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Revelation, 30 December 1830 [D&C 37]

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Revelation, 30 December 1830 [D&C 37]

Source Note

Revelation, , NY, to JS and , [30 Dec.] 1830. Featured version, titled “40th Commandment AD 1830,” copied [ca. Mar. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, p. 49; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.

Historical Introduction

A September 1830 revelation declared that all members of the should gather together into one place. A second revelation decreed that a “City” (the ) would be located “among the .” Within a month, JS sent missionaries to search out the location for the New Jerusalem—understood to be the future gathering place—and to preach to American Indians. Traveling first to northeastern , these missionaries preached in the areas around and . They remained in Ohio a few weeks and baptized several dozen individuals, many of whom were members of ’s restorationist congregation, before continuing west. After passing through , Missouri, the group attempted to preach to the Indians who had been relocated by the government to territory just beyond the western border of .
In late 1830, two of the converts, and , visited JS in , where opposition to the church was intensifying. Rigdon stayed for two months and became JS’s close confidant, serving as scribe for his revision of the Bible. In late December, JS and Rigdon traveled from to , New York, and there continued work on JS’s inspired of the Bible. Shortly after their arrival, JS dictated this revelation, which formally designated Ohio as a gathering place for the . Three days later, on 2 January 1831, the third of the church convened in Fayette, and there JS announced the plan to gather in Ohio.
This revelation also directed JS and to temporarily stop their revision of the Bible so they could preach to and strengthen the existing congregations in before the move to . They preached in public venues and believers’ homes in , , , and .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:8].

  2. [2]

    Revelation, Sept. 1830–B [D&C 28:9].

  3. [3]

    Prior to Rigdon’s arrival, Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer, and Emma Smith served as scribes for this project. For more on JS’s Bible revision, see the Historical Introduction to Visions of Moses, June 1830 [Moses 1].

  4. [4]

    “Testimony of Brother E. Thayre,” True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, Oct. 1862, 82–83; Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 76–79; Whitmer, History, 9–10; see also Austin, Life among the Mormons, 37; Mather, “Early Days of Mormonism,” 204; and Waterloo, NY, 26 Jan. [1831], Letter to the Editor, Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 1 Feb. 1831, 95. The two also stopped in Harmony, Pennsylvania. (Knight, Reminiscences, 8.)

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

    Tucker, Pomeroy. Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church. New York: D. Appleton, 1867.

    Austin, Emily M. Mormonism; or, Life among the Mormons: Being an Autobiographical Sketch, Including an Experience of Fourteen Years of Mormon Life. Madison, WI: M. J. Cantwell, 1882.

    Mather, Frederic G. “The Early Days of Mormonism.” Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science 26 (Aug. 1880): 198–211.

    Reflector. Palmyra, NY. 1821–1831.

    Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Revelation, 30 December 1830 [D&C 37]
Revelation Book 1 Book of Commandments, 1833 Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith” Doctrine and Covenants, 1844

Page 49

40th AD 1830
A Revelation to & Joseph at at time that they went from to to &c given at Ontario County State of New York
A Commandment to & Joseph saying Behold I say unto ye that it is not Expedient in me that ye should Translate any more until ye shall go to the & this because of the enemy & for your sakes & again I say unto you that ye shall not go untill ye have Preached my Gospel in those parts & have strengthened up the whithersoever it is found & more especially in for Behold they pray unto me in much faith & again a commandment I give unto the Church that it is expedient in me that they should assemble together at the by <​against​> the time that my Servent shall return unto them Behold here is wisdom & let evry man Choose for himself until I come amen even so amen [p. 49]
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Source Note

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Page 49

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revelation, 30 December 1830 [D&C 37]
ID #
6496
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D1:226–227
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Whitmer

Footnotes

  1. [1]

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

  2. [2]

    Members of the church in New York, especially in Colesville, had been frequently harassed during the previous six months. (JS History, vol. A-1, 42–48, 53; see also Letter to the Church in Colesville, 2 Dec. 1830.)

  3. [3]

    Newel Knight later recalled that at this time “the Spirit was being poured out copiously upon the Saints at Colesville, and a spirit of deep inquiry was manifesting itself, the Saints gave themselves to the study of the Scriptures, and in much prayer and supplication sought to understand them, and to more perfectly comprehend their import, and the revelations as given through the Prophet Joseph.” (Knight, History, 228–229.)

    Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.

  4. [4]

    Cowdery, the church’s “second elder,” was then leading the Lamanite mission in western Missouri.