Church History
Joseph Smith’s Revelations, Doctrine and Covenants 132

“Doctrine and Covenants 132,” Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers (2020)

“Doctrine and Covenants 132,” Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers

Doctrine and Covenants 132

Revelation, 12 July 1843

Source Note

Revelation, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 12 July 1843. Featured version copied [12 July 1843]; handwriting of Joseph Kingsbury; eight pages; Revelations Collection, CHL. Includes dockets and redactions. For more information, see the source note on the Joseph Smith Papers website.

Historical Introduction

On 12 July 1843, JS dictated a revelation in Nauvoo, Illinois, on eternal and plural marriage. Since the mid-1830s, JS had evidently been teaching some monogamous Latter-day Saint couples that their unions would endure into eternity if they remained faithful.1 Although the origins of plural marriage among the Saints are obscure, later accounts state that JS received a commandment from God sometime in the 1830s to enter into the practice.2 Several Latter-day Saints later reported that JS married one plural wife in the mid-1830s while living in Kirtland, Ohio, and by the early 1840s, he had discreetly introduced the doctrine and practice to a number of trusted women and men in and around Nauvoo. By summer 1843, JS had entered into about twenty-five confidential sealings, or plural unions.3 While evidence of these activities is found in contemporaneous documentation, JS did not commit to paper a revelation outlining the doctrine and practice until dictating the document featured here.4 JS’s first and only publicly recognized wife, Emma Smith, showed marked ambivalence toward her husband’s secret practice of plural marriage, at times rejecting the doctrine and at other times reluctantly accepting it.5 However, by July 1843 the practice had become a major source of distress between them. In hopes of alleviating the tension, JS’s brother Hyrum Smith urged him to dictate a written revelation to persuade Emma of the divine origin of plural marriage.6 The resulting revelation expounded principles behind both plural and eternal marriage.

JS’s teachings on the eternal nature of marriage expanded upon the wider culture’s view of marriage as a civil contract. Christians believed that the resurrection of Jesus Christ assured them an afterlife with eternal rewards. Early Christian theologians debated the nature of relationships in the afterlife, with many claiming that the afterlife would involve reuniting with family members or meeting prominent religious figures.7 By the time of the Reformation, English Protestants began formulating ideas about the nature of society in heaven that included the continuation of family or friend relationships.8 In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Americans increasingly viewed marriage as a union based on love, romance, or passion rather than utility or mutual economic benefit. This new outlook on marriage was reflected in religious beliefs, and individuals anticipated maintaining earthly ties and relationships in the next life.9 JS’s contemporaries increasingly developed a belief in heaven as a place where they would not only glorify God but where they could also continue to love their spouses, family, and friends.10

This rich Christian context, then, offers a backdrop to JS’s teaching that marriage, when performed under priesthood authority, could last into the eternities. In May 1835, William W. Phelps, who was visiting Kirtland, Ohio, wrote to his wife, Sally Waterman Phelps, about this development: “A new idea, sally, If you and I continue faithful to the end, we are certain of being One in the Lord throughout eternity.”11 This new doctrine prompted some church members to consider an eternal perspective—the doctrine not only clarified the eternal duration of the marriage bond but also taught that marriages, when sealed by priesthood authority, could unlock individuals’ eternal potential.12 In April 1843, JS taught that the “same sociality which exists amongst us here will exist among us” in the hereafter.13 But the “sociality” was based upon rituals performed through the priesthood. In May 1843, JS explained that “except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity while in this probation by the power and authority of the Holy priesthood they will cease to increase when they die.”14 He additionally taught that “those who are married by the power & authority of the priesthood in this life” would “continue to increase & have children in the celestial glory.”15 The revelation featured here specified that those entering into this covenant would “pass by the angels and the Gods which are Set there to their exaltation and Glory in all things as hath been Sealed upon their heads which glory Shall be a fullness and a Continuation of the Seeds for ever and ever.”

By the time JS dictated this July 1843 revelation, approximately seven legally married couples had each been sealed for eternity by priesthood authority, with JS serving as officiator in some of the sealings.16 In some instances, men were sealed to plural wives; in other instances, men were sealed by proxy to a deceased first wife as well as to a living wife; and in one case, the sealing of the couple took place following the plural marriage of their daughter.17

Plural marriage ran counter to both social customs and existing laws. Illinois law included an anti-bigamy statute.18 Such laws reflected a general antagonism in Anglo-European society toward polygamy. Christian theologians had long debated the practice of polygamy by the biblical patriarchs, with some, like Martin Luther, defending it as divinely sanctioned.19 Others, such as John Calvin, argued that Abraham had erred in participating in the practice.20 While Americans in JS’s day still debated the legitimacy of polygamy as practiced by Abraham and other ancient patriarchs, a broad cultural consensus against any contemporary practice of plural marriage existed.21

Given the cultural opposition to polygamy, Latter-day Saints who were invited to participate in plural marriage generally required explanation and persuasion before they agreed to do so. Most of this instruction occurred in private conversations that were rarely recorded contemporaneously, although some participants summarized their discussions with JS and others decades later in autobiographies and other reminiscent accounts.22 The authors of these reminiscences recorded that, following these conversations, they sought—and often received—spiritual confirmation that the practice was inspired.23 On rare occasions, however, JS cautiously wrote brief instructions and teachings regarding plural marriage. In a few known instances, JS wrote letters to explain and defend plural marriage. Employing a common letter-writing convention of the time, JS included explicit requests to burn such missives upon reading.24 JS also dictated or wrote blessings and a revelation that obliquely addressed the doctrine and promised eternal rewards for those who entered the practice. In July 1842, he dictated a revelation for Newel K. Whitney, a close confidant and church leader, that provided instructions for the sealing of JS to Whitney’s daughter Sarah Ann. The following March, JS composed two blessings, the first for Sarah Ann and the second for Joseph Kingsbury, who had agreed to be Sarah Ann’s husband in a civil union.25 While the revelation featured here addressed JS’s specific situation with Emma Smith in July 1843, it also reflected these earlier teachings on plural marriage.

