Journal, March–September 1838

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Journal, March–September 1838
Revelation for Thomas B. Marsh • 23 July 1837 Page 72 Letter to John Corrill and the Church in Missouri • 4 September 1837 Page 18 Revelation regarding John Whitmer and William W. Phelps • 4 September 1837 Page 23 13 March 1838 • Tuesday Page 16 Motto of the Church of Christ of Latterday Saints Page 16 Questions regarding the Book of Isaiah Page 17 Questions from Elias Higbee regarding the Book of Isaiah Page 18 Letter to the Presidency in Kirtland • 29 March 1838 Page 23 Letter from David Thomas • 31 March 1838 Page 26 Minutes • 6 April 1838 Page 29 Letter to John Whitmer • 9 April 1838 Page 28 Revelation for David W. Patten • 11 April 1838 Page 32 Synopsis of Oliver Cowdery Trial • 12 April 1838 Page 29 Synopsis of David Whitmer and Lyman Johnson Trials • 13 April 1838 Page 31 Revelation for Brigham Young • 17 April 1838 Page 32 Revelation • 26 April 1838 Page 32 27 April 1838 • Friday Page 34 28 April 1838 • Saturday Page 34 29 April 1838 • Sunday Page 37 30 April 1838 • Monday Page 37 1 May 1838 • Tuesday Page 37 2 May 1838 • Wednesday Page 37 3 May 1838 • Thursday Page 38 4 May 1838 • Friday Page 38 5 May 1838 • Saturday Page 38 6 May 1838 • Sunday Page 38 7 May 1838 • Monday Page 39 8 May 1838 • Tuesday Page 39 9 May 1838 • Wednesday Page 39 10 May 1838 • Thursday Page 39 11 May 1838 • Friday Page 40 12 May 1838 • Saturday Page 41 13 May 1838 • Sunday Page 42 14 May 1838 • Monday Page 42 18 May–1 June 1838 • Friday–Friday Page 42 4–5 June 1838 • Monday–Tuesday • With June–July 1838 Postscript Page 45 4 July 1838 • Wednesday Page 46 6 July 1838 • Friday Page 48 8 July 1838 • Sunday Page 51 26 July 1838 • Thursday Page 59 27 July 1838 • Friday Page 60 28 July 1838 • Saturday Page 61 29 July 1838 • Sunday Page 61 30 July 1838 • Monday Page 62 31 July 1838 • Tuesday Page 62 1–3 August 1838 • Wednesday–Friday Page 62 5 August 1838 • Sunday Page 63 6 August 1838 • Monday Page 63 Minutes • 6 August 1838 Page 64 7–9 August 1838 • Tuesday–Thursday Page 65 10 August 1838 • Friday Page 68 11 August 1838 • Saturday Page 68 12 August 1838 • Sunday Page 70 13 August 1838 • Monday Page 70 14 August 1838 • Tuesday Page 70 15 August 1838 • Wednesday Page 70 16–18 August 1838 • Thursday–Saturday Page 70 20–21 August 1838 • Monday–Tuesday Page 71 22 August 1838 • Wednesday Page 71 23 August 1838 • Thursday Page 71 24–30 August 1838 • Friday–Thursday Page 71 31 August 1838 • Friday Page 74 1 September 1838 • Saturday Page 75 2 September 1838 • Sunday Page 77 3 September 1838 • Monday Page 78 4 September 1838 • Tuesday Page 78 5 September 1838 • Wednesday Page 79 6 September 1838 • Thursday Page 79 7 September 1838 • Friday Page 80 8 September 1838 • Saturday Page 81 9 September 1838 • Sunday Page 81 10 September 1838 • Monday Page 82 11 September 1838 • Tuesday Page 83
Source Note

JS, “The Scriptory Book—of Joseph Smith Jr.—President of The Church of Jesus Christ, of Latterday Saints In all the World,” Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838; handwriting of
George W. Robinson
14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...
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and
James Mulholland
1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....
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; sixty-nine pages; in “General,” Record Book, 1838, verso of Patriarchal Blessings, vol. 5, CHL. Includes redactions and archival marking.

JS’s “Scriptory Book” is recorded on pages 15 to 83 of a large record book entitled “General” that also includes a list of church members in
Caldwell County
Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...
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, Missouri (pages 2–14), a copy of JS’s 16 December 1838 letter from the
jail in
Liberty
Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...
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Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...
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, Missouri (pages 101–108), and an aborted record partially entitled “Recor” in unidentified handwriting (page 110). The book, which measures 13 x 8¼ x 1¾ inches (33 x 21 x 4 cm), has 182 leaves of ledger paper sized 12½ x 7¾ inches (32 x 20 cm) with thirty-seven lines in blue ink per page. There are eighteen gatherings of various sizes, each of about a dozen leaves. The text block is sewn all along over three vellum tapes. The heavy pink endpapers each consist of a pastedown and two flyleaves pasted together. The text block edges are stained green. The volume has a hardbound ledger-style binding with a hollow-back spine and glued-on blue-striped cloth headbands. It is bound in brown split-calfskin leather with blind-tooled decoration around the outside border and along the turned-in edges of the leather on the inside covers. At some point the letter “G” was hand printed in ink on the front cover. The original leather cover over the spine—which appears to have been intentionally removed—may have borne a title or filing notation.

The journal is inscribed in black ink that later turned brown and is almost entirely in the handwriting of
George W. Robinson
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.
James Mulholland
1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....
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’s handwriting appears in a copy of the 23 July 1837 revelation for
Thomas B. Marsh
1 Nov. 1800–Jan. 1866. Farmer, hotel worker, waiter, horse groom, grocer, type foundry worker, teacher. Born at Acton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of James Marsh and Molly Law. Married first Elizabeth Godkin, 1 Nov. 1820, at New York City. Moved to ...
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(D&C 112) on pages 72–74. Running heads added by Robinson throughout the journal indicate the months of the entries on the page. The volume was later used in
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Illinois, as a source for JS’s multivolume manuscript history of the church. During the preparation of the history, redactions and use marks were made in graphite pencil. Redactions in graphite and ink may have been made at other times as well. In 1845, the book was turned over so that the back cover became the front and the last page became the first. This side of the book was used to record patriarchal blessings. The original spine may have been removed at this time. The spine is now labeled with a number “5”, designating its volume number in a series of books of patriarchal blessings.

