Revelation, 8 July 1838–B
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Source Note
Revelation, , Caldwell Co., MO, 8 July 1838. Featured version copied [ca. Aug. 1838]; handwriting of ; one page; Revelations Collection, CHL. Includes docket.Single leaf measuring 12⅜ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). The top and bottom edges have the square cut of manufactured paper. The right edge appears to have been torn from a bound volume. The left edge appears to have been hand cut. The verso contains a transcript of Revelation, 8 July 1838–C, also in the handwriting of . The document was folded for filing and was docketed by Whitney: “A revelation relative | to Phelps & Williams | also Tithing the Church | July 8, 1838”. Separations at folds have been repaired. The Historical Department of the LDS church cataloged this version of the revelation in the Revelations Collection in 1983.
Footnotes
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1
Best, “Register of the Revelations Collection,” 19.
Best, Christy. “Register of the Revelations Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” July 1983. CHL.
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Historical Introduction
On Sunday, 8 July 1838, JS dictated five revelations, each of which concerned church leadership or finances; one of these revelations regarded former church leaders and . Williams had been a counselor to JS in the —which also served as the church presidency in , Ohio, through 1837—and Phelps had been a counselor in the church in . Williams was sustained as a counselor in the September 1837 reorganization conference in Kirtland, Ohio, but was rejected in the November 1837 reorganization conference in , Missouri. Soon after the November conference, Williams moved from Kirtland to Far West, where he remained involved in church service. However, like , , and some other who relocated to Far West, Williams sympathized with Phelps and in their conflict with the in Far West. Phelps and Whitmer were removed from office in early February 1838 and excommunicated in early March. It seems that Williams aligned himself with JS and the church from that time until around late May or early June, when he apparently began associating again with Cowdery and other dissenters who had been excommunicated. At some point, Williams may also have been excommunicated, as he was later rebaptized and reconfirmed.In mid-June several Latter-day Saints in , Missouri, signed a letter warning , and , , and to move out of the county within three days or to expect “a more fatal calamity.” The letter further stated, “We will have no more promises to reform as you have already made and in every instance violated your promises.” John Whitmer later recounted that at the ’s instigation, began suing the men named in the letter, as well as , for debts. The inclusion of Williams in the lawsuits may indicate that he had been added to the group of men who were warned to leave. also initiated legal procedures to claim the men’s belongings to pay the debts. , who also recounted these events, wrote that the circumstances “compelled others of the dissenters to confess and give satisfaction to the church.” Phelps quickly wrote church leaders about his good intentions and willingness to rectify any wrongs he had committed. Consequently, he was allowed to remain at despite the unconditional language in the mid-June letter of warning. Williams may have initiated reconciliation around the same time, and he also remained in Far West. The other men named in the letter of warning fled on 19 June. Both Phelps and Williams were evidently in late June.On 8 July, JS dictated five revelations in , apparently in a leadership meeting addressing several items of church business. The revelation featured here directed that and should be and travel, preach, and proselytize. The featured version of the revelation indicates the revelation was an answer to a question about the two men. Later in the day, the revelation was read to “the congregations of the saints,” which may have included Williams and Phelps. About a month later, on 5 August, Williams was reconfirmed a church member. There is no evidence of either man being ordained an elder or of either departing on a proselytizing mission during the next few months.Several versions of the revelation are extant. apparently copied the revelation into JS’s journal sometime in mid- or late July. When Robinson copied the revelation, he added a headnote stating that the revelation made known “the duty” of and . Copies were also made by and Frederick G. Williams. A comparison of these early manuscripts suggests that Whitney’s version most closely represents the original wording of the revelation; therefore, Whitney’s version is featured here. Whitney may have copied the revelation from a copy that brought to in late July or early August 1838.
Footnotes
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1
Williams, Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams, 493–515, 526–527.
Williams, Frederick G. The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2012.
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2
Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery, 21 Jan. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 80–83; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 83–86.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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3
See Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838; and Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838.
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4
Williams, Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams, 538–545.
Williams, Frederick G. The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2012.
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6
Whitmer, History, 86–87; see also JS, Journal, 4 July 1838.
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8
In November, Phelps claimed that he had conformed to the church’s expectations in order to protect his property. (William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [85], [87], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence.”)
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9
Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 25–28, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Whitmer, Daybook, 19 June 1838; see also Corrill, Brief History, 30.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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10
Edward Partridge wrote to Newel K. Whitney on 24 July 1838, stating that Phelps and Williams “were baptized about 4 weeks since,” indicating that they were baptized around 26 June. JS’s journal notes that several people were confirmed as members of the church on 5 August 1838 and that “Br. F, G, Williams was among the number, who being rebaptized a few days since was this day confermed.” (Edward Partridge, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 24 July 1838, in Reynolds Cahoon, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 23 July 1838, CHL; JS, Journal, 5 Aug. 1838; see also Abner Scovil, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [50], in State of Missouri, “Evidence.”)
Cahoon, Reynolds, and Edward Partridge. Letter, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland Mills, OH, 23 and 24 July 1838. CHL.
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11
See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118].
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12
In JS’s journal, Robinson introduced the revelation as follows: “Revelation Given the same day, and at the same place, and read the same day in the congregations of the saints.” (JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.)
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14
Phelps apparently remained in Far West. Williams’s activity during this period is uncertain. A family biography of Williams states that sometime around October, he was with Phelps in Burlington, Iowa Territory, where Williams bought land for the church at JS’s request. (See William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [84]–[96], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; and Williams, Meet Dr. Frederick Granger Williams, 120; compare Williams, Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams, 549–563.)
Williams, Nancy Clement. Meet Dr. Frederick Granger Williams, Second Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Independence, MO: Zion’s Printing and Publishing, 1951.
Williams, Frederick G. The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2012.
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15
See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 8 July 1838–D [D&C 120].
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17
Revelation, 8 July 1838–B, copy, Revelations Collection, CHL.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
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18
For example, Whitney’s version preserves what is presumably the original interrogatory, “O Lord what is thy will concerning W W Phelps & F. G. Williams,” whereas Robinson’s and Williams’s versions provide a heading that is descriptive and more likely retrospective: “Revelation . . . Making known the duty” of the two men.
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19
See Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838.
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