, Letter, , Lake Co., OH, to JS, [, Hancock Co., IL], 7 Nov. 1842. Featured version published in Times and Seasons, 2 Jan. 1843, vol. 4, no. 64, 62–63. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.
Historical Introduction
On 7 November 1842, leader wrote a letter to JS reporting on the outcome of a recent held in , Ohio. The conference was called by and his missionary companions and . Wight had left , Illinois, with his wife and children on 3 September 1842 on a mission to proselytize to some of his family and friends in , New York. Along the way, he held conferences and meetings to encourage Latter-day Saints to gather to Nauvoo and to publicly deny ’s published allegations against JS and the church. Badlam joined Wight on his mission near by early October, and Greene united with the two missionaries about a week later near Olive Green, Ohio. Together the three men held a series of conferences with church members and other interested parties on their way to Kirtland, the former headquarters of the church.
The three missionaries arrived in by 26 October and began holding daily meetings in the . Between 28 October and 1 November, Wight presided over another conference that lasted several days. His preaching appears to have ignited significant interest among church members in Kirtland. According to the minutes of the conference, attendance swelled from seventy-five members present in the morning of the first day to one hundred fifty by that afternoon. When the conference assembled for its second day, between five and seven hundred Saints were in attendance. A major objective of the conference was to persuade the remaining Saints in Kirtland, especially those who were disaffected, to recommit to the church. At least two mass baptismal services, in which more than two hundred individuals were or rebaptized, were held in connection with the conference. When the conference ended, the three missionaries remained in the area for about a week and continued their ministrations among church members living there.
Nearly a week after the close of the conference, wrote to JS to describe the ongoing effects of the conference in . He included information about prominent individuals who had been baptized and expressed his hope for continued success in the region. Brooks’s original letter is not extant. The Times and Seasons published a copy of his letter nearly two months after it was written. When printing the letter, the Times and Seasons attributed it to “Justin Brooks,” but there is no record of a Justin Brooks living in Kirtland nor does that name appear in church records. Lester Brooks, however, appears to have been serving as the president of the Kirtland at the time of the conference. Since the letter seems to be reporting on the affairs in Kirtland in some official capacity, it appears that the letter was written by Lester Brooks and that the Times and Seasons office misread the first name in his signature.
Lyman Wight, Mountain Valley, TX, to Wilford Woodruff, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 24 Aug. 1857, pp. 11–12, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1842, 4:15.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:36–38. The exact dating of this conference is unclear. The missionaries’ report states that the conference met daily beginning 28 October and ending on 1 November, but the minutes account for only four of these five days.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:38–39. In his report, Wight said 203 people had been baptized, while a Cleveland newspaper said 206. (“Mormanism Revived,” Plain Dealer [Cleveland], 9 Nov. 1842, [2].)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Brooks became Almon Babbitt’s counselor at the reorganization of the Kirtlandstake in 1841. After Babbitt was disfellowshipped later that year, Brooks assumed the role of acting president of the Saints in Kirtland. Sometime thereafter Brooks became the presiding elder of the Kirtland branch. The fall 1842 conference reiterated Brooks’s position as president of the branch, with John Youngs and Hiram Kellogg serving as his counselors. (“Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1841, 2:458; Letter from Lester Brooks and Others, 16 Nov. 1841; Phineas Young, Tiffin, OH, to Willard Richards and Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 14 Dec. 1842, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:39.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
In extant records, elements of the “Lester” in Brooks’s signature bear some resemblance to “Justin.” Both are six-letter words with “st” as the middle characters of the word. Moreover, the slant of the L could easily be misread as a J and the terminal “er” could be misread as “in.” (See Letter from Lester Brooks and Others, 16 Nov. 1841.)
Page 62
, Ohio, Nov. 7, 1842.
Brother Joseph Smith: Sir:—I now take the opportunity to inform you, the brethren in , and all that feel interested in this last of Almighty God, which has been committed to the , that since our minutes were enclosed, , , and have continued their labors in this place, up to this time, with great success; the Lord pouring out his spirit upon them and also upon the people. There have been, since the above stated time, several persons , which have looked on, and have seen the rise and progress of this church from the commencement, and many smart, intelligent young men have also been elders; amongst the number are Austin Babbit[t] and William Wilson. The number ordained since conference is ten; and several persons have been baptized. The prospect now is that a great blessing will result to the inhabitants of this region of country, from the labors of the above named elders. The reformation which has taken place here has taken some of the most prominent members from among the Methodists; and the Presbyterians begin to think that Mormonism, as they call it, is not dead, as they supposed, in consequence of ’s apostacy. I am this moment informed that Priest [Truman] Coe has withdrawn from his ministerial labors in the Presbyterian church, you will discover that it is not positive. Where the reformation that has begun will end, the Lord only knows: such an anxiety to learn the doctrines of this church, has never before [p. 62]
The enclosed minutes were presumably the minutes published in the 15 December 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons. (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:38–39.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
While Brooks may have been referring to the baptisms of people who had long been familiar with the church, his remarks likely also applied to the rebaptisms of longtime church members. Hostile newspaper accounts scoffed at the fact that “old converts” were being rebaptized during the conference. At the April 1842 conference of the church at Nauvoo, Illinois, JS identified four different types of baptism: baptism for the dead, baptism for health, baptism for admission into the church, and rebaptism. In the missionaries’ report of their work in Kirtland, it appears that most of the baptisms they described were rebaptisms, presumably to renew the members’ commitment to the church. For example, they described one woman who at the outset of the conference “declared herself good enough without re-baptism” but apparently later relented and declared that “she would go to the Rocky Mountains if Joseph said so.” Though rarely mentioned in extant sources, the practice seems to have been widespread in the church at this time. For example, one young elder, James Monroe, recounted being rebaptized in Nauvoo prior to leaving on a mission. (“Mormanism Revived,” Plain Dealer [Cleveland], 9 Nov. 1842, [2]; Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1842; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:38–39; James Monroe, Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, to Brigham Young, 16 Sept. 1851, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; “Elder’s Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:157; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 27 July 1842; and Statement, 27 Aug. 1842, in “Revelation to Newel K. Whitney through Joseph the Seer,” 27 July 1842, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Jan.–Dec. 1842.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
The missionaries’ account of the conference stated that thirty elders had been ordained but provided no further details. (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:39.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Austin Babbitt was the brother of longtime church member Almon Babbitt. (“Nancy Crosier: Seventh Child,” 2, in Crozier and Crozier, Family History.)
