Revelation, 6 December 1832 [D&C 86]
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Source Note
Revelation, , OH, 6 Dec. 1832. Featured version, titled “A Revelation explaining the parable of the wheet & the Tears,” copied [between 22 Jan. and ca. 27 Feb. 1833] in Revelation Book 2, pp. 31–32; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 2.
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Historical Introduction
JS wrote in his journal that on 6 December 1832, he spent part of the day “,” or working on his revision of the Bible. It is not known whether he was working that day on the New Testament revision or the Old Testament revision. But on that same day, he “received a Revelation explaining the Parable [of] the wheat and the tears [tares],” found in Matthew 13, suggesting that he may have been working on the New Testament. When JS worked on that parable more than a year earlier while revising the New Testament, he made few significant changes. Between late July 1832 and early February 1833, however, he apparently spent time reviewing his revisions to the New Testament. At some point, JS and changed the text of Matthew 13:30 (which JS had originally left intact) from “I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares” to “gather ye together first the wheat into my barn, and the tares are bound in bundles to be burned.” This inverted order followed the eschatological sequence of events outlined in a November 1831 revelation: the righteous were to “flee unto ” and Jerusalem, leaving the wicked nations behind. This 6 December revelation, which has the Lord telling the angels to “first gather out the wheat,” goes in the same direction as that revision, changing the wording slightly regarding the disposition of the tares. Whether the revelation was dictated before or after the revision was made is unclear, as the revision could have been made anywhere within a roughly six-month window of time.It is also possible that the “translating” JS mentioned in his 6 December journal entry referred not to his review of his earlier New Testament revisions but to his work of revising the Old Testament, which he was engaged in at the same time. Between July 1832, when became the principal scribe for JS’s revision of the Old Testament, and July 1833, when JS and Williams completed that work, filled in as scribe only once—for the revision of Jeremiah 18–24. Since an extant copy of the 6 December revelation attests that Rigdon wrote the revelation as JS dictated it, Rigdon may have helped JS with the Bible revision that day, in which case JS may have been revising those chapters in Jeremiah on 6 December. The chapters include passages on the scattering and gathering of Israel, including verses explaining that the Lord would “gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them” and “set up shepherds over them which shall feed them.”The revelation on the wheat and the tares emphasizes the gathering of the righteous in the last days. It incorporates elements of the book of Revelation to recast the parable as a history of Christianity from the days of the apostles to the world’s end. The description of a second sowing in the last days clearly depicts Mormonism as a restoration of primitive Christianity. Likewise, the end of the revelation expounds on the idea of , addressing those in “whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers.” The revelation seems to indicate that those to the priesthood are essential to the gathering of Israel, as it counsels them to be a “light unto the ” and a “savior” to Israel. The priesthood component of the revelation was apparently perceived as its key aspect: upon its publication in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the revelation bore the heading “On Priesthood.”The original manuscript of this revelation is no longer extant. copied it into Revelation Book 2, probably between late January and late February 1833.
Footnotes
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1
JS, Journal, 6 Dec. 1832; see also JS History, vol. A-1, 243.
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2
JS originally worked on Matthew 13 sometime between 7 April and 19 June 1831. (New Testament Revision 1, pp. 21, 63 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 9:1; 26:63–71]; see also New Testament Revision 1, pp. 34–35 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:15–46].)
New Testament Revision 1 / “A Translation of the New Testament Translated by the Power of God,” 1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 153–228.
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3
See New Testament Revision 1, p. 35 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:31–46]; New Testament Revision 2, p. 26 (first numbering) [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:31–50]; and Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 65.
New Testament Revision 1 / “A Translation of the New Testament Translated by the Power of God,” 1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 153–228.
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
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4
Frederick G. Williams served as scribe as JS finished his revisions to the book of Revelation between 20 and 31 July 1832. On 2 February 1833, Williams wrote that JS finished the “translation and the reviewing of the New testament.” (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 70; Frederick G. Williams, Statement, no date, Frederick G. Williams Papers, CHL; Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832; and Minute Book 1, 2 Feb. 1833.)
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL. MS 782.
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5
New Testament Revision 1, p. 34 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:30]; New Testament Revision 2, p. 25 (first numbering) [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:30]. An August 1831 revelation maintained the original order, with the tares first being gathered and then the wheat. That revelation explained that the wicked would be plucked out when Christ returned, implying that the righteous would remain. (Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:54]).
New Testament Revision 1 / “A Translation of the New Testament Translated by the Power of God,” 1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 153–228.
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6
Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:12–14].
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7
See New Testament Revision 2, pp. 25–26 (first numbering) [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 13:30–50].
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8
Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832; see also Old Testament Revision 2, p. 119 [Joseph Smith Translation, Malachi]; Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 70–72; and Old Testament Revision 2, pp. 111–112 [Joseph Smith Translation, Jeremiah 18:18–24].)
Old Testament Revision 2 / Old Testament Revision Manuscript 2, 1831–1833. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 591–851.
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
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9
Jeremiah 23:3–4.
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10
Doctrine and Covenants 6, 1835 ed.
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11
Williams noted on the Revelation Book 2 copy that he was JS’s “assistant scribe and councellor”; he was designated as a counselor and scribe to JS in a 5 January 1833 revelation, so this 6 December 1832 revelation may have been copied as early as 5 January.a However, it is uncertain when Williams was formally appointed to his office. Such formal appointments usually occurred in a conference. Williams had apparently been appointed by 22 January because he is listed as “assistant scribe and counselor” in the minutes of a conference held that day.b In Revelation Book 2, Williams signed two of the three revelations immediately following the one dated 6 December 1832—revelations of 27–28 December 1832 and 3 January 1833—in the same way.c The five items that immediately follow Revelation, 3 January 1833, appear to have been copied soon after the dates they bear. The first is dated 27 February, suggesting that the previous revelations had been copied by around this time.d However, the December 1832 and January 1833 revelations in Revelation Book 2 could have been copied anytime up to 18 March 1833, when Williams was ordained “to be equal with him [JS] in holding the Keys of the Kingdom and also to the Presidency of the high Priesthood.”e At some point—probably while preparing revelations for the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants—JS wrote “To go into the covenants” at the head of the copy in Revelation Book 2.
(aRevelation Book 2, p. 32; Revelation, 5 Jan. 1833. bMinute Book 1, 22–23 Jan. 1833. cRevelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]. dSee Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 2. eMinute Book 1, 18 Mar. 1833.)
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