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Blessing to John Corrill, 22 September 1835

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Blessing to John Corrill, 22 September 1835

Source Note

JS, Blessing, to , [, Geauga Co., OH], 22 Sept. 1835. Featured version copied 3 Oct. 1835 in Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, p. 14; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information on Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, see the source note for Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.

Historical Introduction

On 22 September 1835, and a small group of other church leaders received blessings from JS. Corrill was a counselor to , the in Missouri. On 23 June 1834, a council of directed Corrill to “receive his with power from on high in and assist in gathering up the strength of the Lords house and preach the Gospel.” He arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, in spring 1835 for this purpose. In April 1835, Corrill received a patriarchal blessing from , which promised God’s protection to Corrill even amid persecution. JS’s blessing for Corrill pronounced similar assurances and promised that Corrill, who was apparently trained as an architect, would help construct the that the Saints had been directed to build in Missouri.
recorded the initial dictation of this blessing on 22 September 1835 and copied it into Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 on 3 October 1835.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more information on the context of these blessings, see Blessing to David Whitmer, 22 Sept. 1835.

  2. [2]

    Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, 23 June 1834.

  4. [4]

    Blessing to John Corrill, 8 Apr. 1835, in Patriarchal Blessings, 1:22–23.

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

  5. [5]

    See Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84].

Page 14

Blessed of the Lord is for the hand of the Lord shall be over him, and there are none that surpass him in understanding pertaining to architecture: unto this end hath the Lord raised him up, and he shall yet stand upon the land of and be greatly multiplied in the midst of her: for he shall build the in , and shall do a work that none other man understandeth to do, in building the houses of the Lord. It shall be a gift unto him: he shall be enlightened by visions and dreams, and his soul shall be satisfied with the abundance with which the Lord his God shall bless him: and his seed after him shall be blessed from generation to generation. And his name shall be had in remembrance and be known among all nations; and it shall be said of him among governors, rulers and kings: This man reared the temple of God in Zion. And he shall be reverenced because of his great sagacity. His life shall be prolonged until he is very old. He shall be accounted among the wise counsellors of Israel, and he shall hear the voice of the Lord his God, and receive counsel by the ministering of angels; and shall be very terrible unto his enemies, and his soul shall be satisfied in seeing the wrath of God poured out upon them to the uttermost. He shall have communion with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and with the spirits of just men made perfect, and shall be caught up, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, he shall be caught up to the third heaven and behold unuterable things. And thus shall the hand of God be upon him all the days of his life, unto his joy and the satisfaction of his soul: and he shall have a crown of eternal life. And these are the blessings that I want should come upon my brother . Amen.
, [C]lerk and Recorder.
Given September 22, 1835, and recorded October 3, 1835. [p. 14]
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Page 14

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Blessing to John Corrill, 22 September 1835
ID #
1147
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:433–434
Handwriting on This Page
  • Oliver Cowdery

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Nothing is known about Corrill’s formal education or training as an architect. Truman Angell later described him as the “leading mechanic” for the Kirtland House of the Lord, and the inventory of Corrill’s personal property at the time of his death listed tools, instruments, and books relevant to architecture. (Angell, Autobiography, 15; Adams Co., IL, Estate Records, ca. 1832–1938, box 287, “A Bill of the Widows Dowery of John Corrill dec’d,” 10 Mar. 1843, microfilm 933,951, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    Angell, Truman O. Autobiography, 1884. CHL. MS 12334. Also available in Archie Leon Brown and Charlene L. Hathaway, 141 Years of Mormon Heritage: Rawsons, Browns, Angells—Pioneers (Oakland, CA: By the authors, 1973), 119–135.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    After the dedication of the House of the Lord, Corrill returned to Missouri around April or May 1836. There, he helped found Far West and facilitated the growth of the church in Missouri. He was later called as a church historian. In this role, he provided an account of the building up of Zion in Missouri and his involvement therein. (Partridge, Diary, 9 Apr. and 6 May 1836; Whitmer, History, 84; see also Corrill, Brief History, 26–44.)

    Partridge, Edward. Diaries, 1818 and 1835–1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fds. 1–2.

  3. [3]

    In August 1831, Sidney Rigdon dedicated a site for a temple in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. A September 1832 revelation prophesied that the temple in Zion would be reared in that generation if the Saints did not “pollute” the Lord's holy land. However, the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County in November 1833 prevented the construction of the temple. (Whitmer, History, 32; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:3]; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:59].)

  4. [4]

    On 15 January 1836, Corrill was appointed “to take charge of the finishing of the Lord’s house” in Kirtland and to ensure that rules of conduct were enforced therein. (Corrill, Brief History, 22; Minute Book 1, 15 Jan. 1836.)

  5. [5]

    See Hebrews 12:23.

  6. [6]

    See 2 Corinthians 12:2–4.