, Letter, Frederick Co., VA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 22 Apr. 1842; handwriting of ; three pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address, postal stamps, postal notation, endorsements, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). Each leaf is ruled horizontally with thirty-two blue lines. The letter was inscribed on the first three pages. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The letter reportedly included an enclosure of twenty-five dollars. Marked damage along the central vertical folds of each leaf resulted in some loss of text.
The letter was endorsed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as Nauvoo temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974 the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
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.
Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24.
Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.
Historical Introduction
On 22 April 1842 missionary wrote to JS from Frederick County, Virginia, reporting on his proselytizing activities and praising God. Serving in the county where he was born, Brown explained that he was having little success from his preaching. In a postscript to the letter, Brown requested a copy of the ’s newspaper Times and Seasons and gave instructions for paying —with money Brown apparently enclosed—for building a fence around Brown’s property in , Illinois.
’s letter apparently arrived in , as it was later in the custody of . JS presumably received the letter, but it is unclear when. No response has been located.
See Entry for David Brown, 1830 U.S. Census, Eastern District, Frederick Co., VA, 41.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
Page [2]
And thou preformest. Shall the afflicted be tossed; shall the righteous be tramp[l]ed under foot. And shall those who love the[e] be afflicted by a brother; or one brother afflict an other. Shall these things be or ought they so to be: are thes[e] thyne elect in whom thou art well pleasd: or hast thou an other. Who is thyne elect. in whom thou art pleased: is it not ritten election hath obtained it and by there fruits ye shall know them. Oh God that isrel may repent yea all those that grieved. May come to a knowledge to know. that by this they may know; they are borne again seeing they keep the commandments. Now if w[e] keep not the comandments of God neather can we know him or recieve the things of him Now thou hast said and [be] wise even unto salvation; And what thou hast said thou has purposed: and even that thou wilt preformed. for thou hast revield [revealed] it and thou wilt preform And who hast known it: who hast call[ed] upon th[ee w]ho hast sought after thee who h[ast] found thy ways out to whom hast thou made them known: who hast walk[ed] in righteous-news [righteousness] before thee: or keep a clear con[s]cience to wards the[e]. Blessed be the name of the lord our God who hast said I will be found of those who sou[g]ht not after me [p. [2]]