The volume is listed in Nauvoo and early Utah inventories of church records, indicating continuous custody.
1
“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue,” [2]; Historian’s Office, “Index of Records and Journals,” [12], Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, microfilm, JS Collection, CHL.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
At some point, the leaf containing pages 54 and 55 was torn from the journal. This removed leaf—which is transcribed herein and contains, among other writings, the earliest extant text of an 8 July 1838 revelation for the Quorum of the Twelve (D&C 118)—was for a time kept in Revelation Book 2.
2
Best, “Register of the Revelations Collection,” 19.
Best, Christy. “Register of the Revelations Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” July 1983. CHL.
It is now part of the Revelations Collection at the Church History Library.
Footnotes
[1]
“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue,” [2]; Historian’s Office, “Index of Records and Journals,” [12], Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, microfilm, JS Collection, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
[2]
Best, “Register of the Revelations Collection,” 19.
Best, Christy. “Register of the Revelations Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” July 1983. CHL.
Historical Introduction
Following the climactic events they experienced in the
House of the Lord
JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...
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in spring 1836, JS and church members renewed their efforts on three fronts: proselytizing, raising funds to purchase land 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 ...
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on which to settle increasing numbers of Latter-day Saints, and building a larger and stronger Latter-day Saint community 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...
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, Ohio. But in neither Missouri nor
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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did events unfold as expected. Success in gathering converts to Missouri provoked renewed external opposition, again forcing church members in that state to relocate. Meanwhile, conflicts engulfed JS in Kirtland.

Revelations directed Latter-day Saint elders to proselytize throughout the world after being empowered in the
House of the Lord
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. A modest beginning during the remainder of 1836 crescendoed the following year with missionary service throughout 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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and
Canada
In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...
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and the successful launching of a ministry in England. Their mission was not only to preach and make converts but also to gather the descendants of the biblical house of Israel, now scattered throughout the world. Converts were encouraged to move to designated locations in
Missouri
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and
Ohio
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. The Mormon quest to establish Zion in Missouri, temporarily abandoned after the Saints’ expulsion from
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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, was thereby reinvigorated.

Beginning in April 1836, JS and his associates engaged in an aggressive fund-raising campaign for land purchases in
Missouri
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.
1
Minute Book 1, 2 Apr. 1836; JS, Journal, 2 Apr. 1836.
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Meanwhile, converts flocked to
Clay County
Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...
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, Missouri, to join the Latter-day Saints who had been expelled from
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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in 1833. The rapid growth of the Mormon population eroded the tolerance of other Clay County residents, who concluded in late June 1836 that the Saints must leave. By then threats of violence and the intimidation of incoming Mormons made the once welcoming community much less so.
2
“Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:353–355; Stokes, “Wilson Letters,” 504–509.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Stokes, Durward T., ed. “The Wilson Letters, 1835–1849.” Missouri Historical Review 60, no. 4 (July 1966): 495–517.
Returning to Jackson County was also an unrealistic option.

Attempting to prevent future hostilities—and probably to divert Mormon immigration away from more coveted lands—on 29 December 1836, the
Missouri
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legislature created
Caldwell County
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, northeast of
Clay County
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, exclusively for Mormon settlement.
3
An Act to Organize the Counties of Caldwell and Daviess [29 Dec. 1836], Laws of the State of Missouri [1836], 46–47; History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, 103–105; Riggs, “Economic Impact of Fort Leavenworth,” 129.
An Act to Organize the Counties of Caldwell and Daviess [29 Dec. 1836], Laws of the State of Missouri [1836], 46–47
History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources. . . . St. Louis: National Historical Co., 1886.
Riggs, Michael S. “The Economic Impact of Fort Leavenworth on Northwestern Missouri, 1827–1838. Yet Another Reason for the Mormon War?” In Restoration Studies IV: A Collection of Essays about the History, Beliefs, and Practices of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, edited by Marjorie B. Troeh and Eileen M. Terril, 124–133. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1988.
That act gave rise to conflicting expectations. Many Missourians believed the Latter-day Saints were thereafter to confine their settlement to Caldwell County.
4
“The Mormons in Carroll County,” Missouri Republican, 18 Aug. 1838, [2], daily edition; “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 12 June 1881, 1; Willard Snow, Petition for redress, no date, Library of Congress Collection, National Archives, Washington DC.
Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1919.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Library of Congress Collection. National Archives, Washington DC. Redress petitions from this collection are also available in Clark V. Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict, Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992).
The Saints willingly left Clay County and established headquarters at
Far West
Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...
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in Caldwell County, but they made no formal commitment to limit their settlement to one county. Indeed, they anticipated establishing numerous additional stakes of Zion elsewhere in northwestern Missouri. Tension over future Mormon expansion was inherent in the arrangement.

Conflict also increased at church headquarters in
Kirtland
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. In seeking to establish a sacral society directed by prophetic leadership, JS crossed conventional boundaries between religious and secular affairs. For him, God’s commandments made no distinction between the spiritual and the temporal.
5
Revelation, Sept. 1830–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 10:9, 1835 ed. [D&C 29:34–35].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Subjecting oneself to a religious leader’s direction in temporal matters clashed with American ideals of unfettered individual freedom. As the Mormon population of Kirtland continued to grow, JS and his associates conceived expansive plans for that community. A pivotal element was a bank, which could help provide capital for development. Though they were unable to obtain a state charter—an ultimately fatal flaw—they nevertheless established a financial institution in January 1837. The “Kirtland Safety Society” faltered early, due in part to negative publicity, the refusal of many area banks to accept Safety Society notes, and the predatory actions of outsiders who systematically acquired its notes and quickly demanded payment in specie, thus depleting its reserves. The Safety Society suspended such payments in late January, then failed several months later during the recession that gripped the
United States
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.
6
Adams, “Chartering the Kirtland Bank,” 467–482; Backman, Heavens Resound, 314–321; “James Thompson’s Statement,” in Naked Truths about Mormonism, Apr. 1888, 3.
Adams, Dale W. “Chartering the Kirtland Bank.” BYU Studies 23 (Fall 1983): 467–482.
Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
Stresses related to the bank failure, mounting personal debt of Kirtland Mormons, and church indebtedness due to construction of the
House of the Lord
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caused some to question the scope and legitimacy of JS’s prophetic leadership. Some of JS’s closest associates became disaffected. Prominent among the dissenters were JS’s former secretary
Warren Parrish
10 Jan. 1803–3 Jan. 1877. Clergyman, gardener. Born in New York. Son of John Parrish and Ruth Farr. Married first Elizabeth (Betsey) Patten of Westmoreland Co., New Hampshire, ca. 1822. Lived at Alexandria, Jefferson Co., New York, 1830. Purchased land at...
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, several apostles, a number of the members of the Quorum of the Seventy, and the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon plates. Their discontent escalated from dismay with JS’s financial leadership to rejection of his religious leadership.
7
Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” chaps. 5–6.
Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).