According to JS, biblical and divine teachings provided the impetus for the revelation. In June 1844 JS stated that he received the revelation “on enquiry” about Matthew 22:30 in the New Testament, which reads, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”26 The revelation featured here begins by acknowledging questions JS had about the Old Testament practice of polygamy. In addition to citing biblical precedent, the featured revelation foregrounds several theological explanations for the practice, including the ultimate authority of God’s law; the blessings and eternal rewards for those entering into the practice; and the consequences of not following God’s law for those who had it “revealed unto them” but did not obey it.27

Emma Smith struggled with JS’s new marriages in the months leading up to July 1843. Since the beginning of 1843, JS was sealed to at least thirteen additional wives, most of whom were married to him without Emma’s knowledge.28 Although details regarding Emma’s reactions to JS’s practice of plural marriage prior to 1843 are scarce, she evidently came to accept the doctrine, albeit temporarily, by May of that year, on the condition that she could choose the women to whom JS would be sealed. That month, she selected Eliza and Emily Partridge, who were then ages twenty-three and nineteen and living in the Smith household, as potential marriage partners to JS. In fact, JS had already been sealed to the sisters two months earlier. JS and the Partridge sisters sought to avoid confrontation by repeating the marriages, with Emma’s blessing, as if for the first time. Likely during the same month, Emma suggested JS marry Maria and Sarah Lawrence, ages nineteen and sixteen or seventeen, another pair of sisters who were living in the Smith household.29 However, Emily Partridge later testified that Emma became embittered “soon after” the Partridge sisters’ second wedding ceremony.30 By the end of June, JS’s scribe William Clayton noted, Emma was treating JS “coldly & badly” and “was disposed to be revenged on him,” saying “she thought that if he would indulge himself she would too.”31

JS’s late June arrest on charges stemming from the 1838 Missouri conflict and the subsequent habeas corpus proceedings before the Nauvoo Municipal Court delayed a potential reconciliation between JS and Emma until mid-July.32 William Clayton later recalled that on the morning of 12 July, JS and Hyrum Smith came into the “small office upstairs in the rear of the brick store,” and Clayton overheard them discussing plural marriage.33 The brothers’ conversation turned to Emma’s difficulties with the practice. Initially, Hyrum was staunchly opposed to the practice of polygamy, which he had heard of through rumors, but in May 1843 he became both intellectually and spiritually convinced that the doctrine was inspired.34 Believing that Emma could be convinced of the doctrine, Hyrum told JS he could persuade her with the aid of a written revelation. “If you will write the revelation,” Hyrum told JS, “I will take, and read it to Emma, and I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will hereafter have peace.” JS expressed his doubts, to which Hyrum replied, “The doctrine is so plain I can convince any reasonable man or woman of its truth, purity and heavenly origin.”35

Assenting to Hyrum’s urging, JS dictated the revelation that morning to Clayton in JS’s office.36 Clayton recalled that JS dictated the “Revelation on Celestial marriage” over the course of three hours, speaking slowly, “sentence by sentence,” as Clayton wrote. Following the initial creation of the document, he remembered, “Joseph requested me to read it slowly and carefully which I did, and he then pronounced it correct.” According to Clayton, the written revelation was only a portion of what could have been inscribed, but JS explained that “what was written was sufficient for the present.”37 Clayton wrote in his journal that the original revelation comprised ten pages. He also gave his own contemporaneous understanding of the revelation, explaining that it contained “the order of the priesthood,” including “the designs in Moses, Abraham, David and Solomon having many wives & concubines &c.”38

The revelation framed both eternal and plural marriages as contracts ratified by priesthood authority. Unlike civil marriages, sealings performed by priesthood authority did not have to end with the death of either party but could persist into eternity. In addition, the revelation outlined regulations for plural marriages and the rights of first wives. The revelation did not distinguish between types of plural marriages; nevertheless, reminiscent statements of some individuals who were sealed to JS or who otherwise participated in plural marriage in this era suggest that early Latter-day Saints distinguished between sealings for time and eternity—involving relationships in this life and in the next life—and sealings for eternity alone—involving commitments only in the next life.39

Clayton documented in his journal that JS and Hyrum “presented” and read the revelation to Emma.40 The latter part of the revelation contained language directed to Emma, specifying severe consequences if she continued in her resistance to the doctrine and commanding her to forgive JS so that she could be forgiven and so that God could “bless her and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice.” Hyrum’s confidence that he could convince Emma of the doctrine proved misplaced. According to Clayton, Emma “did not believe a word of it and appeared very rebellious.”41 Following the visit to Emma, JS “put the Revelation in his pocket” and left the office.42 Over the next few days, the revelation was read by “several of the authorities” of the church. Clayton remembered that “two or three days” after the dictation of the revelation, JS reported that “Emma had teazed, and urgently entreated him for the privilege of destroying it; that he became so weary of her teazing, and to get rid of her annoyance, he told her she might destroy it, and she had done so, but he had consented to her wish in this matter to pacify her.”43 Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney similarly reported that Emma “burned the original, thinking she had destroyed the only written document upon the subject in existence.”44

Unbeknownst to Emma, a copy of the revelation was made, either the evening of 12 July or the next day, before she destroyed the original.45 After reviewing the revelation, Newel K. Whitney asked JS whether a copy could be made, and JS consented. Joseph Kingsbury—who was Whitney’s former brother-in-law, a clerk in JS’s brick store, and legal husband to Whitney’s daughter Sarah Ann—“carefully copied” the revelation, after which the copy was compared against the original for accuracy.46 As scribe for the original dictation, Clayton affirmed in 1874 that “the copy made by Joseph C. Kingsbury is a true and correct copy of the original in every respect.”47

Four days after he dictated this revelation, JS preached a discourse on “the law of the priesthood” and described eternal marriage without mentioning plural marriage. JS explained “that a man must enter into an everlasting covenant with his wife in this world or he will have no claim on her in the next.” Although he did not explicitly acknowledge the existence of a new written revelation on the subject, he indicated that “he could not reveal the fulness of these things untill the Temple is completed.”48 While the closing lines of the revelation (reading “therefore let this Suffice for the present”) hint at additional instruction, no additional written revelations on the subject are known.49 JS did, however, continue to develop some of the theological reasoning behind sealing, eternal progress, and other doctrine touched on in this revelation.50

After the revelation was inscribed, it circulated privately among a small group of individuals and was used to support the practice of plural marriage. For instance, in August 1843, Hyrum Smith read the revelation to the Nauvoo high council and then elaborated on its content for “about an hour” and testified it was true.51 Later in her life, Mercy Fielding Thompson testified that she not only saw and read the revelation but “had it in [her] possession for quite a little while,” or “four or five days,” after which she returned it to Hyrum Smith.52 Not everyone close to JS immediately saw the copy of the revelation. Willard Richards wrote to Brigham Young and spoke of a “New Revelation,” though he stated that he had “not seen it yet.”53 While knowledge of the revelation and plural marriage remained guarded, JS began teaching the doctrine of eternal marriage publicly. In early January 1844, Jacob Scott wrote to his daughter, Mary, about possibilities he saw as exciting: “Several revelations of good utility & uncommon interest have been lately communicated to Joseph & the Church; … one is that all Marriage contracts or Covenants are to be ‘Everlasting,’ that is … for both Time & Eternity.” Scott continued, explaining that if a man “desires to be married to his deceased wife, a Sister in the Church stands as Proxy or as a representative of the deceased in attending to the marriage ceremony.” Personalizing the news, Scott, who was called to serve a mission in Ireland, told his daughter, “I intend to be married to the wife of my youth before I go.”54

Though the revelation stipulated dire consequences for those who did not obey the law after having it “revealed unto them,” some Latter-day Saint women and men who were introduced to the doctrine of plural marriage delayed entering into the practice, declined specific marriage proposals, or rejected outright the doctrine itself; some of them remained in the church in Nauvoo.55 JS’s own entrance into new plural marriages apparently decreased dramatically after he dictated this revelation—he entered only two new marriages with known dates—though he or others appointed to do so continued to seal other plural and monogamous couples through the end of his life.56

For the remainder of the nineteenth century, the Kingsbury copy of the revelation provided the textual support for Latter-day Saint belief in eternal marriage and the practice of plural marriage. All other extant versions are based on the Kingsbury copy.57 As the earliest extant version of the 12 July 1843 revelation, it is featured here.

