Filling in the History

Leman Copley joins the Church and brings some of his beliefs from the Shakers with him. Section 49 is given to attempt to correct some of these beliefs and, potentially, convert his congregation. That revelation was not well received. At the same time some very strange things are happening in Kirtland and trying to sort out what all of it means leads to section 50. Tensions are a little high and good and bad things come from it. It's May of 1831.

The Saints are making their collective way to Kirtland and they need some help. They are not letting visitors into their meetings, there is some misunderstanding about spiritual gifts, and many don't have a place to live. The Church also needs to keep records and Mr. Whitmer is not completely on board with that. These three revelations give some guidance, lay down the law a little bit and confirm, once again, what is meant by scriptural passages, rules in the Church, and how members should conduct themselves.

Section 45 of the Doctrine and Covenants was originally called a prophecy. Along with the Law (section 42), it helped to start the continuing movement to Ohio, dictate the method of growth for this new Church and initiate the New Testament revision which would later include Joseph Smith-Mathew, as is currently in the Pearl of Great Price. Also with this we get a rare document, a letter written in Joseph Smith's own hand. The letter is to Hyrum with reports of success in missionary work and for the new home for the Saints.

The headquarters of the Church moves from New York to Ohio. There is some confusion, some challenges to authority, some unity and peace, some sacrifice that hurts, but after all of that, the promised "Law" is given and answers to questions of policy and doctrine get laid out with revelations. This is the beginning of the Ohio era.

The challenge is sent to the Saints that they are moving to the Ohio to build their New Jerusalem. James Covel comes in hot and leaves just as quickly. The Amateur Historian finds a revelation that was designated as "Do Not Print". Will he share the contents of this unprinted revelation? Yes...yes he will.

We break this down by month because we have 7 sections to cover, which is really 9 revelations to various people, minutes of a conference, letters, and many missionary calls. The beginnings of the Church's influence in Ohio are felt and many key players in the Restoration show up by the end of 1830.

The Amateur Historian departs from the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants to cover the King Follett Discourse. This sermon was given three months previous to Joseph Smith's death and it had a profound impact on the audience of the time. We discuss the circumstances, the various versions and authors, and the response to this sermon.

We cover D&C 30-36 which includes 9 revelations, several letters and a lot of exciting growth for this new Church. We see a major conference and a number of missionary calls issued for what would become a pivotal journey for the first missionary group to serve.

Leading up to a conference, section 29 was given with goodies about the age of accountability and future Temples. Many of the things shared in this section are inspired from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. The Amateur Historian shall attempt to explain the JST, how we got it, what methods were used, and various other interesting facts.

Joseph gets some serious clarity on how to administer the Sacrament. We see Joseph pay for his first home. We find an important letter in somebody's basement in a tin box. We find Hiram Page with a seer stone of his own and the question arises about who gets to have revelations for the Church. Oliver Cowdery is called on his first mission.