Orson Pratt Receives Revelation (Doctrine and Covenants Section 34, Nov 4, 1830)
Published March 25, 2026 at 5:57 PM

Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
In October 1830 Orson Pratt traveled over two hundred miles to Fayette, Seneca County, New York, where Joseph Smith was staying at the house of Mr. Whitmer and where the witnesses of the Book of Mormon were present. At Orson's request, on November 4, 1830 the Prophet Joseph Smith inquired of the Lord for him and received the revelation later published as Doctrine and Covenants Section 34. The revelation begins, 'My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer; the light and the life of the world,' and it commissioned Orson to 'preach my gospel--to lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation.' The account weaves together Orson Pratt's journal recollection of the request and Joseph Smith's inquiry that produced the specific revelation directed to Orson.
In Their Own Words
“In October, 1830, I traveled westward over two hundred miles to see Joseph Smith, the Prophet. I found him in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, residing at the house of Mr. Whitmer. I soon became intimately acquainted with this good man, and also with the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. By my request, on the 4th of November, the Prophet Joseph inquired of the Lord for me, and received the revelation published in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 1vi (now Section 34.) “My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer; The light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not; Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God. Wherefore, you are my son; And verily, verily, I say unto you, you are baptized into my church, while you have yet faith, and are not yet even as a child in grace. Wherefore, lift up your voice and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent, and be even as an angel of God in declaring my word, as with the voice of a trump. Yea, the day of the Lord cometh, which is nigh at hand; for the day of wrath shall come upon the wicked like a storm, and whosoever heareth not my voice shall not escape, when the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the earth shall reel to and fro as a drunken man; And the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; And after the stars also shall fall, even as a leaf falleth from off a vine tree, even as a fig tree droppeth her untimely figs. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.””
— Orson Pratt, as quoted in 'Orson Pratt Writings – Doctrine and Covenants Central'
Sources & References
Orson Pratt, The Orson Pratt Journals, comp. Elden J. Watson (Salt Lake City: Elden Jay Watson, 1975), pp. 7-96 Doctrine and Covenants Section 34 Full first-person account: Orson Pratt Writings – Doctrine and Covenants Central https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/orson-pratt-writings
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