JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, created 4 July 1845–4 Feb. 1846 and 1 July 1854–2 May 1855; handwriting of , Robert L. Campbell, and ; 275 pages, plus 6 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the fourth volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This fourth volume covers the period from 1 Aug. 1842 to 1 July 1843; the remaining five volumes, labeled A-1, B-1, C-1, E-1 and F-1, continue through 8 Aug. 1844.
Historical Introduction
History, 1838–1856, volume D-1, constitutes the fourth of six volumes documenting the life of Joseph Smith and the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The series is also known as the Manuscript History of the Church and was originally published serially from 1842 to 1846 and 1851 to 1858 as the “History of Joseph Smith” in the Times and Seasons and Deseret News. This volume contains JS’s history from 1 August 1842 to 1 July 1843, and it was compiled after JS’s death.
The material recorded in volume D-1 was initially compiled under the direction of church historian , with the assistance of . After Richards’s death in 1854, continued work on the volume as the new church historian with Bullock’s continued help. The process adopted by Richards and Bullock involved Richards creating a set of rough draft notes and Bullock transcribing the notes into the volume along with the text of designated documents (such as letters and meeting minutes). George A. Smith followed a similar pattern, though he dictated the draft notes to Bullock and other scribes.
According to the Church Historian’s Office journal, finished the third volume of the series, volume C-1, on Thursday, 3 July 1845, in , Illinois. He began work on the fourth volume, D-1, the next day, beginning on page 1362 with the entry for 1 August 1842. (The pages in volumes A-1–E-1 were numbered consecutively.) Bullock continued work on the record, drawing upon ’s draft notes, until 3 February 1846—the day before D-1 and the other volumes were packed up in preparation for the Latter-day Saints’ exodus from Nauvoo. At that point he had reached page 1485 with the entry for 28 February 1843. Subsequently, apparently after the collection had arrived in Utah, Bullock added a brief comment beneath that entry: “end of W. Richard’s compiling[.] the books packed Feby. 4— 1846 in Nauvoo[.] Miles Romney— present. The records carried by T Bullock from Winter Quarters to G S L [Great Salt Lake] City in 1848.”
A notation at the top of page 1486 reports that “the books were unpacked in G. S. L. City by and . June 7. 1853. J[onathan] Grimshaw & Miles Romney present.” Vertically, in the margin, is a poignant epitaph: “Decr. 1 1853 Dr. Willard Richards wrote one line of History—being sick at the time—and was never able to do any more.” With Richards’s death on 11 March 1854, JS’s cousin was called to the office of church historian. The notation on the top of page 1486 acknowledges this change in officers, noting, “commencement of George A. Smith’s compiling as Historian. April 13. 1854[.] [C]ommenced copying July 1. 1854.” From mid-April to the end of June 1854, George A. Smith, in collaboration with Thomas Bullock, worked on the draft notes for the history before a new scribe, , resumed writing in D-1 on 1 July 1854, beginning with the entry for 1 March 1843.
continued transcribing intermittently into the late fall of 1854, when he was assigned other duties in the Historian’s Office. He had reached page 1546 with the entry for 5 May 1843. Work resumed in February 1855 in the hand of Robert L. Campbell, recently returned from a mission. He concluded volume D-1 on the morning of 2 May 1855 and began writing in E-1 that afternoon.
The 274 pages of volume D-1 contain a record of much that is significant in the life of JS and the development of the church he founded. Among these events are
• JS’s 6 August 1842 prophecy that the Saints would become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.
•JS’s 8 August 1842 arrest on a warrant for being “an accessory before the fact” to an attack on former governor .
• ’s 17 August 1842 letter to governor , pleading for the humane treatment of her husband and family.
•JS’s 1 and 6 September 1842 instructions regarding the proper procedures for performing baptisms for the dead.
• JS’s 15 November 1842 “Valedictory” as he stepped down as editor of the Times and Seasons.
• The 26 December 1842 arrest of JS on a “proclamation” by former governor , and subsequent hearing in , Illinois.
• The 7 February 1843 recovery of a volume of patriarchal blessings given by , which had been stolen in , Missouri.
• JS’s 21 February 1843 remarks regarding the and .
• JS’s 2 April 1843 instruction at , Illinois, on the nature of God and other subjects.
• JS’s 16 May 1843 remarks at , Illinois, on the everlasting covenant and eternal marriage.
• The account of JS’s 23 June 1843 arrest and his hearing the following week at .