Such views eventually spread to nearly one-third of the church’s general leadership and over ten percent of the local church membership in
Ohio
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. Declaring JS a fallen prophet,
Parrish
10 Jan. 1803–3 Jan. 1877. Clergyman, gardener. Born in New York. Son of John Parrish and Ruth Farr. Married first Elizabeth (Betsey) Patten of Westmoreland Co., New Hampshire, ca. 1822. Lived at Alexandria, Jefferson Co., New York, 1830. Purchased land at...
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and others attempted to establish a church of their own and to take control of the
House of the Lord
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.
8
Backman, Heavens Resound, 323–329, 437n68.

Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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, saddled with crushing personal financial losses, privately disparaged JS.
9
Minute Book 2, 12 Apr. 1838; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 21 Jan. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 80–83.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Some dissidents sought to replace JS with
David Whitmer
7 Jan. 1805–25 Jan. 1888. Farmer, livery keeper. Born near Harrisburg, Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Raised Presbyterian. Moved to Ontario Co., New York, shortly after birth. Attended German Reformed Church. Arranged...
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as church president.
10
Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 15.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.

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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clashed with JS over the Safety Society.
11
Williams, “Frederick Granger Williams,” 254–256.
Williams, Frederick G. “Frederick Granger Williams of the First Presidency of the Church.” BYU Studies 12 (Spring 1972): 243–261.
Compounding JS’s problems was the antipathy of numerous non-Mormon residents of
Kirtland
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and vicinity, some of whom used both the legal system and threats of violence to harass him and other Latter-day Saints.
12
Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession” 168–188.
Adams, Dale W. “Grandison Newell’s Obsession.” Journal of Mormon History 30 (Spring 2004): 159–188.

In fall 1837, JS moved vigorously to reassert his authority as church president. At a conference in September, he and church leaders loyal to him disciplined dissidents in
Ohio
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—including three apostles and a number of members of the
Kirtland
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high council. Meanwhile, problems developed among church leaders in
Missouri
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, where the high council, the bishopric, and apostles
Thomas B. Marsh
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and
David W. Patten
14 Nov. 1799–25 Oct. 1838. Farmer. Born in Vermont. Son of Benoni Patten and Edith Cole. Moved to Theresa, Oneida Co., New York, as a young child. Moved to Dundee, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, as a youth. Married Phoebe Ann Babcock, 1828, in Dundee. Affiliated...
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decried unilateral actions by the Missouri presidency. Concern focused particularly on the management by counselors
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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and
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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of the proceeds from the sale of property in
Far West
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.
13
Minute Book 2, 3 and 5–7 Apr. 1837; Thomas B. Marsh, [Far West, MO], to Wilford Woodruff, [Vinalhaven, ME], 1838, Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 37–38. Missouri church president David Whitmer spent most of 1836 and 1837 in Kirtland.
Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.
When Marsh traveled to Kirtland in summer 1837, he probably informed JS of these Missouri leadership issues. To underscore the importance of unity and to prepare the way for changes in Missouri leadership if they should be required, JS sent minutes of the September Kirtland conference to Missouri, along with a revelation, additional written counsel, and verbal instructions conveyed by Marsh and JS’s brother
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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, an assistant counselor in the presidency. Soon after, JS and his loyal first counselor,
Sidney Rigdon
19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
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, traveled to
Caldwell County
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, Missouri, where with Hyrum Smith they met with local church leaders in early November and reached what seemed to be a satisfactory resolution of most of the outstanding issues. At a conference the following day, the local presidency were retained after they made confessions in response to objections raised against them. However, the First Presidency underwent major changes.
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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, JS’s second counselor, was removed from office after considerable discussion and replaced with Hyrum Smith. The name of
Oliver Cowdery
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, who earlier was placed next to JS in the presidency, was not even presented for approval on this occasion; thus he was silently displaced.
14
Minute Book 2, 6 and 7 Nov. 1837.
After JS’s return to Kirtland, it became evident that unresolved issues in Missouri required further attention.

An 1831 revelation had signaled that
Kirtland
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would eventually yield to
Missouri
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as the major gathering center for the Latter-day Saints.
15
Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 21:4, 1835 ed. [D&C 64:21–22].
When arrangements were completed in late 1836 for Mormon settlement in
Caldwell County
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, renewed large-scale migration of Mormons to Missouri became feasible. JS and the presidency had anticipated moving there earlier in 1836 to direct the resettlement of incoming converts, but the delay in establishing a permanent Missouri location and the entanglements of Kirtland kept them in
Ohio
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. By late 1837, JS was planning to move as soon as possible.
16
[JS], Editorial, Elders’ Journal, Nov. 1837, 28.
Threatened by dissidents and pursued by creditors, he learned in January 1838 of his impending arrest on a charge of illegal banking—quite likely a ruse devised by his opponents to drive him from Ohio.
17
Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession”; Historian’s Office, “History of Luke Johnson,” 6, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
JS and
Rigdon
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had already been found guilty of such a charge in October 1837, had been fined $1,000 each, and had an appeal pending.
18
Firmage and Mangrum, Zion in the Courts, 56–57.
Firmage, Edwin Brown, and Richard Collin Mangrum. Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1890. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
On 12 January, a new revelation directed that JS and the presidency were to terminate their work in Kirtland “as soon as it is practicable” and move to Missouri.
19
Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C, in Revelations Collection, CHL; see also JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
JS and Rigdon left within a few hours and were joined soon afterward by their families.

