Revelations published in The Evening and the Morning Star (, MO), vol. 1, nos. 1–10 and 12, and vol. 2, no. 13; edited by . The copy used for this transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes marginalia, archival notations, stamps, and bookplates.
The initial issues of The Evening and the Morning Star present revelations prominently on the first or second page of the newspaper. Beginning with the November 1832 issue, however, revelations were placed near the end of each issue. Each issue comprises four leaves (eight pages) that measure 12½ × 9⅞ inches (32 × 25 cm). Each page is set in two columns.
The volume used for this transcription was donated to the Salt Lake Temple by Lycurgus A. Wilson on 8 September 1894, according to a bookplate on the inside front cover of the volume. It was transferred to the library of the Church Historian’s Office sometime before 1923.
“Library Record for the Listing or Cataloguing of Books.” Historian’s Office, Library Accession Records, ca. 1890–ca. 1930. CHL. CR 100 429.
Historical Introduction
Soon after his into the church in 1831, was instructed by revelation to relocate to , Missouri, “and be established as a printer unto the church.” , who had been previously appointed to work on church publications, was directed to assist him. In early 1832, Phelps and his associates in Independence began work on the church’s first newspaper, The Evening and the Morning Star. Because of the difficulty of getting paper and other supplies to Independence, however, months passed before the first issue of the newspaper was printed in June 1832.
The newspaper’s prospectus announced that it would, in part, “be devoted to the revelations of God as made known to his servants by the , at sundry times since the creation of man, but more especially in these last days.” Though a small number of JS’s revelations appeared first in non-Mormon newspapers elsewhere, the Star was the first official periodical of the church to print them. As the church’s only periodical at the time, the Star also published counsel to church members, local and world news, editorials, hymns, and letters from missionaries. The Star regularly published general announcements to missionaries serving throughout the country and letters from church members in other states, evidencing that its circulation reached well beyond .
The press owned by , which was operated under the direction of the , was the only press in and indeed the only press for roughly one hundred miles. Reading material was scarce on the frontier, and it is likely that the town’s non-Mormon residents read the Star in addition to the Upper Missouri Advertiser, the secular paper published on the same press. In July 1833, when religious and political tensions between the Mormons and their neighbors had already created a tinderbox environment, an article titled “Free People of Color” appeared in The Evening and the Morning Star, quoting from statutes respecting the immigration of free persons of African descent. Many Missourians, largely sympathetic to the practice of slavery, interpreted the article as an attempt to invite free black people to settle in Missouri and were outraged. Four days after the editors of The Evening and the Morning Star printed a broadside extra in an attempt to calm the situation by clarifying the message of the offending article, a and most of the sheets of the still-unfinished Book of Commandments.
The destruction of the caused a six-month hiatus in the publication of the Star. In September 1833, was established in , Ohio, for the purpose of printing church materials, and was sent to to purchase a printing press and type. Upon his return, Cowdery resumed printing the Star in Kirtland from January until September 1834. Beginning in October 1834, the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate succeeded the Star as the official church periodical.
Over the course of the Star’s fourteen-month run in , the paper printed nineteen full and seven partial revelation texts. Only two issues of the Missouri newspaper did not contain featured revelations: the April 1833 issue and the July 1833 issue, which was the final issue printed in Missouri. As in the Book of Commandments and the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1835), little, if any, introduction or commentary accompanied the featured revelations. In addition to publishing the revelations as stand-alone pieces, The Evening and the Morning Star often published articles that quoted from the revelations—both from those printed as featured documents in the paper and from those that had not been published therein. Well before the Book of Commandments was expected to be completed, the editors of the Star advised readers to “search the revelations which we publish,” an admonition that presumed that the Latter-day Saints had access to earlier issues. In fact, for Mormons in , as well as those scattered around the country, the Star became the most accessible source for JS’s revelatory texts.
The revelations published in The Evening and the Morning Star appear to have been selected for their importance. Many of the published revelations addressed topics relating to church government, such as the roles of specific church officers, the laws and commandments to be kept by church members, and the proper administration of the of the Lord’s Supper. Other published revelations announced newly received theological principles or looked forward to the second coming of Christ. Revelations that were given to specific individuals providing counsel or were not published. After the Star moved to , no revelations were included in the ten issues of the newspaper published there.
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
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).
William W. Phelps, The Evening and the Morning Star Prospectus, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 (Jan. 1835), 1–2; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:32.
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.
See, for example, Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830, and Revelations, 16 Apr. 1830 and ca. Aug. 1830, in “The Mormon Creed,” Painesville Telegraph, 19 Apr. 1831, [4] [D&C 20, 22, and 27:1–5, 14–15, 18]; Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830, in “Miscellaneous,” Painesville Telegraph, 17 Jan. 1832, [1] [D&C 35]; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in “Secret Bye Laws of the Mormonites,” Painesville Telegraph, 13 Sept. 1831, [1] [D&C 42:1–69]; and Revelation, Sept. 1830–B, in Ezra Booth, “Mormonism—Nos. VIII–IX,” Ohio Star, 8 Dec. 1831, [1] [D&C 28].
See, for example, Notice, The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [7]; “Letters,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [4]; “Extract” and “Letters,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [7]; and “Extracts of Letters from the Elders Abroad,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5]–[6]. JS, in a November 1832 letter to Phelps, added ten new subscribers to the Star, nine from Guyandotte, Virginia (now West Virginia), and one from Wooster Township, Ohio. (JS, Kirtland, OH, to William W. Phelps, [Independence, MO], 27 Nov. 1832, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
The only known surviving copy of the Upper Missouri Advertiser—no. 3, dated 11 July 1832—is located at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA.
