Sacred Texts: Mormons

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 27. Revelation to Joseph Smith, Harmony, Pennsylvania, August 1830.

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This is a Latter-day Saint scriptural text — a divine revelation recorded as direct speech from Jesus Christ, received by Joseph Smith in August 1830 and canonized in early Mormon scripture. Its immediate subject is the sacrament (communion), clarifying that the specific elements used matter less than the worshiper's singular devotion to Christ, and specifically directing that wine not be purchased from enemies but made within the community. The revelation then shifts to an eschatological vision, listing a remarkable assembly of heavenly figures — Moroni, Elias, John the Baptist, Elijah, the biblical patriarchs, Adam (identified as Michael), and Peter, James, and John — each described as having personally committed specific "keys" of authority or restoration to Smith and Oliver Cowdery. A distinctively Mormon theological claim runs throughout: that these ancient figures are not merely symbolic or typological but have literally appeared and transmitted priesthood authority in the present dispensation, positioning Smith and Cowdery as recipients of a direct apostolic and prophetic succession. The text closes with an extended martial metaphor drawn from Ephesians 6 ("the whole armor of God"), reframing it as a promise of spiritual protection until Christ's literal return. Someone considering the full text will find it characteristic of early Mormon revelation style: terse doctrinal rulings embedded within sweeping restorationist claims about living prophetic authority.

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 27. Revelation to Joseph Smith, Harmony, Pennsylvania, August 1830.

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