While JS was en route to
Far West
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, his supporters there were working to root out dissent among local church leadership. Senior apostle
Thomas B. Marsh
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and members of the
Missouri
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high council conducted, in each of five settlements, meetings of church members in which the conduct of the Missouri presidency was reviewed. Marsh indicated that the meetings were conducted according to instructions from JS. The outcome of each meeting was that the leadership of the presidency—consisting of
David Whitmer
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,
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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, and
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
View Full Bio
—was rejected. The Missouri high council and bishopric replaced the presidency with an interim presidency of Marsh and apostle
David W. Patten
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, and soon afterward the high council excommunicated Phelps and John Whitmer.
20
Minute Book 2, 5–10 Feb. and 10 Mar. 1838.
The reassertion of authority in Missouri under JS and those loyal to him was well under way when JS reached Far West on 14 March 1838.

George W. Robinson
View Full Bio
, who was appointed the church’s general clerk and recorder in
Ohio
More Info
in September 1837, arrived in
Far West
More Info
on 28 March 1838, two weeks after JS, and was immediately pressed into service. Within a day or two of arriving, he began writing what would become the present journal. Robinson made his initial inscriptions in a general church record book that already included a roster of Latter-day Saints living in
Caldwell County
More Info
. He began writing on the first blank page following the previously inscribed roster. The journal Robinson kept for JS documents critical developments in the struggle of JS and the presidency to maintain leadership of the church and to fulfill ambitious plans for Zion in
Missouri
More Info
. It records their efforts to found settlements outside their headquarters and gathering center in Caldwell County during spring and summer 1838, as well as the first signs of the deterioration of that effort. The journal is primarily a documentary record. Several key developments are depicted only by documents copied into the record without narrative ligatures.

The journal entries only occasionally provide insights into intentions, perceptions, evaluations, and feelings. When they do so,
Robinson
View Full Bio
’s perspective is usually represented. In the journal entries, Robinson refers to JS in the third person and to himself in the first. Thus references to “I” or “myself” in the journal entries usually indicate Robinson rather than JS.

The journal opens with a brief retrospective account, apparently dictated by JS, of his arrival in
Far West
More Info
on 14 March 1838. Then follows a copy of a motto recently composed by JS and signed by JS,
Robinson
View Full Bio
, and a half-dozen prominent Latter-day Saints. The motto reflected JS’s experiences with dissent and persecution in
Kirtland
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and signaled his determination to vigorously assert the Latter-day Saints’ right to establish themselves in
Missouri
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and to pursue their goals without harassment. JS’s letter of 29 March 1838, copied on pages 23–26 of the journal, indicates that the motto was already inscribed in the journal by that date.

Following the motto are two sets of questions and answers about the book of Isaiah. A series of transcripts or summaries of eight documents follows. These materials relate to a seven-month series of events that culminated in the 12–13 April 1838 excommunications of
Oliver Cowdery
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and
David Whitmer
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. As indicated by the date on the title page of the journal, 12 April 1838,
Robinson
View Full Bio
apparently began transcribing these documents and entries on the same day that Cowdery was excommunicated. Cowdery’s trial seems to have been the motivating factor for transcribing this set of documents and creating an ongoing record with its own identity. These documents include minutes, instructions, and revelations originally written in
Ohio
More Info
as early as 3 September 1837; minutes of a conference in which
Brigham Young
1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...
View Full Bio
joined
Thomas B. Marsh
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and
David W. Patten
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as “Presidents Pro. Tem” of the church in
Missouri
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; and terse synopses of the excommunication proceedings. In stark contrast to the frank evaluations of key leaders that JS dictated for his earliest journal, the present journal’s businesslike documentary treatment yields little insight into the interpersonal dynamics of their estrangement or the impact that severing ties to former close associates had on JS. Robinson also copied a letter from a Missouri landholder offering property at
De Witt
Located on bluffs north of Missouri River, about six miles above mouth of Grand River. Permanently settled, by 1826. Laid out, 1836. First called Elderport; name changed to De Witt, 1837, when town acquired by speculators David Thomas and Henry Root, who ...
More Info
, Carroll County, to JS as a strategic site for control of commerce in the region. A purchase was eventually consummated, and Latter-day Saints settled there, angering those Missourians who objected to Mormon settlement outside
Caldwell County
More Info
.

Following copies of brief personal revelations that JS dictated for apostles
David W. Patten
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and
Brigham Young
1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...
View Full Bio
in mid-April 1838,
Robinson
View Full Bio
recorded JS’s 26 April 1838 revelation mandating the continued growth of
Far West
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, the construction of a
temple
Plans for Far West included temple on central block. Latter-day Saints in Caldwell Co. made preparations for construction and commenced excavating for foundation, 3 July 1837. However, while visiting Latter-day Saints in Far West, 6 Nov. 1837, JS gave instructions...
More Info
there, and the establishment of Latter-day Saint settlements in that vicinity. The revelation sanctioned the name for the church that JS and others had recently begun to use: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

After inscribing this substantial body of recapitulations and copied documents,
Robinson
View Full Bio
recorded daily journal entries, beginning with an entry for 27 April 1838. By this point, Robinson was serving as a scribe to the First Presidency, and the journal focused not only on JS but also on
Sidney Rigdon
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(Robinson’s father-in-law) and
Hyrum Smith
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, both counselors in the church presidency. Frequently, but not consistently, the scribe accompanied JS and the presidency on trips away from
Far West
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. However, since the record book was large, Robinson likely did not carry it with him on every occasion, and a number of entries may not have been recorded until several days later.

The first day of
Robinson
View Full Bio
’s regular journal entries, 27 April, was the same day JS,
Rigdon
View Full Bio
, and Robinson started JS’s history. Thus a promising record-keeping routine began to be established, which lasted for six weeks. Entries for the first three weeks document a brief interlude of settled existence in
Far West
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, with JS and his counselors collaborating on the history, studying grammar, and attending meetings, and JS working his garden. However, the presidency was soon on the move again. After receiving word of a sizable migration of Latter-day Saints to
Missouri
More Info
, they left Far West for
Daviess County
Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...
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in mid-May to select and survey lands for future arrivals. JS’s labors in the north were punctuated by brief visits home, during one of which
Emma Smith
10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...
View Full Bio
gave birth to their son
Alexander
2 June 1838–12 Aug. 1909. Photographer, carpenter, postmaster, minister. Born at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Son of JS and Emma Hale. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, 1839. Married Elizabeth Agnes Kendall, 23 June 1861, at Nauvoo...
View Full Bio
.

