Revelation, 27–28 December 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]

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Revelation, 27–28 December 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]
Source Note
Revelation, [
Kirtland Township
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, OH], 27–[28] Dec. 1832. Featured version copied [between 22 Jan. and ca. 27 Feb. 1833] in Revelation Book 2, pp. 33–46; handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams
28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
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; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 2.
Historical Introduction
JS dictated a lengthy revelation at a
conference
A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...
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of
high priests
An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...
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in
Kirtland
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, Ohio, on 27–28 December 1832.
1
For additional information on this conference, see Minutes, 27–28 Dec. 1832.
The revelation’s heading, which was probably provided by
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, states that the revelation was addressed to the “first
Elders
A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
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” of the church. The text of the revelation describes its audience as those who had congregated at the conference in Kirtland “to receive his [God’s] will concerning you.” Although in later years the term “first Elders” generally referred to the leading elders of the church, here it appears to have a less hierarchical meaning, equating the elders to whom the revelation was addressed with “the first Elders labourers, in this last kingdom” who were referenced in a parable presented in this revelation.
2
See, for example, Revelation, 22 June 1834, in Revelation Book 2, p. 97 [D&C 105:7]; and JS, Journal, 5 Oct. 1835.
A later JS history emphasizes that the revelation came two days after a revelation describing an outbreak of wars and slave rebellions that would precede Christ’s second coming.
3
JS History, vol. A-1, 245; Revelation, 25 Dec. 1832 [D&C 87].
JS called this revelation “the Olieve leaf which we have plucked from the tree of Paradise” and “the Lords message of peace to us.” Perhaps JS described the revelation in this way because it offset the stark apocalyptic imagery of the 25 December revelation or perhaps because he saw its messages regarding the conduct of church members and the need for unity as a way to heal ongoing difficulties with
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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church leaders.
4
Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833.
Like the 25 December prophecy of war, the 27–28 December revelation discusses eschatological events, but interspersed throughout the revelation are explanations of the requirements to enter the
celestial
Highest kingdom of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the sun. According to a vision dated 16 February 1832, inheritors of the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, & believed on his name, & were baptized,” “receive...
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,
terrestrial
One of three kingdoms, or degrees, of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the moon. According to JS and Sidney Rigdon’s account of a 16 February 1832 vision, those who inherit the terrestrial kingdom are those who “received not the testimony...
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, and
telestial kingdoms
The lowest of three kingdoms, or degrees, of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the stars. According to JS and Sidney Rigdon’s account of a 16 February 1832 vision, those “who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus...
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in the life to come and an exposition on light and its relation to Jesus Christ.
5
For more information on these kingdoms, see Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].
Much like the first chapter of the book of John (which JS revised in late 1831 or early 1832 as part of his Bible revision
6
Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 69.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
), the first part of this revelation connects Christ with light and the creative process. This explanation expanded on ideas expressed in earlier revelations. Revelations in 1829, for example, generally used the concept of light to represent Jesus Christ.
7
See Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6:21]; Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10:58]; and Revelation, June 1829–A [D&C 14:9].
By 1831, revelations were also using light as a metaphor for the gospel and as a more abstract representation of truth and knowledge.
8
See Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:28]; Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50:24]; Answers to Questions, between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 [D&C 77:4]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:45–46].
The 27–28 December revelation brings such ideas together by explaining that Christ’s light, which the revelation defines as truth and knowledge, is in all things, is the power by which they were created, and is the law governing them. Such concepts were not entirely novel; in the 1700s, Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg, for example, argued that “the light which proceeds from the Lord as a sun is Divine Truth, from which the angels derive all their wisdom and intelligence,” but this revelation goes further in its connection of light to the creative and governing processes.
9
Miscellaneous Theological Works, 148, 154–155; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 206–207.
