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Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844

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Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , to “Dear Brethren” [the (including JS)], , Hancock Co., IL, 9 June 1844; handwriting and signatures of ; eight pages; JS Collection, CHL. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address, postal stamps, docket, and notations.
Two bifolia measuring 10 × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). A rectangular and mostly illegible embossment is present in the top left corner of the recto of the first leaf, and faint impressions of the embossment appear on other leaves. Pages 1–3 are ruled with twenty-seven horizontal lines printed in blue ink, pages 4–6 are similarly ruled with approximately twenty-eight lines per page, and page 7 is partially ruled on its right margin. The document was inscribed by first filling one bifolium, paginated 1–3 (with the verso of the second leaf left blank for addressing) and then continuing on to the second bifolium, paginated 4–7. The bifolia were gathered, with the second inside of the first, and then trifolded twice in letter style. The letter also contained a newspaper clipping, which is not extant, from the National Intelligencer. The verso of the second leaf of the outer bifolium, when folded, was addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer (which remains on that page), and postmarked. When the letter was opened, a hole was torn in the second leaf of the outer bifolium, resulting in the loss of text on page 3. At one point in time, the document was trifolded for storage; at another, the leaves were fastened together with staples or possibly pins and separated multiple times. The letter also underwent some conservation.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. This may be one of two 1844 documents from listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its possible listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest 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. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On 9 June 1844, wrote from to the , including JS, in , Illinois, responding to their criticism of his decision to alter JS’s 26 March 1844 memorial to Congress. Under the direction of the Council of Fifty, Hyde had traveled to Washington DC to present copies of JS’s memorial to both houses of Congress and to president , leaving on 4 April and arriving in Washington on 23 April. In part, the memorial requested that JS be granted membership in the United States Army and authorized to raise one hundred thousand volunteers to protect American citizens emigrating to and . In a 25 April letter, Hyde informed the council that he planned to strike out the memorial’s request to make JS a member of the army. On 13 May the council responded to Hyde’s decision with “dis-approbation and indignation,” informing him that “to throw away that one item, is to throw away the whole Memorial.”
answered the council’s reprimand with this letter, indicating that he altered the document after a meeting with Senator , which likely occurred on 24 April. Semple told Hyde that “Mr. Smith could not constitutionally be constituted a member of the Army.” Although article 1, section 8, of the Constitution empowered Congress “to raise and support Armies,” the Constitution did not authorize the House of Representatives or the Senate to appoint military officers. Article 2, section 2, on the other hand, named the president the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States” and gave him authority, “with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,” to appoint “all other Officers of the United States.” Semple, moreover, viewed himself as a representative of all those living in and expressed concern that the memorial focused too much on JS’s interests: it failed to consider the needs of other religious groups and citizens of Illinois and benefited the alone. Hyde explained to the council that he had acted to protect JS’s reputation, which he believed would have suffered if the unedited memorial had been submitted. He also indicated that he intended to submit the memorial to unaltered.
addressed the letter to , who was a member of the and ’s postmaster, with franking privilege, or the privilege of free mail delivery. It was postmarked 10 June in . Given that Hyde’s previous letters from Washington took approximately two to three weeks to reach Nauvoo, the letter probably arrived, at the earliest, sometime in late June or early July. It is unlikely that JS saw this letter before leaving Nauvoo for , Illinois, on 24 June or before his death there on 27 June 1844.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 31 Mar. and 4 Apr. 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 21 Mar. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL. Hyde also carried a letter of introduction signed by JS. (Authorization for Orson Hyde, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.)

  2. Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.

  3. Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; see also Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.

  4. Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844, underlining in original.

  5. Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844.

  6. Each of the memorial’s five sections focused on JS; two sections discussed the implications of JS’s petition for Congress to appoint him a member of the army. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.)

  7. Hyde presented the memorial to President Tyler two days later. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 11 June 1844.)

  8. An Act to Reduce into One the Several Acts for Establishing and Regulating the Post Office Department [3 Mar. 1825], Laws and Regulations for the Government of the Post Office Department, p. 16, sec. 27.

    Laws and Regulations for the Government of the Post Office Department. Washington DC: Alexander and Barnard, 1843.

  9. See Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 1844.

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June 9th. 1844.
Dear Brethren,
I arrived in this place again last evening, and met here and who presented me with a letter from you; tho’ it was severe, I was glad to receive it. I am aware that our council stands on the summit of all earthly power, and that he who presides over it is God’s messenger to execute justice and judgment in the Earth, and that any seeming neglect to maintain his dignity and honor, and that also of the council generally, touches a very tender place, and renders the delinquent justly entitled to the censure and warm reproof of your dignified and honorable body.
While, therefore, I acknowledge that the blow which has fallen upon me, has been inflicted by the hand of friendship nerved with a jealous regard for rights which Heaven has made your own, I pray you to indulge me a little while I relate the circumstances under which I have been placed, and earnestly beg your honorable body to consider them. If I have committed an error, there is one avenue of consolation which is not closed up; and that is, I have committed it with a heart unres[er]vedly devoted to your best interest.
You say, distinctly, in your letter, that “the people are the Sovreign,” and intimate that Senators and representatives are not sent here to do their own will, but the will of the people who sent them. This very position was taken by who, on reading the bill, asked [p. 1]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844
ID #
1386
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. Hyde returned to Washington DC from Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he had likely been preaching. (Kimball, Journal, 8 June 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 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.

  2. On 13 May 1844, the Council of Fifty assigned Wight and Kimball to travel to Washington DC and deliver a response to Hyde’s 25 and 26 April 1844 letters. They left Nauvoo on 21 May and arrived in Washington on 2 June. There they met Hyde after sundown on 8 June. (Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844; JS, Journal, 21 May 1844; Kimball, Journal, 31 May 1844; 1–2, 6, and 8 June 1844; Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 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.

  3. During an 18 April meeting of the Council of Fifty, Reynolds Cahoon, likely drawing on Daniel 2:44, stated that “God has said he would set up a kingdom in the last days that should subdue, or swallow up all other kingdoms. This is what we are trying for.” The draft of the council’s constitution, also read on 18 April, alluded to JS as the “one man, holding the keys and authority, pertaining to my [God’s] holy priesthood, to whom I will reveal my laws, my statutes, my ordinances, my Judgements.” It also stated that “my [God’s] Servant and Prophet whom I have called and chosen shall have power to appoint Judges and officers in my kingdom.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 18 Apr. 1844.)

  4. During a Council of Fifty meeting held on 14 March 1844, members received the council’s revealed name, which indicated that the organization had merited divine approval: “The Kingdom of God and his Laws, with the keys and power thereof, and judgement in the hands of his servants.” Another revelation delivered to the council after Hyde left Nauvoo further sanctioned their activities by empowering members to speak in God’s name: “Verily thus saith the Lord, ye are my constitution, and I am your God, and ye are my spokesmen.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 14 Mar. and 25 Apr. 1844.)

  5. Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844.

  6. Senator Semple represented Illinois as a Democrat in the Twenty-Eighth Congress. Semple joined the United States Army in 1814, later serving in the Black Hawk War. (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 127, 1887.)

    Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–1989: The Continental Congress September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First through the One Hundredth Congresses March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1989, Inclusive. Edited by Kathryn Allamong Jacob and Bruce A. Ragsdale. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.

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