Settling in sparsely settled
Daviess County
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offered incoming Latter-day Saints, many of whom were poor, a place to live while neither buying nor renting. As squatters on
United States
More Info
government land, heads of households could apply for preemption rights (first right of purchase) on up to 160 acres of land that they occupied, pending completion of official government land surveys. Applicants were not required—or even allowed—to pay the government for the land until after the surveys were completed. Then, to acquire title to the property, they were to pay the relatively low price of $1.25 per acre prior to an announced date, after which their property would otherwise be offered for sale to the general public, along with the unclaimed land in the surveyed area. The selection and private surveying of Daviess County land by JS and his colleagues provided the basis for orderly and relatively compact settlement coordinated by church officials.
21
Walker, “Mormon Land Rights.”
Walker, Jeffrey N. “Mormon Land Rights in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the Mormon Conflict of 1838: New Findings and New Understandings.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mormon History Association, Salt Lake City, 24–27 May 2007.
Settling in
Caldwell County
More Info
, by contrast, involved more conventional purchases. Government surveys were already completed for that county, and government land was already being sold.

The pattern of record keeping became more varied after the presidency and their scribe traveled to
Daviess County
More Info
in early June.
Robinson
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’s daily entries lapsed as the Mormons laid out a city plot for a Latter-day Saint settlement at
Adam-ondi-Ahman
Settlement located in northwest Missouri. 1835 revelation identified valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman as place where Adam blessed his posterity after leaving Garden of Eden. While seeking new areas in Daviess Co. for settlement, JS and others surveyed site on which...
More Info
, began building homes, and organized a stake. They persisted in creating the new settlement despite their
Missouri
More Info
neighbors’ earlier attempt to frighten the area’s first Mormon settlers into leaving Daviess County.
22
Gentry, “Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri,” 153–156; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 106.
Gentry, Leland Homer. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1965. Also available as A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

Meanwhile, tensions continued between JS and the majority who supported him on the one hand and prominent excommunicants who remained in
Caldwell County
More Info
after being expelled from the church on the other. JS and
Rigdon
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came to feel that peace and harmony among the Latter-day Saints—essential if they were to succeed in establishing Zion in
Missouri
More Info
—was impossible as long as these individuals remained among them. After Rigdon denounced these former leaders in a sermon in mid-June,
23
Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 23–25, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Corrill, Brief History, 30.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Corrill, John. A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Commonly Called Mormons;) Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with the Reasons of the Author for Leaving the Church. St. Louis: By the author, 1839.
they were threatened with violence, and several of them left the county. Active in compelling their departure was a new volunteer paramilitary organization of Mormon men called the Danites, of which
Robinson
View Full Bio
was an officer. The Danites sought to rid the church of dissent, to ensure the fulfillment of church leaders’ directives, and later to help combat external threats against the Saints.

Although
Robinson
View Full Bio
’s journal keeping for JS lapsed for most of June and July, he did note significant developments in three early July entries consisting primarily of copied correspondence and revelations. He wrote an entry for 4 July, when
Sidney Rigdon
View Full Bio
’s oration at the Mormons’ celebration of Independence Day at
Far West
More Info
signaled their intentions to expand beyond the confines of
Caldwell County
More Info
and warned that they would not countenance persecution.
24
Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, 12.
Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, on the 4th of July, 1838. Far West, MO: Journal Office, 1838. Also available in Peter Crawley, “Two Rare Missouri Documents,” BYU Studies 14 (Summer 1974): 502–527.
The entry for 6 July is a copy of a letter received that day from
Heber C. Kimball
14 June 1801–22 June 1868. Blacksmith, potter. Born at Sheldon, Franklin Co., Vermont. Son of Solomon Farnham Kimball and Anna Spaulding. Married Vilate Murray, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon, Monroe Co., New York. Member of Baptist church at Mendon, 1831. Baptized...
View Full Bio
and
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, ...
View Full Bio
, en route to Far West after completion of their mission to the British Isles. It is followed by Robinson’s transcription of a letter from JS’s brother
Don Carlos Smith
25 Mar. 1816–7 Aug. 1841. Farmer, printer, editor. Born at Norwich, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816–Jan. 1817. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus...
View Full Bio
reporting the circumstances of members of the extended Smith family moving together from
Kirtland
More Info
to Far West. At least six of the eight revelations recorded at that point in the journal were read to a church congregation at Far West on 8 July. Three dated 12 January 1838, the day that JS left Kirtland for Far West, focused on the church presidency, reinforcing their authority, establishing stringent requirements for any attempts to discipline them, and directing them to leave Kirtland and move to
Missouri
More Info
as soon as possible. Five more revelations, all dated 8 July, provided directions for the reorganization of the Quorum of Twelve and a proselytizing mission that they were to undertake in Europe, called for tithing to be instituted in the church, and gave instructions for several church leaders and former leaders. Between the January revelations and the July revelations, Robinson recorded a brief synopsis, from a millenarian perspective, of contemporary developments affecting the church in Missouri, including consequences of the expulsion of dissidents in June and the influx of numerous Latter-day Saint settlers to northwestern Missouri.

Robinson
View Full Bio
did not resume regular journal entries until 26 July. From that point, his journal keeping was relatively consistent through 10 September, when the journal ends. These entries show that expansion beyond
Caldwell County
More Info
—an integral part of Mormon plans—came at a price. Mormon immigrants from
Canada
In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...
More Info
were assigned to settle in
Daviess County
More Info
during summer 1838, and on 6 July, “Kirtland Camp,” the largest single group of Saints to leave
Kirtland
More Info
for
Missouri
More Info
, began their laborious trek.
25
Tyler, “Daily Journal,” 6 July 1838.
Tyler, Samuel D. Journal, July–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 1761.
Their arrival made it evident to the Mormons’ neighbors in Daviess County that within a few months the Mormons would outnumber other citizens. Meanwhile, in late July, Carroll County residents pressed the Saints to leave
De Witt
Located on bluffs north of Missouri River, about six miles above mouth of Grand River. Permanently settled, by 1826. Laid out, 1836. First called Elderport; name changed to De Witt, 1837, when town acquired by speculators David Thomas and Henry Root, who ...
More Info
. Further growth of Mormon numbers and influence was unthinkable for many residents of northwestern Missouri.

