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Letter from Francis Gladden Bishop, 26 September 1843

Source Note

Francis Gladden Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
, Letter, Augusta, [probably in Hancock Co., IL], to JS,
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....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 26 Sept. 1843; handwriting of
Francis Gladden Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, wafer seal, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 12⅛ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). The leaves are ruled horizontally with thirty-five printed blue lines. The author inscribed the letter on the first three pages of the bifolium and inscribed a postscript on the fourth. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The verso of the second leaf contains wafer residue. The letter was torn when opened, leaving a hole in the second leaf, which resulted in some loss of text. The letter was later refolded and docketed for filing.
The letter was docketed by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as
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....

More Info
temple recorder from 1842 to 1846.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

Another docket was inscribed by
Leo Hawkins

19 July 1834–28 May 1859. Clerk, reporter. Born in London. Son of Samuel Harris Hawkins and Charlotte Savage. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by John Banks, 23 Oct. 1848. Immigrated to U.S. with his family; arrived in New Orleans...

View Full Bio
, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859.
2

“Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904.
3

“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
4

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 26 September 1843, former
church

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...

View Glossary
member
Francis Gladden Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
wrote a letter to JS 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....

More Info
, Illinois, explaining his “views of the work of the Lord in the last days” and seeking JS’s permission to be readmitted into the church. Bishop was excommunicated in March 1842, following nearly a decade of church membership fraught with controversy.
1

Formerly a Freewill Baptist preacher, Bishop was baptized into the church in New York in July 1832. (JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842; Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” [7], 31; Francis Gladden Bishop, Nauvoo, IL, to “the President of the Quorum of High-priests,” 4 Feb. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:77.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

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

He claimed to have had several supernatural encounters beginning in 1826. In an account published twenty-five years later, Bishop asserted that when he was sixteen years old, he was visited by several heavenly personages and that one of those personages, whom he identified as the “Ancient of Days” spoken of in Daniel 7,
2

See Daniel 7:9, 13, 22. One of JS’s published revelations identified “the ancient of days” as “Michael, or Adam, the father of all.” (Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:11].)


later gave him several sacred objects, including gold plates inscribed with the text of the Book of Mormon, the sword of Laban (an heirloom passed down among kings and prophets in the Book of Mormon
3

See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 122, 149, and 152 [Jacob 1:10; Words of Mormon 1:13; and Mosiah 1:16].


), and two crowns. In the same account, Bishop stated that in 1832 a person of “God-like majesty” appeared to him,
ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

View Glossary
him a
high priest

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
, and informed him that he should “yet lead the Church.”
4

Bishop, Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, 25–30.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bishop, Francis Gladden. An Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, Scattered Abroad, through All the Earth. Kirtland, OH: By the author, 1851.

Several months after joining the church,
Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
reportedly told members of the
Kirtland

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

More Info
School of the Prophets

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

View Glossary
that he had been ordained to the
high priesthood

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

View Glossary
by an
angel

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

View Glossary
from heaven.
5

“Although Dead, Yet He Speaketh,” Millennial Star, 20 Nov. 1846, 8:138–139.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

In September 1835, the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
preferred a charge against Bishop “for advancing heretical doctrines which were derogatory to the character of the church of the Latter Day Saints,” including the belief that “he might be one of the two, witnesses spoken of in the Prophets,” meaning the book of Revelation. Bishop “made a humble confession for his transgression” and asked for forgiveness from the council and the church.
6

Minutes, 28–29 Sept. 1835; see also Revelation 11:3–12. The apostles’ charge against Bishop stemmed from an investigation of his conduct while preaching in New England between 1833 and early 1835. In August 1835, the Twelve suspended his ecclesiastical license but apparently apprised him of his ability to appeal the judgment with the Kirtland high council.


Though
Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
was ordained to the Second Quorum of the
Seventy

A priesthood office with the responsibility to travel and preach and assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, similar to the seventy in the New Testament. In February and March 1835, the first members of the Seventy were selected and ordained. All of those...

View Glossary
in 1836 and embarked on several missions to the eastern
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 ...

