Revelation, 26 April 1838 [D&C 115]
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Source Note
Revelation, , Caldwell Co., MO, 26 Apr. 1838. Featured version copied [ca. 26 Apr. 1838] in JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, pp. 32–34; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes use marks. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838.
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Historical Introduction
JS dictated a revelation on 26 April 1838 stating that the city of , Missouri, “should be built up” by the gathering of the Saints and that they should build a there. Since the creation of in 1836, in and elsewhere had been gathering in Far West, the county’s principal Mormon community, and in surrounding settlements. In early 1837, about a year before JS’s arrival, members and drew a plan for a temple and appointed a committee to superintend construction of the temple in Far West’s central lot. In April 1837, the questioned the Zion presidency’s authority to appoint such a committee and even to select the site for the city. This problem was somewhat resolved, and several hundred Saints assembled to begin excavating for the temple foundation in July. When JS and visited Far West in November, they participated in a council meeting wherein the members resolved to expand the size of the existing city plat. This resolution suggests that JS and the other council members approved the location of the city and its central lot. Moreover, the council members apparently authorized the plan to build a temple and approved the location, but it was decided to suspend any construction work “till the Lord shall reveal it to be his will to be commenced.”After JS moved to in March 1838 and helped root dissension out of the church, he and the high council turned their attention to developing as the church’s gathering center. On 21 April, they passed several resolutions to build the community, including improving the used for community meetings, building one or more , and reestablishing the church press. By this time, thousands of Saints were living in Far West and its vicinity and hundreds more were expected from within the next few months. The gathering of the Saints, especially with heavy migration from , would eventually require settlement beyond the bounds of Far West, and church leaders had already begun efforts to locate other sites for settlement.JS’s revelation of 26 April 1838 spoke to these recent developments. The revelation was addressed to JS, other church leaders, and all other members of the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”—which the revelation specified was the new official name of the church. The revelation enjoined the church’s leaders and members to continue gathering to , to sanctify the city through living, and to build the . The Saints were instructed to begin work on the temple on 4 July and to build it according to a pattern that would be revealed to the First Presidency. When church members resided in earlier in the 1830s, no revelations had instructed the Saints to establish a city of gathering or to construct a temple there. The plan for the Saints in up until this time had been one of temporary settlement while waiting for a return to the “centre place” of in . The 26 April 1838 revelation marked a change in Mormon plans in Missouri. Though the Latter-day Saints were not in Zion’s “centre place” at and were not building “the ,” they were commanded to build up a city of Zion with a temple. The revelation concluded with a commandment to the Saints to build up Far West and to establish other communities “in the regions round about” as directed by their prophet.The revelation was probably dictated orally and written down by a scribe, as was typical with JS’s revelations. copied the revelation into JS’s “Scriptory Book,” apparently around the time JS dictated the revelation. The Latter-day Saints followed the direction of the revelation by laying the cornerstones of the on 4 July 1838, whereupon gave a speech in which he vigorously asserted the rights of the Latter-day Saints to settle wherever they pleased.
Footnotes
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1
Minute Book 2, 3 Apr. 1837; Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838.
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2
Minute Book 2, 7 Apr. 1837; Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837.
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3
Minutes, 6 Nov. 1837; Minutes, 10 Nov. 1837; see also Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838.
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5
Backman, Heavens Resound, 354–355. The influx of Saints from Kirtland was at least in part the result of a 12 January 1838 revelation directing the First Presidency to move to Far West as soon as possible and for loyal Latter-day Saints to follow. (Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.
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6
See Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3].
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7
“Revelations,” Ensign of Liberty, Aug. 1849, 98–99; see also William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872, typescript, Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, CHL; and Pratt, Autobiography, 65.
Ensign of Liberty. Kirtland, OH. Mar. 1847–Aug. 1849.
McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872. Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, no date. Typescript. CHL. MS 9090. Original at CCLA.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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8
Beginning with this 26 April revelation, the Scriptory Book appears to have been kept regularly, suggesting that the revelation was inscribed sometime in late April or early May. The revelation was later published in the church’s newspaper at the time, the Elders’ Journal. (JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, pp. 32–38; “An Extract of Revelation,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 52–53.)
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9
JS, Journal, 4 July 1838; “Celebration of the 4th of July,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 60; Discourse, ca. 4 July 1838.
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