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Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 September 1840

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Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 September 1840

Source Note

and , Letter, , Lancashire, England, to JS, , and , [, Hancock Co., IL], 5 Sept. 1840; handwriting of ; twelve pages; CHL. Includes dockets and notation.
Three bifolia and a single loose leaf, making seven leaves of unlined paper measuring 9⅞ × 8⅛ inches (25 × 21 cm). Each of the bifolia has an embossed insignia of a crown that reads “Superfine Bath Post” (a reference to the paper grade) in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The letter was trifolded horizontally and sealed. At a later time, it was folded once vertically. The recto of the single leaf is blank, and the middle panel of the verso includes a docket: “Copy of a Letter to Joseph Smith Junr & others”. The address panel contains a notation written by : “By Turly or Benbow”. Despite what the docket says, the addressing, folds, adhesive wafer, soiling of exterior panels, and internal textual evidence suggest that this was the original sent letter, apparently carried to by or . A graphite docket indicates the letter was copied by Andrew Jenson.
If this is the original sent letter and not a draft, it was presumably retained by JS. If it was an unsent draft, it was likely kept by with his personal papers or by with the British mission papers. In any case, the letter appears to have been in continuous church custody since the 1840s.

Historical Introduction

On 5 September 1840, and wrote from , England, to the in , Illinois, regarding the apostles’ mission to . Richards had been serving there since he arrived with fellow apostle in July 1837, and Young had arrived only five months before writing this letter, on 6 April 1840. One of their responsibilities was editing the ’s recently established monthly periodical, the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star—often referred to as the Millennial Star or simply the Star.
In the letter, and reported on their missionary labors and requested instruction on some practical aspects of their work. They devoted the majority of the letter to describing from their American perspective, writing of British culture, society, education, industry, and economy. In particular, Young and Richards wrote at length about the destitute circumstances of much of the populace, including the majority of those converting to the church. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Britain’s agricultural and industrial revolutions resulted in numerous social and economic disruptions for millions of British citizens. Parliamentary enclosure laws meant that common rights to land were replaced by enclosed and controlled land and that small, individual farms were consolidated into larger, legally owned commercial farms. Elimination of many personal farms, concurrent with the growth of factories, left much of Britain’s population impoverished and led many to relocate to urban centers. Young and Richards focused much of their letter on the effects of this social and economic upheaval. They concluded by asking a series of specific questions on subjects such as the anticipated duration of their mission assignments, the propriety of printing church publications in England, and the emigration of British converts.
The version of the letter featured here was inscribed by , but , as the senior apostle and first signatory, may have been the primary author. The style of direct questions in quick succession is reminiscent of Young’s April and May 1840 letters to JS and the First Presidency, and the expression of desires to be back with friends in likewise mirrors earlier statements by Young. The letter’s emphasis on the foreignness of English society and culture may also reflect Young’s curiosity as a recent arrival in , whereas Richards had been in the country for three years by this time. It was also reasonable that Richards, who had more clerical capability than Young, would serve as a scribe for him.
A later docket on the address panel, in ’s handwriting, reads: “Copy of a Letter to Joseph Smith Junr & others.” The version featured here, however, appears to be the original sent letter. The text contains edits throughout that would have been atypical in a later copy. Richards also added a notation “By Turly or Benbow” on the address panel of the letter, indicating that he intended to have the letter hand carried by one of these men. led a company of Latter-day Saints—including —that departed from on 8 September and arrived in on 24 November. Although this version of the letter may have been a draft, the fold lines, the adhesive wafer, the addressing, the note about who was to carry it, and the soiled exterior panels that would have formed the envelope all indicate this was the sent letter. On 15 December 1840, JS responded to this letter, giving instruction on many of the issues raised by and Richards.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Richards, Journal, 20 July 1837; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 6 Apr. 1840, 92.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

  2. [2]

    Young and Richards were editing the Millennial Star temporarily in the absence of the paper’s principal editor, Parley P. Pratt, who had returned to the United States to bring his family to England. The Star was first issued in May 1840. (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:108.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Brigham Young, 29 Apr. 1840; Letter from Brigham Young, 7 May 1840.

  4. [4]

    Clayton, Diary, 8–9 Sept. 1840; 16 Oct. 1840; and 24 Nov. 1840.

    Clayton, William. Diary, Jan.–Nov. 1846. CHL.

  5. [5]

    See Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.

