Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105]
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Source Note
Revelation, , MO, 22 June 1834. Featured version copied [between ca. 23 June 1834 and 5 July 1835] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 199–[201]; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
JS dictated this 22 June 1834 revelation at the campsite of the on the property of John Cooper, a church member who lived about four miles north of in Clay County, Missouri. The revelation told members of the Camp of Israel that for the present they were no longer required to redeem by restoring church members to their , Missouri, lands. By 22 June, it had become apparent that church members would not be able to enter Jackson County without bloodshed, particularly since Governor seemed reluctant to call out the militia to escort them into the county. One resident of Lexington County, Missouri, reported on 20 June, “Should they cross the river” into Jackson County, “there will be a battle, and probably much blood shed.”Even with unwilling to call out the militia, JS still seemed determined to have the camp press on. recorded in his journal that a council was held once news of Dunklin’s reluctance was received, and it was “decided that we should go on armed and equiped.” However, on 21 June, , sheriff of , along with a delegation of men from Clay and , conversed with JS and members of the camp, informing them of the great alarm the expedition had caused among many western residents. To help alleviate the tense situation, JS and others signed a statement on 21 June, indicating that the camp did not intend “to commence hostilities against any man or boddy of men” and that they were willing to work toward a peaceful solution to the issues, even offering a proposal that church members purchase the land of those not willing to live in if the Saints returned.The following day, JS held a council “to determine what steps” the camp should take. During the council, he dictated this revelation, which, according to camp participant , “show[ed] the mind of God concerning the redemption of Zion.” According to the revelation, the Lord did not require the camp to redeem Zion through military force at that time. The revelation stated that before Zion could be redeemed, the church’s needed to obtain an “endowment of power” in the that was being constructed in , Ohio. The revelation also declared that Zion could have been redeemed had church members living outside of been willing to provide financial support to the Camp of Israel expedition.The revelation went on to reiterate directions given in previous revelations that Saints outside of were to purchase lands in and the surrounding areas and gather to those locations. At some point, the revelation intimated, the armies of Israel might be great enough for the Saints to reclaim their lost Jackson County lands, but until then, they should live humbly and peacefully with their neighbors. The revelation also stated that the Lord accepted the offering of those who had participated in the camp. Some camp participants later remembered the revelation indicating that their offering was like the biblical patriarch Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, but that comparison is not in the revelation, suggesting that perhaps JS made that declaration to the camp independently.After camp members heard the revelation, some accepted it as “the word of the lord” and “rejoiced.” , for example, recalled that the revelation “was the most acceptable to me of anything I had ever heard before, the gospel being the exception.” Others were not so enthusiastic. According to , “Many in the camp murmured because we were not permited at this time to restore our Brethren & Sisters to their Homes and defend them there at all hazards.” remembered that “several of the brethren apostatized because they were not going to have the privilege of fighting.” also recalled that some declared “they had rether die than to return with out a fite” and then “gave vent to their Rath on a patch of Pawpaw brush” some distance from the camp, mowing it “down like grass.” Regardless of these attitudes, the revelation, coupled with the visit from ’s delegation, apparently convinced JS to disband the camp, a process that began shortly thereafter. The dispersal was hastened by an outbreak of cholera, which some camp members interpreted as punishment from God for their rebellious attitudes. Expedition leaders gave official discharges to camp members in early July.The original inscription of this revelation is not extant. , who had already served during the expedition as JS’s scribe for a letter to , may have been the original scribe of the revelation. , who arrived at the campsite on 22 June, apparently received a copy of the revelation at that time and may have recorded it in Revelation Book 1 as early as 23 June. Other church leaders, including and , made copies as well, though likely after Whitmer. also made a copy of the revelation in Revelation Book 2 sometime after JS and others had returned to .The revelation’s contents were apparently not broadcast widely, probably because of its declaration that once the Saints had assembled a large army, they would be justified in reclaiming their lands and “throw[i]ng down the tower” of their enemies. The revelation was not included in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, and when it was first published in the 1844 edition, pseudonyms were used to refer to JS and the elders. However, the Saints who knew of the revelation acted quickly on some of its directions, including holding a meeting on 23 June to select those elders who would receive an endowment of power. In early July 1834, they also prepared an appeal for peace that was then published in the August 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star.
Footnotes
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1
Holbrook, Reminiscences, 37–38; “Amasa Lyman’s History,” LDS Millennial Star, 12 Aug. 1865, 27:502.
Holbrook, Joseph. Autobiography and Journal, not before 1871. Photocopy. CHL. MS 5004. Original in private possession.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
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2
For more information about Dunklin’s attitude toward calling out the militia, see Historical Introduction to Declaration, 21 June 1834.
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3
“The Mormon Controversy,” Daily National Intelligencer (Washington DC), 23 July 1834, [3].