Nauvoo July 12th 1843

[1]Verily thus Saith the Lord, unto you my Servent Joseph, that inasmuch as you have enquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I the Lord justified my Servents Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; as also Moses, David and Solomon my Servents as touching the principle and doctrin of their having many wives, and concubines. [2]Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as t[o]uching this matter [3]Therefore prepare thy heart to receive and obay the instructions which I am about to give unto you, for all those, who have this law revealed unto them, must obey the Same, [4]for behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant,58 and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant, and be permitted to enter into my glory;59 [5]for all who will have a blessing at my hands, Shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing and the conditions thereof, as was instituted from before the foundation of the world◊60 [6]and as pertaining, to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory;61 and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and Shall abide the law or he Shall be damned Saith the Lord God.62 [7]And verily I Say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these, all covnants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connexions, associations or expectations that are not made and entered into and Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise63 of him who is anointed both as well for time and for all eternity and that too most holy by Revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed whom I have appointed on the earth to hold the this power (and I have appointed unto my Servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days and there is never but one on the earth at a time, on whom this power and the Keys of this priesthood is confered)64 are of no effect efficacy, virtue or force in and after the resurrection from the dead65 for all contracts that are not made unto this end, have an end when men are dead. [8]Behold, mine house is a house of [p. 1] order Saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.66 [9]Will I accept of an offering, Saith the Lord that is not made in my name [10]or will I receive at your hands, that which I have not appointed, [11]and will I appoint unto you, Saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was? [12]I am the Lord thy God and I Give unto you this commandment that no man Shall Come unto the Father but by me, or by my word,67 which is my law Saith the Lord, [13]and every thing that is in the world, whether in it be ordained of men by thrones, or principalities or powers68 or things of name whatsoever they may be that are not by me or by my word Saith the Lord, Shall be thrown down and Shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, Saith the Lord your God. [14]For whatsoever things remaineth are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me, shall be shaken and destroyed. [15]Therefore if a man marry him a wife, in the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by <my> word; and he covenant with her, So long as he is in the world, and She with him, their covenant and marriage is not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world therefore they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world [16]therefore, when they are out of the world, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are appointed angels in heaven,69 which angels are ministering Servents to minister for those, who are worthy of a far more and an exceding and an eternal weight of Glory,70 [17]for these angels did not abide my law, therefore they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and Singly without exaltation in their Saved Condition to all eternity and from henceforth are not Gods,71 but are angels of God for ever and ever.72

[18]And again verily I Say unto you, if a man Marry a wife and make a covenant with her for time and for all Eternity, if that Covenant is not by me or by my word which is my law and is not Sealed by the Holy Spririt of promise, through him whom I have aniointed and appointed unto this power then it is not Valid, neither of force when they are out of the world [p. [2]] because they are not joined by me Saith the Lord, neither by my word when they are out of the world it cannot be received their there because the angels and the Gods are appointed there, by whom they Cannot pass, they Cannot therefore inherit my glory for my house◊73 is a house of order74 Saith the Lord God, [19]And again verily I Say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word which is my law, and by the new and everlasting Covenant and it is Sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise by him who is anointed unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood and it Shall be Said unto them ye Shall Come forth in the first resurrection and if it be after the first resurrection in the next resurection and Shall inherit thrones Kingdoms principalites and powers dominions all heighth and depths then Shall it be written in the Lambs book of life75 that he Shall Commit no murder whereby to Shed blood innocent blood76 and if ye abide in my Covenant and Commit no murder whereby to Shed innocent blood it Shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my Servent hath put upon them, in time and through all Eternity, and Shall be of full force when they are out of the world and they Shall pass by the angels and the Gods which are Set there to their exaltation and Glory in all things as hath been Sealed upon their heads which glory Shall be a fullness and a Continuation of the Seeds for ever and ever. [20]Then Shall they be Gods, because they have no End. Therefore, Shall they be from everlasting to Everlasting because they Continue Then Shall they be above all because all things are Subject unto them. Then Shall they be Gods because they have all power and the angels are Subject unto them [21]Verily verily, I Say unto you except ye abide my Law ye Cannot attain to this Glory [22]for Strait is the Gate and narrow the way, that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives and few there be that find it77 because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. [23]But if ye Receive me in the world, then Shalt ye know me, and Shall receive your exaltation, that where I am, ye Shall be also. [24]This is Eternal lives to <know> the onley wise and true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath Sent,78 I am he Receive ye therefore my [p. [3]] law. [25]Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths, and many there are that go in thereat79 because they receive me not, neither do they abide my law— [26]Verily verily I Say unto you, if <a> man marry a wife according to my word, and they are Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to my mine appointement, and he or She Shall Commit any Sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies and if they commit no murder, wherein they Shed innocent blood, yet they Shall Come forth in the first resurrection80 and enter into their—81 exaltation, but they Shall be destroyed in in the flesh and Shall be delivered unto the buffetin[g]s of Satan unto the day of redemption,82 Saith the Lord God. [27]The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which Shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world,83 is in that ye Commit murder, wherein ye Shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death,84 after ye have received my new and Everlasting covenant Saith the Lord God and he that abideth not this law can in no wise enter into my glory but Shall be damned Saith the Lord, [28]I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the Law of my Holy priesthood as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was, [29]Abraham receiveth all things,85 whatsoever he received by Revelation and Commandment by my word Saith the Lord, and hath entered in to his exaltation and Setteth upon his throne, [30]Abraham received promises concerning his Seed, and of the fruit of his loins,86 from whose loins ye are viz; my Servant Joseph87 which were to continue So long as they were in the world, and as touching Abraham and his Seed out of the world they Should continue both in the world and out of the wourld Should they Continue as innumerable as the Stars or if ye ware to count the Sand upon the Sea Shore ye Could not number them.88 [31]This promis is yours also because ye are of Abraham,89 and the promise was made unto Abraham and by this law are the Continuation of the works of my Father where in he gloryfieth himself, [32]Go ye therefore and do the works of Abraham,90 enter ye into my law and ye Shall be Saved, [33]But if ye enter not into my law ye Cannot receive the promises of my Father which he made unto [p. [4]] Abraham, [34]God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife.91 and why did She do it? Because this was the law, and from Hagar Sprang many people.92 This Therefore was fulfilling, among other things, the promises [35]Was Abraham therefore under condemnation? Verily I Say unto you nay for I the Lorde Commanded it. [36]Abraham was Commanded to offer his Son Isaac;93 nevertheless it was written thou Shalt not kill,94 Abraham however did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness,95 [37]Abraham received Concubines, and they bare him Children,96 and it was accounted unto him for righteousness because they ware Given unto him. and he abode in my law, as Isaac also,97 and Jacob did none other things, than that which they were commanded98 and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded they have enterd into there exaltation according to the promises, and Set Sit upon thrones; and are not angels but are Gods. [38]David also receiveth received many wives and Concubines99 and as also Solomon100 and Moses101 my Servents; as also many others of my Servents from the begenning of creation untill this time and in nothing did they Sin Save in those things which they received not of me. [39]David<s> wives and Concubines were given unto him of me by the hand of Nathan my Servent and others of the prophets who had the Keys of this power; and in none of these things did he Sin against me Save in the case of Uriah and his wife and therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation and received his portion102 and he Shall not inherit them out of the world for I gave them unto another103 Saith the Lord, [40]I am the Lord, thy God and I gave unto thee my Servent Joseph an appointment and restore all things ask what ye will and it Shall be given unto you according to my word [41]and as ye have asked Concerning adultery, Verily verily I Say unto you if a man receiveth a wife in the new and Everlasting covenant and if She be with another man and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing,104 She hath Committed adultery and Shall be destroyed.105 [42]If She be not in the new and Everlasting Covenant, and She be with another <man> She has Committed adultery; [43]and if her husband be with another woman and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and [p. [5]] hath committed adultery [44]and if She hath not committed adultery but <is> innocent and hath not broken her vow and She knoweth it and I reveal it unto you my Servant Joseph then Shall you have power by the power of my Holy priesthood to take her and give her unto him that hath not Committed adultery but hath been faithful for he Shall be made ruler over many106 [45]for I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood wherein I restore all things and make known unto you all things in due time— [46]And Verily verily I Say unto you, as whatsoever you Seal on Earth Shalt Shall be Sealed in heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth in my name and by my word Saith the Lord it Shall be eternally bound in the heavens;107 and whos<o>ever whosesoever Sins you remit on earth Shall be remitted eternally in the heavens and whosesoever Sins you retain on earth Shall be retained in heaven108

