Revelations published in Evening and Morning Star (, OH), vol. 1, nos. 1–10 and 12, and vol. 2, no. 13; edited by . The copy used for this transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes marginalia and archival notations.
Evening and Morning Star, an edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star, presents revelations throughout its first thirteen issues, except for the April 1833 issue, which was printed in June 1836. When printing Evening and Morning Star, the editors revised the revelations found in The Evening and the Morning Star, changing wording and sometimes order and position on the page. One revelation printed in the earlier newspaper was not reprinted in this edition of the paper. The page size of Evening and Morning Star was smaller than that of its predecessor. Each issue has eight leaves (sixteen pages), with two columns on each page, each page measuring 9¼ × 5¾ inches (23 × 15 cm). Because Evening and Morning Star was a reprint, its issues maintained the dating of the original issues; thus, the first issue of Evening and Morning Star is dated June 1832, though it was printed in January 1835, as indicated by a publisher’s notice on the last page of the issue.
The original owner of the volume used for this transcription is unknown. The upper right corner of the second free endsheet is cut away, and based on a residual ink flourish on the recto near the cut, it appears that a signature was removed from the book at some point. This volume is held at the Church History Library, but its provenance is unknown.
Revelation,16 Apr. 1830, in “The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star,June 1832, [1]–[2] [D&C 22].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Historical Introduction
In December 1833, six months after the in , Missouri, was and publication efforts there were permanently halted, printing commenced on a newly acquired press in , Ohio. That press, operated by , continued printing The Evening and the Morning Star, the newspaper begun in , through September 1834. The September 1834 issue of that paper contained a prospectus announcing that the paper’s two volumes would be reprinted.
The first issue of the reprinted newspaper, which appeared under the slightly modified title Evening and Morning Star, was published in January 1835. Though touted as a reprint that would correct typographical and other errors, Evening and Morning Star actually contained significant changes to the revelation texts. In the first issue, editor explained the revisions he was making in the reprinted versions of the revelations:
On the revelations we merely say, that we were not a little surprised to find the previous print so different from the original. We have given them a careful comparison, assisted by individuals whose known integrity and ability is uncensurable. Thus saying we cast no reflections upon those who were entrusted with the responsibility of publishing them in , as our own labors were included in that important service to the church, and it was our unceasing endeavor to have them correspond with the copy furnished us. We believe they are now correct. If not in every word, at least in principle.
Despite the implications of ’s statement, very few of the changes in the reprint represent a restoration back to the earliest text, though Cowdery consulted early manuscript sources when reprinting some of the revelations. Because the revelations were meant to be used as a guide for the current operations of the church, they were edited in 1835 to reflect current organization, doctrine, and practice, which had continued to develop since the revelations were first dictated. For example, the version of a 9 February 1831 revelation printed in Evening and Morning Star includes discussion of the duties of elders, priests, teachers, bishops, high priests, and the high council. Early versions of the revelation, however, make no mention of the office of high priest, which did not exist until June 1831, or of the high council, a body that was not organized until February 1834. The revelation was revised in 1835 to reflect these additional roles. Most of the changes made to revelations in the early issues of Evening and Morning Star are also reflected in the same revelations as published in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1835), and the editing work on that volume, in turn, influenced the presentation of revelations in later issues of Evening and Morning Star.
The table that follows lists each of the revelatory items printed in the Star and its reprint, along with its bibliographic information. See Revelations Printed in The Evening and the Morning Star for a side-by-side comparison of the revelations printed in the Star and its reprint.
Key to column titles
Vol: Issue:
Volume and issue number
Star Print Date:
Month in which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Star Pages:
Pages on which the item was printed in The Evening and the Morning Star
Reprint Print Date:
Month in which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Reprint Pages:
Pages on which the item was printed in Evening and Morning Star
Date:
Date of item, followed by section number in Doctrine and Covenants, 1981 edition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The title that appears in the newspaper’s nameplate was likely shortened because of a reduction in the newspaper’s size. The longer original title, The Evening and the Morning Star, is printed at the middle and end of each issue with other publication information. For the sake of clarity, the reprinted paper is referred to by its shortened title for all references in The Joseph Smith Papers.
Notice, Evening and Morning Star, June 1832 (Jan. 1835), 16. The prospectus to Evening and Morning Star also states “that in the first 14 numbers, in the Revelations, are many errors, typographical, and others, occasioned by transcribing manuscript; but as we shall have access to originals, we shall endeavor to make proper corrections.” (“Prospectus,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 192.)
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
On 4 February 1835, Cowdery wrote to Newel K. Whitney requesting that the latter send “the original copy of the Revelation given to 12 elders Feb. 1831 called ‘The Law of the Church.’” Cowdery explained, “We are preparing the old Star for re-printing, and have no copy from which to correct, and kno[w] of no other beside yours.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Newel K. Whitney, 4 Feb. 1835, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in “Extract of Covenants for the Church of the Latter Day Saints,” Evening and Morning Star, July 1832 (Feb. 1835), 30–31 [D&C 42].
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
A Revelation, givenNovember, 1831, to , , and . The mind and will of the Lord, as made known by the voice of the Spirit to a concerning certain : and also certain items, as made known, in addition to the and :—
My servant, , was called, by his , to proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all unto them: And behold and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were unto this , whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth: And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and whatsoever they shall speak, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture; shall be the will of the Lord; shall be the mind of the Lord; shall be the word of the Lord; shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation; Behold this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants: wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God; that I was; that I am; and that I am to come. This is the word of the Lord unto you my servant, ; and also unto my servant, , and unto my servant, , and unto my servant ; and unto all the faithful elders of my church: Go ye into all the world; preach the gospel to every creature; acting in the authority which I have given you; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned; and he that believeth shall be blessed with signs following, even as it is written: And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of man; and of as many as the Father shall bear record, to you it shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life: Amen.
And now concerning the items in addition to the covenants and commandments, they are these; there remaineth hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other to be set apart unto the church to minister even according to the first: Wherefore they shall be who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron; and if they be literal descendants of Aaron, they have a legal right to the , if they are the first born among the sons of Aaron: for the first born holds the right of presidency over this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the first born of Aaron: but as a high priest of the Melchizedek priesthood, has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found; provided he is called and set apart, and ordained unto this power under the hands of the first presidency of the Melchizedek priesthood. And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this presidency, and found worthy, and annointed, and ordained under the hands of this presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their priesthood: but by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their annointing, if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named presidency.
And again, no bishop or high priest, who shall be set apart for this ministry, shall be tried or condemned for any crime save it be before the of the church; and inasmuch as he is found guilty before this presidency, by testimony that cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned, and if he repents he shall be forgiven, according to the covenants and commandments of the church.
And again, inasmuch as parents have children in , or in any of her which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance; faith in Christ the Son of the living God; and of baptism and the by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old: the sin be upon the head of the parents, for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, and their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the : and they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness, for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now I the Lord am not well pleased [p. 73]
Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–A, in “Revelations,” Evening and Morning Star, Oct. 1832 (June 1835), 73–74 [D&C 68]. This version reflects editing marks made in Revelation Book 1, indicating that the latter was used as a source text for the former.
Evening and Morning Star. Edited reprint of The Evening and the Morning Star. Kirtland, OH. Jan. 1835–Oct. 1836.