, Letter, , Westchester Co., NY, to JS, [], 31 Dec. 1839. Featured version copied [between Apr. and June 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 117–118; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
Historical Introduction
On 31 December 1839, member wrote a letter inviting JS to eastern . Jenks wrote the letter from , New York, a town approximately thirty miles north of , and likely sent it to , unaware that JS had left the national capital for about ten days earlier. The letter encouraged the delegation in Washington in its efforts to obtain redress for losses church members earlier suffered in and also expressed the desire of the Saints in Sing Sing and New York City to have JS visit them. Aware of JS’s debts and lack of funds, Jenks warned JS regarding New York’s strict laws against debtors and poor transients and offered to pay JS’s travel expenses to Sing Sing and New York City.
It is unknown whether the post office forwarded the letter to JS in or if JS received the letter upon returning to . If JS responded to , that letter has not been located. Jenks’s original letter is apparently not extant, but copied the letter into JS Letterbook 2 sometime between April and June 1840.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.