More Info
during the late 1830s, his unconventional beliefs continued to stir controversy.
7

Record of Seventies, 6, 8; JS, Journal, 3 and 7 Feb. 1836; Saunders, Francis Gladden Bishop, 64–78.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

Saunders, Richard LaVell. “Francis Gladden Bishop and Gladdenism: A Study in the Culture of a Mormon Dissenter and His Movement.” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1989.

In spring 1842,
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....

More Info
temple building committee

A committee assigned to raise funds and direct the building of the Nauvoo temple; also called the building committee or temple building committee. On 3 October 1840, Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, and Elias Higbee were appointed as a committee responsible...

View Glossary
member
Reynolds Cahoon

30 Apr. 1790–29 Apr. 1861. Farmer, tanner, builder. Born at Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. Son of William Cahoon Jr. and Mehitable Hodges. Married Thirza Stiles, 11 Dec. 1810. Moved to northeastern Ohio, 1811. Located at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co.,...

View Full Bio
reportedly heard Bishop “read to a few of his neighbors, something which he himself had written, illustrative of his Patriarchal blessing, and his Divine calling as the Branch, as sustained by the Prophesies.”
8

Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” 34–35.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

In March 1842, Cahoon charged Bishop with “setting himself up as a prophet and Revelator to the Church” and with “improper course of conduct in meetings.”
9

Reynolds Cahoon, Complaint, Nauvoo, IL, 7 Mar. 1842, Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, 1839–1844. CHL.

According to JS’s journal, the complaint was based on Bishop having “written & publishd or taught certain Revelations & doctrines not consistent with the Doctrine & Covenants of the Church.”
10

JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.


During his trial before the Nauvoo
high 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...

View Glossary
, Bishop was induced to read some of his personal writings, in which he “claimed to be the Branch, and that he should yet lead the Church.” He also condemned anyone who “opposed him in his divine calling.”
11

Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” 35.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

Apostle
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
explained that Bishop’s “crime was so great in his Blaspheming God in his pretended revelations that Joseph the Seer said that nothing would excuse him in the sight of God & angels.”
12

Woodruff, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

After deliberating on the matter, the high council voted unanimously to expel Bishop from the church.
13

Minutes, 11 Mar. 1842; JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.


Following his excommunication, Bishop announced that he would sell his house and lot in Nauvoo in exchange for goods and cash or for property in “some adjoining town.”
14

“A Rare Chance, and the Only Vacancy on the Temple Block,” Wasp, 14 May 1842, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

It is unclear if or when he sold his property,
15

Bishop had not paid taxes on his Nauvoo property by March 1843, which might signal that he either failed to sell his property there or abandoned it. (“List of Lands,” Warsaw [IL] Message, 18 Mar. 1843, [5].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

but it appears that he was living in a town named Augusta by the time he wrote the featured letter.
16

Bishop was probably living in Augusta, Illinois, which is located in the southeast corner of Hancock County. After leaving Nauvoo, Bishop apparently remained in Hancock County through at least early August 1842, when he ran for political office as a state representative from that county. It is also possible, though less likely, that Bishop was writing from Augusta Township, Iowa Territory, located approximately twenty miles north of Nauvoo in southern Des Moines County. The town was home to a sizable number of church members by 1843, and it is possible Bishop moved there despite being excommunicated from the church. (Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, 363; “Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:159; Woodruff, Journal, 29 Apr. 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

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.

In his letter to JS,
Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
indicated that he had been “invited and solicited to be Baptized and join the church again” and asked whether JS would consent to him returning to fellowship. Much of Bishop’s letter is devoted to expressing his personal interpretation of biblical scripture, particularly verses from the books of Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation that discuss figures referred to as “the Ancient of Days,” “the Branch,” and the two witnesses that John the Revelator saw would be killed in Jerusalem before Christ’s second coming.
The letter’s lack of postage and a note in the address block referencing the “politeness of Mr. Warner” suggest that it was hand delivered by a courier. A docket in the handwriting of
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
indicates that the letter was received by JS 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....