Miscellaneous Theological Works of Emanuel Swedenborg, Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Volume the First. New York: American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society, 1892.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
While it explored theological themes, the revelation also issued concrete directives, instructing the elders to sanctify themselves at a “solemn assembly,” to construct a
house of God
The official name for the sacred edifice in Kirtland, Ohio, later known as the Kirtland temple; also the official name for other planned religious structures in Missouri. JS and the Latter-day Saints also referred to the House of the Lord in Kirtland as “...
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, and to be taught there in both spiritual and temporal matters before embarking on their missions to the
Gentiles
Those who were not members of the House of Israel. More specifically, members of the church identified gentiles as those whose lineage was not of the Jews or Lamanites (understood to be the American Indians in JS’s day). Certain prophecies indicated that ...
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“for the last time.” These instructions came in response to specific prayers that God show “his will . . . concerning the upbuilding of
Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
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,” which suggests that the revelation would apply only to church members in
Missouri
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. Saints in
Kirtland
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, Ohio, however, took the direction as a call to action.
10
Minutes, 27–28 Dec. 1832.
Just two weeks after JS dictated this revelation, he informed church leaders in Missouri that the revelation provided a
commandment
Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...
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from God “to build an house of God, & establish a school for the Prophets” in Kirtland. Regarding the direction as “the word of the Lord to us,”
11
JS and the Saints in Kirtland promptly began to organize the “
school for the Prophets
A term occasionally used to refer to a Protestant seminary; specifically used by JS to refer to a school to prepare elders of the church for their ministry. A December 1832 revelation directed JS and the elders of the church in Kirtland, Ohio, to establish...
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.” A revelation dictated less than a week after the 27–28 December revelation, which would later become associated with it, provided more instructions on establishing the school.
12
Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].
Over the next several months, church leaders in Kirtland took steps to construct a
schoolhouse
Two-story structure measuring thirty by thirty-eight feet, built during fall and winter of 1834. Located immediately west of temple lot on Whitney Street (now Maple Street) in Kirtland. School of the Elders met here from winter 1834–1835 to Jan. 1836. Ground...
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for “the Elders who should come in to receive ther education for the ministry” and broke ground for the building they called the
House of the Lord
JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...
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.
13
Minute Book 1, 4 May 1833; see also Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90:13–15]. Apparently, the Saints did not act quickly enough: a June 1833 revelation condemned them for not having begun construction. Site location and groundbreaking occurred soon thereafter. The House of the Lord was completed and dedicated in March 1836. (Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:3, 8, 13–17]; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 14, [1]–[2]; JS, Journal, 27, 29, 30, and 31 Mar. 1836

Many Saints focused more on the revelation’s immediate directives than on its metaphysical aspects.
Samuel Smith
13 Mar. 1808–30 July 1844. Farmer, logger, scribe, builder, tavern operator. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, by Mar. 1810; to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811...
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, for example, wrote in his journal that the revelation instructed “the first labourers in this last vinyard” to “call a sollem assembly” where they could “sanctify themselves & wash their hands & feet for a testimony” against an unbelieving generation. He also highlighted the revelation’s requirement to “appoint a teacher among” the elders so that they could obtain “knowledge of countries & languages.”
14
Samuel Smith, Diary, Dec. 1832.
Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.
Nowhere in his journal did Samuel Smith refer to the eschatology of the revelation or its other doctrinal points. Likewise, when
William W. Phelps
17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...
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printed part of the revelation in the February 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, he chose portions explaining the
solemn assembly
A special church meeting or conference convened to conduct church business, administer sacred ordinances, and receive spiritual power and instruction. In November 1831, the Saints were directed by revelation to gather as a body in solemn assemblies. A December...
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15
The phrase “solemn assembly” is found a number of times in the Old Testament, usually referring to a gathering of elders in a spirit of fasting and prayer. (See, for example, Joel 1:14; and 2:15.)
and the construction of the
House of the Lord
JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...
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.
16
“Revelation,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
As the note at the end of the inscription indicates,
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wrote this revelation as JS dictated it. The original manuscript is not extant; Williams copied the revelation into Revelation Book 2, probably between late January and late February 1833. Soon after dictating the revelation, JS transmitted it to the Saints in
Missouri
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by enclosing a copy of the text in a letter to
Phelps
17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...
