Documents, Volume 5, Part 6 Introduction: 20 April–14 September 1837
Part 6: 20 April–14 September 1837
The documents created from mid-April to mid-September 1837 mark a turbulent
period for JS and the in , Ohio. Economic concerns, intensified by the
national financial panic of 1837, exacerbated existing
dissatisfaction with JS’s leadership, and in May 1837,
dissenters—including some prominent church members—accused the
church president of dishonesty and misconduct and challenged his
ecclesiastical authority.
Discontent with the , and especially with
JS, began early in 1837. JS’s
supporters gave discourses in January warning church members not to
“murmer” against the church president, but during JS’s absence from
on business in February, reported, “many
were stir’d up in their hearts & some were against him.” Shortly
after his return, JS gave a discourse silencing “the complainers,”
who according to Woodruff “saw that he stood in the power of a
Prophet.”
Expressions of dissatisfaction increased, however, despite another discourse
JS gave in April warning against
dissension. The reasons for this opposition were not specified in
contemporary documents. On 23 May, wrote a letter to JS accusing him of extortion and lying and
censuring him for allegedly using his influence as the church
president for his own benefit. In Pratt’s estimation, JS had led the
church into unfair financial practices, such as speculation.
noted that during this
period “many and some in high places had risen up against Joseph”
and “were striving to overthrow his influence & cast him down.”
Then, at a tense meeting on Sunday, 28 May, JS and spoke in defense of JS’s actions. After
their remarks , formerly JS’s
scribe, rose to speak, and in Woodruff’s words, “stretched out his
puny arm and proclaimed against Joseph.” The
met the next day to address the concerns of
a group of , headed by , regarding what they saw as inappropriate
behavior by five prominent church leaders. On the same day,
with encouragement from Parrish, apostles , ,
and made formal charges against members of the church presidency,
including JS, whom Pratt and Lyman Johnson accused of lying,
extortion, and disrespect.
For dissenters, temporal difficulties raised questions about JS’s prophetic authority. As the
Latter-day Saints faced financial losses, some were troubled by the
fact that JS as prophet had encouraged investment and put his
confidence in developing what turned out to be a crumbling
economy. In early June, JS became gravely
ill, and some church members feared he would not survive.
characterized JS’s
illness as divine punishment for transgression and for teaching
“things contrary to godliness.” In
mid-June, gave a Sunday
morning discourse in in which, according to , he sought “to show
that nearly all the Church had departed from God and that Brother
J.S had committed great sins.”
Also in June 1837 called JS a
“fallen prophet,” a charge that would be repeated by dissenters
throughout 1837 and 1838. On 23 July JS dictated a revelation that directed , the leader of
the , to rebuke those
still opposing JS. By the end of July, the dissent seemed to
be waning.
Still, financial concerns remained. JS and his partners
faced frequent litigation for their outstanding debts. In July JS, , , , , and mortgaged the
to Mead, Stafford & Co. to offset their
mercantile debts with the firm. With the help of , Ohio, lawyer , the firms of
Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery and Cahoon, Carter & Co. also
renegotiated their outstanding debts with five other merchants in September.
By summer 1837, the survival of the had become doubtful, and the situation was further
hindered by the discord within the church. recorded concerns
she had heard from JS: “So many of the Bank directors
are become unfaithful that Brother J.S says he does not know that it
will rise again. he says it can never [get] on while some pull one
way and some another it requires the united efforts of all and when
this will be the case the Lord only knows.” Possibly
in early June, and certainly before 7 July, JS and resigned as the officers of the Kirtland Safety
Society and were replaced by
and . The
Kirtland Safety Society closed sometime during the summer, likely
between the end of July and the end of August. The last entry in the
society’s stock ledger is dated 19 June 1837, and the last date on
extant notes is 20 July 1837. In the August issue
of the Messenger and Advocate, JS published a notice cautioning the public against using the notes of
the Kirtland Safety Society,
and in December 1837 the society was included in the
Daily Herald and Gazette’s list of closed or bankrupt
banking institutions.
Part 6 of this volume also relates events beyond . Despite dissension and economic fears in the
summer of 1837, proselytizing continued and even expanded, with and leaving for
the “eastern country” on 31 May and being called to
lead the first transatlantic mission to in June 1837. Saints in who were forced to leave in the summer of
1836 moved to the new town of , which by July 1837 had grown considerably and
now had a population of fifteen hundred, most of whom were church
members.