On election day, 6 August,
William Peniston
Ca. 1811–10 Nov. 1850. Sheriff, military colonel, clerk, hotelier. Born at Jessamine Co., Kentucky. Son of Robert Peniston and Nancy Nuttle. Moved to Ray Co., Missouri, ca. 1831. A founder of Millport, in what became Daviess Co., Missouri, where family built...
View Full Bio
, a candidate for the state legislature, mounted a whiskey barrel at the village square at
Gallatin
Founded and laid out, 1837. Identified as county seat, 13 Sept. 1837; officially recorded as seat, 3 Sept. 1839. After 1840 dispute in state legislature, reaffirmed as county seat, 1841. Several Latter-day Saints attempted to vote at Gallatin, 6 Aug. 1838...
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, Daviess County, to persuade a crowd of men to prevent the Latter-day Saints from voting. A brawl ensued, and at
Far West
More Info
, JS heard from an otherwise credible non-Mormon source that the corpses of Latter-day Saint casualties were being withheld from church members in
Daviess County
More Info
, a report later proved false.
26
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, chap. 6.
Hartley, William G. My Best for the Kingdom: History and Autobiography of John Lowe Butler, a Mormon Frontiersman. Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1993.
JS accompanied a body of armed men to Daviess County to recover the bodies for burial but learned at
Adam-ondi-Ahman
Settlement located in northwest Missouri. 1835 revelation identified valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman as place where Adam blessed his posterity after leaving Garden of Eden. While seeking new areas in Daviess Co. for settlement, JS and others surveyed site on which...
More Info
that, despite multiple injuries, there were no fatalities on either side. There they also heard a rumor that local justice of the peace
Adam Black
11 Sept. 1801–14 July 1890. Farmer, sheriff, justice of the peace, judge. Born at Henderson Co., Kentucky. Son of William Black and Jane Wilson. Moved near Booneville, Copper Co., Missouri Territory, and then to Ray Co., Missouri Territory, 1819. Elected ...
View Full Bio
was raising a mob to avenge blows the Mormons had landed in the Gallatin fracas. JS and his associates, now including prominent Adam-ondi-Ahman resident
Lyman Wight
9 May 1796–31 Mar. 1858. Farmer. Born at Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York. Son of Levi Wight Jr. and Sarah Corbin. Served in War of 1812. Married Harriet Benton, 5 Jan. 1823, at Henrietta, Monroe Co., New York. Moved to Warrensville, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, ...
View Full Bio
, visited the home of Black, who a year earlier had warned Latter-day Saints to leave the county. The Mormons found no mob but obtained a signed commitment from Black that the rights of Latter-day Saints would be protected. The following day, a delegation of prominent Daviess County citizens met with JS, Wight, and other Latter-day Saints at Adam-ondi-Ahman, where both sides exchanged pledges to avoid injuring the other and to settle any disputes through legal channels.
27
Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 103–111.

In violation of these commitments,
Black
View Full Bio
and
Peniston
Ca. 1811–10 Nov. 1850. Sheriff, military colonel, clerk, hotelier. Born at Jessamine Co., Kentucky. Son of Robert Peniston and Nancy Nuttle. Moved to Ray Co., Missouri, ca. 1831. A founder of Millport, in what became Daviess Co., Missouri, where family built...
View Full Bio
used an embellished account of the encounter at Black’s home to mobilize both legal and vigilante action against the Mormons. Peniston traveled with others to
Richmond
Area settled, ca. 1814. Officially platted as Ray Co. seat, 1827. Population in 1840 about 500. Seat of Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri; also location of courthouse and jails. JS and about sixty other Latter-day Saint men were incarcerated here while...
More Info
, Ray County, to recruit volunteers to help protect the old settlers of
Daviess County
More Info
. While there, Peniston showed local citizens an affidavit from Black claiming that the Mormon party that visited his house had threatened him with immediate death if he refused to sign their agreement.
28
“Public Meeting,” Missouri Republican, 8 Sept. 1838, [1], “for the country” edition.
Peniston filed a complaint with
Austin A. King
21 Sept. 1802–22 Apr. 1870. Attorney, judge, politician, farmer. Born at Sullivan Co., Tennessee. Son of Walter King and Nancy Sevier. Married first Nancy Harris Roberts, 13 May 1828, at Jackson, Madison Co., Tennessee. In 1830, moved to Missouri, where he...
View Full Bio
, judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of
Missouri
More Info
. King’s jurisdiction included both
Caldwell
More Info
and Daviess counties, as well as
Ray
Located in northwestern Missouri. Area settled, 1815. Created from Howard Co., 1820. Initially included all state land north of Missouri River and west of Grand River. Population in 1830 about 2,700; in 1836 about 6,600; and in 1840 about 6,600. Latter-day...
More Info
,
Clay
More Info
, Carroll, Clinton, and
Livingston
Organized 1837. Population in 1840 about 4,300. Hawn’s Mill Massacre planned by mob in eastern part of county.
More Info
counties. King issued a warrant for the arrest of JS and
Lyman Wight
View Full Bio
.
29
William Peniston, Affidavit, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838, private possession, copy in CHL; State of Missouri, Warrant for JS and Lyman Wight, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838, private possession, copy in CHL.
Peniston, William. Affidavit, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838. Private possession. Copy in CHL.
Missouri, State of. Warrant for Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838. Private possession. Copy in CHL.
Then Black, Peniston, and their allies fanned out to recruit volunteers from additional counties. After Black’s visit to Livingston County, Missouri newspapers spread claims that Mormons had threatened additional Daviess County settlers, destroyed crops, and perhaps even murdered Peniston and other prominent residents.
30
See, for example, “The Mormons,” Missouri Argus, 6 Sept. 1838, [1].
Missouri Argus. St. Louis. 1835–1841.
Some counties, such as Ray and
Chariton
Established 16 Nov. 1820. Village of Chariton named county seat, 1820. Keytesville named county seat, 1833. Population in 1830 about 1,800. Population in 1836 about 3,500. In Aug. 1831, while en route from Independence to Kirtland, JS met ten other elders...
More Info
, responded by sending investigative committees.
31
JS, Journal, 11 Aug. 1838; “The Mormon Difficulties,” Niles’ National Register, 13 Oct. 1838, 103.
Niles’ National Register. Washington DC, 1837–1839; Baltimore, 1839–1848; Philadelphia, 1848–1849.
When JS and Wight were not arrested as anticipated, Peniston and other members of a Daviess County “Committee of Vigilance” again agitated throughout northwestern Missouri for volunteers to gather to Daviess County—this time to drive the Latter-day Saints out of the county.
32
“Mormons Once More,” Hannibal Commercial Advertiser, 25 Sept. 1838, [1].
Hannibal Commercial Advertiser. Hannibal, MO. 1837–1839.

