph Smith’s Revelations, Doctrine and Covenants 52

“Doctrine and Covenants 52,” Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers (2020)

“Doctrine and Covenants 52,” Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers

Doctrine and Covenants 52

Revelation, 6 June 1831

Source Note

Revelation, Kirtland Township, OH, 6 June 1831. Featured version, titled “55th. Commandment given at Kirtland June 6th. 1831,” copied [ca. June 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 87–89; handwriting of John Whitmer; CHL. Includes redactions. For more information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1 on the Joseph Smith Papers website.

Historical Introduction

In June 1831 a conference was held in Kirtland, Ohio, which all of the elders of the church had been directed to attend by a February revelation.1 As part of the conference, according to Levi Hancock, many church members gathered on 5 June “on the hill in a field whare there was a larg concours of people collected.” JS addressed the congregation and told them that “from that time the Elders would have large congregations to speak to and they must soon take there departure into the Reagions west.”2 The next day, 6 June, the conference continued, and that night JS dictated the text featured here, later writing that he received it “by an heavenly vision.”3

The revelation declared that the next conference would be held in Missouri and directed the elders to travel to Missouri two by two, by different routes, preaching along the way. Nearly all the men who had been ordained to the “high priesthood” a few days earlier were now called to preach, as were several others.4 The revelation further instructed JS and Sidney Rigdon to leave for Missouri as soon as possible, promising that if they were faithful, the Lord would make known the location in Missouri of “the land of your inheritance.”

55th. Commandment given at Kirtland June 6th. 1831

Directions to the Elders of the Church of Christ &c5

[1]Behold thus saith the Lord unto the Elders whom he hath called & chosen in these last days by the voice of his Spirit [2]saying I the Lord will make known unto you what I will make known that ye sh◊◊ld do from this time untill the next conference which shall be held in Missorie6 upon the land which I will consecrate unto my People which are a remnant of Jacob & those who are heirs according to the covenant7 [3]wherefore verily I say unto you let my Servents Joseph & Sidney [Rigdon] take their Journey as Soon as preperations can be made to leave their homes & Journey to the land of Missorie [4]& in as much as they are faithfull unto me it shall be made known unto them what they shall do [5]& it shall also in as much as they are faithfull be made known unto them the land of your inheritance [6]& in as much as they are not faithfull they shall be cut off even as I will as Seemeth me good [7]& again verily I say unto you let my Servent Lyman (Wight)8 & my Servent John (Corrill) take their Journey speedily [8]& also my Servent John (Murdock) & my Servent Hyram [Hyrum] (Smith) take their Journey unto the Same place by the way of Detroit [9]& let them Journey from thence preaching the word by the way saying none other things than the Prophets & Apostles have written & that which is [p. 87] Taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith[.] [10]let them go two by two & thus let them Preach by [the] way in every congregation Baptizing by water & the laying on the hands by the water side [11]for thus sayeth the lord I will cut my work short in righteousness9 for the days cometh that I will send forth Judgement unto victory10 [12]& let my Servent Lyman be aware for Satan desireth to sift him as Chaff [13]& behold he that is faithfull shall be made ruler over many things [14]& again I will give unto you a Pattern in all things that ye may not be deceived for Satan is abroad in the land & he goeth forth deceiveing the Nations [15]wherefore he that prayeth whose spirit is contrite the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances[.] [16]he that speaketh whose spirit is contrite whose language in is meek & edifieth the Same is of God if he obey mine ordinances [17]& again he that trembeleth under my power shall be made strong & shall bring forth fruits of Praise & wisdom according to the Revelations & truths which I have given you [18]& again he that is overcome & bringeth not forth fruits even according to this Pattern is not of me [19]wherefore by this Pattern ye shall know all the spirits in all cases under the whole Heavens11 [20]& the days have come according to mens faith it shall be done unto them [21]behold this commandment is given unto all the Elders whom I have chosen [22]& again verily I say unto you let my Servents Thomas [B.] (Marsh) & my Servent Ezra (Thayer) take their Journey also preaching the word by the way unto this same land [23]& again let my servent Isaac (Morl[e]y) & my Servent Ezra (Booth) take their Journey also preaching the word by the way to the same land12 [24]let my Servent Edward (Pa[r]tridge)13 & Martin (Harris) take their Journey with my servents Sidney & Joseph [25]let my Servent David (Whitmer) & Harvey Whitlock also take their Journey & preach by the way14 [26]let my Servent Parly (Pratt) [Parley P. Pratt] & Or[s]on (Pratt) also take their Journey & Preach by the way unto this same land [27]& my Servent Solomon (Hancock) & simeon (Carter) also take their Journey to the same land & preach by the way [28]let my Servent Edson (Fuller) & Jacob (Schott [Scott]) also take their Journey [29]let my servent Levi Hancock15 & Zebedee (Coltrin) take their Journey [30]let my Servent Reynolds (Cahoon) [p. 88] & Samuel (Smith) also take their Journey [31]let my Servent Wheeler (Baldwin) & william (Carter) also take their Journey [32]let my Servent Newel Knight & Sealy [Selah] (Griffin) both be ordained16 & also take their Journey [33]yea verily I say unto you let all these take their Journey unto one Place in their Several courses & one man shall not build upon anothers foundation neither Journey in an others tracks [34]he that is faithfull the same shall be kept & blest with much fruit [35]& again I say unto you let my servent Joseph (Wakefield) & Solomon (Hmphrey) [Solomon Humphrey Jr.] take their Journey into the easteren lands [36]& let them labour with their families declaring none other things than the Prophets & Apostles that which they have seen & heard & most shuredly believe that the Prophecies may be fulfilled[.] [37]in consequence of transgression let that which was bestowed upon Heman (Bassett)17 be taken from him & placed upon the head of Simonds Simonds (Rider) [38]& again verily I say unto you let Jared Carter be ordained a Priest18 & also George (James) be ordained a Priest [39]let the residue of the Elders watch over the Churches & declare the word in the regiones among them & let them labour with their own hands that there be no Idolitry nor wickedness practiced [40]& remember in all things the poor & the Needy the Sick & the afflicted for he that doeth not these things is not my deciple these things19 the same is not my Deciple [41]& again let my Servent Joseph & Sidney & Edward take with them a recomend from the Church & let there be one obtained for my Servent Oliver [Cowdery]20 also [42]& thus even as I have said if ye are faithfull ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of your inheritance which is now the land of your enemies [43]but behold I the lord will hasten the City in its time21 & will crown the faithfull with Joy & rejoicing [44]Behold I am Jesus Christ the Son of God & I will lift them up at the last day even so amen

