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The Book of the Law of the Lord

Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124] Page 3 Revelation, 20 March 1841 Page 15 Revelation, circa March 1841 [D&C 125] Page 16 Revelation, 12 January 1838–A Page 17 Revelation, 12 January 1838–B Page 18 Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105] Page 19 Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111] Page 22 Revelation, 25 December 1832 [D&C 87] Page 22 Revelation, 24 February 1834 [D&C 103] Page 23 Journal Entries Page 26 Donation Records, 30 November–16 December 1841 Page 27 Donation Records, 17–20 December 1841 Page 32 Donation Records, 20–22 December 1841 and 17 January 1842 Page 34 Donation Records, 22–27 December 1841 Page 37 Donation Records, 27–31 December 1841 Page 40 Donation Records, 2 August–6 October 1841 Page 43 Donation Records, 31 December 1841 Page 44 Donation Records, 1–6 January 1842 Page 45 Donation Records, 6–19 January 1842 Page 49 Donation Records, 20–28 January 1842 Page 62 Donation Records, 28 January–5 March 1842 Page 68 Donation Records, 5 March–17 May 1842 Page 96 Donation Records, 18 May–12 September 1842 Page 136 Donation Records, 3 July 1844–25 April 1845 Page 216 Donation Records, 12 September–23 December 1842 Page 232 Donation Records, 15 August–4 October 1842 Page 267 Donation Records, 24 December 1842–31 March 1843 Page 270 Donation Records, 1 April 1843–20 June 1843 Page 297 Donation Records, 26 March 1842–23 January 1843 Page 319 Donation Records, 21 June–30 September 1843 Page 325 Donation Records, 2 October–30 December 1843 Page 357 Donation Records, 1 January–29 February 1844 Page 400 Donation Records, 2 March–4 May 1844 Page 439

Source Note

“The Book of the Law of the Lord,” Record Book, 1841–1845; handwriting of
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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,
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
,
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

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,
Eliza R. Snow

21 Jan. 1804–5 Dec. 1887. Poet, teacher, seamstress, milliner. Born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Daughter of Oliver Snow and Rosetta Leonora Pettibone. Moved to Mantua, Trumbull Co., Ohio, ca. 1806. Member of Baptist church. Baptized into Church...

View Full Bio
, and
Erastus Derby

14 Sept. 1810–3 Dec. 1890. Tailor, carpenter, farmer, joiner. Born in Hawley, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Edward Darby and Ruth Phoebe Hitchcock. Moved to Ohio, by 1834. Married Ruhamah Burnham Knowlton, 10 Aug. 1834, in Carthage, Hamilton Co., Ohio...

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; CHL. Includes shorthand; also includes redactions and use marks.
For complete source note, see Journal, December 1841–December 1842.
Note: A Nauvoo-era index to the financial records found in the Book of the Law of the Lord can be viewed in the Church History Library catalog.

Historical Introduction

Note: A Nauvoo-era index to the financial records found in the Book of the Law of the Lord can be viewed in the Church History Library catalog.
The title “THE BOOK of the LAW of the LORD,” written in ornate style, adorns a ledger-style record book maintained by several of JS’s scribes in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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, Illinois, between 1841 and 1845. In this volume, JS’s scribes copied nine of his revelations, kept a portion of his journal, and recorded donations made by church members for the construction of the Nauvoo
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
and the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
(a boardinghouse). For a detailed historical introduction to the Book of the Law of the Lord, particularly the journal portion, read the Historical Introduction to Journal, December 1841–December 1842.
The journal portion of the Book of the Law of the Lord, comprising a little less than twenty percent of the volume and covering the period 11 December 1841 to 20 December 1842, is published in full in Journals, Volume 2. This material was recorded by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
,
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
,
Eliza R. Snow

21 Jan. 1804–5 Dec. 1887. Poet, teacher, seamstress, milliner. Born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Daughter of Oliver Snow and Rosetta Leonora Pettibone. Moved to Mantua, Trumbull Co., Ohio, ca. 1806. Member of Baptist church. Baptized into Church...

View Full Bio
, and
Erastus Derby

14 Sept. 1810–3 Dec. 1890. Tailor, carpenter, farmer, joiner. Born in Hawley, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Edward Darby and Ruth Phoebe Hitchcock. Moved to Ohio, by 1834. Married Ruhamah Burnham Knowlton, 10 Aug. 1834, in Carthage, Hamilton Co., Ohio...