<June 16> Judge wrote by express from at 10 P.M., that Governor had told him, that he was going to issue a writ for me on a requisition of the Governor of and that it would start to morrow. [HC 5:433]
<I copy from the Neighbor the following>
<“At the very moment when a spirit of toleration seemed to influence the feelings of society throughout the civilized world, we regret to perceive that the tribunals of the Pope, are, in June 1843, receiving at Rome and Ancona the very worst proscriptions of that fell and sanguinary institute, the Inquisition, as will be seen by a perusal of the following document. “We, Fra Vincenzo Salina, of the order of Predicatori, Master in Theology, General Inquisitor in Ancona Sinigaglia, Jesi, Osimo, Cingoli, Macerata, Tolentino, Loreto, Recanati, and other towns and districts, &c. It being deemed necessary to revive the full observance of the disciplinary laws, relative to the Israelites residing within our jurisdiction, and having hitherto without effect employed prayers and exhortations to obtain obedience to those laws in the Ghetti’ (Jewries) of Ancona and Sinigaglia, authorized by the dispatch of the Sacred and Supreme Inquisition of Rome, dated June 10th., 1843, expressly enjoining and commanding the observance of the decrees and pontifical constitutions, especially in respect to Christian nurses and domestic servants, or to the sale of property either in town of country districts, purchased and possessed previously to 1827, as well as subsequently to that period, we decree as follows -[see next margin]->
<1. From the interval of two months after the date of this day, all Gipsy and Christian domestics, male and female, whether employed by day or by night must be dismissed from service in the said two Ghetti; and all Jews residing within our jurisdiction are expressly prohibited from employing any Christian nurse, or availing themselves of the service of any Christian in any domestic occupation whatever, under pain of being immediately punished according to the pontifical constitutions.>
<2. That all Jews, who may possess property, either in town or country, permanent or movable, or rents or interests, or any right involving shares in funded property, or leased landed property, must, within the term of three months from this day dispose of it by a positive and real, and not by any pretended or fictitious contract. Should this not be done within the time specified, the Holy office is to sell the same by public auction, on proof of the annual harvest being got in. >
<3. That no Hebrew nurses, and still less any Hebrew family, shall inhabit the city, or reside in or remove their property into, any town or district where there is no Ghetto (place or residence for Jews) and that such as may actually be there in conformacy to the laws, must return to their respective Ghetto within the peremptory period of six [HC 5:434] months, otherwise they will be proceeded against according to the tenor of the law.>
<4. That, especially in any city where there is a Ghetto, no Hebrew must presume to associate at table with Christians, either in public houses or ordinaries, out of the Ghetto.>
<5. That in a City which has a Ghetto, no Hebrew shall sleep out of the Israelite quarter, nor make free to enter into familiar conversation in a Christian House.>
<6. That no Hebrew shall take the liberty, under any pretext whatever to induce Male Christians, and still less female Christians to sleep within the boundaries of the Ghetto.>
<7. That no Hebrews shall hire Christians, even only by the day, to work in their houses in the Ghetto.>
<8. That no Hebrew either male or female, shall frequent the houses of Christians, or maintain friendly relations with Christian men or women.>
<9. That the laws shall remain in force respecting the decorum to be observed by the Hebrews who may absent themselves from their Ghetto to travel in other parts of the state.>
<After laying down these monstrous rescripts, which we had hoped even the Romish Church would not have attempted to revive, and still less reclothe with authority, and arm with tremendous pains and penalties. The savage order is issued that these intolerant laws shall be read in each of the Jewish Synogogues. It is added They who violate the above articles, will incur some or all of the penalties prescribed in the edicts of the Holy Inquisition.”>
<17> The “Maid of ” went to with the Temple hands on a pleasure excursion; while there the Steamer Shockoquon came to port with many citizens from when Elder delivered a lecture.
<18> Meeting at the preached in the fore part of the day to the edification of the Saints. The Sacrament was administered in the afternoon.
’ message arrived early in the evening when my sent and as fast as possible to inform me. had $250. and borrowed $200. [HC 5:435] they left about 12½ at night and proceeded for .
Elder writes that he and , have been preaching in , and since 4 September 1842, have 32, and many more are convinced of the truth of the work, and that they are continuing their labors.
<19> The Laborers held a meeting in the , to investigate the price and principles of labor.
and arrived at at Sunrise, tarried about two hours to get a horse shod and take breakfast; started again at 7 for where they arrived at 3 P.M. put up their horses to feed and rest; they took Dinner and slept till 7, when they started again and rode till midnight. When the horses being tired and weary, they turned them <out to feed>, and they themselves lay down to sleep about 2 hours, when they again resumed their journey, and rode one mile North of Hendersonville, where they stopt to feed their horses.
<20> About 7½ A.M. again started on their journey and arrived at Andover about 10 A.M. they turned out their Horses to graze in the Woods for about half an hour, when they proceeded to Gennesseo where they arrived at 2½ p.m. tried to hire a pair of horses to continue the journey, but did not succeed. they left Gennesseo at 6 p.m. and travelled to Portland, where they arrived at 12, put up their horses and went to bed until 4 a.m.
The following appears in the Nauvoo Neighbor and serves to illustrate the benefit of chartered rights in
“ Sir In obedience to the call made in your paper for information in relation to the affairs of the Agricultural and Manufacturing Associa[HC 5:436]tion of this : I give you such facts as I think will be satisfactory. [p. 1579]