At Orange, there were in attendance at the adjourned conference twelve High Priests, seventeen Elders, four Priests, three teachers, and four Deacons, in addition to a large congregation of other members.
While at Orange, William E. McLellin, one of the prominent Elders, desired the Prophet to obtain the will of the Lord concerning him. Joseph complied, and through the word of the Lord which came as an answer to his prayer, William E. McLellin received much encouragement for what he had done; but he was commanded to repent of some things and was warned against adultery, a sin to which, it appears, he was inclined. He was promised great blessings if he should overcome. This instruction, direct from the Almighty, seemed to affect him for a time, but the words did not sink deep into his heart, because he soon rebelled and attempted to bring reproach upon the Church of Christ. He joined with others in whom the spirit of discontent was brooding, to find fault with the revelations of the Lord which Joseph received.
When the Prophet returned to Hiram, the Lord condemned the folly and pride of McLellin and his sympathizers, and said to them that they might seek out of the book of commandments even the least of the revelations, and appoint the wisest among them to make one like unto it from his own knowledge. Filled with vanity and self-conceit, McLellin sacrilegiously essayed to write a commandment in rivalry of those bestowed direct from God upon the Church. But he failed miserably in his audacious effort, to the chagrin and humiliation of himself and his fellows. The attempt was not without its benefits, however, for the Saints were enabled to recognize the difference between the works of God and the presumptuous efforts of men. Upon this subject the Lord had said that the Elders should be under condemnation if they failed to bear record to the truth of His commandments, should the one who attempted to imitate them not succeed in his effort; "for," He said, "ye know there is no unrighteousness in them, and that which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights." The Elders obeyed this behest of the Lord and declared in strength and power their absolute knowledge that the revelations which had been bestowed upon the Church were from God.
The Prophet held many special conferences during October and November, 1831, with different branches of the Church. He also pursued his work of translating the Bible, Sidney Rigdon writing at his dictation. Important revelations continued to be received for the comfort of the Saints. On the 3rd day of November the commandment now known and published in the book of Doctrine and Covenants as the "Appendix" was given to the Prophet at Hiram. Some of its sublime passages are as follows:
Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitant of the earth. Listen ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord, for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent;
For behold, the Lord God hath sent forth the angel crying through the midst of heaven, saying, prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh,
When the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his Father's name written on their foreheads;
Wherefore, prepare ye for the coming of the Bridegroom; go ye, go ye out to meet him,
For behold, he shall stand upon the mount of Olivet, and upon the mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of the sea, and upon the land of Zion;
And he shall utter his voice out of Zion, and he shall speak from Jerusalem and his voice shall be heard among all people,
And it shall be the voice as of the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder, which shall break down the mountains, and the valleys shall not be found;
He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land,
And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided.
And the Lord, even the Savior, shall stand in the midst of his people, and shall reign over all flesh.
And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his voice and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence.
And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.
Their enemies shall become a prey unto them.
And in the barren desert shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.
And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants.
And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.
And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim;
And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.
Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows.
And they also of the tribe of Judah, after their pain, shall be sanctified in holiness before the Lord to dwell in his presence, day and night, forever and ever.
And now, verily saith the Lord, That these things might be known among you, O ye inhabitants of the earth, I have sent forth mine angel, flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel, who hath appeared unto some, and hath committed it unto man, who shall appear unto many who dwell on the earth;
And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
And the servants of God shall go forth, saying, with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come;
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And unto him that repenteth and sanctifieth himself before the Lord, shall be given eternal life;
And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord, shall be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet Moses, that they should be cut off from among the people.
And also that which was written by the prophet Malachi: for, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Wherefore, this shall be the answer of the Lord unto them:
In that day when I came unto mine own, no man among you received me, and you were driven out.
When I called again, there was none of you to answer, yet my arm was not shortened at all, that I could not redeem, neither my power to deliver.
Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish stinketh, and dieth for thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering.
And this shall ye have of my hand—ye shall lay down in sorrow.
Behold and lo, there are none to deliver you, for ye obeyed not my voice when I called to you out of the heavens; ye believed not my servants, and when they were sent unto you ye received them not;
Wherefore they sealed up the testimony and bound up the law, and ye were delivered over unto darkness.
These shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
In November Joseph arranged the commandments of the Lord to the Church which he had received, in their proper order, and sent them up into Missouri by the hands of Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer, the purpose being to issue a printed edition of them for their dissemination among the Saints.
Though the translating of the Scriptures occupied his attention at this time, yet the Prophet was not permitted to confine himself entirely to this labor; he was often required to go out and preach the gospel. Sidney Rigdon accompanied him, and wherever they went they overcame all opposition, confounding their enemies by a simple declaration of the truth and putting to shame such of the sectarian preachers as opposed them.
On the 4th day of December, 1831, while the Prophet was at Kirtland, Newel K. Whitney was called by revelation from the Lord to be a Bishop in that part of the vineyard, and his duties in that important office were specified.
Ezra Booth had succeeded in securing space in the columns of the Ohio Star, in which to publish his slanderous denunciations and falsehoods concerning Joseph and the Church. In replying to these, and in vindicating the people against them, the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon were closely occupied for some weeks. Satan was busy arousing enmity, and he used the apostate Booth and others as his instruments to provoke persecution. They were successful in filling the minds of many with darkness and prejudice; but Joseph and Sidney wherever they appeared were enabled to allay much of the excited feeling of bigotry.
At Hiram, on the 16th day of February, 1832, the "vision" which is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 76—one of the grandest revelations given by God to man, in which the different degrees of glory held in reserve by the Almighty for His children and the dreadful fate which awaits the sons of perdition, were described with felicitous clearness—was given to Joseph and Sidney Rigdon. In writing this vision they leave this momentous testimony: