Answers to Questions, between circa 4 and circa 20 March 1832 [D&C 77]

Source Note

Answers to Questions, [
Hiram Township
Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...
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, OH, ca. Mar. 1832]. Featured version, titled “Revelation Explained,” copied [between 26 Apr. and ca. Aug. 1832] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 141–144; handwriting of
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
Historical Introduction
As JS continued his revision of the New Testament in February and March 1832, he reached the book of Revelation with its abundance of symbolic language. “About the first of march, in connection with the
translation
To produce a text from one written in another language; in JS’s usage, most often through divine means. JS considered the ability to translate to be a gift of the spirit, like the gift of interpreting tongues. He recounted that he translated “reformed Egyptian...
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of the
scriptures
The sacred, written word of God containing the “mind & will of the Lord” and “matters of divine revelation.” Members of the church considered the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s revelations to be scripture. Revelations in 1830 and 1831 directed JS to ...
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,” a later JS history explains, “I received the following explanation of the Revelations of Saint John.”
1
JS History, vol. A-1, 192.
Given that JS was in
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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, Ohio, and was not working on the New Testament revisions between 29 February and 4 March 1832, this document was likely written sometime between 4 March and 20 March, when another revelation told JS and
Sidney Rigdon
19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
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(who was serving as JS’s scribe) to “omit the translation for the present time” so that they could travel to
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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.
2
Revelation, 20 Mar. 1832.
By the night of 24–25 March 1832, when the pair was attacked by a group of men in
Hiram
Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...
More Info
, Ohio, JS and Rigdon were working on the eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation, the last chapter mentioned in the explanation.
3
Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 422.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

Because he was inscribing the New Testament revision,
Rigdon
19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
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probably served as the original scribe for the explanation, but
Jesse Gause
Ca. 1784–ca. Sept. 1836. Schoolteacher. Born at East Marlborough, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Gause (Goss) and Mary Beverly. Joined Society of Friends (Quakers), 1806. Moved to Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, 1808; to Chester Co., 1811; and to Wilmington...
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could have been the scribe instead.
4
Gause apparently served as scribe for JS’s Bible revision between 8 March and 20 March, during which time JS revised the first and second chapters of the book of Revelation. (Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 70; Jennings, “Consequential Counselor,” 183.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
Jennings, Erin B. “The Consequential Counselor: Restoring the Root(s) of Jesse Gause.” Journal of Mormon History 34 (Spring 2008): 182–227.
The earliest surviving copy is an undated one made by
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
View Full Bio
in Revelation Book 1, where it is identified only as “Revelation Explained.” Whitmer, who was residing 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 ...
More Info
at the time, probably made the copy sometime after April 1832, when JS likely brought a copy of the original document to Missouri along with copies of revelations dictated in March.
5
See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1.

Footnotes
1. 1
  JS History, vol. A-1, 192.
2. 2
  Revelation, 20 Mar. 1832.
3. 3
  Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 422.
  
  Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
4. 4
  Gause apparently served as scribe for JS’s Bible revision between 8 March and 20 March, during which time JS revised the first and second chapters of the book of Revelation. (Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 70; Jennings, “Consequential Counselor,” 183.)
  
  Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
  Jennings, Erin B. “The Consequential Counselor: Restoring the Root(s) of Jesse Gause.” Journal of Mormon History 34 (Spring 2008): 182–227.
5. 5
  See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1.

