RLDS Verse Context

2c And also to be an agent unto this church in the place which shall be appointed by the bishop, according to commandments which shall be given hereafter.

3a And again, verily I say unto you, You shall take your journey with my servants Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon.

3b Behold, these are the first ordinances which you shall receive; and the residue shall be made known in a time to come, according to your labor in my vineyard.

3c And again, I would that ye should learn that it is he only who is saved, that endureth unto the end. Even so. Amen.

Intro: SECTION 54 Revelation given through Joseph Smith, Jr., at Kirtland, Ohio, in June 1831. It is addressed to Newel Knight, who was president of the Colesville, New York, branch of the church whose members had recently settled at Thompson, Ohio, in the vicinity of Kirtland. Some of the brethren previously settled at Thompson had broken an agreement to share their land with the Colesville Saints, and this caused resentment and confusion. The revelation enabled Elder Knight to unite the faithful and to lead them to Missouri in a body. They arrived in what is now Kansas City late in July 1831.

1a Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world.

1b Behold, verily, verily I say unto you, my servant Newel Knight, You shall stand fast in the office wherewith I have appointed you; and if your brethren desire to escape their enemies let them repent of all their sins, and become truly humble before me and contrite;

1c and as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even so it has become void and of none effect;

1d and woe to him by whom this offense cometh, for it had been better for him that he had been drowned in the depth of the sea;

1e but blessed are they who have kept the covenant, and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy.

2a Wherefore, go to now and flee the land, lest your enemies come upon you; and take your journey, and appoint whom you will to be your leader, and to pay moneys for you.