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Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833

Source Note

JS, Letter,
Kirtland Township

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

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, OH, to
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

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, [
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Jackson Co., MO], 11 Jan. 1833. Retained copy, [ca. 11 Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 18–20; handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.

Historical Introduction

On 11 January 1833, JS wrote a letter to
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
, enclosing with the letter a copy of a revelation dated 27–28 December 1832 and perhaps also a copy of a revelation dated 3 January 1833.
1

See Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126].


In addition to transmitting the revelations, the letter responded to a communication from Phelps dated 15 December 1832 and to one from
Sidney Gilbert

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

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dated 10 December 1832. Although Phelps’s and Gilbert’s letters are no longer extant, Gilbert’s letter contained what
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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and
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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called “low, dark, & blind insinuations” and Phelps’s “a lightness of spirit.”
2

Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 Jan. 1833; see also Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.


Other communications from Missouri
elders

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

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earlier in 1832 had revealed a rift between church leaders in Missouri and
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

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. In part to resolve these differences, JS traveled to Missouri in the spring of 1832 and met with various leaders, but subsequent letters indicated that problems remained.
3

See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78]; Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.


On 31 July 1832, JS reproved Phelps for his “cold and indifferent” spirit and accused other Missouri leaders of “raking up evry fault” and “looking for motes in the eyes of those who are laboring with tender and prayerful hearts continually for there salvation.”
4

Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.


Phelps may have shown a repentant spirit at some point thereafter, because JS stated in a November 1832 letter that he had “the most implicit confidence” in Phelps “as a man of God.”
5

Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832.


JS’s response to the December communications from Phelps and Gilbert, however, shows that tension between Missouri and Ohio leaders persisted.
Revelations throughout 1832 and early 1833 called on the
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
Saints to repent of their sins lest calamities should befall them, and JS wrote this letter to emphasize the importance of that instruction. Asserting that JS and other
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
leaders were deeply interested in the welfare of those Saints living in
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
, the letter outlined the problems that would afflict Missouri church members if they did not repent. It also chastised
Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
and
Gilbert

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

View Full Bio
for the contents of their previous letters.
JS’s letter implied that the Saints living in
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
were not under the same condemnation as the “children of
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
.”
6

A September 1832 revelation stated that the “children of Zion” were under “condemnation” for “vanity and unbelief,” as well as for “treat[ing] lightly” the revelations and commandments they had received. (Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:54–56].


A revelation dated just two weeks earlier stated instead that the Ohio Saints’ willingness to “receive his [the Lord’s] will” was “pleasing” and “the
Angels

Being who acts as a minister and messenger between heaven and earth. JS taught that angels were individuals who “belonged to this earth”; those who had already lived on earth were often resurrected beings. In addition to giving instruction, direction, and...

View Glossary
rejoice over [them].”
7

Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–2].


The letter reiterated some of the instructions contained in the 27–28 December revelation pertaining to those living in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, such as the direction to construct a
house of God

The official name for the sacred edifice in Kirtland, Ohio, later known as the Kirtland temple; also the official name for other planned religious structures in Missouri. JS and the Latter-day Saints also referred to the House of the Lord in Kirtland as “...

View Glossary
. The revelation had told the “first labourers, in this last kingdom” to “appoint among yourselves, a teacher” and gain instruction in both secular and spiritual matters.
8

Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:74, 78–80, 122]. The 3 January 1833 revelation, which may have been included in this transmission, provided additional instructions regarding how to conduct this school. (Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].)


According to this letter to
Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
, the school was to be “a
school for the Prophets

A term occasionally used to refer to a Protestant seminary; specifically used by JS to refer to a school to prepare elders of the church for their ministry. A December 1832 revelation directed JS and the elders of the church in Kirtland, Ohio, to establish...

View Glossary
”—perhaps much like the “schools of the prophets” that Congregational and Presbyterian churches had established in the 1700s to train divinity students interested in the ministry.
9

See Darowski, “Schools of the Prophets,” 1–3.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Darowski, Joseph F. “Schools of the Prophets: An Early American Tradition.” Mormon Historical Studies 9 (Spring 2008): 1–13.

JS’s letter reported that Kirtland church leaders were in the process of establishing this school; later, in the summer of 1833, the Saints in
Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

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would create their own “school of Elders.”
10

See Pratt, Autobiography, 99–100.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

The original letter is not extant, but
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
copied it into JS’s letterbook, probably soon after its composition.
Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
published an excerpt from the 27–28 December 1832 revelation in the February 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, which indicates that he received the letter and the enclosed revelation.
11

“Commandments,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

Phelps also acted on JS’s instruction in the letter to make the Star more interesting by giving “the rise progress and faith of the church.” In the March 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, Phelps included an article titled “Prospects of the Church,” in which he stated his intent “to give the particulars of the rise and progress of the church.”
12

“Prospects of the Church,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [4].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

The following month, Phelps published a column titled “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” which he evidently intended as a series. Similar columns, including letters from those reporting on their preaching in the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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, followed in the April, June, and July 1833 issues of the Star.
13

See, for example, the following articles in The Evening and the Morning Star: “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” Apr. 1833, [4]; “The Progress of the Church of Christ,” June 1833, [4]–[5]; and “Progress of the Church of Christ,” July 1833, [4]–[5].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126].

  2. [2]

    Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 Jan. 1833; see also Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.

  3. [3]

    See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78]; Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.

  4. [4]

    Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.

  5. [5]

    Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832.

  6. [6]

    A September 1832 revelation stated that the “children of Zion” were under “condemnation” for “vanity and unbelief,” as well as for “treat[ing] lightly” the revelations and commandments they had received. (Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:54–56].

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–2].

  8. [8]

    Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:74, 78–80, 122]. The 3 January 1833 revelation, which may have been included in this transmission, provided additional instructions regarding how to conduct this school. (Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].)

  9. [9]

    See Darowski, “Schools of the Prophets,” 1–3.

    Darowski, Joseph F. “Schools of the Prophets: An Early American Tradition.” Mormon Historical Studies 9 (Spring 2008): 1–13.

  10. [10]

    See Pratt, Autobiography, 99–100.

    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.

  11. [11]

    “Commandments,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  12. [12]

    “Prospects of the Church,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [4].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  13. [13]

    See, for example, the following articles in The Evening and the Morning Star: “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” Apr. 1833, [4]; “The Progress of the Church of Christ,” June 1833, [4]–[5]; and “Progress of the Church of Christ,” July 1833, [4]–[5].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833
Letterbook 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 18

Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
January 11— 1833
Brother William [W. Phelps]

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
1

TEXT: “W. Phelps” was added later in a different handwriting.


I Send you the Olieve
2

TEXT: “f” smudged out with a “v” written over it.


leaf which we have plucked from the tree of Paradise, the Lords message of peace to us,
3

Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; see also Genesis 8:11.


for though our Brethren in
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
, indulge in feelings towards us, which is are not according to the requirements of the
new covenant

Generally referred to the “fulness of the gospel”—the sum total of the church’s message, geared toward establishing God’s covenant people on the earth; also used to describe individual elements of the gospel, including marriage. According to JS, the everlasting...

View Glossary
yet we have the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord approves of us & has accepted us, & established his name in
kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
[p. 18]
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Source Note

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Page 18

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833
ID #
140
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:364–368
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    TEXT: “W. Phelps” was added later in a different handwriting.

  2. [2]

    TEXT: “f” smudged out with a “v” written over it.

  3. [3]

    Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; see also Genesis 8:11.

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