Black
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’s assertion that JS and other Latter-day Saints had threatened his life, coupled with a new claim that JS and
Wight
View Full Bio
were resisting arrest, confirmed Missourians’ fears that the Latter-day Saints considered themselves above the law. Many Missourians concluded that they should take the law into their own hands.
33
LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 70.
LeSueur, Stephen C. The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987.
The vigilantes called for men from other counties to come armed to
Daviess County
More Info
on 7 September in preparation for an 8 September offensive against the Mormons.

In hopes of heading off confrontation and to counter the notion that they would not be subject to the law, JS and
Wight
View Full Bio
submitted to arrest and attended a preliminary hearing on a charge of riot. On 7 September 1838, when JS appeared at the hearing, he was greeted by the anti-Mormons who had gathered in
Daviess County
More Info
.
Judge King
21 Sept. 1802–22 Apr. 1870. Attorney, judge, politician, farmer. Born at Sullivan Co., Tennessee. Son of Walter King and Nancy Sevier. Married first Nancy Harris Roberts, 13 May 1828, at Jackson, Madison Co., Tennessee. In 1830, moved to Missouri, where he...
View Full Bio
heard testimony and bound JS and Wight over for trial, but the anti-Mormon vigilantes were not pacified.
34
LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 77–83.
The assault originally scheduled to begin on 8 September was merely postponed for two days while the vigilantes arranged with sympathizers in
Ray County
Located in northwestern Missouri. Area settled, 1815. Created from Howard Co., 1820. Initially included all state land north of Missouri River and west of Grand River. Population in 1830 about 2,700; in 1836 about 6,600; and in 1840 about 6,600. Latter-day...
More Info
to deliver a stockpile of rifles on 9 September. As the present journal was coming to a close, Mormon companies of
Caldwell County
More Info
militia headed for Daviess County to protect the Latter-day Saints residing there. Another Mormon militia unit intercepted the shipment of weapons from Ray County, foiling plans for the offensive. After the vigilantes’ plan was thwarted, they confined their efforts for a time to terrorizing outlying Mormon homes; in response, Latter-day Saint militia from
Far West
More Info
entered Daviess County. In mid-September, state militia intervened. Mormon and non-Mormon groups from outside Daviess County were sent home, and crisis, for the moment, was averted.
35
David R. Atchison, Grand River, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, 17 Sept. 1838, Mormon War Papers, MSA; LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 87–89, 96–97.
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Footnotes
[1]
Minute Book 1, 2 Apr. 1836; JS, Journal, 2 Apr. 1836.
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
[2]
“Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:353–355; Stokes, “Wilson Letters,” 504–509.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Stokes, Durward T., ed. “The Wilson Letters, 1835–1849.” Missouri Historical Review 60, no. 4 (July 1966): 495–517.
[3]
An Act to Organize the Counties of Caldwell and Daviess [29 Dec. 1836], Laws of the State of Missouri [1836], 46–47; History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, 103–105; Riggs, “Economic Impact of Fort Leavenworth,” 129.
An Act to Organize the Counties of Caldwell and Daviess [29 Dec. 1836], Laws of the State of Missouri [1836], 46–47
History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources. . . . St. Louis: National Historical Co., 1886.
Riggs, Michael S. “The Economic Impact of Fort Leavenworth on Northwestern Missouri, 1827–1838. Yet Another Reason for the Mormon War?” In Restoration Studies IV: A Collection of Essays about the History, Beliefs, and Practices of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, edited by Marjorie B. Troeh and Eileen M. Terril, 124–133. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1988.
[4]
“The Mormons in Carroll County,” Missouri Republican, 18 Aug. 1838, [2], daily edition; “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 12 June 1881, 1; Willard Snow, Petition for redress, no date, Library of Congress Collection, National Archives, Washington DC.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Library of Congress Collection. National Archives, Washington DC. Redress petitions from this collection are also available in Clark V. Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict, Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992).
[5]
Revelation, Sept. 1830–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 10:9, 1835 ed. [D&C 29:34–35].
[6]
Adams, “Chartering the Kirtland Bank,” 467–482; Backman, Heavens Resound, 314–321; “James Thompson’s Statement,” in Naked Truths about Mormonism, Apr. 1888, 3.
Adams, Dale W. “Chartering the Kirtland Bank.” BYU Studies 23 (Fall 1983): 467–482.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
[7]
Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” chaps. 5–6.
Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).
[8]
Backman, Heavens Resound, 323–329, 437n68.
[9]
Minute Book 2, 12 Apr. 1838; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 21 Jan. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 80–83.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
[10]
Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 15.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
[11]
Williams, “Frederick Granger Williams,” 254–256.
Williams, Frederick G. “Frederick Granger Williams of the First Presidency of the Church.” BYU Studies 12 (Spring 1972): 243–261.
[12]
Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession” 168–188.
[13]
Minute Book 2, 3 and 5–7 Apr. 1837; Thomas B. Marsh, [Far West, MO], to Wilford Woodruff, [Vinalhaven, ME], 1838, Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 37–38. Missouri church president David Whitmer spent most of 1836 and 1837 in Kirtland.
[14]
Minute Book 2, 6 and 7 Nov. 1837.
[15]
Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 21:4, 1835 ed. [D&C 64:21–22].
[16]
[JS], Editorial, Elders’ Journal, Nov. 1837, 28.
[17]
Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession”; Historian’s Office, “History of Luke Johnson,” 6, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL.
[18]
Firmage and Mangrum, Zion in the Courts, 56–57.
Firmage, Edwin Brown, and Richard Collin Mangrum. Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1890. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
[19]
Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C, in Revelations Collection, CHL; see also JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
[20]
Minute Book 2, 5–10 Feb. and 10 Mar. 1838.
[21]
Walker, “Mormon Land Rights.”
Walker, Jeffrey N. “Mormon Land Rights in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the Mormon Conflict of 1838: New Findings and New Understandings.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mormon History Association, Salt Lake City, 24–27 May 2007.
[22]
Gentry, “Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri,” 153–156; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 106.
Gentry, Leland Homer. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1965. Also available as A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
[23]
Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 23–25, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Corrill, Brief History, 30.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Corrill, John. A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Commonly Called Mormons;) Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with the Reasons of the Author for Leaving the Church. St. Louis: By the author, 1839.
[24]
Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, 12.
Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, on the 4th of July, 1838. Far West, MO: Journal Office, 1838. Also available in Peter Crawley, “Two Rare Missouri Documents,” BYU Studies 14 (Summer 1974): 502–527.
[25]
Tyler, “Daily Journal,” 6 July 1838.
Tyler, Samuel D. Journal, July–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 1761.
[26]
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, chap. 6.
Hartley, William G. My Best for the Kingdom: History and Autobiography of John Lowe Butler, a Mormon Frontiersman. Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1993.
[27]
Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 103–111.
[28]
“Public Meeting,” Missouri Republican, 8 Sept. 1838, [1], “for the country” edition.
[29]
William Peniston, Affidavit, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838, private possession, copy in CHL; State of Missouri, Warrant for JS and Lyman Wight, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838, private possession, copy in CHL.
Peniston, William. Affidavit, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838. Private possession. Copy in CHL.
Missouri, State of. Warrant for Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight, Ray Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1838. Private possession. Copy in CHL.
[30]
See, for example, “The Mormons,” Missouri Argus, 6 Sept. 1838, [1].
Missouri Argus. St. Louis. 1835–1841.
[31]
JS, Journal, 11 Aug. 1838; “The Mormon Difficulties,” Niles’ National Register, 13 Oct. 1838, 103.
Niles’ National Register. Washington DC, 1837–1839; Baltimore, 1839–1848; Philadelphia, 1848–1849.
[32]
“Mormons Once More,” Hannibal Commercial Advertiser, 25 Sept. 1838, [1].
Hannibal Commercial Advertiser. Hannibal, MO. 1837–1839.
[33]
LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 70.
[34]
LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 77–83.
[35]
David R. Atchison, Grand River, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, 17 Sept. 1838, Mormon War Papers, MSA; LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, 87–89, 96–97.
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Don Carlos Smith, circa Late May 1838 *Revelation, 8 July 1838–D [D&C 120] *Revelation, 8 July 1838–B *Revelation, 8 July 1838–C [D&C 119] *Revelation, 8 July 1838–E [D&C 117] *Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118] *Revelation, 12 January 1838–A *Revelation, 12 January 1838–C *Revelation, 12 January 1838–B
Page 51
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and fills,
137
Probably “thills,” the shafts between which a single animal is harnessed. (“Thill,” in American Dictionary, 835.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.
and broke down the carriage twice and yet we are all alive and camped on a dry place for allmost the first time, Poverty is a heavy load but we are all obliged to welter under it, it is now dark and I close, may the Lord bless you all and bring us together is my prayer Amen

