Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836

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Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836
Articles and Covenants, circa April 1830 [D&C 20] Page 2 Articles and Covenants, circa April 1830 [D&C 20] Page 193 Revelation, circa August 1830 [D&C 27] Page 155 Revelation, September 1830–A [D&C 29] Page 60 Revelation, 2 January 1831 [D&C 38] Page 125 Revelation, 9 and 23 February 1831, excerpt [D&C 42:12–77] Page 30 Revelation, 23 February 1831, excerpt [D&C 42:78–93] Page 74 Revelation, circa 7 March 1831, excerpt [D&C 45:1–71] Page 5 Revelation, circa 8 March 1831–A [D&C 46] Page 42 Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49] Page 93 Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50] Page 43 Revelation, 7 August 1831 [D&C 59] Page 26 Revelation, 12 August 1831 [D&C 61] Page 105 Revelation, 30 August 1831, excerpt [D&C 63:1–64] Page 140 Revelation, 30 October 1831 [D&C 65] Page 62 Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68] Page 73 Revelation, 1 November 1831–B [D&C 1] Page 155 Revelation, 3 November 1831 [D&C 133] Page 177 Revelation, 4 December 1831–A, B, C [D&C 72] Page 106 Revelation, February 1831–A, excerpt [D&C 43:15–35] Page 74 Vision, 16 February 1832 [D&C 76] Page 27 Revelation, 30 April 1832 [D&C 83] Page 126 Revelation, 27–28 December 1832, excerpt [D&C 88:117–126] Page 138 Revelation, 3 January 1833, [D&C 88:127–137] Page 156 June 1832 (January 1835) Issue Page 2 July 1832 (February 1835) Issue Page 26 August 1832 (March 1835) Issue Page 42 September 1832 (April 1835) Issue Page 60 October 1832 (June 1835) Issue Page 73 November 1832 (September 1835) Issue Page 93 December 1832 (April 1836) Issue Page 105 January 1833 (April 1836) Issue Page 125 February 1833 (May 1836) Issue Page 138 March 1833 (May 1836) Issue Page 155 May 1833 (June 1836) Issue Page 177 June 1833 (June 1836) Issue Page 193
Source Note

Revelations published in Evening and Morning Star (
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, OH), vol. 1, nos. 1–10 and 12, and vol. 2, no. 13; edited by
Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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. The copy used for this transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes marginalia and archival notations.

Evening and Morning Star, an edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star, presents revelations throughout its first thirteen issues, except for the April 1833 issue, which was printed in June 1836. When printing Evening and Morning Star, the editors revised the revelations found in The Evening and the Morning Star, changing wording and sometimes order and position on the page. One revelation printed in the earlier newspaper was not reprinted in this edition of the paper.
1
Revelation,16 Apr. 1830, in “The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [1]–[2] [D&C 22].
Comprehensive Works Cited
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
The page size of Evening and Morning Star was smaller than that of its predecessor. Each issue has eight leaves (sixteen pages), with two columns on each page, each page measuring 9¼ × 5¾ inches (23 × 15 cm). Because Evening and Morning Star was a reprint, its issues maintained the dating of the original issues; thus, the first issue of Evening and Morning Star is dated June 1832, though it was printed in January 1835, as indicated by a publisher’s notice on the last page of the issue.

The original owner of the volume used for this transcription is unknown. The upper right corner of the second free endsheet is cut away, and based on a residual ink flourish on the recto near the cut, it appears that a signature was removed from the book at some point. This volume is held at the Church History Library, but its provenance is unknown.
Footnotes
[1]
Revelation,16 Apr. 1830, in “The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [1]–[2] [D&C 22].
Historical Introduction
In December 1833, six months after the
printing office
JS revelations, dated 20 July and 1 Aug. 1831, directed establishment of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s first printing office in Independence, Missouri. Dedicated by Bishop Edward Partridge, 29 May 1832. Located on Lot 76, on Liberty Street...
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in
Independence
Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...
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, Missouri, was
destroyed
20 Jul. 1833
Vigilantes, demanding removal of Latter-day Saints from Jackson County, Missouri, destroyed printing office and tarred and feathered Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri; a few dozen copies of unfinished Book of Commandments...
and publication efforts there were permanently halted, printing commenced on a newly acquired press in
Kirtland
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, Ohio. That press, operated by
F. G. Williams & Co.
A firm established by the United Firm on 11 September 1833 to print newspapers in Kirtland, Ohio. In December 1833, F. G. Williams & Co. resumed the interrupted printing of the church newspaper The Evening and the Morning Star. After the United Firm was reorganized...