[47]And again Verily I Say, whomsoever you bless I will bless and whomsoever you Curse I will Curse Saith the Lord, for I the Lord am thy God109

[48]And again Verily I Say unto you my Servant Joseph that whatsoever you give on earth and to whomsoever you give any one on earth by my word, and according to my law, it Shall be visited with blessings and not cursings and with my power Saith the Lord, and Shall be without Condemnation on earth and in heaven; [49]for I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world,110 and through all Eternity. For verily I seal upon you your exaltation and prepare a throne for you in the Kingdom of my Father, with Abraham Your Father. [50]Behold I have seen your Sacrifices111 and will forgive all your Sins I have seen your Sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you, Go therefore and I make a way for your escape,112 as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his Son Isaac.113 [51]Verily I Say unto you a commandment I give unto mine handmaid Emma Smith your wife whom I have given unto you, that She Stay herself and partake not of that which I Commanded you to offer unto her, [p. [6]] For I did it Saith the Lord to prove you all as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand by covenant and Sacrifice [52]and let mine handmaid Emma Smith receive all those that have been given unto my Servent Joseph, and who are Virtuous and pure before me; And those who are not pure <and have Said they ware pure> Shall be destroyed saith the Lord God, [53]For I am the Lord thy God and ye Shall obey my Voice; and I give unto my Servent Joseph that he Shall be made ruler over many things for he hath been faithfull over a few things,114 and from henceforth I will Strengthen him, [54]and I command mine handmaid Emma Smith to abide and Cleave unto my Servent Joseph; and to none else, But if She will not abide this Commandment She Shall be destroyed Saith the Lord, for I am the Lord thy God, and will distroy her if She abide not in my law, [55]but if She will not abide this Commandment, there then Shall my Servent Joseph do all things for her even as he hath Said, and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundred fold in this world of futhers, and fathers and mothers brothers and Sisters houses and lands wives and children, and crowns of eternal lifes in the eternal worlds.115 [56]And again Verily I Say unto you let mine handmaid forgive my Servent Joseph his trespases and there than Shall She be forgiven her trespasses wherein she hath trespaseth trespased against me116 and I the Lord thy God will bless her and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice. [57]and again I Say let not my Servant Joseph put his property out of his hands,117 list an enemy come and distroy him for Satan Seeketh to distroy, For I am the Lord thy God, and he is my, Servent and behold and lo, I am with him as I was with Abraham thy Father, even unto his exaltation and Glory, [58]Now as t[o]uching the law of the priesthood118 there are many things perta<n>ing thereunto. [59]Verily if a man be Called of my Father as was aaron119 by mine own Voice and by the voice of him that Sent me, and I have endowed him with the Keys of the power of the this priesthood if he do any thing in my name [p. [7]] and according to my law and by my word. he will not Commit Sin120 and I will justify him, [60]Let no one therefore Set on my servant Joseph for I will justify him for he Shall do the sacrifices which I require at his hands, for his transgressions Saith the Lord your God121 [61]& again, as pertaining to the Law of the priesthood if any man espouse a virgin, & desire to espouse another & the first give her ◊o◊sen◊122 & if he espous◊ [espouse]123 the secon◊ [second]124 & they are virgins & have vowed to no other man, then is he justified, he Cannot Commit adultery for they are given unto him for he Cannot Commit adultery with that, that belongeth unto him & to none else [62]& if he have ten virgins given <unto> him by thee this this Law, he Cannot Commit adultery for they belong to him, & they are given unto him therefore, <is he justified> [63]But if one or either of the ten Virgins, after She is espoused Shall be with another man She has Committed adultery & Shall be distroyed for they are given unto him to multiply & replenish the Earth according to my Commandment125 & to fulfill the promise which was given by my father before the foundation of the world & for thine exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may have <bear> the Souls of men, for herein is the work of my father Continued that he may be Glorified— [64]And again verily verily I Say unto you if any man have a wife who holds the Keys of this power & he teaches unto h◊r her the Law of my priesthood as pertaining to these things, they then Shall She believe & administer unto him or She Shall be distroyed Saith the Lord your God, for I will distroy her for I will magnify my name upon all those these who receive & abide in my law [65]Therefore if it Shall be lawful in me if She receive not this law for him to receive all things whatsoever. I the lord his God will give unto him because She did not believe & administer unto him according to my word, & She then becomes the transgresser & he is exempt from the law of Sarah who adminesterd unto Abraham according to the law, when I Commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife126 [66]& now as pertain[in]g to this law Verily verily I Say unto you I will reveal more unto you hereafter, therefore let this Suffice for the present Behold I am Alpha & Omiga Amen127 [p. [8]]

Notes

  1. See, for example, William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.

  2. See Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Statement, 8 Feb. 1902, 1, Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner Family Collection, CHL; William W. Phelps to Brigham Young, 12 Aug. 1861, Revelations Collection, CHL; and Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, pp. [23]–[24], Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL.