“Free People of Color,” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1833, 109; “To His Excellency, Daniel Dunklin,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 114–115.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
See, for example, Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830, in “The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [1], and June 1833, 97–98 [D&C 20]; Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–A, in “A Revelation, Given November 1831,” The Evening and the Morning Star,Oct. 1832, [3] [D&C 68]; and Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831, in “A Revelation Given December 4, 1831,” The Evening and the Morning Star,Dec. 1832, [5]–[6] [D&C 72].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
See, for example, Revelation, 9 and 23 Feb. 1831, in “Extract from the Laws for the Government of the Church of Christ” and “Items of Law for the Government of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star,July 1832, [1], and Oct. 1832, [2] [D&C 42:11–93].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
See, for example, excerpt of Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831, in “A Prophecy Given to the Church of Christ, March 7, 1831,” The Evening and the Morning Star,June 1832, [2] [D&C 45:1–67, 71].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Revelations addressed to individuals were officially restricted “to the parties concerned” until they could be published in the Book of Commandments. (Minute Book 2, 30 Apr. 1832.)
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.
LISTEN to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful.
For behold I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the , if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins:
Wherefore a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink of your enemies:
Wherefore you shall partake of none, except it is made new among you, yea, in this my Father’s kingdom which shall be built up on the earth.
Behold this is wisdom in me, wherefore marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you, on the earth, and with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world:
Wherefore lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins and be faithful until I come: even so. Amen.
HEARKEN, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of Him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say, hearken ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together; for verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape, and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated; and the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, for their iniquties shall be spoken upon the house-tops, and their secret acts shall be revealed; and the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days, and they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have them.
Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my Preface unto the Book of my Commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth:
Wherefore fear and tremble, O ye people for what I the Lord have decreed, in them, shall be fulfilled.
And verily, I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given, to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked, without measure, unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompence unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear:
Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; and the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth; and the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh, that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets, and , shall be cut off from among the people:
For they have strayed from mine , and have broken mine ; they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall:
Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph, and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; and also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world, and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets:
The weak things of the world should come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones; that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh, but that every man might speak in the name of God, the Lord, even the Savior of the world; that faith also might increase in the earth; that mine everlasting covenant might be established that the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple, unto the ends of the world; and before kings and rulers. Behold I am God and have spoken it:
These commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding; and inasmuch as they erred, it might be made known:
And inasmuch as they sought wisdom, they might be instructed; and inasmuch as they sinned, they might be chastened, that they might repent; and inasmuch as they were humble, they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time:
After they, having received the record of the ; yea, even my servant Joseph might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the book of Mormon:
And also, those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity, and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I the Lord am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually, for I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance:
Nevertheless, he that repenteth and doeth the commandments of the Lord, shall be forgiven, and he that repenteth not, from him shall be taken even the light which he hath received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of hosts.
And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth, for I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh, for I am no respecter to persons, and willeth that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh, the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; and also, the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.
Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them, shall all be fulfilled.
What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself, and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same:
For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever: Amen.
THE order of the house prepared for the presidency and instruction in all things, that is expedient for the officers, or in other words them who are called to the ministry in the church, beginning at the even down to the .
And this shall be the order of the house:
He that is appointed to be a shall be found standing in his place, which shall be prepared for him in the house of God; in a place that the congregation in the house may hear his words correctly, and distinctly, not with loud speech.
And when he cometh into the house of God, for he should be first in the house:
Behold this is beautiful, that he may be an example, let him offer himself in prayer upon his knees before God, in token of the .
And when any shall come in after him, let the teacher arise and with uplifted hands to heaven:
Yea even directly and salute his brother, or brethren with these words, saying:
Art thou a brother or brethren, I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token of the everlasting covenant; in which covenant I receive you to fellowship in a determination that is fixed, immoveable and unchangeable to be your friend and brother through the grace of God, in the bonds of love, to walk in all the of God blameless, in thanksgiving forever and ever.
And he that cometh in, and is a brother or brethren, shall salute the teacher with uplifted hands to heaven, with this same prayer and , or by saying amen, in token of the same. ’
Behold, verily I say unto you, this is a sample unto you for a salutation to one another in the house of God.
And to you the called to the ministry of the of the house of God; and ye are called to do this by prayer and thanksgiving, as the Spirit shall give utterance, in all your doings in the , that it may become a sanctuary, a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, to your edification: Amen. [p. [6]]
Revelation, ca. Aug. 1830, in “A Commandment Given, September 4, 1830,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [6] [D&C 27]. This version closely corresponds to the version in chapter 28 of the Book of Commandments. It is unknown whether this version or the version in the Book of Commandments was set in type first. Either the version in Revelation Book 1 or the version in the Book of Commandments was likely used as a source text for the version printed here. This revelation should be dated circa August 1830. For more information on this dating, see the discussion of this revelation in the Documents series.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B, in “Revelation Given, Hiram, Ohio, November 1, 1831,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [6] [D&C 1]. This version closely corresponds to the version in chapter 1 of the Book of Commandments, suggesting that the latter was used as a source text for the former.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Excerpt of Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833, in “Revelation Given Kirtland, Ohio, January 3, 1833,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [6] [D&C 88:127–137]. Though a version of this revelation was copied into Revelation Book 1, it does not appear to have been used as a source text for this version; the source text for this item is unknown.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.