All the arrangements that
bro. Hyram
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left for getting money failed, they did not gain us one cent

To J. Smith Jr.
Don C. Smith
25 Mar. 1816–7 Aug. 1841. Farmer, printer, editor. Born at Norwich, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816–Jan. 1817. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus...
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8 July 1838 • Sunday

The following Revelation<s.> was <were> read in the congregation this day, which was given in
Ohio
More Info
——

Revelation Given at the
French Farm
Consisted of 103 acres formerly owned by Peter French. Purchased for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for $5,000, 1833. Area used to build houses, including JS’s; community buildings, such as new schoolhouse; and House of the Lord. Kirtland residents...
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in
Kirtland
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Geauga Co. Ohio.
138
JS and his parents lived in the area of Kirtland known as the French farm. Although the Peter French farm was purchased by the church several years earlier and subdivided into lots, including the temple lot, Kirtland residents continued to refer to that part of the community as the French farm. (Historian’s Office, “History of Luke Johnson,” 6, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records,vol. 17, pp. 359–361, 10 Apr. 1833, microfilm 20,237; vol. 22, pp. 497–498, 23 Sept. 1836, microfilm 20,239; vol. 24, pp. 424–425, microfilm 20,240, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Lake Co., OH, Treasurer’s Tax Duplicates, 1840–1871, Tax Record for 1841, p. 200, microfilm 973,855, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
In the presence of J. Smith Jr.,
S[idney] Rigdon
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V[inson] Knight
14 Mar. 1804–31 July 1842. Farmer, druggist, school warden. Born at Norwich, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Rudolphus Knight and Rispah (Rizpah) Lee. Married Martha McBride, July 1826. Moved to Perrysburg, Cattaraugus Co., New York, by 1830. Owned farm...
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&
Geo. W. Robinson
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January 12th 1838.——

When inquiry was made of the Lord relative to the trial of the
first Presidency
The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...
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of the
Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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, For transgressions according to the item of law, found in the Book of Covenants 3rd. Section 37 Verse

Whether the descision of such an
Council
A governing body of twelve high priests. The first high council was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on 17 February 1834 “for the purpose of settling important difficulties which might arise in the church, which could not be settled by the church, or the bishop...
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of one
stake
Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...
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, shall be conclusive for
Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
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and all her stakes
139
See Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 3:37, 1835 ed. [D&C 107:82–84]. This indicated that a president of the high priesthood could be tried before a “common council” and that the decision of such council should be final.

Thus saith the Lord, Let the first Presidency of my Church, be held in full fellowship in Zion and all her stakes, untill they shall be found transgressors, by such an high Council as is named in the above alluded section, in Zion, by three witnesses standing against each member of said Presidency, and these witnesses shall be of long and faithfull standing, and such also as cannot [p. 51]
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[137]
Probably “thills,” the shafts between which a single animal is harnessed. (“Thill,” in American Dictionary, 835.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.
[138]
JS and his parents lived in the area of Kirtland known as the French farm. Although the Peter French farm was purchased by the church several years earlier and subdivided into lots, including the temple lot, Kirtland residents continued to refer to that part of the community as the French farm. (Historian’s Office, “History of Luke Johnson,” 6, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records,vol. 17, pp. 359–361, 10 Apr. 1833, microfilm 20,237; vol. 22, pp. 497–498, 23 Sept. 1836, microfilm 20,239; vol. 24, pp. 424–425, microfilm 20,240, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Lake Co., OH, Treasurer’s Tax Duplicates, 1840–1871, Tax Record for 1841, p. 200, microfilm 973,855, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
[139]
See Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 3:37, 1835 ed. [D&C 107:82–84]. This indicated that a president of the high priesthood could be tried before a “common council” and that the decision of such council should be final.