  3. See Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 2:323–336; and Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 4–7. Because not all sealing dates are known, it is likely that before summer 1843, JS married other women who are not in this tally.

  4. William Clayton, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Madison Scott, 11 Nov. 1871, [1]–[2], copy; William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [2]–[3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL. JS may have received revelation on plural marriage in the early 1830s. Joseph B. Noble, an early believer in plural marriage, recollected that JS said he received such a revelation while working on his revision, or “translation,” of the Bible between 1830 and 1833. In addition, William W. Phelps later recalled that JS gave a “long revelation” in 1831—which Phelps reconstructed from memory in the 1860s—that may have encouraged plural marriage between white Latter-day Saints and Native peoples in Indian territory. Evidence exists that JS introduced plural marriage as a divinely sanctioned practice well before 1843, but no written revelation predating 1843 on the subject has been located. JS and Emma Smith’s nephew Joseph F. Smith later commented that “had it [the revelation] been then written with a view to its going out as a doctrine of the church, it would have been presented in a somewhat different form. There are personalities contained in a part of it which are not relevant to the principle itself, but rather to the circumstances which necessitated its being written at that time.” (“Plural Marriage,” Historical Record, May 1887, 6:232–233; Council of Fifty, Minutes, 27 Feb. 1845, in JSP, CFM:533; William W. Phelps to Brigham Young, 12 Aug. 1861, Revelations Collection, CHL; Joseph F. Smith, in Journal of Discourses, 7 July 1878, 20:29; see also “Report of Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith,” Millennial Star, 16 Dec. 1878, 40:788; and Orson Pratt, in Journal of Discourses, 7 Oct. 1869, 13:193.)

  5. See, for example, Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; and Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, pp. 350–351, questions 21, 24, 31, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL.

  6. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  7. McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, 60–61, 155–156; Smith, Heaven in the American Imagination, 77–84.

  8. Marshall, “Company of Heaven,” 311–333.

  9. Holifield, Theology in America, 213; see also McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, chaps. 4, 8.

  10. McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, chap. 8.

  11. William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU; see also William W. Phelps, [Kirtland, OH], to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16 Sept. 1835, private possession, copy at CHL; William W. Phelps, “Letter No. 8,” Messenger and Advocate, June 1835, 1:130; Pratt, Autobiography, 329–330; and Letter to Emma Smith, 16 Aug. 1842, in JSP, D10:406.

  12. Flake, “Development of Early Latter-day Saint Marriage Rites,” 78–79. For a broad history of marriage during JS’s time, see Cott, Public Vows, chaps. 2–3.

  13. Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  14. Instruction, 16 May 1843in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  15. Instruction, 16 May 1843 in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).; see also Discourse, 21 May 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  16. Bergera, “Earliest Eternal Sealings,” 55; Clayton, Journal, 22 July 1843.

  17. Bergera, “Earliest Eternal Sealings,” 55; Revelation, 27 July 1842, in JSP, D10:313–314; Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  18. An Act Relative to Criminal Jurisprudence [26 Feb. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 220–221, sec. 121. For more information on Illinois’ anti-bigamy statute, see Bradshaw, “Defining Adultery,” 424n57.

  19. Martin Luther, “The Estate of Marriage” [1522], in Brandt, Luther’s Works, 24.

  20. Witte and Kingdon, Sex, Marriage, and Family, 223–224; Thompson, “Immoralities of the Patriarchs,” 9–46; see also Pearsall, Polygamy, 86–91.

  21. Cott, Public Vows, 22–23; Pearsall, Polygamy, 86–91.

  22. JS’s scribe Willard Richards recorded cryptic shorthand references to plural sealings in JS’s journal, and his scribe William Clayton captured in his own journal private conversations on the subject with JS. Otherwise, individuals most often waited decades before writing their memories of JS’s private teachings on plural marriage. (See JS, Journal, 12 June 1843, in JSP, J3:35–36; Clayton, Journal, 13 and 26 July 1843; “Lucy W[alker] Kimball’s Testimony,” Historical Record, May 1887, 6:229–230; Johnson, “Life Review,” 90–93; and Almera Woodward Johnson Barton, Affidavit, Iron Co., Utah Territory, 1 Aug. 1883, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.)

  23. See, for example, Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, “Remarks,” Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 14 Apr. 1905, signed typescript, CHL; and “Lucy W[alker] Kimball’s Testimony,” Historical Record, May 1887, 6:229–230.

  24. See Appendix: Letter to Nancy Rigdon, ca. Mid-Apr. 1842, in JSP, D9:413–418; Decker, Epistolary Practices, 25, 53; Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842, in JSP, D10:439; Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, p. 350, question 22, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; “Depositions on Polygamy,” Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Mar. 1892, [2]; and Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Philadelphia, PA, 27 June 1843, Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.

  25. Revelation, 27 July 1842, in JSP, D10:313–314; Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming). The purpose of this civil marriage is unknown; Kingsbury later noted that the marriage was “pretend” and that it was intended to bring about “the purposes of God.” (Kingsbury, Autobiography, 13.)

  26. Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 10 June 1844, 25; see also Luke 20:35. Only days after dictating the revelation in July, JS gave a sermon that addressed Luke 20:35: “Those who keep no eternal Law in this life or make no eternal contract are single & alone in the eternal world … and are only made Angels to minister to those who shall be heirs of Salvation never becoming Sons of God having never kept the Law of God.” (Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).)

  27. See Appendix: Letter to Nancy Rigdon, ca. Mid-Apr. 1842, in JSP, D9:416–418; Revelation, 27 July 1842, in JSP, D10:313–314; Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); and Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  28. These thirteen women were Ruth Vose Sayers (sealed February 1843), Emily Partridge (4 March 1843), Eliza Partridge (8 March 1843), Lucy Walker (1 May 1843), Elvira Cowles Holmes (1 June 1843), Rhoda Richards (12 June 1843), Desdemona Wadsworth Fullmer (July 1843), Flora Woodworth (spring 1843), Almera Woodward Johnson Prescott (April 1843), Helen Mar Kimball (May 1843), Maria Lawrence (May 1843), Sarah Lawrence (May 1843), and Olive Frost (summer 1843). (Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 4–7; Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 2:327, 331–337; Eliza Maria Partridge Lyman, Affidavit, Millard Co., Utah Territory, 1 July 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 2:32.)

