Revelation, 3 November 1831 [D&C 133]
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Source Note
Revelation, , OH, 3 Nov. 1831. Featured version, titled “72 A Revelation Recd. Nov 3, 1831,” copied [ca. Nov. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 116–121; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
According to a later history, JS dictated this revelation on 3 November 1831 in answer to ’ questions about “the ” and “preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth.” The history indicates that this revelation was dictated following the two-day in , Ohio, which focused on the publication of JS’s revelations in the Book of Commandments. This revelation, which was later designated as the “appendix” to the Book of Commandments, followed the 1 November dictation of the “preface” to that book. The preface placed JS’s revelations in a millenarian context, and this 3 November revelation continued in that millenarian theme. Beginning with a call for the Saints to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ by leaving Babylon and gathering to , the revelation then extended this message to all people. It warned of Christ’s imminent return to the earth in power and glory and of the events that would precede and accompany that return. It also provided an explicit statement that God wanted JS’s revelations to go to the world to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for Christ’s return.Because two early copies of this revelation bear different dates, there is some uncertainty about the exact date of this revelation. When copied it into Revelation Book 1, likely before leaving for on 20 November 1831, he dated it 3 November. JS’s later history also places this revelation after the 1–2 November conference. However, another copy of the revelation in ’s handwriting was inserted into Revelation Book 1 as a loose copy, bearing the endorsement “s Nov 2 1831” in unidentified handwriting, suggesting it may have been written during the 1–2 November conference, which Johnson attended. Because Rigdon transcribed this copy on loose leaves, it is difficult to determine exactly when the copy was made. It may have been placed into Revelation Book 1 before Whitmer left for Missouri, but it could have been inserted much later as well. Whitmer, on the other hand, likely copied the revelation into the bound book before Whitmer and took the book to Missouri on 20 November 1831. Whitmer’s copy is apparently an earlier transcript than the Rigdon copy and therefore more reliable regarding the date—a conclusion corroborated by the fact that the 1–2 November conference minutes do not mention this revelation, and no other sources confirm its presentation on either 1 or 2 November.Although the 3 November revelation does not refer to itself as an “appendix,” it may have been dictated specifically to serve as an appendix to JS’s revelations—much like the 1 November revelation was presented as the preface. The copy contains the endorsement “An appendix to Revelation,” suggesting an early designation of the revelation as an appendix. When the revelation was first published in the May 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, explained that it was known as “the close” or “the Appendix,” indicating it had received that designation at least by the spring 1833. According to a later JS history, it was called the appendix because of “its importance, and for distinction.”
Footnotes
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1
JS History, vol. A-1, 166.
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2
JS History, vol. A-1, 166; Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
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3
Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1].
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4
Whitmer, History, 38.
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5
JS History, vol. A-1, 166.
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6
Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [5], in JSP, MRB:403 [D&C 133]. The date of the revelation’s dictation is also given as 2 November at another location in this document, although an unknown scribe later changed that date to 3 November.
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.
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8
Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 1; Whitmer, History, 38.
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10
“Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [1]; Appendix 1: Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [6], in JSP, MRB:405 [D&C 133].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.
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11
JS History, vol. A-1, 166. The revelation was never published in the Book of Commandments, probably because it was to be one of the last items printed and the printing of the book was halted by violence in Missouri. The revelation was labeled as the appendix in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. (See “Proposed Sixth Gathering of the Book of Commandments;” Doctrine and Covenants 100, 1835 ed., 247–250.)
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