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Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 March 1843

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Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 March 1843

Source Note

and , Letter, , Lancashire, England, to the (including JS) and , , Hancock Co., IL, 1 Mar. 1843; handwriting of ; signatures of and ; three pages; Brigham Young Office Files, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamps, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 10 × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm). The document was trifolded twice in letter style for mailing, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. Richards was also clerk of the since at least 1841. , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, also docketed the document. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1994 the document had been included in the Brigham Young Office Files at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets by Richards and Bullock, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the Brigham Young Office Files suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    See Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 31 Aug. 1841; and Council of Fifty, “Record,” 10 Mar. 1844.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  3. [3]

    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.

  4. [4]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  5. [5]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 1 March 1843, and wrote a letter from , England, to the and the in , Illinois. The letter addressed instructions the two had received to suspend the ’s publication efforts in . It also expressed concern about , one of the church’s in England. In early 1841, the Quorum had appointed Fielding “as the of the church, to superintend the fitting out of the saints from Liverpool to America.” Under that assignment, Fielding led a group of Saints from England to Nauvoo in spring 1842. In June, the apostles appointed Clark to oversee emigration and instructed Fielding to relocate to Nauvoo with his family. After Fielding returned to England in 1842, perhaps to retrieve his family, he remained there and was apparently still trying to act as the emigration overseer.
In October 1842, , one of the apostles who was presiding over the church in Europe, departed for , leaving in charge of the church and of the Millennial Star, the church’s newspaper in . Before Pratt reached Nauvoo, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met in November and “decided by unanimous acclamation that the printing of the Millenial Star & all other publications in England, relating to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, be suspended on the departu[r]e of Elder Pratt from that count[r]y until further instruction from the Quorum.” The minutes of the quorum’s meeting provide no explanation for the suspension. The quorum communicated its decision in a January 1843 letter to Ward and , which they received on 17 February. This letter is apparently no longer extant.
In their 1 March response, the two men conveyed their willingness to abide by the decision but explained that a few items, including a new hymnbook, a pamphlet, and the March 1843 issue of the Millennial Star, were already at the press. In addition to relating the items about and the printing business, and expressed their gladness about the favorable outcome of JS’s extradition hearing in , Illinois, in January 1843.
wrote and signed the letter, after which also signed it. Ward then added a postscript and addressed the letter to , president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in . It was mailed from on 3 March, arrived in by late March, and reached Nauvoo by 23 May, when it was read in a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. JS presumably read the letter around the same time. At the May meeting of the apostles, they voted “that the printing in be stopped, &, Elders Ward & come to this place.” However, that decision was apparently not communicated to Ward and Fielding until arrived in England in September 1843. Fielding returned to Nauvoo after Hedlock’s arrival, and Ward remained in England and continued to serve as the editor of the Millennial Star.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Brigham Young et al., “An Epistle of the Twelve,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1842, 3:896.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 13 Mar. 1842; “Emigration,” Millennial Star, Mar. 1842, 2:176.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 14 June 1842.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Hiram Clark, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 June 1844, 5:558.

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

  5. [5]

    Editorial, Millennial Star, Feb. 1843, 3:175; “Farewell Address to Our Readers and Patrons,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:109–110; Parley P. Pratt, “To the Saints in Europe,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:110.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  6. [6]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Nov. 1842.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  7. [7]

    See “Part 1: March 1843.”

  8. [8]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  9. [9]

    Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Oct. 1843, JS Collection, CHL.

  10. [10]

    See Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Oct. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; Masthead, Millennial Star, Sept. 1844, 5:64.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

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, March 1st. 1843.
To the of the , and to the , City of , Illinois, greeting,
Beloved Brethren,
Yours bearing date January 3rd, came to hand by the Caledonia, February 17th. 1843. We were exceedingly glad to hear of the deliverance of our beloved President, being delivered from his difficulties, in the case of . We felt fully confident of the result and rejoice that the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous, that are offered on behalf of his servants; for we can truly assure our beloved President that he has not been forgotten in the prayers of the Saints on this side the water.— The Order of the Quorum of the Twelve to stop for the present all publications, though it took us rather by surprise, yet we could easily see the propriety of such a decision, though compelled from peculiar circumstances to disobey the injunction a little, though certainly not malignantly; our brethren, and , from the very great demand had determined to print another edition of the Hymn Books, the printing of which was finished, and they were gone to the Binder where your letter arrived.
With regard to the Millennial Star, the Eleventh Number had gone to the press Printer’s when your letter came as also, a reprint of as a tract of “The False Prophets of the Last Days” extracted from the 12th No. of the second vol of the Star, was also gone to press— [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 March 1843
ID #
14375
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:6–11
Handwriting on This Page
  • Thomas Ward

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The Caledonia was a steamship that carried mail between Boston and Liverpool. (“The United States: Arrival of the Caledonia,” Globe and Traveller [London], 18 Feb. 1843, [4]; “Latest from the United States—Arrival of the Steam-Ship Caledonia,” Liverpool Mail, 21 Oct. 1843, 2.)

    Globe and Traveller. London. 1824–1921.

    Liverpool Mail. Liverpool. 1836–1880.

  2. [2]

    See “Part 1: March 1843.”

  3. [3]

    See Proverbs 15:29.

  4. [4]

    This hymnbook was the third edition of A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Europe. The March 1843 issue of the Millennial Star stated that the hymnbook was available for two shillings. (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:216; Notices, Millennial Star, Mar. 1843, 3:192.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  5. [5]

    The eleventh number of volume 3 of the Millennial Star was the March 1843 issue. (Nameplate, Millennial Star, Mar. 1843, 3:177.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  6. [6]

    “On the False Prophets of the Last Days” was a lengthy article Thomas Ward wrote. It was published in the April 1842 issue of the Millennial Star. (Thomas Ward, “On the False Prophets of the Last Days,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1842, 2:177–184; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:217–218.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

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