  29. Young, Diary and Reminiscences, 1–3; Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, pp. 350–351, questions 21, 24, 31, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; Lucy Walker Kimball, “Brief Biographical Sketch,” 13; and Benjamin F. Johnson, Mesa, Arizona Territory, to Joseph F. Smith, 9 Mar. 1904, in “More Testimony,” Deseret Evening News [Salt Lake City], 12 Apr. 1904, 4. Sarah was born on 13 May 1826, making her exact age unknown for a sealing in May 1843. (Temple Records Index Bureau, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 109.)

  30. Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, p. 366, question 350, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; see also Young, Diary and Reminiscences, 2.

  31. Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843. In this journal entry, Clayton used a symbol to represent Emma’s name. (See Clayton, Journal, 16 Aug. 1843; and inside back cover of the same journal.)

  32. See Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 24 June 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); and Historical Introduction to Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843,in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  33. William Clayton, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Madison Scott, 11 Nov. 1871, [1]–[2], copy; William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL. Clayton was prompted to talk about his experience partly because officials of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in the 1860s and 1870s, denied that JS had ever practiced plural marriage and insisted the practice began with Brigham Young.

  34. See William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; Brigham Young, Discourse, 8 Oct. 1866, 3–6, Church History Department, Publications Division, Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, CHL, as transcribed by LaJean Purcell Carruth; JS, Journal, 26 and 29 May 1843, in JSP, J3:23, 25–26; and Clayton, Journal, 26 May 1843. After accepting plural marriage in May, Hyrum was sealed to both his deceased first wife, Jerusha Barden Smith, and his second wife, Mary Fielding Smith, then living. (“Reminiscence of Mercy Rachel Fielding Thompson,” quoted in Madsen, In Their Own Words, 194–195; see also Mercy Fielding Thompson, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 19 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:34.)

  35. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  36. Clayton accepted plural marriage after receiving JS’s instruction in early 1843 “that the doctrine and principle was right in the sight of our Heavenly Father, and that it was a doctrine which pertained to Celestial order and glory.” On 27 April 1843, Clayton married a second wife, Margaret Moon, sister to his first wife, Ruth. (William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [2]–[3], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 27 Apr. 1843.)

  37. William Clayton, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Madison Scott, 11 Nov. 1871, [2], copy; William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  38. Clayton, Journal, 12 July 1843.

  39. See, for example, Mercy Fielding Thompson, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], to Joseph Smith III, Lamoni, IA, ca. 5 Sept. 1883, copy, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL.

  40. Clayton, Journal, 12 July 1843. According to Clayton’s later affidavit, Hyrum alone went to Emma Smith, while “Joseph remained with me in the office until Hyrum returned.” (William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.)

  41. Clayton, Journal, 12 July 1843; see also William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL. According to William Law, Emma Smith, at an unknown time, complained to him about the revelation: “She said once: ‘The revelation says I must submit or be destroyed. Well, I guess I have to submit.’” (“Dr. Wyl and Dr. Wm. Law,” Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 31 July 1887, [6], italics in original.)

  42. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  43. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; see also Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 9 Aug. 1874, 17:159.

  44. [Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney], “A Leaf from an Autobiography,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Dec. 1878, 7:105.

  45. In one account, William Clayton recalled that “the same night a copy was taken by Bishop Whitney, which copy is now here, and which I know and testify is correct.” In another document, Clayton stated that “towards evening Bishop Newel K. Whitney asked Joseph if he had any objections to his taking a copy of the revelation; Joseph replied that he had not, and handed it to him. It was carefully copied the following day by Joseph C. Kingsbury.” Joseph Kingsbury, who was not present when the original was recorded, assumed that it was “not more than one or two days after it was given that [he] copied it.” (William Clayton, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Madison Scott, 11 Nov. 1871, [2], copy; William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; Joseph Kingsbury, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 17 Mar. 1892, p. 178, question 22, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. [C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894], typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; see also Joseph Kingsbury, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 22 May 1886, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.)

  46. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy; Joseph Kingsbury, Affidavit, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 22 May 1886, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; Joseph Kingsbury, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 17 Mar. 1892, p. 178, question 19, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL. Joseph Kingsbury married Sarah Ann Whitney in a civil union, though both parties were aware that Sarah Ann had previously married JS as a plural wife. (See Historical Introduction to Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).)

  47. William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4]–[5], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  48. Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).

  49. See William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  50. See, for example, the JS Discourse found in Coray and Coray, Notebook, verso, [13 Aug. 1843], [30]–[35]; and Clayton, Journal, 15 Sept. 1843.

  51. Jane Silverthorn Law and William Law, Affidavits, Hancock Co., IL, 4 May 1844, in Nauvoo (IL) Expositor, 7 June 1844, [2]; David Fullmer, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 15 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:27; Thomas Grover, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 6 July 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:42; see also William Clayton, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 16 Feb. 1874, [4], copy, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.

  52. Mercy Fielding Thompson, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 18 Mar. 1892, p. 240, question 33; p. 250, questions 240, 244, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL. Mercy and Hyrum Smith were married in August 1843. (Mercy Fielding Thompson, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 19 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:34.)

  53. Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, New York City, NY, between 23 and 28 Aug. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

  54. Jacob Scott, Nauvoo, IL, to Mary Scott Warnock, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, 5 Jan. 1844, CCLA, underlining in original. He continued the letter by apparently alluding to the July 1843 revelation featured here: “Other revelations intimately connected with this momentous dispensation and which are almost ready to unfold themselves to us, I cannot communicate to you at present.”

  55. See George A. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Joseph Smith III, 9 Oct. 1869, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 2, p. 892; “Sarah M. Kimball’s Testimony,” Historical Record, July 1887, 6:232; Austin Cowles, Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 4 May 1844, in Nauvoo (IL) Expositor, 7 June 1844, [2]; and Cox, Journal Entry, 12 Sept. 1890, typescript, CHL.

  56. Bergera, “Identifying the Earliest Mormon Polygamists,” 52–74; Bergera, “Earliest Eternal Sealings,” 55.

  57. Willard Richards made a copy of the Kingsbury version, likely before leaving Nauvoo in 1846 but certainly before 1854, when he died. Horace Whitney also made two copies, both in 1847. With the Kingsbury copy as the source text, the revelation was first published in an extra to the Deseret News on 14 September 1852, following the public announcement of plural marriage by church leaders. Later editing for this later publication makes some of the original punctuation difficult to properly identify. The 12 July 1843 revelation was added to the Doctrine and Covenants as section 132 in 1876. (“Revelation Given to JS,” 12 July 1843, Willard Richards copy, Revelations Collection, CHL; Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney copy, CHL; Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney partial copy, CHL; Whitney, Journal, 14 Mar. 1847; “A Special Conference of the Elders of the Church,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], Extra, 14 Sept. 1852, 14–15, 25–27; Woodford, “Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants,” 3:1741.)

