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March 20, 1832

Following the counsel in a revelation given in November 1831 (Doctrine and Covenants 69), Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer traveled to Missouri with manuscripts of Joseph Smith’s revelations in hand. Their journey was meant to facilitate the Saints’ arrival there by purchasing land in Independence and to prepare the publication of the Prophet’s revelations.[1] On January 28, 1832, Oliver sent a letter to the Prophet and other Church leaders updating them on the state of the Saints in Missouri.[2] At the end of the letter, Oliver requested that Martin Harris come to Missouri to supply paper for the printing of the Book of Commandments and suggested that there would be high demand for such a production. The present revelation seeks to answer Oliver’s inquiry.

The revelation is formatted as a question from those in attendance, and then an answer in the voice of the Lord.[3] The plural pronouns we and us in the questions indicate that the answer was intended for multiple listeners. Frederick G. Williams later noted that the revelation was given to Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, and Newel K. Whitney.[4] The petitioners requested answers to three separate questions, namely, if they should obtain the paper, how they should purchase it, and whether or not they should stop their progress on the translation of the New Testament (what is now called the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible or JST). They were instructed that they should indeed purchase the paper, the manner in which they were to do it, and that they should travel to Zion without Martin Harris. This revelation demonstrates the absolute reliance on the Lord that the Prophet and the early Saints needed to proceed with their work.

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First, shall we procure the paper required of our brethren in their letter and carry it with us or not? And, if we do, what moneys shall we use for that purpose? It is expedient, saith the Lord unto you, that the paper shall be purchased for the printing of the book of the Lord’s commandments. And it must needs be that you take it with you, for it is not expedient that my servant Martin Harris should as yet go up unto the land of Zion. Let the purchase be made by the bishop if it must needs be by hire. Let whatsoever is done be done in the name of the Lord.

Second, shall we finish the translation of the New Testament before we go to Zion, or wait until we return? It is expedient, saith the Lord, that there be no delays. And thus saith the Lord for the greatest good and benefit of the church. Wherefore omit the translation for the present time.

Notes

[1] JSP, D2:216.

[2] JSP, D2:163–79.

[3] This is a common aspect of Joseph Smith’s revelations. Richard Bushman argues that in his revelations, “God stands outside of the prophet. . . . Even though the words came from [him], . . . they sound like they were spoken by someone standing before him in a rhetorical space.” Richard Lyman Bushman, “Joseph Smith and His Visions,” in The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism, ed. Terryl L. Givens and Philip L. Barlow (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 116–17.

[4] JSP, D2:216–17.