“Behold, I say unto you, my servant Edward, that you are blessed, and your sins are forgiven you, and you are called to preach my gospel as with the voice of a trump.”
Doctrine and Covenants 36:1–8
1 Thus saith the Lord God, the Mighty One of Israel: Behold, I say unto you, my servant Edward, that you are blessed, and your sins are forgiven you, and you are called to preach my gospel as with the voice of a trump;
2 And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney Rigdon, and you shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom;
3 And you shall declare it with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna, blessed be the name of the most high God.
4 And now this calling and commandment give I unto you concerning all men—
5 That as many as shall come before my servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jun., embracing this calling and commandment, shall be ordained and sent forth to preach the everlasting gospel among the nations—
6 Crying repentance, saying: Save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh.
7 And this commandment shall be given unto the elders of my church, that every man which will embrace it with singleness of heart may be ordained and sent forth, even as I have spoken.
8 I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God; wherefore, gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“. . . Edward Partridge was born in Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, on August 27, 1793, the son of William and Jemima Partridge. His father’s ancestors emigrated from Berwick, Scotland, and settled in Hadley, Massachusetts. At the age of sixteen he went to learn the hatter’s trade. At the age of twenty he had become dissatisfied with religion as it was taught. He heard a ‘Universal Restorationer’ preach the love of God, and he felt that this doctrine was right. In 1828, he and his wife were ‘baptized’ into the ‘Disciples’ organization. He continued as a member of this organization until Elders Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, and their companions brought the gospel to Kirtland, when he was impressed. He thereupon accompanied Sidney Rigdon to Fayette to visit the Prophet. [For more biographical information about Edward Partridge, see Andrew Jenson’s Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:218–22.]
“[Edward Partridge] was to be blessed by Sidney Rigdon according to the word of the Lord. [Edward Partridge] was baptized by the Prophet [on] December [11,] 1830, while on the visit to Fayette, and was commanded to proclaim the gospel with a loud voice, along with others who were ordained, to cry repentance, saying: ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh.’ This expression is found in Jude [1:23], and the Lord said to John [in Revelation 3:4]: ‘Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.’ This is symbolic language, yet is plain to understand. This is an untoward generation walking in spiritual darkness, and the punishment for sin is spoken of as punishment in fire. Garments spotted with flesh are garments defiled by the practices of carnal desires and disobedience to the commandments of the Lord. We are commanded to keep our garments unspotted from all sin, from every practice that defiles. We are therefore commanded to come out of the world of wickedness and forsake the things of this world. Every man who will embrace the truth and receive it in humility of heart was entitled to be ordained and set forth, to teach the truth.
“. . . The Lord said to Edward Partridge that He would suddenly come to His temple. There are several comings spoken of wherein the Lord will come to His temple. This promise Edward Partridge witnessed, for he was present at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, and the Lord came suddenly there to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and ministered unto them. He [the Lord] was also present at that dedication by His Spirit.”
(Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:162–63.)
