SECTION
63
[Book
of Commandments 63, Kirtland D&C 20, LDS D&C 63]
Joseph
Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery arrived in Kirtland, August
27, 1831, from their first visit to the land of Zion. Joseph wrote in
his history,
“In
these infant days of the church, there was great anxiety to obtain
the word of the Lord upon every subject that in any way concerned our
salvation; and as the “land of Zion” was the most temporal object
in view, I inquired of the Lord for further information upon the
gathering of the Saints, and the purchase of the land and other
matters.”
It
was in answer to this petition that Joseph Smith received the
following revelation.
1a.
Hearken, O ye people, and open your hearts, and give ear from afar;
and listen, you that call yourselves the people of the Lord, and hear
the word of the Lord, and his will concerning you;
1b.
yea, verily, I say, Hear the word of him whose anger is kindled
against the wicked and rebellious;
1c.
who willeth to take even them whom he will take, and preserveth in
life them whom he will preserve; who buildeth up at his own will and
pleasure; and destroyeth when he pleases, and is able to cast the
soul down to hell.
2a.
Behold, I, the Lord, utter my voice, and it shall be obeyed.
2b.
Wherefore, verily I say, Let the wicked take heed, and let the
rebellious fear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips,
for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all
flesh shall know that I am God.
2c.
And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.
3a.
Verily, I say unto you, There are those among you who seek signs, and
there have been such even from the beginning, but, behold, faith
cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.
3b.
Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please,
but by the will of God.
3c.
Yea, signs come by faith, unto mighty works, for without faith no man
pleaseth God: and with whom God is angry he is not well pleased:
wherefore, unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto their
condemnation.
4a.
Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you, who have
sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men
unto my glory; nevertheless, I gave commandments and many have turned
away from my commandments and have not kept them.
4b.
There were among you adulterers and adulteresses; some of whom have
turned away from you, and others remain with you, that hereafter
shall be revealed.
4c.
Let such beware and repent speedily, lest judgment shall come upon
them as a snare, and their folly shall be made manifest, and their
works shall follow them in the eyes of the people.
5a.
And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, He that looketh on
a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their
hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and
shall fear:
5b.
wherefore, I, the Lord, have said that the fearful, and the
unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and and maketh a
lie, and the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in
that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.
5c.
Verily I say, that they shall not have part in the first
resurrection.
6a.
And now, behold, I, the Lord, saith unto you, that ye are not
justified because these things are among you;
6b.
nevertheless he that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same
shall overcome, and shall receive an inheritance upon the earth, when
the day of transfiguration shall come; when the earth shall be
transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine
apostles upon the mount; of which account the fullness ye have not
yet received.
7a.
And now, verily I say unto you, that as I said that I would make
known my will unto you, behold, I will make it known unto you, not by
the way of commandment, for there are many who observe not to keep my
commandments;
7b.
but unto him that keepeth my commandments, I will give the mysteries
of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water,
springing up unto everlasting life.
8a.
And now, behold, this is the will of the Lord your God concerning his
Saints, that they should assemble themselves together unto the land
of Zion, not in haste, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth
pestilence.
8b.
Behold, the Land of Zion, I, the Lord, holdeth it in mine own hands;
nevertheless, I, the Lord, rendereth unto Caesar the things which are
Caesar’s:
8c.
wherefore, I, the Lord, willeth, that you should purchase the lands,
that you may have advantage of the world, that you may have claim on
the world, that they may not be stirred up unto anger;
8d.
for Satan putteth it into their hearts to anger against you, and to
the shedding of blood; wherefore the land of Zion shall not be
obtained but by purchase, or by blood, otherwise there is none
inheritance for you.
8e.
And if by purchase, behold, you are blessed; and if by blood, as you
are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and ye
shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue,
and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance.
9a. I,
the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the
inhabitants of the earth.
9b. I
have sworn in my wrath and decreed wars upon the face of the earth,
and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every
man, and the Saints also shall hardly escape;
9c.
nevertheless, I, the Lord, am with them, and will come down in heaven
from the presence of my Father, and consume the wicked with
unquenchable fire.
9d.
And, behold, this is not yet, but by and by; wherefore seeing that I,
the Lord, have decreed all these things upon the face of the earth, I
will that my saints should be assembled upon the land of Zion;
9e.
and that every man should take righteousness in his hands, and
faithfulness upon his loins, and lift a warning voice unto the
inhabitants of the earth; and declare both by word and by flight,
that desolation shall come upon the wicked.
9f.
Wherefore let my disciples in Kirtland arrange their temporal
concerns, which dwell upon this farm.
10a.
Let my servant Titus Billings, who has the care thereof, dispose of
the land, that he may be prepared in the coming spring, to take his
journey up unto the land of Zion, with those that dwell upon the face
thereof, excepting those whom I shall reserve unto myself, that shall
not go until I shall command them.
10b.
And let all the moneys which can be spared, it mattereth not unto me
whether it be little or much, be sent up unto the land of Zion, unto
them whom I have appointed to receive.
11.
Behold, I, the Lord, will give unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jr.,
power that he shall be enabled to discern by the Spirit those who
shall go up unto the land of Zion, and those of my disciples who
shall tarry.
12a.
Let my servant Newel K. Whitney retain his store, or, in other words,
the store yet for a little season. Nevertheless let him impart all
the money which he can impart, to be sent up unto the land of Zion.
12b.
Behold, these things are in his own hands, let him do according to
wisdom.
12c.
Verily I say, Let him be ordained as an agent unto the disciples that
shall tarry, and let him be ordained unto this power; and now
speedily visit the churches, expounding these things unto them, with
my servant Oliver Cowdery.
12d.
Behold, this is my will, obtaining moneys even as I have directed.
13a.
He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.
13b.
He that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion, shall receive an
inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow him; and also a
reward in the world to come:
13c.
yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth,
when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all
things become new,
13d.
they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall
receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city, and he that
liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept the faith, blessed is
he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at the age of man;
13e.
wherefore children shall grow up until they become old, old men shall
die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed
in the twinkling of an eye;
13f.
wherefore, for this cause preached the apostles unto the world the
resurrection of the dead:
13g.
these things are the things that ye must look for, and speaking after
the manner of the Lord, they are now nigh at hand; and in a time to
come, even in the day of the coming of the Son of Man, and until that
hour, there will be foolish virgins among the wise, and at that hour
cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked;
13h.
and in that day will I send mine angels, to pluck out the wicked, and
cast them into unquenchable fire.
14.
And now, behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased
with my servant Sidney Rigdon, he exalted himself in his heart, and
received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit; wherefore his writing
is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he shall make another, and if
the Lord receive it not, behold, he standeth no longer in the office
which I have appointed him.
15a.
And again, verily I say unto you, Those who desire in their hearts,
in meekness, to warn sinners to repentance, let them be ordained unto
this power; for this is a day of warning, and not a day of many
words.
15b.
For I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days. Behold, I am
from above, and my power lieth beneath.
15c. I
am over all, and in all, and through all, and searcheth all things;
and the day cometh that all things shall be subject unto me. Behold,
I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ.
15d.
Wherefore let all men beware how they take my name in their lips;
for, behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this
condemnation; who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain,
having not authority.
15e.
Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will
own them; otherwise they shall be cut off.
16a.
Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be
spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit, and in this there
is no condemnation; and ye receive the Spirit through prayer;
wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation.
16b.
Let my servants Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon, seek them a
home as they are taught through prayer, by the Spirit.
16c.
These things remain to overcome, through patience, that such may
receive a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; otherwise, a
greater condemnation. Amen.
