Revelation, , OH, ca. 8 Mar. 1831. Featured version, titled “48th Commandment March ◊th. 1831,” copied [between ca. Mar. and June 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 76–78; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
Historical Introduction
In the heading to this text in Revelation Book 1, wrote that it was directed “to the Church concerning & meetings &c.” JS’s revelations and the Book of Mormon addressed these topics even before the founding of the in 1830. In May 1829 JS dictated a passage as part of his of the which stated, “And behold, ye shall meet together oft, and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you, and forbid them not.” Just weeks later drew upon these instructions in his “Articles of the Church of Christ,” which directed, “And the church shall meet together oft for prayer & suplication casting out none from your places of worship but rather invite them to come.” The JS document “Articles and Covenants,” unanimously approved at the 9 June 1830 of the church, stated the following concerning “church members after they are received by ”: “The or are to have a sufficient time to expound all things concerning this church of Christ to their understanding previous to their partaking of the sacrament, and being confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders, so that all things shall be done in order.”
When introduced this revelation in his history he explained: “In the beginning of the church, while yet in her infancy, the used to exclude unbelievers, which caused some to marvel, and converse about this matter because of the things that were written in the Book of Mormon. Therefore the Lord deigned to speak on this subject, that his people might come to understanding.” The revelation made clear that none were to be excluded from public worship meetings.
Besides clarifying matters related to church meetings, this revelation also addressed spiritual gifts, which were described in both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. After JS’s arrival in , he encountered spiritual expressions that he deemed unacceptable. In a letter to his brother , JS reported that on 4 March, less than a week before dictating this revelation, he aided a woman who “had an awful strugle with but being armed with the power of God he was cast out and the woman is Clothed in hir right mind.” In the same letter, JS noted that since his arrival in Ohio, “I hav[e] been ingageed in regulating the Churches here as the deciples are numerous and the devil had made many attempts to over throw them it has been a Serious job but the Lord is with us and we have overcome and have all things regular.” This revelation lists some acceptable spiritual gifts and warns that others are of the devil.
Defferences of administeration as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord according as the Lord will suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men And again it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of opperations whether it be of God or not so that the manifestations of the spirit may be given to evry man to prophet [profit] withall And again Verily I say unto you to some it is given by the spirit of God the word of wisdom to another it is given the word of Knowledge that all may be taught to be wise & to have knowledge & again to some it is given to have faith to be healed & to others it is given to have faith to heal And again to some it is given the working of miracles & to others it is given to prophecy & to others the decerning of spirits & again it is given to some to speak with tongues & to another it is given the interpretation of tongues & all these gifts cometh from [God] for the benefit of the children of God & unto the of the & unto such as God sahall appoint & to watch over the Church & to <be> the unto the Church are to have it given unto [them] to decern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you prophecying & yet not be of God & it shall come to pass that he that asketh in spirit shall receive in spirit that unto some it may be given to have all those gifts that there may be a head in order that evry member may be propheted profited thereby he that asketh in spirit asketh according to the will of God wherefore it is done even as he asketh & again I say unto you all things must be done in the name of Christ whatsoever you do in the spirit & ye must give thanks unto God in the spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with & ye must practice virtue & holyness before me continually even so amen [p. 78]
Text supplied based on later insertion in Revelation Book 1. When John Whitmer later prepared this text for publication, he inserted “the Lord God” at this point but then canceled “the Lord.”