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Letter from Robert McCorkle, 10 May 1844

Source Note

, Letter, Dyer Co., Tennessee, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 10 May 1844; handwriting and signature presumably of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7⅝ inches (31 × 19 cm) and ruled with thirty-eight horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are present on the recto and verso of the second leaf. The second leaf tore slightly when the letter was opened. The letter was later refolded for filing.
The document 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. It was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [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. [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. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 10 May 1844, of Dyer County, Tennessee, wrote a letter to JS in , Illinois, expressing some of his concerns about JS and the . McCorkle—a farmer in his late thirties—had apparently learned about JS by February 1843 and was sufficiently impressed by JS to name a son after him. In April 1844, McCorkle visited Nauvoo to investigate the Latter-day Saints and their religion. While there, he attended the church’s April 1844 and purchased land in the city from church member on 17 April. As he later related in his letter, McCorkle sought to speak with JS during his visit so that he could present him with a list of questions. However, JS’s many responsibilities prevented the interview from taking place. Frustrated in his attempt to meet with JS, McCorkle returned home to Tennessee. There, McClellan apparently visited McCorkle and agreed to carry a letter for him free of charge. This opportunity led McCorkle to write JS a letter containing the questions he had been unable to submit to JS while in Nauvoo.
wrote the first part of his 10 May 1844 letter to JS in prose. In this portion, he explained his efforts to learn about the Saints and to speak with JS. He then described his reaction to what was taught at the April 1844 conference. McCorkle also posed some questions to JS about his claim to be a prophet and the economic feasibility of to . McCorkle wrote the second part of his letter in verse. The overarching concerns of his poetic inquiries were whether JS was a true prophet of God and whether the Saints were God’s people. McCorkle requested that JS respond to his poem in verse.
apparently delivered the letter to JS sometime after he returned from Tennessee on 26 May 1844. There is no known reply from JS and no evidence that joined the church or moved to .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although McCorkle signed his letter with his initials “R. A. H.”, other records indicate that his first name was Robert. (Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, p. 122; Smoot, Diary, 26 May and 7 June 1844.)

    Smoot, Abraham O. Diary, 1836–1845. Photocopy. Abraham O. Smoot, Papers, 1836–1893. Photocopy. CHL.

  2. [2]

    McCorkle’s son Joseph Smith McCorkle was born on 9 February 1843. Latter-day Saint missionaries first arrived in Tennessee in 1834. Missionaries had subsequently preached in many of the counties in the western part of the state, although it seems they did not visit Dyer County until sometime between May and August 1843. (Death Certificate for Joseph Smith McCorkle, 10 Aug. 1924, Yorkville, Gibson Co., TN, certificate 312, Tennessee Division of Vital Records, Death Records, 1914–1966, microfilm 1,299,770, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; David W. Patten and Warren Parrish, Paris, TN, 11 Oct. 1834, Letter to the Editor, Messenger and Advocate, Nov. 1834, 1:24; Woodruff, Journal, 27 Mar.–9 Apr. 1835; “Elder’s Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:157; Z. D. Wilson, Hancock Co., IL, 20 Jan. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1844, 5:446–447.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

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

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

  3. [3]

    Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, p. 122; Nauvoo Second Ward Census, [1], Nauvoo Stake, Ward Census, CHL.

    Nauvoo Stake. Ward Census, 1842. CHL.

  4. [4]

    McClellan traveled to Tennessee in 1844 to visit his wife’s family. He began his return journey to Nauvoo on 20 May 1844. (St. George Stake, High Priest Quorum Genealogical Sketches, part 2, pp. 66–67, Record of Members Collection, CHL.)

    Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970. CHL.

  5. [5]

    The notation “Per James M’Clelan”, the lack of postal marks, and the passage indicating that McCorkle was able to get the letter to JS free of charge all suggest that McClellan delivered McCorkle’s letter. (St. George Stake, High Priest Quorum Genealogical Sketches, part 2, p. 67, Record of Members Collection, CHL.)

    Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970. CHL.

  6. [6]

    See Boyd and Black, “Robert McCorkle’s 1844 Letter to Joseph Smith,” 82.

    Boyd, Hal R., and Susan E. Black. “A Question on My Mind: Robert McCorkle’s 1844 Letter to Joseph Smith.” BYU Studies Quarterly 49, no. 4 (Dec. 2010): 81–90.

Page [1]

<​May the 10th. 1844​>
To Joseph Smith I’ll
Respected Sir—
Having in vain saught an interview with you during your , being repulsed by a throng of business which bore weightily on you at that time— I was under the necessity of returning home without receiving that satisfaction that I desired, and which I promised myself before I left for —
As to the teachings exhibeted from the stand at the conferance in the mien [main], as far as I understood, I believ’d— of course the mode of adress being so far different from any thing with which I had ever be acustomed, I was not a little surprised, but considerably amused— [blank] Passing these things by, I want to come to a point, & that is your prophetic power, if I rem[em]ber correctly, you stated in your adress, (the only public one you made while I was <​there​>) That you would be able to show, and prove to the satisfaction of the audience, that you had not become so far a fallen prophet as some would have it you were,— I of course was an entire stranger to whome, or what, you alluded— My expectations were raised, thinking to hear you prophecy, but if you made any; I have no recolletion of it— I claim to be honest, I believe God never owned any people as <​his​> people or church, without having prophets among them; when I say prophets, I mean one, who by the power of God, can, and does foresee, & foretell events in the future, which will come to pass litteraly at the time and place, as by the prophet seen— none other than a litteral fulfilment will do me—
I dont want you to think hard of me, when I tell you that I as yet, have not been m[a]de acquainted with any prophecy that you have made; which has, or has not been fulfiled, hence I am left without any ground on which to predicate a belief wheather or not, you are a prophet, (true or false) If any you have ever made, I have an honest desire to see them if it be not contrary to wisdom— a private communication on that subject would be of considerable satisfaction, or if a public exhibit would be less objectionable I would just as soon—
I went to with strong desires to familiarize myself <​with​> what is call’d Mormonism,— but through timidity I was baffled [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Robert McCorkle, 10 May 1844
ID #
1354
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert McCorkle

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The speakers at the April 1844 conference were JS, Sidney Rigdon, John Taylor, Hyrum Smith, and George J. Adams. JS delivered discourses defending his standing as a true prophet, teaching about the nature of God and humankind, and giving instruction about Zion’s location, the Nauvoo temple, and the gathering of the Latter-day Saints. Rigdon preached on the history of the church and the kingdom of God. Taylor spoke on the failure of the United States to live up to its potential as a land of liberty by guaranteeing the rights of the Saints. Hyrum Smith urged the Saints to contribute to the construction of the temple and counseled them to refrain from judging those who appeared to be apostatizing. Adams preached on the literal establishment of Zion and the salvation of the dead through vicarious ordinances. (Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–9 Apr. 1844, 1–29; Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844; Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844; Discourse, 8 Apr. 1844.)

  2. [2]

    JS gave three discourses during the April 1844 conference. (See Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844; Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844; and Discourse, 8 Apr. 1844.)

  3. [3]

    Prior to the April 1844 conference, tensions had been growing between JS and his opponents in Nauvoo. In particular, JS’s detractors accused him of being a “fallen prophet.” This passage of McCorkle’s letter is likely referring to JS’s 6 April discourse. During this sermon, JS said that “he was not a fallen prophet, & never in any nearer relationship to God than at the present time, & would show before the Conferen[ce] closed that God was with him.” (Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844.)

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