“Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: Doctrine and Covenants 121–123,” Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources (2025)
“Doctrine and Covenants 121–123,” Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources
Doctrine and Covenants 121–123
Liberty Jail, located in Liberty, Missouri, USA. Joseph Smith dictated inspired letters while being held as a prisoner here in March 1839. Excerpts from the letters were later canonized as sections 121–23 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Photograph by J. T. Hicks, ca. 1878. Church History Library, PH 1031.
Historical Background
Revelations in Context
Essays on the background of each revelation
Within the Walls of Liberty Jail
Iron window bars from Liberty Jail, Church History Museum.
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days
Narrative history of events surrounding the revelations
Volume 1, Chapter 31
Rifle carried by David W. Patten as he attempted to free three hostages held by renegade Missouri militiamen. The rescue succeeded, but Patten was killed in the effort. Rifle owned by David W. Patten, ca. early nineteenth century, maple, metal, silver, Church History Museum.
Volume 1, Chapter 33
Face wheel fragment from Jacob Hawn’s gristmill along Shoal Creek in Caldwell County, Missouri, the site of a brutal attack on the Saints. Face wheel, Hawn’s Mill, 1835, iron, Church History Museum.
People
Biographical facts and historical images of individuals associated with the revelations
Places
Maps and information about places associated with the revelations from The Joseph Smith Papers, Historic Sites, and other helpful sources
Events
Timeline placing each revelation in the context of key events in the Church’s first century
Topics
Essays on subjects related to the revelations
Amanda Barnes Smith. Church History Library, PH 5962.
Sources
Historical background and the earliest version of each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as published in The Joseph Smith Papers and the Church History Library catalog
Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 March 1839
Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, March 20, 1839.
Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, circa 22 March 1839