Revelation given November, 1831

Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me. Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you; and the heavens and the earth are in mine hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give. Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you, but behold, verily I say unto you, there were fears in your hearts; and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive.

And now I the Lord give unto you a testimony of the truth of these commandments which are lying before you: your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, jr.; and his language you have known; and his imperfections you have known; and you have sought in your hearts knowledge, that you might express beyond his language: this you also know; now seek ye out of the book of commandments, even the least that is among them, and appoint him that is the most wise among you; or if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it, then ye are justified in saying that ye do not know that they are true: but if ye cannot make one like unto it, ye are under condemnation if ye do not bear record that they are true: for ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them; and that which is righteous, cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.

And again, verily I say unto you, that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the vail [veil] shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am; not with the carnal, neither natural mind, but with the spiritual; for no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God; neither can any natural man abide the presence of God; neither after the carnal mind; ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore continue in patience until you are perfected.

Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you by the hands of my servant Joseph Smith, jr. Amen.

After the above was received, William E. McLellin, as the wisest man, in his own estimation, having more learning than sense, endeavored to write a commandment like unto one of the least of the Lord's, but failed, it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The elders and all present, that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness [fullness] of the gospel, and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which the Lord had given to the church through my instrumentality; and the elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the world.

As the following elders were desirous to know the mind of the Lord concerning themselves, I enquired [inquired] and received,

AS Revelation given November, 1831, to Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and Wm. E. Mc'Lellin. The mind and will of the Lord, as made known by the voice of the Spirit to a conference concerning certain elders; and also certain items, as made known, in addition to the covenants and commandments.

My servant, Orson Hyde, was called, by his ordinance, to proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them: and behold and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth: and this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture; shall be the will of the Lord; shall be the mind of the Lord; shall be the word of the Lord; shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation; behold this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants: wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God; that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. This is the word of the Lord

unto you my servant, Orson Hyde; and also unto my servant Luke Johnson, and unto my servant, Lyman Johnson, and unto my servant, William E. McLellin; and unto all the faithful elders of my church: Go ye into all the world; preach the gospel to every creature; acting in the authority which I have given you; baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned; and he that believeth shall be blessed with signs following, even as it is written: and unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man; and as many as the Father shall bear record, to you it shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life: Amen.

And now concerning the items in addition to the covenants and commandments, they are these: There remaineth hereafter in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church to minister even according to the first: wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the first presidency of the Melchizedek priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron, aud [and] if they be literal descendants of Aaron, they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the first born among the sons of Aaron: for the first born holds the right of presidency over this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the first born of Aaron; but as a high priest of the Melchizedek priesthood, has authority to officiate in all lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found; provided he is called and set apart, and ordained unto this power under the hands of the first presidency of the Melchizedek priesthood. And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their priesthood: but by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing, if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named presidency.

And again, no bishop or high priest, who shall be set apart for this ministry, shall be tried or condemned for any crime save it be before the first presidency of the church; and inasmuch as he is found guilty before this presidency, by testimony that cannot be in peached [impeached], he shall be condemned and if he repents he shall be forgiven, according to the covenants and commandments of the church.

And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance; faith in Christ the Son of the living God; and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the head of the parents, for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized: and their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands: and they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the sabbath day to keep it holy.-And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, insomuch [inasmuch] as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness, for the idler shall not be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now I the Lord am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them: and their children also are growing up in wickedness: they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness. These things ought not to be, and must be done away from among them: wherefore let my servant Oliver Cowdry [Cowdery], carry these sayings unto the land of Zion. And a commandment I give unto them, that he that observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in remembrance before the judge of my people. These sayings are true and faithful: wherefore transgress them not, neither take therefrom. Behold I am Alpha and Omega, and I come quickly: Amen.

It had been decided by the conference, that elder Oliver Cowdry [Cowdery] should carry the commandments and revelations to Independence, Missouri, for printing, and that I should arrange and get them in readiness by the time that he left, which was to be by the 15th of the month and possibly before. All this time, there were many things which the elders desired to know relative to preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, and commencing the gathering, and in order to walk by the true light, and be instructed from on high, on the 3d of November, 1831, I inquired of the Lord and received the following revelation which from its importance and for distinction has since been added to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, called the