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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1
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
John Whitmer assigned this number to the revelation after recording it in Revelation Book 1.
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2
See Malachi 3:1; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 503 [3 Nephi 24:1]; and Revelation, 9 Dec. 1830 [D&C 36:8].
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3
See Isaiah 34:5.
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4
See Isaiah 52:10; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 182, 188, 488, 498 [Mosiah 12:24; 15:31; 3 Nephi 16:20; 20:35].
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5
Although earlier revelations indicated that JS would have the ability “to descern by the spirit those who shall go up unto the land of Zion & those of my Desiples that shall tarry,” and that some would have to wait for “many years” before they could gather, the instructions here seem to direct all who had not specifically been commanded to tarry to go to the land of Zion. (Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:41]; Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:44]; see also Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21–22].)
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6
See Isaiah 52:11; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 498 [3 Nephi 20:41]; and Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:42].
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7
The phrase “solemn assembly” appears a number of times in the Old Testament, usually referring to a gathering of elders in a spirit of fasting and prayer. (See, for example, Joel 1:14; 2:15.)
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8
See Malachi 3:16.
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9
See Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27; Zechariah 2:6; and New Testament Revision 1, p. 56b [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 1:37].
New Testament Revision 1 / “A Translation of the New Testament Translated by the Power of God,” 1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 153–228.
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10
See Isaiah 54:2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 587 [Moroni 10:31].
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11
See Matthew 25:6, 13.
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12
See Isaiah 2:2–3; Micah 4:1–2; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 86 [2 Nephi 12:2–3].
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13
See Isaiah 52:12. The “Elders of the Church” in conferences were also supposed to supervise “the work of the gethering” as they obtained “knoweledge” from “the Bishop or the agent of the Church” about “the priveliges of the lands.” (Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:55–56]; Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63].)
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14
See Acts 17:30; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 81, 478 [2 Nephi 9:23; 3 Nephi 11:32].
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15
See Revelation 14:6–7; Matthew 3:3; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 22 [1 Nephi 10:8]; and Revelation, 30 Oct. 1831 [D&C 65:1].
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16
See Revelation 7:3–4; 14:1, 3.
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17
See Revelation, 30 Oct. 1831 [D&C 65:3].
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18
Both the Sidney Rigdon copy and the version published in The Evening and the Morning Star have “ye” here. (Appendix 1: Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [2]; “Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [1].)
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.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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19
See Zechariah 14:4. An earlier revelation explained some of what would occur when Jesus Christ stepped on the mount. (Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:48–53].)
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20
See Genesis 10:25.
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21
Speaking about the inhabitants of Zion, a September 1831 revelation proclaimed that “the rebelious are not of the blood of Ephraim” and would not “inherit the Land.” An October 1831 revelation stated that the revelation was “given to Wm. E. McLelin a true decendant from Joseph who was sold into Egypt down through the loins of Ephraim his son.” (Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:35–36]; Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66].)
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22
See Genesis 49:26.
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23
See Isaiah 35:10; Old Testament Revision 1, p. 18[Moses 7:53]; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:71]; and Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66:11].
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24
See Deuteronomy 33:15–17.
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25
John the Revelator prophesied that in the last days an angel would “fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth.” An article reprinted in the Painesville Telegraph in December 1830 recounted that church members believed that “an Angel of light” had given JS the “new Gospel”—identified as the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. (Revelation 14:6; “Beware of Impostors,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 14 Dec. 1830, [2].)
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.
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26
See Revelation 14:6–7.
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27
See Isaiah 64:1–5.
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28
See Isaiah 63:1–2.
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29
See Isaiah 63:3–4.
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30
See Isaiah 63:7.
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31
See Isaiah 63:9.
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32
See Revelation 15:3.
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33
See Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66:2].
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34
Both the Sidney Rigdon copy and the version published in The Evening and the Morning Star have “the” here. (Appendix 1: Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, [4]; “Revelations,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1833, [2].)
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.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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35
See Deuteronomy 32:30; Isaiah 60:22; and 1 Corinthians 1:27.
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36
TEXT: “s” possibly inserted.
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37
See Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:18–23]; and Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830 [D&C 35:13].
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38
For examples of prohibitions against sharing the revelations, see Revelation, ca. Summer 1829 [D&C 19:21]; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:72].
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39
Fifty years after the conference approving the publication of the revelations, David Whitmer claimed that he had opposed publication because he believed “that it was not the will of the Lord that the revelations should be published.” (Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 54–55.)
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
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40
See Deuteronomy 18:15, 18–19; Acts 3:22–23; and Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:14].
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41
TEXT: Final “◊” possibly “,” or “s”.
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42
See Malachi 4:1; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 505 [3 Nephi 25:1].
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43
See Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830 [D&C 35:8].
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44
TEXT: Possibly “in”.
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45
See Isaiah 50:2–3; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 76 [2 Nephi 7:2–3].
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46
See Isaiah 50:11; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 76 [2 Nephi 7:11].
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47
See Isaiah 8:16; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 94 [2 Nephi 18:16].
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48
See Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 334–335 [Alma 40:13].