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A	They are to be accomplished in the sixth thousandth year or the opening of the Sixth seal.
Q	What are we to understand by sealing To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in... View Glossary the one hundred and forty four thousand out of all the tribes of Israel twelve thousand out of every tribe? 13 These 144,000 were the servants of God who had been “sealed . . . in their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3–8.)
A	We are to understand that those who are sealed are high Priests An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed... View Glossary ordained The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood... View Glossary unto the holy order of God to administer the everlasting Gospel for they are they who are ordained out of every Nation kindred tongue and people by the angels to whom is given power over the Nations of the earth to bring as many as will come to the church of the first born. 14 Philo Dibble, who claimed he was present when JS and Sidney Rigdon experienced their 16 February 1832 vision of the afterlife, implied to a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that in the course of that vision, JS and Rigdon saw the “hundred and forty four thousand [that] should stand on the earth in the last days as Saviors of men.” (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol. 5, 7 Jan. 1877; see also Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].) Comprehensive Works Cited Payson Ward. General Minutes, 1850–1892. CHL. LR 6814 11.
Q	What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets mentioned in the 8th. Chap. of Rev. 15 Seven angels stood before God after the seventh seal had been opened and each subsequently blew a trumpet. (Revelation 8:1–12; 9:1, 13; 10:7.)
A	We are to understand that <as> God made the world in six days and on the seventh day he finished his work and sanctified it and also formed man out of the dust of the earth evens so in the begining of the seven thousandth year will the Lord God Sanctify the earth and to complete the Salvation of man and Judge all things and shall redeem all things except that which he hath not put into his power when he shall have sealed all things unto the end of all things and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work in the begining of the seven thousandth year the preparing of the way before the time of his coming 16 Archbishop James Ussher of the Church of Ireland composed an influential and widely referenced biblical chronology in 1658 that dated the creation of Adam to 4004 BC, meaning that the opening of the seventh thousand years would not occur until around AD 2000. Some of JS’s followers, however, apparently believed that the opening of the seventh thousand years would be much sooner. William W. Phelps, for example, contended in the August 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that Adam was created 4,159 years before Christ, which meant that there remained only “NINE years” until “the begining of the seven thousandth year, or sabbath of creation.” (Ussher, Annals of the World, 1; “Present Age of the World,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [5]–[6].) Comprehensive Works Cited Ussher, James. The Annals of the World. Deduced from the Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperour Vespasians Reign . . . . London: Printed by E. Tyler, for J. Crook and G. Bedell, 1658. The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Q	When are the things to be accomplished which are written in the ninth Chap. of Rev. 17 This chapter of Revelation covers the sounding of the trumpets of the fifth and sixth angels. It describes John’s vision of the pestilences and wars that occurred at the sounding of these trumpets.
A	They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh seal before the coming of Christ
Q	What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten by John as mentioned in the 10th. Chapt. of Rev. 18 The “little book” was held by an angel who came down from heaven and placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. John was told to take the book and to eat it. “It shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” (Revelation 10:1–2, 8–10.)
A	We are to undeerstand that it was a Mission and an ordinance A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were... View Glossary for him to gather As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land... View Glossary the tribes of Israel 19 An 1829 revelation stated that John the Revelator did not die but was physically transformed so that he could remain on earth until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At a conference in June 1831, JS reportedly “prophecied that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been lead away by Salmanaser King of israel, to prepare them for their return, from their Long dispersion, to again possess the land of their father’s.” (Account of John, Apr. 1829–C [D&C 7]; Whitmer, History, 27.) Behold this is Elias who as it is written must come and restore all things.

[p. 143]

