Revelation, 13 August 1831 [D&C 62]
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Source Note
Revelation, Bank of the [at Chariton, Chariton Co.], MO, 13 Aug. 1831. Featured version copied [ca. Sept. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, p. 104; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
On 13 August 1831, as JS and several were on their way back to after spending a few weeks in , Jackson County, Missouri, JS dictated this revelation outlining the responsibilities of elders traveling to who had not yet reached the land of . At this time, some elders commanded to journey to Missouri had been delayed, in part because of their efforts to preach along the way and in part because of illness. and , for example, were instructed in a June 1831 revelation to go to Missouri by way of , Michigan Territory. They followed this direction but were delayed when Murdock fell ill in the first part of August. Murdock and Hyrum Smith spent a week in Chariton, Chariton County, Missouri, while Murdock recovered, and were soon joined by and , who were also en route to Independence. In anticipation of the arrival of these missionaries, a 1 August revelation had instructed “the residue of the Elders of this church which are coming to this land” to “hold a conference” in once they arrived.On 13 August, JS and his companions crossed the at Chariton and found , , , and there. “After the joyful salutations with which brethren meet each other,” a later history recounted, JS dictated the present revelation. The copy of the revelation made by locates the revelation “on the Bank of the river Missorie,” likely meaning the northern bank, at Chariton. The revelation instructed those elders to continue to , to hold a meeting there, and then to return to their homes.The original manuscript of this revelation is not extant. copied the text featured here into Revelation Book 1, probably shortly after JS, , and returned to , Ohio, at the end of August. Some personal copies of the revelation were also made, including a copy Elizabeth Van Benthusen Gilbert showed to when he came to in late 1831.
Footnotes
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2
See, for example, Murdock, Journal, Aug. 1831; “Autobiography of Levi Ward Hancock,” ca. 1896, 27–40; and Whitmer, History, 32.
Murdock, John. Journal, ca. 1830–1859. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 2.
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3
Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52:8–9].
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4
Murdock, Journal, Aug. 1831.
Murdock, John. Journal, ca. 1830–1859. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 2.
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5
Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:61].
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6
JS History, vol. A-1, 145; see also Cahoon, Diary, Aug. 1831; and McLellin, Journal, 15 and 24 Aug. 1831.
Cahoon, Reynolds. Diaries, 1831–1832. CHL. MS 1115.
McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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7
See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1; and JS History, vol. A-1, 146.
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8
According to Hancock’s account, when the Saints in Jackson County saw a copy of this revelation—probably brought to them by one of the four elders to whom it was directed—it “tried” their faith. The revelation’s contents, which included commendations of those who had borne testimony and which implied high expectations for proselytizing success, apparently struck the Missouri Saints as incongruous with the results of the elders’ preaching. As Elizabeth Van Benthusen Gilbert explained to Hancock, “Their faith almost failed them because they had heard that nothing was done.” In reference to the elders, she said that “many had appostatized.” After Hancock, Zebedee Coltrin, Simeon Carter, and Solomon Hancock arrived later in the fall with news that they had baptized over a hundred individuals, the “drooping Spirits” of the Missouri saints were “revived.” (“Autobiography of Levi Ward Hancock,” ca. 1896, 40–41; see also History of the Reorganized Church, 1:195; and Minutes, 1 Sept. 1831.)
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
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