Shall we gather up all the we can & come over <​with them​> next Spring?
Have we done right in Printing a hymn book?
Are we doing right in Printing the book of Morm[o]n?
Are we doing right in staying here to leave & leaving our families to be a bu[r]den to the ?
We have sent <​some of​> our paper to , is this Right?
When the Book of Mormon is completed, will it be best for any one to carry any of th[e]m to ?
Shall we print the doctrins & Covenats [Doctrine and Covenants] here or not? or will the D. & C. be printed & go to the nations, as it now is or not? or will it be revised & pr[i]nted for the nation?
Shall we send all we can to next season & stay here ourselves?
What is the Lords will concerning ? Shall he take his family to next season? or shall he tary here with them awhile longer? what shall he do?—
We have lately visited a museum, where we saw an E[gyptian] Mummy, on the head stone &c are many ancient <​& curious​> characters, & we asked the privilege of copyi[n]g them for translation but have not receivd an answer, yet,
Shall we copy them & send them to you for ?
Finally, Brethren, how long must we be deprived the company of our Dear Bethn [brethren] whom we Love, for this works sake, & we feel that it is our privilge to love those who are willi[n]g to lay down the[i]r lives for the Brethrn [p. 11]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 September 1840
ID #
570
Total Pages
14
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:384–395
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [15]

    JS did not directly respond to the question of whether the Saints in general should be gathered and emigrate the following spring, but he recommended to the Twelve—except Parley P. Pratt, should he choose to remain in England—that “it would be wisdom in you to make preparations to leave the scene of your labors in the spring. Having carried the testimony to that land, and numbers having received it, consequently the leaven can now spread, without your being obliged to stay.” (Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.)

  2. [16]

    Young had earlier written to JS to ask whether the Twelve were authorized to publish a hymnal in England. JS responded affirmatively in a 19 July 1840 letter, but Young had not yet received the response. An April 1840 conference of the church in Nauvoo recommended that a new hymnal, among other publications, be compiled and printed. On 20 May 1840, apostles Young, Richards, and Wilford Woodruff decided that Young should obtain a contract to print, in England, three thousand copies each of a new hymnal and the Book of Mormon. The new hymnal was published in Manchester by W. R. Thomas, printer of the Millennial Star. (Letter from Brigham Young, 29 Apr. 1840; Letter from Brigham Young, 7 May 1840; Note, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 153; JS History, vol. C-1, 1119; Lorenzo Snow, London, England, to “E. McConougley,” [1841], in Snow, Letterbook, [15]; “From England,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:120–121; Woodruff, Journal, 20 May 1840; John Taylor, Liverpool, England, to Brigham Young, Manchester, England, 18 June 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:121–124.)

    Snow, Lorenzo. Letterbook, ca. 1839–1846. CHL.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  3. [17]

    In June 1840, Young contracted with Liverpool printer John Tompkins to produce five thousand copies of a new edition of the Book of Mormon, based on the 1837 United States edition. The first copies were available in early 1841. (John Tompkins, Estimate, 7 June 1840; John Taylor, Liverpool, England, to Brigham Young, Manchester, England, 18 June 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Brigham Young, Manchester, England, to Willard Richards, Ledbury, England, 17 June 1840, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:148–151.)

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  4. [18]

    Almost a decade earlier, JS had taught that the church was obligated to “provide for the families of the absent Elders while proclaiming the Gospel.” At the time Young and Richards wrote this letter, many of the Saints, including Young’s family and the families of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve, were in destitute circumstances. (Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831; Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840.)

  5. [19]

    That is, the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star.

  6. [20]

    Young wrote to JS on 7 May 1840 to ask whether the Doctrine and Covenants should be printed in England. At a 16 April meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve in Preston, England, Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Parley P. Pratt were appointed as a committee to secure a British copyright for the Doctrine and Covenants. JS responded affirmatively on 19 July, but the Twelve had not yet received that letter. (Letter from Brigham Young, 7 May 1840; Note, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 153; see also Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; and Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:304–305.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  7. [21]

    Having already addressed the question of whether the Twelve, in general, should return to Nauvoo the following spring, JS responded to the question about Richards: “Brother Richards’ question respecting arriving in the spring is answered I shall be very happy to see him & his family.” (Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.)

  8. [22]

    JS acquired four mummies and some rolls of papyrus in 1835 and worked on a translation of the papyri around that time. More recently, in a memorial to the Nauvoo high council in June 1840, JS had stated his intention to “commence the work of translating the Ejyptian Records.” (JS History, vol. B-1, 595–596; Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.)

  9. [23]

    Young expressed similar sentiments in letters to JS on 29 April and 7 May 1840, writing, “I would like to be with my old friends” and “I long to see the faces of my friends again in that Country once more.” (Letter from Brigham Young, 29 Apr. 1840; Letter from Brigham Young, 7 May 1840.)

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