8. Preaching and expounding, writing, copying, selecting, and obtaining all things which shall be for the good of the Church, and for the rising generations, that shall grow up on the land of Zion, to possess it from generation to generation, forever and ever. Amen.
Esteem in which the Conference Held the Book of Commandments and Book of Mormon.
My time was occupied closely in reviewing the commandments and sitting in conference, for nearly two weeks; for from the first to the twelfth of November we held four special conferences. In the last which was held at Brother Johnson's, in Hiram, after deliberate consideration, in consequence of the book of revelations, now to be printed, being the foundation of the Church in these last days, and a benefit to the world, showing that the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of our Savior are again entrusted to man; and the riches of eternity within the compass of those who are willing to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God—therefore the conference voted that they prize the revelations to be worth to the Church the riches of the whole earth, speaking temporally. The great benefits to the world which result from the Book of Mormon and the revelations, which the Lord has seen fit in His infinite wisdom to grant unto us for our salvation, and for the salvation of all that will believe, were duly appreciated;18 and in answer to an inquiry, I received the following:
Revelation, given November, 1831. 19
1. Behold, and hearken, O ye inhabitants of Zion, and all ye people of my Church who are afar off, and hear the word of the Lord which I give unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and also unto my servant Martin Harris, and also unto my servant Oliver Cowdery, and also unto my servant John Whitmer, and also unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, and also unto my servant William W. Phelps, by the way of commandment unto them.
2. For I give unto them a commandment; wherefore hearken and hear, for thus saith the Lord unto them—
3. I, the Lord, have appointed them, and ordained them to be stewards over the revelations and commandments which I have given unto them, and which I shall hereafter give unto them;
4. And an account of this stewardship will I require of them in the day of judgment.
5. Wherefore I have appointed unto them, and this is their business in the Church of God, to manage them and the concerns thereof; yea, the benefits thereof.
6. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not give these things unto the Church, neither unto the world;
7. Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my storehouse,
8. And the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the kingdom.
9. Behold, this is what the lord requires of every man in his stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed, or shall hereafter appoint unto any man.
10. And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the Church of the living God;
11. Yea, neither the Bishop, neither the agent who keepeth the Lord's storehouse, neither he who is appointed in a stewardship over temporal things;
12. He who is appointed to administer spiritual things, the same is worthy of his hire, even as those who are appointed to a stewardship, to administer in temporal things;
13. Yea, even more abundantly, which abundance is multiplied unto them through the manifestation of the Spirit;
14. Nevertheless, in your temporal things you shall be equal, and this not grudgingly, otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld.
15. Now this commandment I give unto my servants for their benefit while they remain, for a manifestation of my blessings upon their heads, and for a reward of their diligence and for their security;
16. For food and for raiment; for an inheritance; for houses and for lands, in whatsoever circumstances I, the Lord, shall place them, and whithersoever I, the Lord, shall send them;
17. For they have been faithful over many things; and have done well inasmuch as they have not sinned.
18. Behold, I, the Lord, am merciful and will bless them, and they shall enter into the joy of these things. Even so. Amen.
Footnotes
1. It would be more proper to say "revision of the Bible" than "translation" of it; as the Prophet did not at any time pretend to a knowledge of the ancient languages that would enable him to translate from the Hebrew or the Greek as "translation" is commonly understood. But what he did was to revise the English text of the Bible under the inspiration of God; and that led him not only to give different renderings of various passages, but also to supply missing parts.
2. The miracle here referred to is thus related in Hayden's History of the Disciples (a Campbellite work), pp. 250-1. "Ezra Booth, of Mantua, a Methodist preacher of much more than ordinary culture, and with strong natural abilities, in company with his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and some other citizens of this place [Hiram], visited Smith at his home in Kirtland, in 1831. Mrs. Johnson had been afflicted for some time with a lame arm, and was not at the time of the visit able to lift her hand to her head. The party visited Smith partly out of curiosity, and partly to see for themselves what there might be in the new doctrine. During the interview the conversation turned on the subject of supernatural gifts, such as were conferred in the days of the apostles. Some one said, 'Here is Mrs. Johnson with a lame arm; has God given any power to man now on the earth to cure her?' A few moments later, when the conversation had turned in another direction, Smith rose, and walking across the room, taking Mrs. Johnson by the hand, said in the most solemn and impressive manner: 'Woman, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command thee to be whole,' and immediately left the room. The company were awe-stricken at the infinite presumption of the man, and the calm assurance with which he spoke. The sudden mental and moral shock—I know not how better to explain the well-attested fact—electrified the rheumatic arm—Mrs. Johnson at once lifted it up with ease, and on her return home the next day she was able to do her washing without difficulty or pain."
3. See page 212, verses 15, 16.
4. It is generally supposed that Ezra Booth was the first to turn away from the faith; but this is an error. Others denied the faith before him, but he was the first apostate, I think, to publish anything against the Church. That he was not the first apostate, however, is evident from the fact that John Whitmer in his history makes mention of others turning from the faith even before the journey of the Elders to Missouri was undertaken; whereas Booth did not announce his apostasy until his return from that journey in the month of September. Writing of a time previous to the assembling of the conference of June 3rd-6th, 1831, John Whitmer remarks: "About these days the disciples arrived from the state of New York to this place, Kirtland, Ohio. They had some difficulty between themselves because of some that did not continue faithful—who denied the truth and turned to fables." (Ch. 8.) Again in chapter 8 he says: "After some of the Elders had left [i. e., for Missouri], and the time for Joseph Smith, Jun., and others to leave [had come]—some of those who had been commanded to take their journey speedily, had denied the faith and turned from the truth." And still speaking of a time previous to the apostasy of Booth, and before detailing the events which happened on the land of Zion among the Elders who went there, he says: "There was much trouble and unbelief among those who called themselves disciples of Christ; some apostatized and became enemies to the cause of God, and persecuted the Saints." (Chapter 9.) All this was before Booth's apostasy. In the minutes of a conference held on the 6th of September, 1831, and signed by Oliver Cowdery, it is recorded: "Upon testimony satisfactory to this conference, it was voted that Ezra Booth be silenced from preaching as an Elder in this Church."
5. The series of letters referred to in the text above were nine in number, and first appeared in the Ohio Star, published at Ravenna, the county seat of Portage county. Afterwards they were published in E. D. Howe's Book, Mormonism