Notes

  1. Revelation, Feb. 1831–B [D&C 44:1–2], herein; see also Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:317.

  2. Hancock, Autobiography, 92.

  3. Hancock, Autobiography, 94; John Smith, Journal, 3–4; JS, “To the Elders of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1835, 1:179.

  4. Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:317.

  5. John Whitmer likely created this heading when he copied the text into Revelation Book 1.

  6. Minute Book 2, 4 Aug. 1831.

  7. See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 501 [3 Nephi 21:22–26]. A September 1830 revelation declared, “The decree hath gone forth from the father that they shall be gethered in unto one place upon the face of this land.” (Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:8], herein.)

  8. John Whitmer apparently added the surnames parenthetically when he copied this revelation into Revelation Book 1.

  9. See Romans 9:28.

  10. See Matthew 12:20.

  11. This “Pattern” provided further guidance in dealing with the persistent problem of what JS deemed unacceptable spiritual phenomena since his arrival in Ohio four months earlier. (See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50], herein; see also Letter to Hyrum Smith, 3–4 Mar. 1831, in JSP, D1:270.)

  12. Ezra Booth later noted that he preached in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri before reaching Independence, Missouri. (Ezra Booth, “Mormonism—No. V,” Ohio Star [Ravenna], 10 Nov. 1831, [3].)

  13. Lydia Clisbee Partridge left an account of the circumstances under which her husband, Edward, received this revelatory injunction. Their children had all contracted the measles from some of the recently arrived New York members who were staying with their family. She wrote that their “eldest daughter was taken down with lung fever, and while she was at the worst, my husband was called by revelation to go with a number of others to Missouri to locate a place for the gathering of the Saints, the unbelievers thought he must be crazy or he would not go. And I thought myself that I had reason to think my trials had commenced, and so [they] had, but this trial like all others was followed with blessings for our daughter recovered.” (Partridge, Genealogical Record, 6.)

