Sacred Texts: Mormons

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 51. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Thompson, Ohio, May 1831.

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This is a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) canonical revelation, recorded as scripture in May 1831 and attributed to Jesus Christ speaking through Joseph Smith. It addresses Edward Partridge, the church's first bishop, with specific instructions for organizing an early Mormon community in Ohio under a system of communal economic stewardship. The core content is a detailed framework for the Law of Consecration: Partridge is to allocate property portions to members according to family size and need, secured by written deed, with the condition that members who leave or are expelled forfeit their consecrated surplus (though not their personal allotment). The revelation establishes a bishop's storehouse for surplus goods and money, an appointed agent for procurement, and rules governing financial dealings with outside churches. Its distinctive character lies in presenting this egalitarian economic arrangement as divine law — with the explicit warning that failure to organize this way means being "cut off" — while also grounding it practically in civil legal protections ("according to the laws of the land"). The text frames the arrangement as temporary and geographically specific, with an unspecified future relocation anticipated, making it both a practical administrative directive and an eschatological community-building document.

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 51. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Thompson, Ohio, May 1831.

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