View Full Bio
. To view images and transcripts of the journal entries, along with detailed annotation, visit Journal, December 1841–December 1842.
The revelation and donation portions of the Book of the Law of the Lord are here published for the first time. JS’s scribe,
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
, copied nine revelations into the volume between January 1841 and his death on 27 August of that year. The record began with the 19 January 1841 revelation commanding the building of the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
in Nauvoo and the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
. Six of the nine revelations were later canonized and constitute, in order of their recording by Thompson, sections 124, 125, 105, 111, 87, and 103 in the present Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The three other revelations remain uncanonized. One (dated 20 March 1841) concerns the appointment of agents for the Nauvoo House Association. The remaining two, which were received in January 1838 just prior to JS’s abrupt departure from
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

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to
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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, deal with questions related to the sustainingof the church’s First Presidency and the protocol for removing them from office in cases of transgression.
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
subsequently made minor revisions to the texts as recorded by
Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
. Transcripts of these revelations accompany the images for pages 3–25 of the Book of the Law of the Lord. The links below provide direct access to each of the nine revelations:
Page 3—Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124]
Page 15—Revelation, 20 March 1841
Page 16—Revelation, ca. March 1841 [D&C 125]
Page 17—Revelation, 12 January 1838–A
Page 18—Revelation, 12 January 1838–B
Page 19—Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105]
Page 22—Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111]
Page 22—Revelation, 25 December 1832 [D&C 87]
Page 23—Revelation, 24 February 1834 [D&C 103]
The donation entries comprise approximately seventy-five percent of the record. They were recorded by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
and
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
between late 1841 and 1845. Journal entries and donation records were kept concurrently in the book, alternating sometimes every other page and chronologically leapfrogging each other. This pattern was especially pronounced near the beginning of the book, where donations and journal entries occasionally appear together on a single page. Over time, however, larger and larger blocks of text were dedicated to either donations or journal entries until the journal was transferred by Richards to another volume, the memorandum book.
All donation pages are here published as images without an accompanying transcript. They have been divided into chronological subsections to aid research; readers may use the table of contents button in the top left of the document viewer to navigate within the volume. Two indexes to the donation portions of the Book of the Law of the Lord were created in the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
period. These will be published on the Joseph Smith Papers website at a future time.
The interspersing of journal entries with pages of donation records, as well as JS’s conscious efforts to record the names of people who helped him, suggests that the volume as a whole was understood in terms of a letter JS wrote in 1832 stating that “a hystory and a general church record” must be kept “of all things that transpire in Zion and of all those who consecrate properties.” That record was to be kept in a book called “the book of the Law of God”—a book whose name parallels usage in the Old Testament. (See, for example, Joshua 24:26, 2 Chronicles 17:9, and Nehemiah 9:3.)
Concerning the significance of the Book of the Law of the Lord, Alex Smith, a volume editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, wrote, “For today’s researchers, the journal entries in the Book of the Law of the Lord are frequently the most primary sources for descriptions of Joseph Smith’s daily activities during 1842. Certain details about key events (e.g., the organization of the
Female Relief Society of Nauvoo

A church organization for women; created in Nauvoo, Illinois, under JS’s direction on 17 March 1842. At the same meeting, Emma Smith was elected president, and she selected two counselors; a secretary and a treasurer were also chosen. The minutes of the society...

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,
John C. Bennett

3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...

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’s expulsion from the Church, the second attempt to extradite Joseph Smith to
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 ...

More Info
, the creation of the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge, and the construction of the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
and
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
) are found only in this book. . . . Its record of financial donations is a rich cultural history resource—providing valuations of common goods and services.” Smith concluded, “Perhaps the greatest importance of the book lies in its theological implications—a record decreed by revelation to record for heaven and earth the deeds and consecrations of the Saints.” (Alex D. Smith, “The Book of the Law of the Lord,” Journal of Mormon History 38, no. 4 [Fall 2012], 161.)
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Blessing to John and Catharine Paine Wilkie, 15 March 1844

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Editorial Title
The Book of the Law of the Lord
ID #
8136
Total Pages
507
Print Volume Location
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