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Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 June 1844

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Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 June 1844

Source Note

and , Letter, , Philadelphia Co., PA, to JS, Harriet Benton Wight and Wight children, and , Wisconsin Territory, Saints, [, Hancock Co., IL], 19, 21, and 24 June 1844; handwriting of ; signatures of and in the handwriting of ; sixteen pages; JS Collection, CHL. Included enclosure (not extant); includes dockets, redactions, use marks, and notations.
Five bifolia, each measuring 10 × 7⅝ inches (25 × 19 cm). The letter was written on sixteen of the twenty pages. The bifolia were filled out one at a time rather than stacked when open to make a single gathering. The letter was written on the first three pages only of each bifolium except the last, which contains writing on all four pages. All of the pages with inscription are paginated except the final page. The letter was trifolded and presumably placed in a wrapper or envelope for delivery. The letter included an enclosure of funds, which were presumably used for the purposes stated in the letter. An unidentified individual later added a notation. The letter was later folded along the original creases for filing. There are holes from staples in the upper left corners of each of the bifolia; these staples were later removed.
This document was docketed twice by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. There are graphite editorial marks, cancellations, insertions, and notations throughout the letter, presumably made while it was prepared for inclusion in JS’s history. It was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its redactions and notations, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  2. The draft notes for JS’s history indicate that the letter was “to be revised” for inclusion in the history. An abridged version was included in the history. (Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 2 July 1844, 6; JS History, vol. F-1, 232–234.)

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

Historical Introduction

From 19 to 24 June 1844, and wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, to inform him about the progress of their mission to the eastern and about support from various quarters in his presidential bid. Like most of the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Wight and Kimball were barnstorming for JS’s presidential campaign. After Wight returned to Nauvoo from overseeing the ’s logging and milling operations in the on 1 May 1844, JS inducted him as a member of the and stated that he “wanted Wight and every other man who could leave, to go into all the States and preach and electioneer for him to be president.” In response to JS’s request, formally moved during a 6 May meeting of the Council of Fifty that Wight “go through the United States electioneering for the Presidency.” Wight then made plans to travel with Heber C. Kimball to to deliver instructions from the Council of Fifty to and , who were there on assignment from the council. On 20 May the Saints held a public meeting in Nauvoo “to obtain means” to support Wight on his mission with Kimball.
The following day, and left for via by steamboat with and approximately one hundred elders called to preach and to canvass the eastern states for JS’s election. The group held several political meetings with Latter-day Saints during its journey from Nauvoo to Pittsburgh. These meetings reportedly resulted in at least a few positive interactions and garnered a modicum of political support for JS among those outside the church.
After arriving in , and left in the city and traveled with apostle toward . Wight and Kimball arrived in the city on 2 June, where they spent several days meeting with political leaders and a few local church members. Smith evidently left for sometime before Wight and Kimball did. On 7 June they submitted a memorial to Congress that they had written detailing the Saints’ persecutions of 1838–1839 and petitioning for redress. Evidently having come to terms with the unlikelihood of members of the church receiving any financial redress, Wight and Kimball petitioned for “a liberal grant of lands in one of the Territories of the , to be located in such manner as not to deprive any previous actual settler of any just right or claim.” Suspecting Congress might not grant even that petition, they requested that alternatively the Saints be granted preemption rights (first right of purchase) to unspecified western lands, on which the Saints would eventually settle, provided they could make payments “at periods of ten, fifteen and twenty years.” The following day, Wight and Kimball met with and delivered a 13 May 1844 letter from the . They then left and spent several days in Philadelphia and nearby Wilmington, Delaware.
On 19 June, in , they began the featured letter to JS, with dictating on their behalf to church member , who served as the scribe. The letter was produced serially, with portions of it dictated on 19, 21, and 24 June. On 20 June, Wight and met with the Philadelphia of the church, and on 21 June, Wight and Kimball traveled to Wilmington, where they held a on 22 and 23 June. On 24 June the two returned to Philadelphia, where Wight finished dictating their letter to JS and added a short note to his wife, Harriet Benton Wight, and their children, as well as to the Latter-day Saints in with whom he had lived while in .
After completing the letter, and sent it and $1,300 in donations they had presumably collected along the way to JS by way of and a Brother Price. Forgeus and Price arrived in on 12 July, two weeks after JS was assassinated. Upon his arrival, Forgeus explained that he had orders not to give the funds to anyone but JS. However, given that JS was dead, he agreed to deliver the funds and letter to , formerly JS’s private clerk. He delivered “$300 from L Wight & $1000. from bro. Kimball” to Clayton the following day.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 1 May 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.

  2. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 6 May 1844.

