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Letter to Clyde, Williams & Co., 1 August 1843

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Letter to Clyde, Williams & Co., 1 August 1843

Source Note

, on behalf of JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to Clyde, Williams & Co., , Dauphin Co., PA, 1 Aug. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Aug. 1843]; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and notation.
Single leaf measuring 12¼ × 7⅝ inches (31 × 19 cm). The letter was written on the verso of a copy of “A Fac-simile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2.,” a Times and Seasons broadside. It was folded in half and then trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. The letter was later refolded, presumably for filing.
Compression marks on the address panel of the Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between circa 1 and 15 July 1843, indicate that it contained an enclosure at one point. Although the text of that letter does not explicitly identify an enclosure, the compression marks and the comparative size of the address panels for both the Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co. and the featured copy—drafted as a response—suggest the draft was probably housed inside the folded letter and retained in that state among church records. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s presumed retention in church records and its inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See “A Fac-simile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2.,” Second Issue, between ca. 15 Mar. 1842 and 1 Apr. 1843.

  2. [2]

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

Historical Introduction

On 1 August 1843, wrote a response on JS’s behalf to the publishing firm Clyde, Williams & Co. in , Pennsylvania. The firm wrote to JS in July 1843 soliciting an article “comprising an accurate and impartial account” of the religion. The article was to be included in the publisher’s upcoming compilation of descriptions and histories of the major religious denominations in the . In this 1 August 1843 letter, JS and Phelps agreed to submit a contribution, which they did six weeks later.
The original letter sent to Clyde, Williams & Co.—presumably written by —is apparently no longer extant. Phelps made a retained copy of the letter on the back of a Times and Seasons broadside publication of Facsimile 2 from the Book of Abraham. That version is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between ca. 1 and 15 July 1843.

  2. [2]

    JS’s journal records that a letter was sent to Clyde, Williams & Co. “giving a history of the faith of the chu[r]ch for their Book of Denom[i]nations” on 15 September 1843. This letter was a revised version of the 1842 document “Church History” sent to John Wentworth, the owner and publisher of the Chicago Democrat. The article was published in the 1844 book as a chapter titled “Latter Day Saints.” (JS, Journal, 15 Sept. 1843; “Church History,” 1 Mar. 1842; JS, “Latter Day Saints,” 1844; see also William W. Phelps, Historical Article, Sept. 1843, CHL.)

  3. [3]

    The facsimile was originally included in the second installment of the Book of Abraham. A loose broadside version of Facsimile 2 was later printed. (“The Book of Abraham,” Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1842, 3:719–722; “A Fac-simile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2.,” Second Issue, between ca. 15 Mar. 1842 and 1 Apr. 1843.)

Page [1]

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August 1, 1843
Sirs: yours relative to publishing “the whole church in the ” is received and in answer I have to state <​that​> a suitable article on the subject requested, will be matured and forwarded in season to meet your anticipations.
Respectfully &c
for Joseph Smith
Messrs Clyde Williams & co)
)
pa) [1/4 page blank]
 
(A Copy)
Messrs Clyde Williams & co
Pa
 
Answer—— [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Clyde, Williams & Co., 1 August 1843
ID #
1622
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:5–7
Handwriting on This Page
  • William W. Phelps

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The letter of inquiry Clyde, Williams & Co. sent to JS stated that the book would be titled He Pas‘Ecclesia, or The Whole Church of the United States. Upon publication, the book was titled He Pasa Ekklesia. An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States. (Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between ca. 1 and 15 July 1843; Rupp, He Pasa Ekklesia, title page.)

    Rupp, Israel Daniel, ed. He Pasa Ekklesia [The Whole Church]: An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, Contains Authentic Accounts of Their Rise, Progress, Statistics and Doctrines. Written Expressly for the Work by Eminent Theological Professors, Ministers, and Lay-Members, of the Respective Denominations. Projected, Compiled and Arranged by I. Daniel Rupp, of Lancaster, Pa. Philadelphia: J. Y. Humphreys; Harrisburg: Clyde and Williams, 1844.

  2. [2]

    According to the letter of inquiry, Clyde, Williams & Co. anticipated receiving an “account of the Rise and Progress, Faith and Practice” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between ca. 1 and 15 July 1843.)

  3. [3]

    The meaning of this notation is unknown. It may refer to this letter being a response, or answer, to the July 1843 missive from publishing firm Clyde, Williams & Co. It may also refer to the letter that was eventually sent to Clyde, Williams & Co. on 15 September 1843, “giving a history of the faith of the chu[r]ch for their Book of Denom[i]nations.” Finally, it may refer to an unlocated or nonextant letter that Clyde, Williams & Co. wrote in response to this letter. (Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between ca. 1 and 15 July 1843; JS, Journal, 15 Sept. 1843.)

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