DC 108 Intro: SECTION 108
Revelation received through Joseph Smith, Jr., prophet and seer to the church, November 3, 1831, at Hiram, Ohio. The revelation, originally given as the "Preface" to the "Book of Commandments,"* given November 1, 1831, is now Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The following revelation was to constitute the "close" or "appendix" to the "Book of Commandments." The "Book of Commandments" was never completed; the printing press was destroyed by a mob while the book was in the process of being printed, and the printed material was scattered in the street. This revelation was not included in the incomplete copy. However, it was included in the revelations contained in the 1835 edition as the "appendix." It will be better understood if read in connection with the revelations given prior to November 1831. To follow the precedent of previous editions, it is retained in this place as Section 108.
*A number of bound copies of the "Book of Commandments" are in the Historian's Library of the Reorganized Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints.
1a Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God, and hear the word of the Lord concerning you; the Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the nations that forget God, and upon all the ungodly among you.
1b For he shall make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of their God.
2a Wherefore prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion, all you that have not been commanded to tarry.
2b Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another.
2c And let every man call upon the name of the Lord; yea, verily I say unto you again, The time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you, Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
3a Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations; firstly, upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.
3b And, behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people:
3c Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about; yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom.
3d Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.
4a Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour. Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles, flee unto Zion.
