Receipt of the Fishing River Revelation
Published September 3, 2026 at 9:56 AM
On June 22, 1834, while camped at the Fishing River, Joseph Holbrook witnessed and recorded the receipt of a significant revelation by Joseph Smith (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 105). Holbrook noted in his journal that this revelation showed the "mind of God concerning the redemption of Zion," explaining that the Saints were no longer required to fight at that time because they had not yet become the united people required for such a task. This spiritual manifestation provided the camp with divine direction and a peaceful resolution to the immediate conflict with the Missouri mobs, effectively disbanding the military aspect of the expedition.
In Their Own Words
“On the 23 mile prairie below Richmond we camped between the forks of Fishing River. We camped about one mile west of said fork near a meetinghouse where we were met by many of our enemies as we had been for some days past, who swore they would send us all to hell before morning and if any were left, we should not be spared in the event to tell the story alive. And thus we were threatened on every side with mobs enough to make any man quail who had not the spirit of God upon him. But Brother Joseph the prophet said, stand still and see the salvation of God. About sundown it began to rain like torrents with thundering and lightning and dark enough to prevent anyone from being able to find their way. To our surprise we found that the two forks of Fishing River were swollen so as to be utterly impossible to pass, being it was said 40 feet deep on each side of us about one and one-half miles. Thereupon the revelation [was] given on Fishing River, Missouri, June 22, 1834, showing the mind of God concerning the redemption of Zion.”
— Joseph Holbrook, Autobiography and Journal (1806–1885)
Sources & References
Joseph Holbrook, “Autobiography of Joseph Holbrook (1806–1846),” typescript, full public text at Yancey Family Genealogy: https://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/JosephHolbrook.htm (Zion's Camp chapters) — research note: Holbrook, a twenty-eight-year-old marcher from the Florence, New York branch, records the mob threats at Fishing River, the Prophet's assurance to “stand still and see the salvation of God,” the overnight storm that swelled both forks of the river forty feet so the waiting mobs could not cross, and the receipt of the June 22, 1834 revelation now published as Doctrine and Covenants 105; the revelation text is at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/105 and the Joseph Smith Papers treatment at https://josephsmithpapers.org (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105]). Full first-person account: Autobiography of Joseph Holbrook (1806-1885), Yancey Family Genealogy https://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/JosephHolbrook.htm
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