A	They are to be accomplished in the sixth thousandth year or the opening of the Sixth seal.
Q	What are we to understand by sealing To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in... View Glossary the one hundred and forty four thousand out of all the tribes of Israel twelve thousand out of every tribe? 13 These 144,000 were the servants of God who had been “sealed . . . in their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3–8.)
A	We are to understand that those who are sealed are high Priests An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed... View Glossary ordained The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood... View Glossary unto the holy order of God to administer the everlasting Gospel for they are they who are ordained out of every Nation kindred tongue and people by the angels to whom is given power over the Nations of the earth to bring as many as will come to the church of the first born. 14 Philo Dibble, who claimed he was present when JS and Sidney Rigdon experienced their 16 February 1832 vision of the afterlife, implied to a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that in the course of that vision, JS and Rigdon saw the “hundred and forty four thousand [that] should stand on the earth in the last days as Saviors of men.” (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol. 5, 7 Jan. 1877; see also Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].) Comprehensive Works Cited Payson Ward. General Minutes, 1850–1892. CHL. LR 6814 11.
Q	What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets mentioned in the 8th. Chap. of Rev. 15 Seven angels stood before God after the seventh seal had been opened and each subsequently blew a trumpet. (Revelation 8:1–12; 9:1, 13; 10:7.)
A	We are to understand that as God made the world in six days and on the seventh day he finished his work and sanctified it and also formed man out of the dust of the earth even so in the begining of the seven thousandth year will the Lord God Sanctify the earth and to complete the Salvation of man and Judge all things and shall redeem all things except that which he hath not put into his power when he shall have sealed all things unto the end of all things and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work in the begining of the seven thousandth year the preparing of the way before the time of his coming 16 Archbishop James Ussher of the Church of Ireland composed an influential and widely referenced biblical chronology in 1658 that dated the creation of Adam to 4004 BC, meaning that the opening of the seventh thousand years would not occur until around AD 2000. Some of JS’s followers, however, apparently believed that the opening of the seventh thousand years would be much sooner. William W. Phelps, for example, contended in the August 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that Adam was created 4,159 years before Christ, which meant that there remained only “NINE years” until “the begining of the seven thousandth year, or sabbath of creation.” (Ussher, Annals of the World, 1; “Present Age of the World,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [5]–[6].) Comprehensive Works Cited Ussher, James. The Annals of the World. Deduced from the Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperour Vespasians Reign . . . . London: Printed by E. Tyler, for J. Crook and G. Bedell, 1658. The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Q	When are the things to be accomplished which are written in the ninth Chap. of Rev. 17 This chapter of Revelation covers the sounding of the trumpets of the fifth and sixth angels. It describes John’s vision of the pestilences and wars that occurred at the sounding of these trumpets.
A	They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh seal before the coming of Christ
Q	What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten by John as mentioned in the 10th. Chapt. of Rev. 18 The “little book” was held by an angel who came down from heaven and placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. John was told to take the book and to eat it. “It shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” (Revelation 10:1–2, 8–10.)
A	We are to undeerstand that it was a Mission and an ordinance A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were... View Glossary for him to gather As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land... View Glossary the tribes of Israel 19 An 1829 revelation stated that John the Revelator did not die but was physically transformed so that he could remain on earth until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At a conference in June 1831, JS reportedly “prophecied that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been lead away by Salmanaser King of israel, to prepare them for their return, from their Long dispersion, to again possess the land of their father’s.” (Account of John, Apr. 1829–C [D&C 7]; Whitmer, History, 27.) Behold this is Elias who as it is written must come and restore all things.

[p. 143]

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Document Information
Editorial Title
Answers to Questions, between circa 4 and circa 20 March 1832 [D&C 77]
ID #
6728
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:208–213
Handwriting on This Page
- John Whitmer
Footnotes
1. 13
  These 144,000 were the servants of God who had been “sealed . . . in their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3–8.)
2. 14
  Philo Dibble, who claimed he was present when JS and Sidney Rigdon experienced their 16 February 1832 vision of the afterlife, implied to a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that in the course of that vision, JS and Rigdon saw the “hundred and forty four thousand [that] should stand on the earth in the last days as Saviors of men.” (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol. 5, 7 Jan. 1877; see also Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].)
  
  Payson Ward. General Minutes, 1850–1892. CHL. LR 6814 11.
3. 15
  Seven angels stood before God after the seventh seal had been opened and each subsequently blew a trumpet. (Revelation 8:1–12; 9:1, 13; 10:7.)
4. 16
  Archbishop James Ussher of the Church of Ireland composed an influential and widely referenced biblical chronology in 1658 that dated the creation of Adam to 4004 BC, meaning that the opening of the seventh thousand years would not occur until around AD 2000. Some of JS’s followers, however, apparently believed that the opening of the seventh thousand years would be much sooner. William W. Phelps, for example, contended in the August 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that Adam was created 4,159 years before Christ, which meant that there remained only “NINE years” until “the begining of the seven thousandth year, or sabbath of creation.” (Ussher, Annals of the World, 1; “Present Age of the World,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [5]–[6].)
  
  Ussher, James. The Annals of the World. Deduced from the Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperour Vespasians Reign . . . . London: Printed by E. Tyler, for J. Crook and G. Bedell, 1658.
  The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
5. 17
  This chapter of Revelation covers the sounding of the trumpets of the fifth and sixth angels. It describes John’s vision of the pestilences and wars that occurred at the sounding of these trumpets.
6. 18
  The “little book” was held by an angel who came down from heaven and placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. John was told to take the book and to eat it. “It shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” (Revelation 10:1–2, 8–10.)
7. 19
  An 1829 revelation stated that John the Revelator did not die but was physically transformed so that he could remain on earth until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At a conference in June 1831, JS reportedly “prophecied that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been lead away by Salmanaser King of israel, to prepare them for their return, from their Long dispersion, to again possess the land of their father’s.” (Account of John, Apr. 1829–C [D&C 7]; Whitmer, History, 27.)

Answers to Questions, between circa 4 and circa 20 March 1832 [D&C 77]

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