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, explaining that its contents showed “that the Lord approves of us & has accepted us, & established his name in
kirtland
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for the salvation of the nations.”
17
This revelation was first published in its entirety on a broadside in late 1833 or early 1834.
18
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, who have assembled yourselves together, [Kirtland, OH: ca. Jan. 1834], copy at CHL [D&C 88–89]. A portion of the revelation was published earlier, in The Evening and the Morning Star. (“Revelation,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].)
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, who have assembled yourselves together [D&C 88–89]. [Kirtland, OH: ca. Jan. 1834]. Copy at BYU.
It was later combined and printed with the revelation of 3 January 1833.
19
Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 and 3 Jan. 1833, in Doctrine and Covenants 7, 1835 ed. [D&C 88].
Footnotes
[1]
For additional information on this conference, see Minutes, 27–28 Dec. 1832.
[2]
See, for example, Revelation, 22 June 1834, in Revelation Book 2, p. 97 [D&C 105:7]; and JS, Journal, 5 Oct. 1835.
[3]
JS History, vol. A-1, 245; Revelation, 25 Dec. 1832 [D&C 87].
[4]
[5]
For more information on these kingdoms, see Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76].
[6]
Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 69.
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
[7]
See Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6:21]; Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10:58]; and Revelation, June 1829–A [D&C 14:9].
[8]
See Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:28]; Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50:24]; Answers to Questions, between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 [D&C 77:4]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:45–46].
[9]
Miscellaneous Theological Works, 148, 154–155; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 206–207.
Miscellaneous Theological Works of Emanuel Swedenborg, Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Volume the First. New York: American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society, 1892.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
[10]
Minutes, 27–28 Dec. 1832.
[11]
[12]
Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].
[13]
Minute Book 1, 4 May 1833; see also Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90:13–15]. Apparently, the Saints did not act quickly enough: a June 1833 revelation condemned them for not having begun construction. Site location and groundbreaking occurred soon thereafter. The House of the Lord was completed and dedicated in March 1836. (Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:3, 8, 13–17]; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 14, [1]–[2]; JS, Journal, 27, 29, 30, and 31 Mar. 1836
[14]
Samuel Smith, Diary, Dec. 1832.
Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.
[15]
The phrase “solemn assembly” is found a number of times in the Old Testament, usually referring to a gathering of elders in a spirit of fasting and prayer. (See, for example, Joel 1:14; and 2:15.)
[16]
“Revelation,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].
[17]
[18]
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, who have assembled yourselves together, [Kirtland, OH: ca. Jan. 1834], copy at CHL [D&C 88–89]. A portion of the revelation was published earlier, in The Evening and the Morning Star. (“Revelation,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].)
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, who have assembled yourselves together [D&C 88–89]. [Kirtland, OH: ca. Jan. 1834]. Copy at BYU.
[19]
Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 and 3 Jan. 1833, in Doctrine and Covenants 7, 1835 ed. [D&C 88].
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Revelation, 27–28 December 1832 [D&C 88:1–126] Revelation Book 2 Revelation, 27–28 December 1832, Extract, as Recorded in Gilbert, Notebook [D&C 88:1–124] Revelation Book 1 Revelation, 27–28 December 1832, Extract, Unidentified Scribe Copy [D&C 88:1–51] Revelation, 27–28 December 1832, Broadsheet [D&C 88:1–126] Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith”
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A Revelation given the first
Elders
A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
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of this
Church of Christ
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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in the last days Dec 27th 1832
1
This heading may have appeared in the original manuscript. John Whitmer’s copy of the revelation in Revelation Book 1 contains a similar introduction: “A Revelation given to the first Elders of this church of Christ organized in these last days Given December 27, 1832.” (Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832, in Revelation Book 1, p. 158 [D&C 88:1–126].)

Verily thus saith the Lord unto you, who have assembled yourselves together, to receive his will concerning you, behold this is pleasing unto [p. 33]
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