Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82]
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Source Note
Revelation, , Jackson Co., MO, 26 Apr. 1832. Featured version, titled “78 Revelation Independence Jackson County Missori April 26. 1832,” copied [between 26 Apr. and ca. Aug. 1832] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
This revelation was dictated in the second half of the first day of a of and held 26–27 April 1832 in , Jackson County, Missouri. Its contents reflected some of the business transacted by that council, including the resolution of a disagreement between and . The first part of the revelation acknowledged Rigdon and Partridge’s reconciliation, forgave them for the offenses in their earlier conflicts, and required the recipients of the revelation to forgive each other and obey God’s . The second part of the revelation reiterated the need to organize a governing for the church’s business and publishing interests and named the individuals who were to participate in this organization. They included five men living in (Partridge, , , , and ) and four living in (JS, Rigdon, , and ). The revelation indicated that each of these individuals had a over some aspect of church business and that uniting them in the firm would allow them to draw on each other’s resources to manage these endeavors, thereby producing more “tallents,” or surplus, for the church’s .The revelation also highlighted the evolving relationship between the church in , Ohio, and the church in . A January 1831 revelation designated Kirtland as a temporary place for members of the church to stay until the Lord identified the location of the . Subsequent revelations indicated, however, that the Mormon settlement at Kirtland was not to be quite so short lived. A May 1831 revelation stated that the Lord had consecrated Kirtland “for a little season untill I the Lord shall provide for them otherwise.” In July 1831, a revelation designated as the “centre place” of , where the church would build the New Jerusalem in preparation for Christ’s second coming, but a September 1831 revelation explained that the Lord would still “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland for the space of five years.” The 26 April revelation featured here, evoking imagery used in Isaiah 54:2–3, designated Kirtland as a “” of Zion, or a place that would support the establishment of Zion.As the clerk of the 26–27 April council, likely recorded this revelation as JS dictated it, though the original manuscript is no longer extant. Whitmer likely copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1 shortly after its dictation. Sometime later, Whitmer wrote “Not to be published now” on the first page of the manuscript in Revelation Book 1. The second page of the manuscript was crossed out, likely also to indicate the intention not to publish the revelation at that time. This is consistent with a similar notation, “Not to be printed at present,” in the manuscript of a 20 July 1831 revelation mandating extensive acquisition of land for in . Church leaders apparently believed that publication of plans for their commercial and real estate ventures could be detrimental to their larger goals. The 26 April revelation was not published in the Book of Commandments, but it was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, with pseudonyms for the names of the elders in the revelation and for the name of the church’s governing business firm, which by 1835 had been discontinued.
Footnotes
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1
For additional information on this council, see Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.
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2
The first revelation on this subject was dated 1 March 1832. (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78].)
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3
Although Jesse Gause was a counselor to JS and accompanied him on this trip, there is no evidence that he was made a member of the firm. This may have been because, unlike the nine listed here, Gause did not already have a role in the management of the church’s publishing and mercantile endeavors. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 209; and Note, 8 Mar. 1832.)
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4
Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38].
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5
Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51:16].
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6
Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57].
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7
Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21].
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8
The revelation that precedes this in Revelation Book 1 was likely recorded in that volume by Whitmer before he left for Missouri in late 1831. This 26 April revelation begins on a new page and is followed by several revelations given in Kirtland and Hiram, Ohio, which Whitmer presumably entered in Missouri after receiving copies of them from JS in April. (Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 125–127 [D&C 1].)
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9
Revelation Book 1, pp. 128–129.
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10
Revelation, 20 July 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 93 [D&C 57].
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11
Doctrine and Covenants 86, 1835 ed. See also “Substitute Words in the 1835 and 1844 Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.”
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1
78 Revelation Jackson County Missori April 26. 1832
Verily Verily I say unto you my Servents that inasmuch as ye have forgiven one another your tresspasses even so I the Lord forgive you nevertheless there are those among you who have sinned exceedingly yea even all of you have sinned but Verily I say unto you beware from henceforth & refrain from sin lest sore Judgements fall upon your heads for unto whom much is given much is required & he who sinneth against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation ye call upon my name for revelations & I give them unto you & inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings which I give unto you ye become transgressors & Justice & Judgement is the panalty which is affixed unto my law therefore what I say unto one I say unto all watch for the advisary spreadeth his dominions & darkness reigneth & the anger of God kindleth against the inhabitants of the Earth & none doeth good for all have gone out of the way & now verily I say unto you I the Lord will not lay any sin to your charge go your ways & Sin no more but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return saith the Lord your God. And again I say unto you I give unto you a new that you may understand my will concerning you or in other words I give unto you directions how you may act before me that it may turn to you for your salvation, I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say but when ye do not what I say ye have no promise therefore verily I say unto you it is expedient for you my Servants & & & my Servant Joseph & & & & be bound together by a bond & Covennant that cannot be broken in your several to manage the literary & Mercantile concerns & the both in the Land of & in the Land of for I have the land of in mine own due time for the benefit of the Saints of the most high & for a to for Zion must increase in beauty & in holy-ness her borders must be enlarged [p. 128]
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