  58. The phrase new and everlasting covenant was initially used to describe the covenant made when a person was baptized into the church. Four days after JS dictated this revelation, he delivered a discourse drawing in part on the revelation. William Clayton’s notes on the discourse use the term “everlasting covenant” to describe an eternal relationship between a husband and wife. (Revelation, 16 Apr. 1830, in JSP, D1:138 [D&C 22:1], herein; “Highly Interesting from Jerusalem,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1842, 3:805; Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).)

  59. In March 1843, JS wrote a blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, to whom he had been sealed, promising her “a diadem of glory in the Eternal worlds” if she were to “remain in the Everlasting covenant to the end.” (Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); see also Revelation, 27 July 1842, in JSP, D10:308–314.)

  60. In April 1843, JS instructed members of the church about “a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming) [D&C 130:20–21], herein; see also John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; and 1 Peter 1:20.)

  61. In 1832, JS and Sidney Rigdon composed an account of their vision of three levels of heaven. The highest level, the “celestial” glory, was reserved for those who received “of his fulniss and of his glory.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, in JSP, D2:188 [D&C 76:56, 70], herein.)

  62. When introducing plural marriage to women, JS apparently explained both the positive eternal consequences of entering into that practice and the negative consequences of rejecting it. For instance, Lucy Walker later recalled that after JS introduced the principle to her in 1842, her “astonishment knew no bounds.” JS asked Walker if she believed him to be a prophet and then explained that the principle “would prove an everlasting blessing to my father’s house. and form a chain that could never be broken, worlds without End.” After a time, Walker was still hesitant, and JS told her she had until the next day to accept or reject his offer. He warned her, “If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.” The next morning, Walker recounted, she “received a powerful and irristable testimony of the truth of the mariage Covenant called ‘Celestial or plural mariage.’” Apostle Heber C. Kimball told his daughter Helen Mar Kimball that plural marriage to JS would ensure her “eternal salvation & exaltation and that of your fathers’ household & all of your kindred.” Helen recalled that “this promise was so great that I willingly gave myself to purchase so glorious a reward.” (Lucy Walker Kimball, “Brief Biographical Sketch,” 10–12; Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Autobiography, [1]–[2].)

  63. As recorded in Ephesians 1:13, the apostle Paul taught that after hearing the gospel, believers would be “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” JS’s early revelations used this phrase to describe those who had obtained eternal reward. A January 1841 revelation explained that the Holy Spirit of Promise was connected to “the sealing blessings.” In mid-1843, JS began teaching that in order for covenants, particularly marriage covenants, to persist beyond death, they needed to be made “by the power and authority of the Holy priesthood” and to “be made in view of Eternity.” The 12 July 1843 revelation featured here indicated that the “Holy Spirit of promise” was the agent that sealed covenants for eternity. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841, in JSP, D7:527 [D&C 124:124], herein; Instruction, 16 May 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); see also Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, in JSP, D2:188 [D&C 76:53], herein; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832, in JSP, D2:337 [D&C 88:3], herein.)

  64. Less than a month before this revelation was dictated, Hyrum Smith sealed Parley P. Pratt to his wife, Mary Ann Frost Pratt, without authorization from JS. Upon finding out about this sealing, JS criticized Hyrum and reaffirmed his sole authority to perform or to grant authority to others to perform such sealings. Following the dictation of this revelation and with JS’s approval, Hyrum Smith sealed Pratt to his deceased first wife, Thankful Halsey Pratt; his second wife, Mary Ann; and a third wife, Elizabeth Brotherton. Since 1832, JS had dictated revelations that identified himself as the person holding the “keys of the Kingdom.” (Givens and Grow, Parley P. Pratt, 204–205; Mary Ann Frost Pratt, Life Sketch of Olive Frost, ca. May 1887, in “Miscellaneous,” Historical Record, May 1887, 6:234–235; Revelation, 15 Mar. 1832, in JSP, D2:208 [D&C 81:2], herein.)

  65. JS sometimes connected the resurrection of the dead with relationships in the eternities. In March 1843, for instance, JS sealed Joseph Kingsbury to his deceased wife, Caroline Whitney Kingsbury, and stated that the couple would “come forth in the first Reserection unto Eternal lives.” (Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).)

  66. See 2 Samuel 23:5; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832, in JSP, D2:345 [D&C 88:119], herein.

  67. See John 14:6.

  68. See Colossians 1:16.

  69. See Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; and Luke 20:35–36.

  70. See Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831, in JSP, D2:55 [D&C 63:66], herein.

  71. In 1832, JS and Sidney Rigdon described individuals who would inherit the highest degree of glory in the afterlife as “Gods even the sons of God.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, in JSP, D2:188 [D&C 76:58], herein.)

  72. On 16 July 1843, JS taught a gathering of church members that “those who keep no eternal Law in this life or make no eternal contract are single & alone in the eternal world (Luke 20–35) and are only made Angels to minister to those who shall be heirs of Salvation never becoming Sons of God having never kept the Law of God ie eternal Law.” This teaching generalized earlier teachings that differentiated between angels, ministering spirits, and translated bodies. (Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); see also Discourse, 3 Oct. 1841, in JSP, D8:301; and Instruction, 9 Feb. 1843, in JSP, D11:403 [D&C 129:1–9], herein.)

  73. TEXT: “◊” possibly an extra “e”.

  74. See 2 Samuel 23:5; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832, in JSP, D2:345 [D&C 88:119], herein.

  75. See Revelation 21:27.

  76. See Deuteronomy 19:10.

  77. See Matthew 7:14.

  78. See John 17:3.

  79. See Matthew 7:13.

  80. See Revelation 20:5–6.

  81. TEXT: “—” possibly extension of the “r” in “their”.

  82. See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832, in JSP, D2:199 [D&C 78:12], herein.

  83. See Matthew 12:31; and Mark 3:28–29.

  84. In April 1844, JS delivered a discourse clarifying this concept: “All sins shall be forgiven except the sin against the Holy Ghost. … When a man begins to be an enemy, he hunts me. They seek to kill me; they thirst for my blood; they never cease. He has the same spirit that they had who crucified the Lord of Life: the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot bring them to repentance.” (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1844, 5:616.)

  85. On 27 August 1843, JS taught that “the everlasting covenant could not be broken, and by the sacrifice required of Abraham the fact that when God offers a blessing or knowledge to a man and he refuses to receive it he will be damned.” (Clayton, Journal, 27 Aug. 1843.)

