Revelation, 17 April 1838
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Source Note
Revelation, , Caldwell Co., MO, 17 Apr. 1838. Featured version copied [ca. late Apr. 1838] in JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 32; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes use marks. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838.
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Historical Introduction
On 17 April 1838, JS dictated a revelation for . A month earlier, JS and Young had arrived in , Missouri, after having fled , Ohio, with Young assisting JS in his travels. On 6 April, Young was appointed to the pro tempore of the church in , which was centered in Far West. The wording of the 17 April 1838 revelation suggests that Young’s wife, Mary Ann, who was very sick, and their five children, including infant twins, had also arrived in . He settled his family on property he purchased at , at least three miles from Far West, but his ecclesiastical duties required his presence at the Missouri church’s center. During the previous weeks, he had been involved in council meetings in Far West. For example, he had attended the 14 April 1838 meeting just three days prior to the revelation.This short revelation to , dictated by JS in , directed Young to go to his home at and support his family. The revelation was probably dictated orally and written down by Young or, as was typical, by a scribe. transcribed the revelation into JS’s “Scriptory Book,” apparently in late April 1838. Young’s absence in subsequent council meetings held in Far West suggests that he followed the direction given in the revelation.
Footnotes
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1
Young fled for his life on 22 December 1837. JS fled Kirtland on 12 January 1838, later meeting up with Young en route to Missouri. (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 15–16.)
Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.
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3
Mary Ann was sick when she and her children departed Kirtland in the spring, and her sickness worsened from the fatigue of traveling. When the family arrived in Missouri, apparently by the time of this revelation, Brigham was reportedly so surprised by Mary Ann’s appearance that he exclaimed to her, “You look as if you were almost in your grave.” At the time, Young’s children included daughters Elizabeth and Vilate (from Brigham’s first wife, Miriam Works, who died in 1832), son Joseph, and infant twins Brigham Jr. and Mary. (Emmeline B. Wells, “Biography of Mary Ann Angell Young,” Juvenile Instructor, 1 Jan. 1891, 18–19; Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 17.)
Juvenile Instructor, Organ for Young Latter Day Saints. Salt Lake City. 1866–1929.
Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.
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4
Mill Creek is a tributary of Shoal Creek near Far West. Young’s autobiography recounts: “I purchased a small improvement on mill creek, located my family and proceeded to fence in a farm. I bought several pieces of land and obtained deeds for them.” It is uncertain which land at Mill Creek belonged to Young, but based on contemporary land records, his land was likely three to seven miles from Far West. Heber C. Kimball, Young’s close friend and fellow apostle, later recounted that Young’s farm was “3 or 4 miles from the City on Mill creek.” (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 17; Kimball, “History,” 91; see also JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 16; Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri, 7, 34, 40; U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey Topographic Map: Hamilton West, Missouri, Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, 2012; and Hamer, Northeast of Eden, 30, 34, 42.)
Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.
Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.
An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri. Compiled, Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys. Philadelphia: Edwards Brothers, 1876.
U.S. Department of the Interior. Geological Survey Topographic Maps. 7.5 Minute Series. 2012.
Hamer, John. Northeast of Eden: A Historical Atlas of Missouri’s Mormon County. [Mirabile, MO]: Far West Cultural Center, 2004.
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5
See Minutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; and Minutes, 14 Apr. 1838.
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6
See “Revelations,” Ensign of Liberty, Aug. 1849, 98–99; see also William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872, typescript, Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, CHL; and Pratt, Autobiography, 65.
Ensign of Liberty. Kirtland, OH. Mar. 1847–Aug. 1849.
McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to Joseph Smith III, [Plano, IL], July 1872. Letters and Documents Copied from Originals in the Office of the Church Historian, Reorganized Church, no date. Typescript. CHL. MS 9090. Original at CCLA.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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7
Robinson began recording daily journal entries with the entry for 26 April 1838, suggesting that the 17 April revelation regarding Young had been copied into the journal by that time.
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8
Aside from presiding over a 24 May 1838 council meeting, he was not mentioned as attending council meetings held during the next half year. (Minute Book 2, 14 Apr.–6 Oct 1838.)
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