Revelation, 5 January 1833
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Source Note
Revelation, [, OH], 5 Jan. [1833]; handwriting of ; Revelations Collection, CHL. Includes docket and notation.Single leaf, measuring 7¼ × 7⅝ inches (18 × 19 cm). The left and top edges of the recto leaf have the square cut of manufactured paper. The right edge of the recto is unevenly torn, and the bottom edge is unevenly cut. This suggests the leaf was torn from a bound volume and cut to size. The revelation was folded for filing and docketed by : “Revelati[o]n | for Farm”. Later, a notation was inscribed in purple ink across the folds on the unfolded verso. This notation is in the handwriting of Historian’s Office clerk Robert Campbell and is signed by Williams’s son, Ezra Williams, in the same ink: “Hand writing of | F. G. Williams my Father | E G Williams”.The custodial history of this document is uncertain. It was included in a collection of financial documents that gathered no earlier than 1836, suggesting that Williams retained the revelation in his possession at least until that time. The revelation evidently was in JS’s office as early as 1840, when copied several records, including this and other manuscripts belonging to Frederick G. Williams. Although the Campbell notation and Ezra Williams’s signature are undated, other Frederick G. Williams papers with Campbell notations and Ezra Williams signatures are dated April 1864, suggesting institutional custody of the revelation since that time.
Footnotes
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Historical Introduction
This revelation addressed to , which designated him as a counselor and scribe to JS and instructed him to his farm, bears the date “Januery 5 1834.” Two versions of the revelation exist: the one featured here is in the handwriting of Williams (perhaps the original inscription), and the other is in the handwriting of (apparently a copy derived from the Williams version in 1835 or 1836 when Parrish was serving as a scribe to JS). Both versions give the year of the revelation as 1834. However, the inscription “1834” on the Williams copy is in a script that differs considerably from the month and date that precede it and from the body of the revelation. The year is written in a cursive script—entirely inscribed with a continuous and unbroken line—that does not resemble other “1834” inscriptions or any of the other year inscriptions found in the collection of Williams papers of which the revelation manuscript is part. This suggests that the year was inserted at a later time. The revelation manuscript is associated with other Williams documents that were gathered together as a financial record sometime in or after January 1836. Some of these other documents show signs of uncertainty about the years in which certain financial arrangements were made. In one document “1835” was revised to “1836,” while in another “1836” was revised to “1837.” These ambiguities bring into question the certainty of the present document’s dating to the year 1834, which in turn necessitates a reconsideration of the historical context of the revelation’s content.In most respects, the revelation fits an 1833 context much better than an 1834 context. First, it referenced the need for JS to do the “work of translation.” JS began revising the Bible in 1830 and finished in July 1833. , who first met JS in summer 1831, helped JS in this effort in the second half of 1832 and in the first half of 1833. The Egyptian papyri connected with JS’s next translation project—the Book of Abraham—did not arrive in , Ohio, until the summer of 1835. Williams apparently did not help with the Book of Abraham or any later translation projects. Therefore, a January revelation referencing translation fits much better in 1833 than in 1834.The revelation appointed to be a “councillor & scribe” to JS, which also implies an 1833 date. Williams may have begun writing for JS in an informal capacity as early as February or March 1832 and was formally “employed to be a scribe” in July 1832. The further need of his services as a scribe and as a counselor likely arose from the excommunication of , one of JS’s two counselor-scribes, in December 1832. On 9 January 1833, the agreed to pay Williams “for his services as assistant scribe,” and the minutes of a conference held 22 January 1833 note that Williams was an “assistant scribe and counceler.” On 18 March 1833, and Williams were to be “equal with him [JS] in holding the of the Kingdom and also to the .” A revelation calling Williams to serve as a counselor and scribe therefore seems plausible in January 1833 but would make much less sense a year later.Finally, the revelation instructed to consecrate his farm for the “bringing forth of the revelations.” Although obtaining means for printing the revelations was a manifest concern in an 11 January 1834 prayer offered by JS and others, a 25 June 1833 letter sent by JS and other leaders indicates there was also concern at that earlier time about how to acquire binding materials for the planned Book of Commandments. A revelation commanding Williams to consecrate his farm to help in “bringing forth of the revelations” could therefore make sense in either 1833 or 1834, though 1833 is more likely. Williams had obtained this farm, consisting of 144 acres, in the winter of 1829–1830 through a land exchange with Isaac Moore. Williams later stated that he allowed JS the use of his farm for two years. This was apparently from May 1831, when JS’s parents moved onto the farm, to about March 1833. Williams evidently consecrated his farm when he joined the United Firm in mid-March 1833, but he did not actually deed the farm to JS until May 1834. The firm’s founding revelation required firm members to “be equal or in other words you are to have equal claims on the properties for the benefit of managing the concerns of your .” A plat for , probably created in summer 1833 when church leaders were making the plats for the , shows that the church had plans to build a printing house on the Williams farm. Because the church likely would not have planned in summer 1833 to build on Williams’s land if he had not already consecrated it, and because the revelation commanded Williams to consecrate his land, the Kirtland plat is further evidence that January 1833 is the most likely date for this revelation., who was serving as a scribe, probably inscribed this revelation when it was dictated. The revelation was addressed to him and given in response to his desire to know God’s will concerning him. The Williams copy of the revelation was hastily inscribed on a scrap of unlined paper—suggesting that it may be the original manuscript, taken down at the time JS dictated the text. Williams retained the text of the revelation, and it appears among a collection of his personal papers.