  14. On their way to Missouri, Whitmer and Whitlock passed through Paris, Illinois, where William E. McLellin heard them preach. He recorded in his diary that they “expounded the Gospel the plainest I thot that I ever heard.” Whitmer “bore testimony to having seen an Holy Angel who had made known the truth of this record to him.” As a result, McLellin decided to accompany the church elders to Missouri and listen to them preach along the way. Though the men eventually separated in their travels, McLellin went on to Independence, Missouri, where on 20 August he was baptized by JS’s brother Hyrum Smith. (McLellin, Journal, 1, 6–7.)

  15. Hancock later related how he felt after being named in this revelation: “At knight A Revelation came from Joseph to many Elders to go to Missouri and preach by the way Among the rest was my name with Zebed[ee] Coltrin this was a tryal indeed I had not thought of being called upon to go so far I had a little money to be sure left but I spent nearly all for other Elders that I had traveled with I began to think that all I traveled with depended of me for money and I must not look back I had just hired a room and moved my tooles there I had left it nearly filled with furnature and I knew that some people must be disapointed all of these things together with a promis to a young Lady wrought on my mind all manner of impressions but when I would think of the old jack and the man of sin who had bin revealed before us all I found myself harnessed and I said let all other things go I will do as I am told in the Revelation.” (Hancock, Autobiography, 94–95.)

  16. Selah Griffin was listed in a record of ordinations dated 6 June as one of those ordained to the office of elder. Newel Knight had been ordained an elder previously. (Note on Ordinations, ca. 16 June 1831, in JSP, D1:343; Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831, in JSP, D1:317.)

  17. According to Levi Hancock, Heman Bassett had been one of the elders manifesting unusual spiritual gifts prior to Joseph Smith’s arrival in Ohio, including “receving Revilations seeing Angels falling down [and] frothing at the mouth.” Bassett claimed he “had a revelation that he had received in Kirtland from the hand of an Angel he would read it [and] show the Picture of a crown the Angel declared to be gods then would bare testmony of the truth of the work.” His testimony was apparently convincing, as Hancock added that he “beleived it all like a fool” even though Bassett behaved “like a Babbon [baboon].” Perhaps in consequence of the attempt to regulate such perceived excesses following JS’s arrival in Ohio, Bassett apparently became disaffected prior to the conference. On 24 May the Painesville Telegraph carried this notice: “One of the Mormon apostles, named Basset, a copy of whose commission we published some weeks since, which he pretended he obtained from the clouds, with the seal of God, has recently abandoned the Bible speculation, and declares it to be all a miserable hoax.” Notwithstanding this article, Bassett was apparently present at the 3 June conference, and JS rebuked him directly, saying, “Heamon Basset you sit still the Devil wants to sift you.” (Hancock, Autobiography, 79, 91; “Backing Out,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 24 May 1831, [2].)

  18. Jared Carter wrote, “While in Kirkland there was some conversation among some of the Elders as though I had ought to be ordained but I informed them not with standing I felt as though it was my indispensabl duty to preach the gospel that I was unwilling to be ordained unless it was by the consent of all the Elders or it should be made known by Revalation for I had heard that newel knights had said that it was not expediant that I should be ordained but it did appear by revelation that god required that I should be ordained.” (Carter, Journal, 19.)

  19. John Whitmer apparently made an error when copying this revelation into Revelation Book 1. He later crossed out the preceding phrase “is not my deciple these things.”

  20. The purpose for this recommend is uncertain. It is not likely that the usage here refers simply to a license to preach, since several of the elders called to preach by this revelation would also have needed such licenses but were not named for the recommend. Three of those named for the recommend—JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery—were arguably the most prominent leaders in the church at the time. The fourth, Edward Partridge, was the first bishop called in the church. It is possible the recommend mentioned here was designed to satisfy the demands of the federal Indian agent in the territory west of Missouri. In an 8 April 1831 letter, Oliver Cowdery, then in Missouri, explained that “the agent for The Lamanites is very strict with us and we think somewhat strenuous respecting our having liberty to visit our brethren the Lamanites but we trust that when our brother Parly [Parley P. Pratt] returns we shall have a permit from General [William] Clark who is the Superintendent of Indian affairs west of the Missi[ssi]ppi who must have a reccommend or security before he can give a permit for any stranger or foreigner to go among them to teach or preach.” (Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831, in JSP, D1:288; see also License for Edward Partridge, [ca. 4 Aug. 1831–ca. 5 Jan. 1832], JS Collection, CHL.)

  21. See Isaiah 60:22. Likely a reference to the New Jerusalem. (See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:9, 35, 62, 67], herein; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:66], herein; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 501 [3 Nephi 21:23–24].)