Blessing to William W. Phelps, 22 September 1835
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Source Note
JS, Blessing, to , [, Geauga Co., OH], 22 Sept. 1835. Featured version copied 3 Oct. 1835 in Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, pp. 14–15; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information on Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, see the source note for Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.
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Historical Introduction
On 22 September 1835, JS dictated a blessing for in , Ohio. In June 1834, a council of had instructed Phelps to go to Kirtland to receive an “ with power.” The following month, the Missouri high council further directed Phelps to “assist in the printing business” in Kirtland. Phelps left for Kirtland on 28 April 1835. He was assisting in the editing of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate and finalizing the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants for publication at the time he received this blessing. JS’s blessing refers to Phelps’s abilities with the written word and promises him spiritual and temporal blessings.recorded the initial dictation of this blessing on 22 September 1835 and copied it into Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 on 3 October 1835.
Footnotes
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1
For more information on the context of this blessing, see Blessing to David Whitmer, 22 Sept. 1835.
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2
Minutes, 23 June 1834; Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.
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3
Whitmer, History, 70; “Doctrine and Covenants,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1835, 1:170. Phelps had previously been in charge of the Independence, Missouri, printing office until its destruction in July 1833. He remained in Kirtland until after the dedication of the House of the Lord in March 1836. (William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, Apr. 1836, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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1
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
See Isaiah 5:26; 11:12; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 91, 98 [2 Nephi 15:26; 21:12].
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2
Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:41].
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3
See Deuteronomy 33:13.
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4
See Matthew 13:35.
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5
See Deuteronomy 33:16.
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6
See Psalms 81:16; 147:14.
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7
See Proverbs 11:25.
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8
Phelps had edited the Ontario Phoenix in Canandaigua, New York, before his conversion to the church and was appointed by revelation in June 1831 to be a printer in the church. Besides printing JS’s revelations and the church newspaper The Evening and the Morning Star, he was appointed with Cowdery “to do the work of Printing & of Selecting & writing Books for Schools in this Church that little Children also may receive instruction.” (Revelation, 14 June 1831 [D&C 55:4]; see also Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:11–13].)
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9
See Isaiah 11:10; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 98 [2 Nephi 21:10]; and Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:31].