Footnotes
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1
See Historical Introduction to JS, Journal, 1835–1836; and Historical Introduction to JS History, 1834–1836.
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2
The revelation was originally in the Frederick G. Williams Papers at the Church History Library, but it has been moved into the Church History Library’s Revelations Collection.
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3
Spectroscopy analysis suggests that the date “January 5,” the year “1834,” and the body of the revelation are in three different inks.
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4
Within the Frederick G. Williams Papers, this revelation appeared among other financial documents covering Williams’s lifespan and his probate. A retrospective financial statement found in Williams’s papers mentions that financial statements were prepared in January 1836. The statement contains financial records related to the revelation manuscript and other documents in the collection. Other retrospective financial statements in the collection refer to both the Williams farm and his work as a scribe. (See Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL.)
Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL. MS 782.
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5
Frederick G. Williams, “Account on Farm,” no date, Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL; “Estate of Algernon S. Gilbert,” ca. Oct. 1837, Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL.
Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL. MS 782.
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6
JS’s June 1830 revelation describing the visions of Moses became the beginning of his revision of the Bible. On 2 February 1833, JS and Williams “completed the translation and the reviewing of the New testament.” The translation of the Old Testament was completed on 2 July 1833. (Visions of Moses, June 1830 [Moses 1]; Minute Book 1, 2 Feb. 1833; Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson County, Missouri, 2 July 1833.)
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7
See Historical Introduction to Note, 9 Jan. 1833.
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8
Peterson, Story of the Book of Abraham, 1–6.
Peterson, H. Donl. The Story of the Book of Abraham: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism. Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 2008.
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9
See Gee, “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence,” 196; see also Peterson, Story of the Book of Abraham, 119–124.
Gee, John. “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri.” In The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, edited by Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, and Andrew H. Hedges, 175–217. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000.
Peterson, H. Donl. The Story of the Book of Abraham: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism. Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 2008.
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10
Frederick G. Williams, Statement, no date, Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL; Scribal Directory; see also JS History, ca. Summer 1832; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.
Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL. MS 782.
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11
JS, Journal, 3 Dec. 1832; see also Jennings, “Consequential Counselor,” 214–215.
Jennings, Erin B. “The Consequential Counselor: Restoring the Root(s) of Jesse Gause.” Journal of Mormon History 34 (Spring 2008): 182–227.
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12
Note, 9 Jan. 1833; Minutes, 22–23 Jan. 1833. Williams also referred to himself by this title in attestations to three revelation transcripts, which he probably made shortly after receiving his new appointment. (Revelation, 6 Dec. 1832 [D&C 86]; Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].)
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13
Minute Book 1, 18 Mar. 1833.
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14
JS, Journal, 11 Jan. 1834; Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson County, Missouri, 25 June 1833. Money may also have been needed to pay a debt on the paper, to pay living expenses for William W. Phelps and his family, or for other unknown needs related to publishing the Book of Commandments.
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15
See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 15 May 1831.
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16
Frederick G. Williams, “Account on Farm,” no date, Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL; Frederick G. Williams, Statement, no date, Frederick G. Williams, Papers, CHL.
Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL. MS 782.
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17
Revelation, 15 May 1831; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 12, [6].
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18
Minute Book 1, 15 Mar. 1833; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, vol. 18, pp. 477–478, 5 May 1834, microfilm 20,238, U. S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Williams deeded his farm to JS on 5 May 1834, likely in response to a 23 April 1834 revelation directing the redistribution of the United Firm’s Ohio assets. (Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104].)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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19
Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82:17]; see also Parkin, “Joseph Smith and the United Firm,” 12–13, 16–19.
Parkin, Max H. “Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, 1832–1834.” BYU Studies 46, no. 3 (2007): 5–66.
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20
Plat of City of Zion, circa Early June–25 June 1833, CHL; Plat of Kirtland, Ohio, not before 2 Aug. 1833, CHL; Parkin, “Joseph Smith and the United Firm,” 19.
Parkin, Max H. “Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, 1832–1834.” BYU Studies 46, no. 3 (2007): 5–66.
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