Revelation, [, Geauga Co., OH], 26 Dec. 1835. Featured version copied [ca. 26 Dec. 1835] in JS, Journal, 1835–1836, p. 90; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, 1835–1836.
Historical Introduction
On the morning after Christmas Day in 1835, , one of the presidents of the , asked JS to petition God for a revelation that “should make known [his] duty.” In response, JS dictated this revelation.
, then thirty-one years old, had distinguished himself as a faithful prior to his request. He joined the church in western in January 1832 and relocated his family 120 miles west to , Ohio, sometime around June 1833. Sherman marched to in May 1834 with about two hundred others as part of the expedition. In February 1835, he was called as one of seven presidents over the Seventy, a newly established office. In his ordination blessing, Sherman was told, “Your ministry shall be great and you shall proclaim to various nations. Your faith shall be unshaken and you shall be delivered from great afflictions.” At a May 1835 conference, church leaders voted that Sherman, along with the other presidents of the Seventy, should “hold himself in readiness to go at the call of the , when the Lord opens the way.” Sherman likely left Kirtland during summer 1835 to preach in local communities, though he may have remained in Kirtland and prepared himself to preach as he had been instructed.
On 26 December, called on JS as he was studying Hebrew with and . According to JS’s journal, Sherman entered the room in which they were studying and asked “to have the word of the lord” through JS. “I have been wrought upon to make known to you my feelings and desires,” he told JS, adding that he had been promised by the Lord that “I should have a revelation which should make known my duty.” Sometime before the end of the day, JS dictated a revelation—presumably to Williams, who was acting temporarily as JS’s scribe—that addressed Sherman’s concerns. Williams later copied the revelation into JS’s journal. That copy, which is the earliest extant version, is featured here.
Johnson, Reminiscences and Journals, 16–17. Lyman Sherman married Delcena Johnson in 1829 and was presumably living with or nearby his in-laws when missionaries converted several members of the family. Sherman likely arrived in Ohio at the same time that the rest of the Johnson family moved to Kirtland. (Johnson, “A Life Review,” 9.)
Johnson, Joel Hills. Reminiscences and Journals, 1835–1882. 3 vols. Joel Hills Johnson, Papers, 1835–1882. CHL. MS 1546, fds. 1–3.
Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.
The following is a revelation given to this day 26 Dec 1835
Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant your sins are forgiven you because you have obeyed my voice in coming up hither this morning to receive councel of him whom I have appointed
Therefore let your soul be at rest concerning your spiritual standing, and resist no more my voice, and arise up, and be more careful henceforth in observing your vows which you have made and do make, and you shall be blessed with exceding great blessings. Wait patiently untill the time when the shall be called of my servants then you shall be numbered with the first of mine and receive right by with the rest of mine elders whom I have chosen
Behold this is the promise of the father unto you if you continue faithful—
and it shall be fulfilled upon you in that day that you shall have right to preach my gospel wheresoever I shall send you from henceforth from that time, Therefore strengthen your brethren in all your conversation in all your prayers, and in all your exhortations, and in all your doings, and behold and lo I am with you to bless you and deliver you forever Amen [p. 90]
In the Old Testament, a solemn assembly was a “holy convocation” of individuals. For Latter-day Saints in 1835, the term had become closely associated with the House of the Lord at Kirtland. The House of the Lord was dedicated on 27 March 1836, and on 30 March a group of three hundred men met there to participate in a solemn assembly. (Leviticus 23:36; Joel 1:14; Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:70, 117–120]; JS, Journal, 27 and 30 Mar. 1836.)
During the 30 March 1836 solemn assembly, Sherman and the other members of the Seventy were instructed to “go to Zion if they please or go wheresoever they will and preach the gospel and let the redemtion of Zion be our object.” (Minutes, 30 Mar. 1836.)