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, continued printing The Evening and the Morning Star, the newspaper begun in
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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, through September 1834. The September 1834 issue of that paper contained a prospectus announcing that the paper’s two volumes would be reprinted.
1
“Prospectus,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 192.
The first issue of the reprinted newspaper, which appeared under the slightly modified title Evening and Morning Star, was published in January 1835.
2
The title that appears in the newspaper’s nameplate was likely shortened because of a reduction in the newspaper’s size. The longer original title, The Evening and the Morning Star, is printed at the middle and end of each issue with other publication information. For the sake of clarity, the reprinted paper is referred to by its shortened title for all references in The Joseph Smith Papers.
Though touted as a reprint that would correct typographical and other errors,
3
Evening and Morning Star actually contained significant changes to the revelation texts. In the first issue, editor
Oliver Cowdery
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explained the revisions he was making in the reprinted versions of the revelations:
On the revelations we merely say, that we were not a little surprised to find the previous print so different from the original. We have given them a careful comparison, assisted by individuals whose known integrity and ability is uncensurable. Thus saying we cast no reflections upon those who were entrusted with the responsibility of publishing them in
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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, as our own labors were included in that important service to the church, and it was our unceasing endeavor to have them correspond with the copy furnished us. We believe they are now correct. If not in every word, at least in principle.
4
Notice, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 (Jan. 1835), 16. The prospectus to Evening and Morning Star also states “that in the first 14 numbers, in the Revelations, are many errors, typographical, and others, occasioned by transcribing manuscript; but as we shall have access to originals, we shall endeavor to make proper corrections.” (“Prospectus,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 192.)
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Despite the implications of
Cowdery
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’s statement, very few of the changes in the reprint represent a restoration back to the earliest text, though Cowdery consulted early manuscript sources when reprinting some of the revelations.
5
On 4 February 1835, Cowdery wrote to Newel K. Whitney requesting that the latter send “the original copy of the Revelation given to 12 elders Feb. 1831 called ‘The Law of the Church.’” Cowdery explained, “We are preparing the old Star for re-printing, and have no copy from which to correct, and kno[w] of no other beside yours.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Newel K. Whitney, 4 Feb. 1835, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Because the revelations were meant to be used as a guide for the current operations of the church, they were edited in 1835 to reflect current organization, doctrine, and practice, which had continued to develop since the revelations were first dictated. For example, the version of a 9 February 1831 revelation printed in Evening and Morning Star includes discussion of the duties of elders, priests, teachers, bishops, high priests, and the high council.
6
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in “Extract of Covenants for the Church of the Latter Day Saints,” Evening and Morning Star, July 1832 (Feb. 1835), 30–31 [D&C 42].
Early versions of the revelation, however, make no mention of the office of high priest, which did not exist until June 1831,
7
See Minute Book 2, 3 June 1831.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
or of the high council, a body that was not organized until February 1834.
8
Minute Book 1, 17 Feb. 1834; see also Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 5, 1835 ed. [D&C 102].
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
The revelation was revised in 1835 to reflect these additional roles. Most of the changes made to revelations in the early issues of Evening and Morning Star are also reflected in the same revelations as published in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1835), and the editing work on that volume, in turn, influenced the presentation of revelations in later issues of Evening and Morning Star.
9
For example, the updates made in Revelation, 9 February 1831, for publication in Evening and Morning Star were then introduced into Doctrine and Covenants 13:8, 10, 19, 1835 ed. [D&C 42:31, 34, 71].
The table that follows lists each of the revelatory items printed in the Star and its reprint, along with its bibliographic information. See Revelations Printed in The Evening and the Morning Star for a side-by-side comparison of the revelations printed in the Star and its reprint.
