Revelation to the Prophet James J. Strang, concerning the Voree Plates, and also a Vision of where the Plates were buried, Received on September 1, 1845.
1a The Angel of the Lord came unto me, James, on the first day of September, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-five, and the light shined about him above the brightness of the sun,
1b And he showed unto me the plates of the sealed record, and he gave into my hands the Urim and Thummim.
1c And out of the light came the voice of the Lord saying, My servant James, in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee, because I have tried thee and found thee faithful.
1d Behold, my servant James, I am about to bless thee with a great blessing, which shall be to those who love me, an immutable testimony; to those who know me not, a stumbling block;
1e but to those who have known me and have turned their hearts from me, a rock of offence. Yea, let them beware, for shame and destruction walk in their tracks, and their time abideth, but not long.
2a A work shall come forth, and the secrets of the past shalt thou reveal. Yea, by little and little shalt thou reveal it, according to the ability and faithfulness of my church, and of my servant whom I have placed above them.
2b Behold the record which was sealed from my servant Joseph. Unto thee it is reserved. Take heed that thou count it not a light thing, nor exalt thyself lest thou be stricken;
2c For by myself I swear that, as thou servest me faithfully and comest not short, thou shalt unlock the mysteries thereof, which I have kept hid from the world. Yea, as my servants serve me, so shalt thou translate unto them.
3a But in their weakness I have not forgotten them. Go to the place which the Angel of the Presence shall show thee, and there shalt thou dig for the record of my people in whose possession thou dwellest.
3b Take with thee faithful witnesses, for in evil will the unfaithful speak of thee, but the faithful and true shall know that they are liars, and shall not stumble for their words.
4a Speak thou unto the Elders of my church, and say unto them, Hear my voice and hearken to my words, for they are true and faithful. Testify, testify unto all the saints.
4b Testify, testify in all the world. He that rejecteth you, him will I reject in the day that I come in my kingdom.
4c Testify, testify unto him who has received my word and turned away. Let him now return unto me and obey and serve his God, lest he be smitten with a curse and his children curse him and his name be blotted out of the Book of Life.
5a Yea, those to whom I have revealed myself, let them hearken unto me now lest they be cast off in the day of my indignation, lest the consuming fire of the day of trial burn them up.
5b Yea, lest the second death make them his prey, and they be cast into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.
6a Rejoice, ye holy, for the day of your deliverance is near, and the time of your exaltation is at hand.
6b Faithful and true are my words, dividing the marrow from the bones, and truth from rottenness.
6c He that rejecteth them, him will I reject when I come in my kingdom.
7 And while I was yet in the Spirit, the Angel of the Lord took me away to the hill in the east of Walworth, against White River in Voree, and there he showed unto me the record buried under an oak tree as large as the body of a large man;
8 It was enclosed in a near then casement, and buried in the ground as deep as to a man’s waist;
9 And I beheld it as a man can see a light stone in clear water, for I saw it by Urim and Thummim;
10 And I returned the Urim and Thummim to the Angel of the Lord, and he departed out of sight.