  86. See Genesis 13:16; and Acts 2:30. A month after JS dictated this revelation, he gave a discourse in which he taught that a man wishing “to be embraced in the covena[n]t of Abraham” should be “sealed unto the throne, & doctrine of Electi[o]n sealing the father & childrn together.” In another account of the same discourse, JS stated that “a measure of this sealing is to confirm upon their head in common with Elijah the doctrine of Election or the covenant with Abraham— which when a Father & Mother of a family have entered into their children who have not transgressed are secured by the seal wherewith the Parents have been sealed— And this is the Oath of God unto our Father Abraham and this doctrine shall stand forever.” (JS, Journal, 13 Aug. 1843, in JSP, J3:77; Coray and Coray, Notebook, verso, [13 Aug. 1843], [34]–[35].)

  87. See Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 66–67 [2 Nephi 3:11–15].

  88. See Genesis 22:17; 26:3–4; and Book of Abraham Excerpt and Facsimile 2, 15 Mar. 1842, in JSP, D9:257 [Abraham 3:14].

  89. See Galatians 3:29.

  90. See John 8:39.

  91. See Genesis 16:1–4.

  92. See Genesis 25:12.

  93. See Genesis 22:2.

  94. See Exodus 20:13. An 1842 letter to Nancy Rigdon reportedly from JS explained that commandments from God were dependent upon the “circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed,” giving as an example that “God said thou shalt not kill,— at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy.” (Appendix: Letter to Nancy Rigdon, ca. Mid-Apr. 1842, in JSP, D9:417, italics in original.)

  95. See Genesis 22:12; and Galatians 3:6.

  96. Genesis 25:6 refers generally to Abraham’s unnamed “concubines” who bore his children. Only Abraham’s wife Keturah was identified in the Bible by name as a concubine; she bore six sons. (See Genesis 25:1–2; and 1 Chronicles 1:32.)

  97. No Bible passage mentions Isaac practicing polygamy.

  98. Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel, as well as two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah. (See Genesis 29:23, 28; 30:4, 9.)

  99. See, for example, 2 Samuel 5:13, which states that “David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem.”

  100. See 1 Kings 11:3.

  101. Exodus 2:21 indicates that Moses married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. Numbers 12:1 records that Moses married an unnamed “Ethiopian woman,” possibly referring to Zipporah or to an unidentified additional wife or concubine. (See also Clarke, Holy Bible [1834 ed.], 1:406.)

  102. TEXT: Possibly “portions”.

  103. In the book of 2 Samuel, the prophet Nathan chastised David, saying that he “gave” David his “master’s [Saul’s] wives” and that having Uriah the Hittite killed and marrying Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, were grave sins, for which the Lord would punish David by taking “thy wives before thine eyes,” and giving “them unto thy neighbour.” In 1841, JS taught that David was not yet resurrected “because he had been a murderer. … For such characters cannot be forgiven, until they have paid the last farthing.” (2 Samuel 12:8–11; Discourse, 16 May 1841, in JSP, D8:151.)

  104. In JS’s journal, sealings were at times associated with ordinances of anointing husband and wife. (See JS, Journal, 28 Sept. and 22 Oct. 1843, in JSP, J3:104, 118; and “Nauvoo Journals, May 1843–June 1844,” in JSP, J3:xx–xxi.)

  105. See Proverbs 6:32; and Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in JSP, D1:251 [D&C 42:24], herein. In November 1843, JS taught members of the Nauvoo high council that “if any man commit adultery He could not receive the celestial Kingdom of God even if he was saved in any Kingdom.” (Woodruff, Journal, 25 Nov. 1843; see also Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843.)

  106. See Matthew 25:21, 23.

  107. See Matthew 16:19; 18:18. In a September 1842 epistle to the church, JS explained that “it may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of; a power which records, or binds on earth, and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world whenever the Lord has given a dispensatin of the priesthood to any man, by actual Revelation or any set of men this power has always been given.” (Letter to the Church, 7 Sept. 1842, in JSP, J2:147 [D&C 128:9], herein.)

  108. See John 20:23.

  109. See Numbers 22:6; and Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 423 [Helaman 10:7]. An early 1841 JS revelation appointed Hyrum Smith as the patriarch for the church and promised him that “he shall hold the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all my people, that who ever he blesses shall be blessed, and who ever he curseth shall be cursed, that whatsoever he shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and, that whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841, in JSP, D7:524 [D&C 124:91–93], herein.)

  110. See Matthew 28:20.

  111. TEXT: Possibly “sacrifices”.

  112. See 1 Corinthians 10:13.

  113. See Genesis 22:16–18.

  114. See Matthew 25:21.

  115. The concept that generations of families—rather than husbands and wives only—could be sealed together had been introduced in an earlier revelation. (See Revelation, 27 July 1842, in JSP, D10:313–314.)

  116. See Matthew 6:14–15; and Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 469 [3 Nephi 13:14–15].

  117. After dictating this revelation, JS instructed William Clayton to deed several church-owned lots in Nauvoo to Emma and their children; three days later, JS had the deed certified. Whether JS considered church-owned property as part of property that was in “his hands” is unknown. (See Deed to Emma Smith and Others, 12 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming); see also Clayton, Journal, 12 and 15 July 1843.)

  118. The “law of the priesthood” referred to the principle of eternal marriage. (See Discourse, 16 July 1843, in JSP, D12 (forthcoming).)

  119. See Hebrews 5:4.

  120. See Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 423 [Helaman 10:4–7].

  121. TEXT: There is a significant shift in the handwriting style at this point, likely reflecting Kingsbury rushing to finish the copy. Kingsbury recollected later in his life that his work of copying the revelation was interrupted by Hyrum Smith, who “came in and wanted the revelation.” Newel K. Whitney “came in to see how I got along with it … and then he went out and told Hyrum Smith that he would hand him the revelation in a few minutes, for I was not quite through the copying of it.” (Joseph Kingsbury, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 17 Mar. 1892, p. 178, question 19, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. [C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894], typescript, United States Testimony, CHL.)

  122. TEXT: Damage to the page from wear on the fold line has made some words on this page illegible to the naked eye. Through multispectral imaging, some of the letters can be read. Each of the three early copies reads “consent” at this point. (Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney copy, CHL; Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney partial copy, CHL; “Revelation Given to JS,” 12 July 1843, Willard Richards copy, Revelations Collection, CHL.)

  123. Each of the three early copies reads “espouse.” (Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney copy, CHL; Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney partial copy, CHL; “Revelation Given to JS,” 12 July 1843, Willard Richards copy, Revelations Collection, CHL.)

  124. TEXT: Each of the three early copies reads “second.” (Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney copy, CHL; Revelation, 12 July 1843, Horace Whitney partial copy, CHL; “Revelation Given to JS,” 12 July 1843, Willard Richards copy, Revelations Collection, CHL.)

  125. See Genesis 1:28; 9:1.

  126. Genesis chapter 16 discusses Sarai, who instructed her husband Abram to have children by her servant Hagar.

  127. See Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13.