, Letter, , MO, to “Our dearly beloved Brethren” [ and other church members, including JS], [, OH], 7 May 1831. Featured version copied [between ca. 27 Nov. 1832 and ca. Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 12–13; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.
Historical Introduction
wrote this letter in response to one he received from the church in , Ohio. The opening of Cowdery’s letter, the last of three surviving letters he sent from to church leaders in , addresses “dearly beloved Brethren.” Since Cowdery was aware of JS’s recent move to the Kirtland area, JS was almost certainly one of the intended recipients. However, the table of contents to JS’s Letterbook 1, inscribed by , indicates that was the original addressee, likely the result of an earlier decision to utilize Whitney’s franking privilege.
The historical background for this letter was the conflict between and Indian agent Richard W. Cummins, who had prevented Cowdery and his missionary companions from preaching on Indian lands because they did not have the required authorization. In mid-February, left the , Missouri, area, likely carrying the 14 February letter Cowdery penned to superintendent of Indian affairs in , requesting such an official permit. Clark was not in St. Louis when Pratt arrived, and Pratt continued on his journey toward . While awaiting Pratt’s return with a permit to reenter Indian lands, the other missionaries apparently confined their work to proselytizing among settlers living in .
In the 7 May 1831 letter featured here, expresses an expectation that , who had already been traveling for nearly three months, would soon return. Delays in communication between and meant that Cowdery had no more knowledge of Pratt’s activities in May than he had when he wrote to the Ohio church leaders a month earlier, on 8 April. The most recent letter to Cowdery from church leaders in Ohio evidently gave no news of Pratt, so it was almost certainly written before Pratt’s arrival in . Cowdery had received a letter from Pratt while Pratt was in on his way to Ohio, and when he wrote this 7 May letter, he apparently assumed that Pratt had already arrived in Kirtland. Pratt had in fact been delayed on his way to Kirtland by bad weather and a severe bout with the measles, and it is unlikely he reached Kirtland before late March. In any case, he had arrived at least by the first week of May: on the same day that Cowdery penned the letter featured here, 7 May, JS dictated a revelation instructing Pratt to preach to the Shaker settlement north of Kirtland, which delayed Pratt’s return to Missouri. While that assignment ultimately lasted only two days, he did not return to Missouri until September.
Though ’s earlier letter indicated that the missionaries hoped would return with permission from Superintendent to preach in Indian Territory, the missionaries apparently never received such a permit, and they did not continue the mission. They did, however, remain in Missouri and were on hand when JS and other church elders arrived during summer 1831 in accordance with the 6 June revelation.
Williams was present in Missouri with Cowdery when this letter was written and thus had firsthand knowledge of what addressee was listed on the original packet. For discussion of Whitney’s franking privilege, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.
Oliver Cowdery, Independence, MO, to William Clark, [St. Louis, MO], 14 Feb. 1831, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, Records, vol. 6, p. 103; see also Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.
U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency. Records, 1807–1855. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Also available at kansasmemory.org.
Pratt later explained that he and the other missionaries to the Indians decided that “one of our number had better return to the church in Ohio, and perhaps to head quarters in New York, in order to communicate with the Presidency, report ourselves, pay a visit to the numerous churches we had organized on our outward journey, and also to procure more books.” (Pratt, Autobiography, 61.)
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.
Peter Whitmer Jr. recorded that after Cummins threatened to arrest them, the missionaries “then resorted among the Gentiles and declared the word.” (Whitmer, Journal, Dec. 1831, [1].)
Whitmer, Peter, Jr. Journal, Dec. 1831. CHL. MS 5873.
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.
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.
searching for truth and if cincerely I pr[a]y they may find that precious treasure for it seems to be wholly fallen in the streets that equity cannot enter in the letter we received of <from> you we were informed that the opposition was great against you now our beloved brethren we verily believe that we can also rejoice that we can are counted worthy to suffer shame for his name for almost the whole country which consists of Universalists Ath[e]ists Deists Presbyterians Methodists <Baptists> & professed Christians Priests & people with all the Devels from the infernal pit are united and foaming out ther own shame God forbid that I should bring a railing accusation against them for Vengence belongeth unto him who is able to repay & herein brethren we confide. I am informed of an other Tribe of lately who have abundence of flocks of the best kind of sheep & cattle and manufacture blankets of superior quality the tribe is very numerous they live three hundred miles west of Santafee and are called navahoes why I mention this tribe is because I feel under obligation to communicate <my breth[r]en evry informati[o]n respecting th[e] Lamanites & ab[out].> to you all my Labours and travels believeing as I do that much is expected from me in the cause of our Lord and not doubuting but I daily am remembered before the throne of the most high by all of my brethren as well those who have not seen my face in the flesh as those who have
We have begin to expect our brother soon we have heard from him only when he was at we are all well (bless the Lord) and preach the gospel we will if earth and hell oppose our way and we dwell in the midst of Scortions for in Jesus <we> trust grace be with you all Amen
PS I beseach you to remember & write & direct to me Jackson County Missouri
Cowdery and Ziba Peterson apparently baptized a dozen or so persons in Lafayette and Jackson counties in the months that followed, including Rebecca Hopper, whom Peterson married on 11 August 1833. (Romig, “Lamanite Mission,” 30–32; Lafayette Co., MO, Marriage Records, 1821–1919, vol. B, p. 21, 11 Aug. 1831, microfilm 959,414, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Romig, Ronald E. “The Lamanite Mission.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 14 (1994): 25–33.
This letter from church leaders in Kirtland is not extant and the date of its composition is unknown. However, the previous letter to Cowdery from the Kirtland area, written during a time of poor weather, took approximately a month to arrive at its destination. The letter mentioned here was therefore likely written sometime in early April 1831.
After its founding in 1827, Independence quickly became the eastern terminus for the Santa Fe Trail and the starting point for many western travelers, so Cowdery may have had ready access to such information about the Navajo people from local travelers.
This insertion was likely added in the wrong place by Frederick G. Williams when he copied this letter into JS’s letterbook. He apparently intended to insert the caret between the words “you” and “all.”
Pratt had presumably carried the letter from Cowdery to Superintendent William Clark requesting permission for the Mormons to proselytize among the Indians. When Pratt arrived in St. Louis, Clark was away from the city and had been at least since 9 January 1831. John Ruland, subagent of Indian affairs, conducted business for Clark in his absence until sometime in March. Pratt likely arrived in Kirtland in April, but he soon left on a short mission to the Shakers and a subsequent mission near Kirtland. (John Ruland, [St. Louis, MO], to John Henry Eaton, [Washington DC], 9 Jan. 1831, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, Records, vol. 4, p. 198; William Clark, St. Louis, MO, to John Henry Eaton, [Washington DC], 31 Mar. 1831, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, Records, vol. 4, p. 207; Historical Introduction to Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]; Pratt, Autobiography, 64–65, 73.)
U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency. Records, 1807–1855. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Also available at kansasmemory.org.
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.
TEXT: Possibly “Scor[ta]tions”, meaning “fornicators.” Alternatively, Frederick G. Williams may have mistranscribed Cowdery’s biblical wording “scorpions” (see Ezekiel 2:6).