Crozier, Ida Florence Wright, and Darlene Ann Budzey Crozier, comps. The Family History of Lieutenant John Crosier and His Descendants, 1750–1995. Hamilton, Ontario: GENCO Publishers, [1995].
There are several references in Latter-day Saint sources to a church member named William Wilson. It is unclear, however, whether all these sources refer to the same individual. A “W. W. Willson” took part in anointing rituals preparatory to the dedication of the House of the Lord in Kirtland in 1837, and a “William Willson” agreed to travel to Missouri with the Kirtland Camp in 1838. In 1840 a William Wilson in Morgan County, Illinois, swore out an affidavit testifying of his experience in 1838 of visiting his family in Ohio and being unable to return to his home in DeWitt, Missouri, due to the governor’s extermination order. Finally, the minutes of a June 1842 conference in Utica, New York, record some discussion regarding the ordinations of a William Wilson and another Latter-day Saint; ultimately, the New York conference determined that “the case of Bro. Wilson was adjourned until the next Conference.” Because of the connection to Wilson’s ordination in this letter, these conference minutes likely refer to the same William Wilson. (Kirtland Elders Quorum, “Record,” 4 Apr. 1837; Kirtland Camp, Constitution, 13 Mar. 1838; William Wilson, Affidavit, 24 Jan. 1840, Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives, Washington DC; “Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842, 3:861.)
Kirtland Elders Quorum. “A Record of the First Quorurum of Elders Belonging to the Church of Christ: In Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838, 1840–1841. CCLA.
Kirtland Camp. Constitution, 13 Mar. 1838. CHL. MS 4952.
Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives / Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on Judiciary during the 27th Congress. Committee on the Judiciary, Petitions and Memorials, 1813–1968. Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789–2015. National Archives, Washington DC. The LDS records cited herein are housed in National Archives boxes 40 and 41 of Library of Congress boxes 139–144 in HR27A-G10.1.
The missionaries reported that in the days after the conference “from three to ten” individuals were coming forward each day seeking baptism. (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:39.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
At least some of Wight's preaching in Ohio touched on reform and reformation. While speaking on “the subject of reformation,” Wight argued that Latter-day Saints “were not called to reform any religion but reform ourselves” by embracing or recommitting to the principles God had revealed to “his people.” (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1842, 4:14, italics in original.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
While on his way to Kirtland, Greene accepted an invitation to preach at a Presbyterian church in Huron County, Ohio. According to the missionaries’ report, the minister yielded his pulpit in accordance with his congregation’s wish to hear about “the faith of the Mormons, and wherein they differed from the popular sects of the day.” Greene reportedly “left the people with very serious and favorable impressions; having destroyed much prejudice by the light which was reflected.” In his remarks to Latter-day Saints and his report back to Nauvoo, Wight indicated that one of the purposes of his mission was to refute “the rumors which have gone abroad, by certain corrupt characters, concerning the character of Br. Joseph Smith and others,” presumably referring to Bennett’s ongoing attempts to discredit JS. Wight later claimed—probably with some exaggeration—that few people he met believed Bennett’s allegations against JS. Wight specifically identified a Methodist minister in Dayton, Ohio, who told his congregation that “although Joseph Smith might be a bad man, yet he could say to them it would be an injury to their society to believe any thing that Bennett said.” In fact, Wight claimed that during his mission he had “not heard a single man say but what Joseph Smith had done himself an honor in purging the church of so filthy a rascal as John C. Bennett.” (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:37–38; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1842, 4:14–15.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Reverend Truman Coe was the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Kirtland. Contrary to Brooks’s information, Coe remained pastor of the church until his retirement in 1848. (Backman, “Truman Coe’s 1836 Description of Mormonism,” 348.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr. “Truman Coe’s 1836 Description of Mormonism.” BYU Studies 17, no. 3 (Spring 1977): 347–355.