Key to column titles
Vol: Issue: Volume and issue number
Star Print Date: Month in which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Star Pages: Pages on which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Reprint Print Date: Month in which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Reprint Pages: Pages on which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Date: Date of item, followed by section number in Doctrine and Covenants, 1981 edition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Vol: Issue Star Print Date Star Pages Reprint Print Date Reprint Pages Date
1:1 June 1832 [1] Jan. 1835 2–4 10 Apr. 1830 [D&C 20]
1:1 June 1832 [1]–[2] 16 Apr. 1830 [D&C 22]
1:1 June 1832 [2] Jan. 1835 5–6 ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:1–67, 71]
1:2 July 1832 [1] Feb. 1835 30–31 9 and 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:11–77]
1:2 July 1832 [1] Feb. 1835 26–27 7 Aug. 1831 [D&C 59]
1:2 July 1832 [2]–[3] Feb. 1835 27–30 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76]
1:3 Aug. 1832 [1] Mar. 1835 42–43 ca. 8 Mar. 1831–A [D&C 46]
1:3 Aug. 1832 [1] Mar. 1835 43–44 9 May 1831 [D&C 50]
1:4 Sept. 1832 [2] Apr. 1835 60–62 Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29]
1:4 Sept. 1832 [2] Apr. 1835 62 30 Oct. 1831 [D&C 65]
1:5 Oct. 1832 [2] June 1835 74 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:78-93]
1:5 Oct. 1832 [2]–[3] June 1835 74 Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:15–35]
1:5 Oct. 1832 [3] June 1835 73–74 1 Nov. 1831–A [D&C 68]
1:6 Nov. 1832 [7] Sept. 1835 93–94 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]
1:7 Dec. 1832 [5] Apr. 1836 105–106 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61]
1:7 Dec. 1832 [5]–[6] Apr. 1836 106–107 4 Dec. 1831 [D&C 72]
1:8 Jan. 1833 [5]–[6] Apr. 1836 125–126 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38]
1:8 Jan. 1833 [6] Apr. 1836 126 30 Apr. 1832 [D&C 83]
1:9 Feb. 1833 [5] May 1836 138 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:117–126]
1:9 Feb. 1833 [6]–[7] May 1836 140–141 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:1–64]
1:10 Mar. 1833 [6] May 1836 155 ca. Aug. 1830 [D&C 27]
1:10 Mar. 1833 [6] May 1836 155–156 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1]
1:10 Mar. 1833 [6] May 1836 156–157 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]
1:12 May 1833 [1]–[2] June 1836 177–179 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133]
2:13 June 1833 97–98 June 1836 193–196 10 Apr. 1830 [D&C 20]
Footnotes
[1]
[2]
The title that appears in the newspaper’s nameplate was likely shortened because of a reduction in the newspaper’s size. The longer original title, The Evening and the Morning Star, is printed at the middle and end of each issue with other publication information. For the sake of clarity, the reprinted paper is referred to by its shortened title for all references in The Joseph Smith Papers.
[3]
[4]
Notice, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 (Jan. 1835), 16. The prospectus to Evening and Morning Star also states “that in the first 14 numbers, in the Revelations, are many errors, typographical, and others, occasioned by transcribing manuscript; but as we shall have access to originals, we shall endeavor to make proper corrections.” (“Prospectus,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 192.)
[5]
On 4 February 1835, Cowdery wrote to Newel K. Whitney requesting that the latter send “the original copy of the Revelation given to 12 elders Feb. 1831 called ‘The Law of the Church.’” Cowdery explained, “We are preparing the old Star for re-printing, and have no copy from which to correct, and kno[w] of no other beside yours.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Newel K. Whitney, 4 Feb. 1835, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
[6]
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in “Extract of Covenants for the Church of the Latter Day Saints,” Evening and Morning Star, July 1832 (Feb. 1835), 30–31 [D&C 42].
[7]
See Minute Book 2, 3 June 1831.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
[8]
Minute Book 1, 17 Feb. 1834; see also Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 5, 1835 ed. [D&C 102].
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
[9]
For example, the updates made in Revelation, 9 February 1831, for publication in Evening and Morning Star were then introduced into Doctrine and Covenants 13:8, 10, 19, 1835 ed. [D&C 42:31, 34, 71].
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Revelation, 30 August 1831 [D&C 63]
Page 140
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Revelation, 30 August 1831, excerpt [D&C 63:1–64]
REVELATION
24
Excerpt of Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831, in “Revelation Given in Kirtland, August, 1831,” Evening and Morning Star, Feb. 1833 (May 1836), 140–141 [D&C 63:1–64]. This version closely corresponds to the version in section 20 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, suggesting that the latter was used as a source text for the former. Several items in the newspaper separate this revelation from the preceding revelation.
Given in
Kirtland
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, August, 1831.