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
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4
Rich, Diary, 14 June 1834.
Rich, Charles C. Journals, 1833–1862. Charles C. Rich Collection, 1832–1908. CHL. MS 889, box 1.
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6
Cahoon, Autobiography, 43; Woodruff, Journal, May 1834. Edward Partridge later remembered that “after the arrival of the brethren from the east, a council was held” in which it was decided “that it would not be wisdom to ask the Governor” to call out a militia escort for the Saints. That council may have been this one on 22 June, or it could have been another council that John Whitmer attended on 21 June before meeting up with the Camp of Israel on 22 June. (“A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:50; Whitmer, Daybook, 21 and 22 June 1834.)
Cahoon, William F. Autobiography, 1878. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8433.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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7
Holbrook, Reminiscences, 38.
Holbrook, Joseph. Autobiography and Journal, not before 1871. Photocopy. CHL. MS 5004. Original in private possession.
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8
JS and others spent a good portion of February, March, and April trying to raise money and recruit participants for the Camp of Israel. Accounts of the expedition indicate that church members contributed only a little over $330, necessitating camp members to donate nearly $1,700 of their own money for the expedition’s expenses. And while a February 1834 revelation had instructed JS and others to try to recruit as many as 500 men for the expedition, only 205 actually went. (Account with the Church of Christ, ca. 11–29 Aug. 1834; Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:30]; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 11; see also Historical Introduction to Minutes, 17 Mar. 1834.)
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
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9
Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:67–74]; Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:23].
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10
See, for example, McBride, Reminiscence, 6; Hancock, Autobiography, 147; and Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 18.
McBride, Reuben, Sr. Reminiscence, no date. CHL. MS 8197.
Hancock, Levi Ward. Autobiography, 1803–1836. New Mormon Studies CD-ROM: A Comprehensive Resource Library, 2009. CHL.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
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11
Noble and Noble, Reminiscences, [8].
Noble, Joseph B., and Mary Adeline Beman Noble. Reminiscences, ca. 1836. CHL. MS 1031, fd. 1.
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12
Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 14.
Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.
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13
Cahoon, Autobiography, 43.
Cahoon, William F. Autobiography, 1878. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8433.
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14
George A. Smith, Autobiography, 38.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
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15
Tanner, Address, [13].
Tanner, Nathan. Address, no date. CHL. MS 2815.
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16
Cahoon, Autobiography, 43; Burgess, Autobiography, 2–3; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 18. According to Heber C. Kimball, several members of the camp exhibited cholera symptoms on 21 June, before the revelation was given, but other accounts indicate that cholera did not break out on a large scale until later. Camp members who died from cholera were John S. Carter, Albert Fisk, Seth Hitchcock, Warren Ingalls, Edward Ives, Noah Johnson, Jesse B. Lawson, Robert McCord, Betsy Parrish, Erastus Rudd, Jesse J. Smith, Elial Strong, and Eber Wilcox. Two other church members living in Missouri died as well: Sidney Gilbert and Phebe Murdock, who was a daughter of John and Julia Clapp Murdock living with the Gilberts. (Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 15; Burgess, Autobiography, 3; McBride, Reminiscence, 7; Parkin, “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication,” 4–5.)
Cahoon, William F. Autobiography, 1878. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8433.
Burgess, Harrison. Autobiography, ca. 1883. Photocopy. CHL. MS 893. Also available as “Sketch of a Well-Spent Life,” in Labors in the Vineyard, Faith-Promoting Series 12 (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884), 65–74.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
McBride, Reuben, Sr. Reminiscence, no date. CHL. MS 8197.
Parkin, Max H. “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication.” Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation Newsletter 15 (Fall 1997): 4–5.
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18
Whitmer, Daybook, 22 and 23 June 1834.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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19
Both Phelps’s and Corrill’s copies are in Revelations Collection, CHL. Phelps also copied the revelation into a journal that he began in 1835. (Phelps, Diary and Notebook, 4–17 [second numbering].)
Phelps, William W. Diary and Notebook, ca. 1835–1836, 1843, 1864. CHL. MS 3450.
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20
Revelation, 22 June 1834, in Revelation Book 2, pp. 97–100 [D&C 105].
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21
Eber D. Howe, a vocal critic of JS in 1834, was aware of the revelation but discussed it in generalities. The one quotation that he implied came from the revelation is not actually found in it, suggesting that Howe did not have a copy. (Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 162.)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
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22
Revelation, 22 June 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 102, 1844 ed. [D&C 105].
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23
Minutes, 23 June 1834; “An Appeal,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 183–184. According to a later JS history, a council held in Missouri on 7 July 1834 sanctioned the appeal, although the extant minutes of the meeting do not mention this. (JS History, vol. A-1, 514; Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
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