Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51]
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Source Note
Revelation, [, OH], 20 May 1831. Featured version, titled “54 Commandment,” copied [between ca. May and June 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 86–87; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
After revelations in late December 1830 and early January 1831 instructed all church members in to move to , believers “made preperations to Journey to the Ohio, with their wives, and children and all that they possessed, to obey the of the Lord.” The group of sixty or more members residing in and around in Broome and Chenango counties, New York, constituted one of three groups that emigrated from New York to Ohio. Under the leadership of , they left their homes in mid-April 1831; their monthlong journey included a delay in , New York, for more than a week because of ice in the harbor. Once vessels were again able to navigate, the group sailed for , Ohio, and arrived in the area in mid-May.later wrote that upon their arrival “it was advised that the Branch remain together and go to [a] neigboring town called as a man by the name owned a considerabl tract of land there which he offered to let the Brethren occuppy.” An earlier revelation had directed newly appointed to institute new economic arrangements among church members, who were each to consecrate property to the church and in turn be appointed steward either over the property thus consecrated or over other property distributed by the bishop. The revelation presented here gave specific directions to Partridge about how he should implement the of properties and money in Thompson among the newly arrived Colesville members. Although Copley apparently offered to allow church members to live on his land in exchange for making improvements upon it, he may have lacked clear title, a possibility suggested by the language in this revelation that instructed Partridge to “go & obtain a deed or Article of this land.” ’s later history affirmed that one of JS’s revelations gave instruction “to purchase a thousand acres of Land which was Claimed By Leman Copley and not paid for.”There was little opportunity to do as this revelation directed because soon rescinded his agreement to permit the group to live and work on his land. This occurred after Copley’s early May mission to the Shaker settlement at North Union, Ohio, and sometime before 6 June 1831. Neither nor the Colesville church members would have another opportunity to implement the principles of consecration expressed in this and other revelations until they arrived in .
Footnotes
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1
Whitmer, History, 9; see also Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:3]; and Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32].
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2
Porter, Study of the Origins, 119–127.
Porter, Larry C. A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831. Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History. Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000.
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3
Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 28–29.
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL. MS 767.
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4
Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 29–30; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831 [D&C 41].
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL. MS 767.
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5
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–33].
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6
Knight, Reminiscences, 9.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
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7
Knight, Reminiscences, 9; Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 30.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL. MS 767.
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8
Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 30; see also Historical Introductions to Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]; and to Revelation, 10 June 1831 [D&C 54].
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL. MS 767.
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9
After his arrival in Missouri in July 1831, Partridge received similar instructions to “stand in the office which I have appointed him, to divide the saints their inheritance, even as I have commanded.” (Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:7].)
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