Hearken, O ye people, and open your hearts, and give ear from afar; and listen, you that call yourselves the people of the Lord, and hear the word of the Lord, and his will concerning you: yea, verily, I say, hear the word of him whose anger is kindled against the wicked, and rebellious; who willeth to take even them whom he will take, and preserveth in life them whom he will preserve: who buildeth up at his own will and pleasure; and destroyeth when he please; and is able to cast the soul down to hell.
Behold I the Lord utter my voice, and it shall be obeyed. Wherefore verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the rebellious fear, and tremble. And let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall know that I am God. And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.
Verily I say unto you, there are those among you who seek signs: and there have been such even from the beginning. But behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. Yea, signs cometh by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please, but by the will of God. Yea, signs cometh by faith, unto mighty works, for without faith, no man pleaseth God: and with whom God is angry, he is not well pleased: wherefore, unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto condemnation.
Wherefore I the Lord am not pleased with those among you, who have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory; nevertheless, I gave
commandments
Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...
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and many have turned away from my commandments, and have not kept them. There were among you adulterers and adulteresses; some of whom have turned away from you, and others remain with you: that hereafter shall be revealed.— Let such beware and repent speedily, lest judgments shall come upon them as a snare, and their folly shall be made manifest, and their works shall follow them in the eyes of the people.
And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear: wherefore I the Lord have said that the fearful, and the unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, & the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Verily I say, that they shall not have part in the first resurrection.
And now behold, I the Lord saith unto you, that ye are not justified because these things are among you, nevertheless he that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome, and shall receive an
inheritance
Generally referred to land promised by or received from God for the church and its members. A January 1831 revelation promised church members a land of inheritance. In March and May 1831, JS dictated revelations commanding members “to purchase lands for an...
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upon the earth, when the day of transfiguration shall come; when the earth shall be transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount: of which account the fulness ye have not yet received.
And now, verily I say unto you, that as I said that I would make known my will unto you, behold I will make it known unto you, not by the way of commandment, for there are many who observe not to keep my commandments, but unto him that keepeth my commandments, I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.
And now, behold this is the will of the Lord your God concerning his saints, that they should assemble themselves together unto the land of
Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
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, not in haste, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth pestilence. Behold the land of Zion, I the Lord holdeth it in mine own hands: nevertheless, I the Lord rendereth unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; wherefore I the Lord willeth, that you should purchase the lands, that you may have advantage of the world, that you may have claim on the world, that they may not be stirred up unto anger: for satan putteth it into their hearts to anger against you, and to the shedding of blood: wherefore the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase, or by blood, otherwise there is none inheritance for you. And if by purchase behold you are blessed: and if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and ye shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance.
I the Lord am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth. I have sworn in my wrath and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man and the saints also shall hardly escape: nevertheless I the Lord am with them, and will come down in heaven from the presence of my Father, and consume the wicked with unquenchable fire. And behold this is not yet, but by and by: wherefore seeing that I the Lord have decreed all these things upon the face of the earth, I willeth that my saints should be assembled upon the land of Zion; and that every man should take righteousness in his hands, and faithfulness upon his loins, and lift a warning voice unto the inhabitants of the earth; and declare both by word and by flight, that desolation shall come upon the wicked. Wherefore let my disciples in
Kirtland
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, arrange their temporal concerns, which dwell on this farm.
Let my servant
Titus Billings
24 Mar. 1793–6 Feb. 1866. Stonemason, carpenter, musician. Born in Greenfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Ebenezer Billings and Esther Joyce. Moved to Mentor, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1817. Married Diantha Morley, 16 Feb. 1817, in Geauga Co. Moved to...
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, who has the care thereof dispose of the land, that he may be prepared in the coming spring, to take his journey up unto the land of Zion, with those that dwell upon the face thereof, excepting those whom I shall reserve unto myself, that shall not go until I shall command them.— And let all the moneys which can be spared, it mattereth not unto me whether it be little or much, sent up unto the land of Zion, unto them whom I have appointed to receive.
Behold I the Lord will give unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jr. power, that he shall [p. 140]
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Document Information
Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836
ID #
8165
Total Pages
39
Print Volume Location
JSP, R2:195–299
Handwriting on This Page
Wilford Woodruff
Footnotes
[24]
Excerpt of Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831, in “Revelation Given in Kirtland, August, 1831,” Evening and Morning Star, Feb. 1833 (May 1836), 140–141 [D&C 63:1–64]. This version closely corresponds to the version in section 20 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, suggesting that the latter was used as a source text for the former. Several items in the newspaper separate this revelation from the preceding revelation.