More Info
. There is no known response, and no official action was taken to reconsider
Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
’s fellowship in the church.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Formerly a Freewill Baptist preacher, Bishop was baptized into the church in New York in July 1832. (JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842; Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” [7], 31; Francis Gladden Bishop, Nauvoo, IL, to “the President of the Quorum of High-priests,” 4 Feb. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:77.)

    Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

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

  2. [2]

    See Daniel 7:9, 13, 22. One of JS’s published revelations identified “the ancient of days” as “Michael, or Adam, the father of all.” (Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:11].)

  3. [3]

    See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 122, 149, and 152 [Jacob 1:10; Words of Mormon 1:13; and Mosiah 1:16].

  4. [4]

    Bishop, Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, 25–30.

    Bishop, Francis Gladden. An Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, Scattered Abroad, through All the Earth. Kirtland, OH: By the author, 1851.

  5. [5]

    “Although Dead, Yet He Speaketh,” Millennial Star, 20 Nov. 1846, 8:138–139.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  6. [6]

    Minutes, 28–29 Sept. 1835; see also Revelation 11:3–12. The apostles’ charge against Bishop stemmed from an investigation of his conduct while preaching in New England between 1833 and early 1835. In August 1835, the Twelve suspended his ecclesiastical license but apparently apprised him of his ability to appeal the judgment with the Kirtland high council.

  7. [7]

    Record of Seventies, 6, 8; JS, Journal, 3 and 7 Feb. 1836; Saunders, Francis Gladden Bishop, 64–78.

    Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

    Saunders, Richard LaVell. “Francis Gladden Bishop and Gladdenism: A Study in the Culture of a Mormon Dissenter and His Movement.” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1989.

  8. [8]

    Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” 34–35.

    Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

  9. [9]

    Reynolds Cahoon, Complaint, Nauvoo, IL, 7 Mar. 1842, Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, CHL.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, 1839–1844. CHL.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.

  11. [11]

    Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” 35.

    Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

  12. [12]

    Woodruff, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.

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

  13. [13]

    Minutes, 11 Mar. 1842; JS, Journal, 11 Mar. 1842.

  14. [14]

    “A Rare Chance, and the Only Vacancy on the Temple Block,” Wasp, 14 May 1842, [3].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  15. [15]

    Bishop had not paid taxes on his Nauvoo property by March 1843, which might signal that he either failed to sell his property there or abandoned it. (“List of Lands,” Warsaw [IL] Message, 18 Mar. 1843, [5].)

    Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

  16. [16]

    Bishop was probably living in Augusta, Illinois, which is located in the southeast corner of Hancock County. After leaving Nauvoo, Bishop apparently remained in Hancock County through at least early August 1842, when he ran for political office as a state representative from that county. It is also possible, though less likely, that Bishop was writing from Augusta Township, Iowa Territory, located approximately twenty miles north of Nauvoo in southern Des Moines County. The town was home to a sizable number of church members by 1843, and it is possible Bishop moved there despite being excommunicated from the church. (Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, 363; “Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:159; Woodruff, Journal, 29 Apr. 1843.)

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

    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.

Page [3]

And again I understand from Daniel, Chap. VII. 13. verse that this person like unto the Son of man will receive his kingdom when the Ancient of Days shall sit and not before;
5

In later writings, Bishop identified the “Ancient of Days” as John the Revelator. (Bishop, Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, 14–15, 47.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bishop, Francis Gladden. An Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, Scattered Abroad, through All the Earth. Kirtland, OH: By the author, 1851.

and I further understand at that time this character will appear as the Deliverer who Paul says is to come out of
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 ...

View Glossary
; and that then the saints shall prevail, and at length possess the earth.
6

See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 24 [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:23].


