On 24 May 1843, Thomas Rawcliff, a British immigrant living in , Illinois, wrote a letter to JS asking for help in recovering debts owed him by , , and , three prominent members of the and the Nauvoo community. Rawcliff also shared his concern for his fellow British immigrants, who he believed were being exploited through land speculation, lending practices, and employment arrangements. Though his parents joined the church in , Rawcliff was not a Latter-day Saint. After a brief sojourn in in 1841, he came to Nauvoo at the encouragement of friends who lived there. After settling in Nauvoo, he discovered some things that troubled him.

In 1841, British immigrants began arriving in and were in desperate need of employment. Several men found work building the and were dependent upon Nauvoo House funding for their subsistence. Rawcliff asserted that his friends working on the building were underfed and underpaid. This was not an uncommon complaint; on 21 February 1843, —overseer of the Nauvoo House construction—stated that it was difficult to keep workmen on the job because he could not adequately feed or compensate them. At a church in Nauvoo in April 1843, church members approved a motion for the to collect funds for the Nauvoo House. On 19 April, JS directed the apostles to “go in the name of th[e] Lord God & tell [Lucien] Woodworth to put the hands onto the Nauvoo House & be patient till men can be provided.” In addition, JS encouraged British immigrants to find work outside the city because of the lack of employment opportunities in Nauvoo.

Rawcliff went on to express worry that some individuals—one of whom he believed was —were attempting to swindle newly arrived Latter-day Saints. JS generally shared Rawcliff’s concern. On 13 April 1843, JS addressed a group of immigrants assembled at the site and warned them about “specluators who would get away your property.” He encouraged immigrants to rely on church leaders for advice regarding whom they could trust.

JS and other church leaders periodically lectured the Saints against stealing from those not of the faith. Despite these efforts, Rawcliff believed that some church members had no qualms about cheating outsiders. He was especially frustrated because he could not get , a doctor and prominent businessman; , major general of the ; and , a counselor in the , to repay their debts to him. After repeated attempts to collect the money, Rawcliff felt “reluctantly compelled” to seek JS’s help as church president and wrote requesting assistance in recovering his money.

The letter contains no postmarks, which indicates that Rawcliff or a courier delivered it. A later history stated that JS received the letter the same day Rawcliff wrote it. No response to the letter is known, and it is unclear whether JS took any action against the Laws or .