On 18 January 1844, wrote a letter on behalf of JS in , Illinois, to attorney in regarding money that JS owed Butterfield. Butterfield had represented JS in a hearing in January 1843, for which JS gave him two promissory notes, each for $230. Butterfield was likely asking about these promissory notes when he wrote to JS on 11 June 1843 about the money that JS owed him. Three days later, Clayton responded on behalf of JS that if Butterfield could come to Nauvoo, JS could “have the money or a great part of it” for him. Even though Butterfield spent several days in Nauvoo in October 1843 discussing a different legal matter with JS, JS apparently did not pay his debt to Butterfield at that time. The debt was still outstanding on 18 January 1844, when JS instructed Clayton to write a letter to Butterfield apologizing for the delay in payment and explaining that he still did not have the necessary money.

In the letter, explained that JS’s poor financial state stemmed in part from his having incurred significant debt in purchasing the land on which was built. He added that despite the influx of members who had recently moved to the city, many of the immigrants were poor and therefore unable to purchase city lots. These circumstances limited JS’s ability to pay his debts as well as those of the church. Clayton stated, however, that JS anticipated paying once the next group of church members arrived in Nauvoo in the spring.

After scribe made a copy for JS’s records, sent the original letter to . It is unclear how the letter was transmitted, and there is no known response from Butterfield. Although the sent copy of the letter is apparently not extant, the copied version was preserved among church records and is featured here.