Sacred Texts: Mormons

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 72. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Kirtland, Ohio, December 4, 1831.

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This is a short scriptural/revelatory text from the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) canon, specifically Doctrine and Covenants Section 72, recorded as a revelation received by Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio in December 1831. Its primary content is administrative and ecclesiastical: it designates Newel K. Whitney as bishop for the Kirtland region and defines the duties of that office, which include managing the church's storehouse, receiving funds, keeping accounts of elders' stewardship, and administering to the needs of members. A central organizing concept is the "law of stewardship," under which every elder and church officer is accountable to the bishop for the resources and responsibilities entrusted to them, with records to be forwarded to the presiding bishop in Zion. The text also establishes a credentialing system: members and elders traveling to Zion must carry certificates of good standing from local bishops or elders, or they will not be received. Notably, the revelation frames these bureaucratic structures in explicitly theological terms — faithful stewardship in time is presented as the basis for eternal inheritance — and concludes by declaring the Kirtland model a template for all future branches of the church worldwide.

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 72. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Kirtland, Ohio, December 4, 1831.

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