Sacred Texts: Mormons

Doctrine and Convenants: 38. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Fayette, New York, January 2, 1831.

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This is a revelatory scripture from Section 38 of the *Doctrine and Covenants*, a canonical text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presented as a direct first-person address from Jesus Christ to early church members in 1831. The passage operates in the tradition of prophetic revelation, combining divine self-identification ("the Great I AM, Alpha and Omega") with warnings, promises, and concrete practical instructions. Its central argument is that the world is in a state of corruption and imminent judgment, but the faithful community has been chosen and will receive a promised land and divine law if they remain unified, pure, and obedient. A notably distinctive claim is that a secret enemy conspiracy ("in the secret chambers") actively seeks the destruction of the community—a warning that situates the early Saints as besieged by hidden earthly adversaries, not merely spiritual ones. The text culminates in a specific directive to relocate to Ohio, where followers are promised a divine "endowment of power" and the full law of God. Unusually, it pairs apocalyptic urgency with practical economic instructions about poor relief, church property governance, and the selling or renting of farms during the migration.

Doctrine and Convenants: 38. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Fayette, New York, January 2, 1831.

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