That day I believe will the day of God’s power, when all Israel will be willing; and when prosperity will crown the efforts of the Jews to gather and rebuild Jerusalem And also believing that the time is at hand, when this character shall come forth, and as he is to stand for an ensign of the people, and to whom the Gentiles will seek; as I understand from Isaih Chap XI. 1st. to 5th. verse, and also the 10th verse; I feel constrained in my heart to be preparing for the same, that I may share in all the blessings promised to the saints. These Sir, in short are my views of the most prominent points concerning the
Dispensation

A gift of divine knowledge, power, and authority from God to humankind; often associated with a prophet and his time period. A revelation published in 1835 identified JS and Oliver Cowdery as the recipients of keys to administer a final dispensation of the...

View Glossary
of the Fulness of times,
7

See Ephesians 1:10.


whatever my opinions may have been heretofore, and which if true involves important considerations, which int[erest]
8

TEXT: “int[page torn]”. The missing text has been supplied from context.


all people, and accordingly must be made known [page torn] if not true, they are oppinions of my own, and ca[use]
9

TEXT: “ca[page torn]”. The missing text has been supplied from context.


no harm, as I alone am responsible for them; and if they are erroneous, please Sir— point out to me where in they are so, for no sooner am I convinced of error then I will readily discard it, for truth alone is what I seek.
In conclusion I would enquire if it is my privilege to hold my former standing in this
church

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...

View Glossary
, retaining <​if true​> and making known my present views as laid before you in this communication that is if it should be wisdom; one reason why I make this request is that several prominent men in the church have told that I had misunderstood your decision concerning me, and that it was my privilege to hold my former standing in the church again; and as no crime was the cause of my expulsion, If I could receive your approbation, to be admitted to my former standing in the
high priesthood

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

View Glossary
,
10

Bishop was ordained an elder in New York in 1832. Not long after he joined the church, he reportedly lobbied to be made a high priest but was denied. He was ordained a seventy in early 1836. In 1840, he was temporarily moved to the high priests quorum, but it was later confirmed that he did not hold the high priesthood, and he was subsequently moved back to the Second Quorum of Seventy. (Francis Gladden Bishop, Nauvoo, IL, to “the President of the Quorum of High-priests,” 4 Feb. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:77; Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” [7]; “Although Dead, Yet He Speaketh,” Millennial Star, 20 Nov. 1846, 8:138–139; Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

and be protected from the oppression of those who have been, and who may seek my hurt nothing would give me more pleasure than to enlist in the service of Zion. I feel that I cannot rest in my present situation, and if I cannot be admitted to an honourable standing in the church, and be protected in my rights when there, I hope no one called a saint will oppose me. if I should lift my voice in defence of the truth although although in exile, and alone! I beg therefore that you will immediately answer this Epistle which will greatly oblige your friend and humble
Servant
Francis G[ladden] Bishop

19 June 1809–30 Nov. 1864. Watchmaker, minister. Born at Livonia, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Isaac Gates Bishop and Mary Hyde. Served as minister in Freewill Baptist Church, by 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Francis Gladden Bishop, 26 September 1843
ID #
1168
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:123–128
Handwriting on This Page
  • Gladden Bishop

Footnotes

  1. [5]

    In later writings, Bishop identified the “Ancient of Days” as John the Revelator. (Bishop, Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, 14–15, 47.)

    Bishop, Francis Gladden. An Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, Scattered Abroad, through All the Earth. Kirtland, OH: By the author, 1851.

  2. [6]

    See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 24 [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:23].

  3. [7]

    See Ephesians 1:10.

  4. [8]

    TEXT: “int[page torn]”. The missing text has been supplied from context.

  5. [9]

    TEXT: “ca[page torn]”. The missing text has been supplied from context.

  6. [10]

    Bishop was ordained an elder in New York in 1832. Not long after he joined the church, he reportedly lobbied to be made a high priest but was denied. He was ordained a seventy in early 1836. In 1840, he was temporarily moved to the high priests quorum, but it was later confirmed that he did not hold the high priesthood, and he was subsequently moved back to the Second Quorum of Seventy. (Francis Gladden Bishop, Nauvoo, IL, to “the President of the Quorum of High-priests,” 4 Feb. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:77; Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” [7]; “Although Dead, Yet He Speaketh,” Millennial Star, 20 Nov. 1846, 8:138–139; Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.)

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

    Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

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