Sacred Texts: Mormons

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 38. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Fayette, New York, January 2, 1831.

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This is a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) canonical scripture — specifically Doctrine and Covenants Section 38 — presented as a direct revelation spoken by Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith and the early church in Fayette, New York, on January 2, 1831. The text opens with an extended self-identification by Christ as the omniscient creator and judge, establishing divine authority before issuing a series of commands. Its central directive is a commandment for the New York congregation to relocate to Ohio, where they are promised divine law, a spiritual endowment of power, and eventually a "land of promise" as an eternal inheritance. A distinctive thread running through the revelation is an urgent warning about hidden enemies — conspiring enemies in "secret chambers" who seek the community's destruction — framed alongside an imminent eschatological crisis in which angels stand ready to harvest the wicked from the earth. The text also contains a notable egalitarian emphasis, using the parable of a father with twelve sons dressed unequally to condemn economic inequality and commanding members to "esteem his brother as himself," with practical instructions for caring for the poor. Someone interested in early American religious history, millenarian movements, communitarian economic experiments, or the development of Mormon theology and community organization would find this a rich primary source.

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 38. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Fayette, New York, January 2, 1831.

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