  3. JS, Journal, 13 May 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 13 May 1844; Richards, Journal, 14 May 1844.

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

  4. JS, Journal, 20 May 1844. It is unclear why Wight received financial support for his mission while Kimball and others did not.

  5. JS, Journal, 21 May 1844.

  6. Kimball, Journal, 2–8 June 1844. It is unclear whether William Smith went to Washington DC along with Wight and Kimball. Neither Wight nor Kimball mentioned Smith’s participation in any of their efforts in Washington DC, and Hyde referred to meeting with only “Elders Kimball and Wight” on 8 June, which suggests that if Smith did travel to Washington, he was no longer in the city by that date. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844.)

    Kimball, Heber C. Journal, June 1837–Feb. 1838; Feb.–Mar. 1840; May 1846–Feb. 1847. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 3, fd. 2.

  7. Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, Petition to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 7 June 1844, [2], Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC. The day before he and Wight submitted the petition, Kimball recorded that he had received a divine communication “that Congress would not do anny thing fore us.” Reconciling himself to this impression, Kimball wrote, “I do not care wheather they do or not. it is none of thares to give. my Father in heaven owns it all and he will give it to [us] so let them go to thare own place.” The following day, when Wight and Kimball met with Orson Hyde, they informed him that the sentiments of the Council of Fifty were that “it was not expected that Congress would do any thing for us” and that the memorials would serve “only to tease them.” (Kimball, Journal, 6 June 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844.)

    Wight, Lyman, and Heber C. Kimball. Petition to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1844. Petitions, Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on Public Lands during the 28th Congress. Petitions and Memorials, 1816–1948. Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789–2015. National Archives, Washington DC.

    Kimball, Heber C. Journal, June 1837–Feb. 1838; Feb.–Mar. 1840; May 1846–Feb. 1847. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 3, fd. 2.

  8. Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, Petition to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 7 June 1844, [2], Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC.

    Wight, Lyman, and Heber C. Kimball. Petition to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1844. Petitions, Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on Public Lands during the 28th Congress. Petitions and Memorials, 1816–1948. Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789–2015. National Archives, Washington DC.

  9. Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844; Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844. JS and the council wrote to Hyde and Pratt, rebuking Hyde for some changes he made to a memorial asking Congress to make JS a member of the United States Army.

  10. Kimball, Journal, 20–23 June 1844.

    Kimball, Heber C. Journal, June 1837–Feb. 1838; Feb.–Mar. 1840; May 1846–Feb. 1847. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 3, fd. 2.

  11. A notation written in pencil, possibly by clerk Robert L. Campbell, on the final page of this letter records that it was “received 2d July.” Accordingly, extracts from this letter were later placed in JS’s history under the date 2 July. William Clayton’s diary, however, makes clear that the letter did not arrive in Nauvoo until 12 July. (Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 2 July 1844, 6; JS History, vol. F-1, 247; Clayton, Journal, 12 July 1844.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  12. Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 31.

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

  13. Clayton, Journal, 12–13 July 1844. It is possible that Kimball delivered some of this money to Emma Smith on 8 August 1844. (Kimball, Journal, 8 Aug. 1844.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Kimball, Heber C. Journal, June 1837–Feb. 1838; Feb.–Mar. 1840; May 1846–Feb. 1847. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 3, fd. 2.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 June 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
and transact of our busness to tarry longer at present, but shall return again if we find it neccessary after the Convention for we will never leave them nor forsake them nor return home while we think there is a stone unturned, or a conscience that is not harrowed up by our continued goadings.— On the 11th. we left , arrived at Wilmington Delaware, at at 5 Oclock this Evenig distance 114 miles, we can assure you we found every thing right in this place and adjacent to it. We found about 100 members whom we believe to be firm in the faith as far as they have gone. we held 2 Meetings with them appointed on the 22 & 23rd instants— on the 13th. at 2 oclock pm We left this place for arrived at ’s in the eveng 5 oclock pm being exposed had a slight attack of the chills and fever since that time we have preached alternately to the present date the here numbers near 200. Out of which number many have commenced sickening, and were growing faint at the many false reports in circulation fearing that the prophet had fallen and the were in transgression but since the[y] have the learnt that the prophet cannot fall and that the twelve cannot commit Sin. the[y] are beginning to [p. 6]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 June 1844
ID #
1423
Total Pages
20
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John A. Forgeus

Footnotes

  1. On 25 April 1844, JS directed the Saints to hold a convention in Baltimore to nominate him as a candidate for the United States presidency. The convention was scheduled for 13 July. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 Apr. 1844; “The Mormon National (Presidential) Convention,” Niles’ National Register [Baltimore], 20 July 1844, 325.)

    Niles’ National Register. Washington DC, 1837–1839; Baltimore, 1839–1848; Philadelphia, 1848–1849.

  2. Sanders, a member of the church in the Wilmington area, was campaigning for JS at Wilmington during early June 1844. Wight and Kimball may have stayed at a large “farm or plantation” where Sanders was living as late as 6 April 1844 in Mill Creek Hundred in New Castle County, Delaware, just outside Wilmington. (“Minutes of a Convention Held in the City of Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, May 17th, 1844,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 22 May 1844, [2]; Kimball, Journal, 11 June 1844; Ellis M. Sanders to George Fitzwater, Deed, 20 Jan. 1844, Ellis M. Sanders, Papers, CHL; Ellis M. Sanders and Rachel Broome Sanders to Sarah Fitzwater, Deed, 6 Apr. 1844, New Castle Co., DE, Deed Books, 1673–1886, vol. M5, pp. 520–522, microfilm 8,141,643, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Kimball, Heber C. Journal, June 1837–Feb. 1838; Feb.–Mar. 1840; May 1846–Feb. 1847. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 3, fd. 2.

    Sanders, Ellis M. Papers, 1822–1872. CHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  3. William Smith lived on North Tenth Street above Callowhill Street from fall 1843 until early fall 1844. (Smith, “History of Philadelphia Branch,” 117–118.)

    Smith, Walter W. “History of Philadelphia Branch.” Journal of History 12 (Jan. 1919): 111–118.

  4. Several rumors were circulating in Pennsylvania at the time Wight and Kimball wrote this letter. One rumor was that JS and Emma Smith “had quarrelled,” while other rumors circulated regarding the schism at Nauvoo, which had drawn away “a respectable number of the most intelligent members of that body,” referring to the dissensions of William Law and several other prominent members. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Examiner and Herald stated that JS had kidnapped a United States marshal from Iowa Territory. The Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette reported overcrowding and mass starvation at Nauvoo because of the arriving immigrants, stating that “the Prophet had not been able to provide places whereon to rest their heads nor shelters to cover them,” and so the people were “crowded together in small huts and houses, some of which are occupied by a dozen families.” Further, the Weekly Gazette reported that the electioneering missions were the result of JS allegedly wanting “to get clear of a portion of the disaffected under the pretext of sending them off to preach.” The Public Ledger repeated a claim by the Louisville Courier that a grand jury in Hancock County, Illinois, had issued seven indictments against JS, charging him with “perjury, larceny, &c.” (“Joe Smith, Nauvoo and the Mormons,” Public Ledger [Philadelphia], 6 June 1844, [1]; “Schism among the Mormons,” Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser [Gettysburg, PA], 10 June 1844, [1]; “Trouble at Nauvoo,” Examiner and Herald [Lancaster, PA], 19 June 1844, [2]; “Mormon Missionaries,” Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, 14 June 1844, [1]; “Joe Smith Indicted,” Public Ledger, 18 June 1844, [2].)

    Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.

    Adams Sentinel. Gettysburg, PA. 1800–1867.

    Lancaster Examiner and Democratic Herald. Lancaster, PA. 1839–1844.

    Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA, July 1786–.

  5. It is not clear why Wight would say that the twelve apostles could not sin. It is possible he was merely using the statement as a rhetorical device. In 1830 the Articles and Covenants of the Church had specified that “there is a possibility that men may fall from grace, and depart from the living God.” Even the “sanctified” were admonished to “take heed.” After the establishment of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in February 1835, several of the members of that quorum were either excommunicated or disaffected from JS and the church for a time. An 1838 revelation called for “men [to] be appointed to supply the place of those who are fallen” within the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During an August 1842 meeting of the Nauvoo Relief Society, JS had said, “Altho’ I do wrong, I do not the wrongs that I am charg’d with doing— the wrong that I do is thro’ the frailty of human nature like other men. No man lives without fault.” Wight may have been referencing some of JS’s recent teachings in which he explained that it was possible for men and women to know that they were “sealed up unto eternal life by revelation & the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy priesthood.” In May 1843 he exhorted the Saints, “Make your Calling & election sure, for if you do these things you shall never fall.” A July 1843 revelation specified that those who entered into an eternal marriage and were “Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointement” would still “enter into their— exaltation” even if they did “Commit any Sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever,” provided they did “commit no murder, wherein they Shed innocent blood.” (Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:32, 34]; Minutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118:1, 6]; Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839; Minutes and Discourse, 31 Aug. 1842; Minutes, 20 Jan. 1843; Discourse, 17 May 1843–A; Discourse, 21 May 1843, underlining in original; Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132:26].)

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