Chapter XIV.
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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith, Joseph, Jr., and Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
3. And again, I say unto you, that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the Church record and history continually, for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office.
4. Wherefore it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful by the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen.
On the Purchase of Lands in Ohio.
Upon inquiry how the brethren should act in regard to purchasing lands to settle upon,[6] and where they should finally make a permanent location, I received the following:
Revelation, given at Kirtland, March, 1831.[7]
1. It is necessary that ye should remain for the present time in your places of abode, as it shall be suitable to your circumstances;
2. And inasmuch as ye have lands, ye shall impart to the eastern brethren;
3. And inasmuch as ye have not lands, let them buy for the present {167} time in those regions round about as seemeth them good, for it must needs be necessary that they have places to live upon for the present time.
4. It must needs be necessary, that ye save all the money that ye can, and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance, even the city.
5. The place is not yet to be revealed, but after your brethren come from the east, there are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall be given to know the place, or to them it shall be revealed.
6. And they shall be appointed to purchase the lands, and to make a commencement to lay the foundation of the city; and then shall ye begin to be gathered with your families, every man according to his family, according to his circumstances, and as is appointed to him by the Presidency and the Bishop of the Church, according to the laws and commandments which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive. Even so. Amen.
The Shaking Quakers.
At about this time came Leman Copley, one of the sect called Shaking Quakers,[8] and embraced the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, apparently honest-hearted, but still retaining the idea that the Shakers were right in some particulars of their faith. In order to have more perfect understanding on the subject, I inquired of the Lord, and received the following:
Revelation to Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, and Leman Copley, given March, 1831.[9]
1. Hearken unto my word, my servants Sidney, and Parley, and {168} Leman, for behold, verily I say unto you, that I give unto you a commandment that you shall go and preach my Gospel which ye have received, even as ye have received it, unto the Shakers.
2. Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in part, but not all, for they are not right before me and must needs repent;
3. Wherefore I send you, my servants Sidney and Parley to preach the Gospel unto them;
4. And my servant Leman shall be ordained unto this work, that he may reason with them, not according to that which he has received of them, but according to that which shall be taught him by you my servants, and by so doing I will bless him, otherwise he shall not prosper.
5. Thus saith the Lord, for I am God, and have sent mine Only Begotten Son into the world for the redemption of the world, and have decreed that he that receiveth Him shall be saved, and he that receiveth Him not shall be damned.
6. And they have done unto the Son of man even as they listed; and He has taken His power on the right hand of His glory, and now reigneth in the heavens, and will reign till He descends on the earth to put all enemies under His feet, which time is nigh at hand:
7. I, the Lord God, have spoken it, but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven nor shall they know until He comes.
8. Wherefore I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of.
9. Wherefore I say unto you, that I have sent unto you mine everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning
10. And that which I have promised I have so fulfilledand the nations of the earth shall bow to it; and, if not of themselves, they shall come down, for that which is now exalted of itself shall be laid low of power;
11. Wherefore I give unto you a commandment that ye go among this people, and say unto them, like unto mine Apostle of old, whose name was Peter;
12. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus, who was on the earth, and is to come, the beginning and the end,
13. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the holy commandment, for the remission of sins;
14. And whoso doeth this shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the hands of the Elders of the Church.
15. And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man;
{169} 16. Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation.
17. And that it might be filled with the measure of man, according to his creation before the world was made.
18. And whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God;
19. For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance:
20. But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin;
21. And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need.
22. And again, verily, I say unto you, that the Son of Man cometh not in the form of a woman, neither of a man traveling on the earth.
23. Wherefore be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness, looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the valleys to be exalted, and for the mountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become smooth; and all this when the angel shall sound his trumpet.
24. But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
25. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.
26. Behold, I say unto you, go forth as I have commanded yourepent of all your sins, ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you: