Footnotes

1. [1]

   The other two surviving letters are Oliver Cowdery, Independence, MO, to the Church in Ohio, 29 Jan. 1831, in Letter to Hyrum Smith, 3–4 March 1831; and Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.  

2. [2]

   Williams was present in Missouri with Cowdery when this letter was written and thus had firsthand knowledge of what addressee was listed on the original packet. For discussion of Whitney’s franking privilege, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.  

3. [3]

   See Historical Introduction to Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.  

4. [4]

   Oliver Cowdery, Independence, MO, to William Clark, [St. Louis, MO], 14 Feb. 1831, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, Records, vol. 6, p. 103; see also Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 Apr. 1831.  

   U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency. Records, 1807–1855. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Also available at kansasmemory.org.

5. [5]

   Pratt later explained that he and the other missionaries to the Indians decided that “one of our number had better return to the church in Ohio, and perhaps to head quarters in New York, in order to communicate with the Presidency, report ourselves, pay a visit to the numerous churches we had organized on our outward journey, and also to procure more books.” (Pratt, Autobiography, 61.)  

   Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

6. [6]

   Peter Whitmer Jr. recorded that after Cummins threatened to arrest them, the missionaries “then resorted among the Gentiles and declared the word.” (Whitmer, Journal, Dec. 1831, [1].)  

   Whitmer, Peter, Jr. Journal, Dec. 1831. CHL. MS 5873.

7. [7]

   Pratt’s letter, alluded to in Cowdery’s 7 May letter, is not extant.  

8. [8]

   See Pratt, Autobiography, 61–64.  

   Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

9. [9]

   Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]; Pratt, Autobiography, 64–65, 73.  

   Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

10. [10]

    See Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52:3, 42–43]; and Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3].