Letter to Oliver Cowdery, 22 October 1829
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Source Note
JS, Letter, , Susquehanna Co., PA, to , [, NY], 22 Oct. 1829. Featured version copied [between ca. 27 Nov. 1832 and ca. Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, p. 9; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.
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Historical Introduction
JS wrote this letter from , Pennsylvania, to , who was overseeing the printing of the Book of Mormon in , New York. Four months earlier, on 11 June 1829, JS had obtained a copyright for the book, and after he and negotiated with local printers, Harris mortgaged his farm on 25 August to cover the cost of printing. By early September, , publisher of Palmyra’s Wayne Sentinel, began printing the pages, assisted by compositor John H. Gilbert. Oliver Cowdery made a second copy of the Book of Mormon manuscript and, assisted by , delivered the copied pages to the printer in twenty-four-page bundles. Just weeks after printing began, JS left Palmyra for his home in Harmony, arriving on 4 October.This may have been JS’s first trip back to since late May, though he may have visited in July or August to tend to planting and harvesting on his farm. His journey from in October may have been undertaken in order to tell others about the publication of the Book of Mormon. This letter explained that his trip to Harmony was “prosperous” and that many were requesting books once they were printed. JS explained that the “minds of the people are very much excited” at his obtaining a copyright and at the prospect of having an actual book in their hands. His news about a copyright and progress on the printing may also have appealed to individuals interested in purchasing the books in bulk. For instance, , who according to the letter was interested in purchasing five or six hundred dollars’ worth of books, needed the copyright to protect his potential investment. The copyright protected the book’s market value by legally barring printers from publishing the manuscript without JS’s permission.JS also urged to be faithful in the “discharge of evry duty,” the principal of which involved overseeing the printing of the book. JS no doubt expected Cowdery’s response to contain an update on the publication process. Followers of JS in the area welcomed the letter, and Cowdery wrote JS that “it was gladly received by us all[.] we rejoice to hear that you are well and we also rejoice to hear that you have a prospect of obtaining Some mony.”
Footnotes
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2
Indenture, Martin Harris to Egbert B. Grandin, Wayne Co., NY, 25 Aug. 1829, Wayne Co., NY, Mortgage Records, vol. 3, pp. 325–326, microfilm 479,556, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. For a later account of the negotiations, see “Recent Progress of the Mormons,” Albany Evening Journal, 31 July 1854, [2]; see also “Prospect of Peace with Utah,” Albany Evening Journal, 19 May 1858, [2]; and “From the Troy Times,” Albany Evening Journal, 21 May 1858, [2].
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Albany Evening Journal. Albany, NY. 1830–1863.
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3
John H. Gilbert, Memorandum, 8 Sept. 1892, photocopy, CHL; see also Skousen, Printer’s Manuscript, 3, 31–33.
Gilbert, John H. Memorandum, 8 Sept. 1892. Photocopy. CHL. MS 9223.
Skousen, Royal, ed. The Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Entire Text in Two Parts. Part 1, Copyright, 1830 Preface, 1 Nephi 1:0–Alma 17:26. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001.
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4
See JS History, vol. A-1, 21–34. Historical sources lack sufficient detail or consistency to determine whether JS’s early October return to his home was the first time he had been back since leaving five months earlier to finish the translation or whether it was a subsequent return.
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5
See Historical Introduction to Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829.
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Cite this page
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Document Information
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Footnotes
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This scribal notation, in the handwriting of Frederick G. Williams, numbered the letter in JS Letterbook 1.
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1
By fall 1829, it was well known in the region that JS claimed to have plates and to be translating them. In June 1829 the Wayne Sentinel reported on the rumors surrounding the translation of the “Golden Bible” and explained that “most people entertain an idea that the whole matter is the result of a gross imposition and a grosser superstition. It is pretended that it will be published as soon as the translation is completed.” Jonathan Hadley of the Palmyra Freeman also reported that by early August 1829, JS’s translation of the plates was “generally known and spoken of as the ‘Golden Bible.’” The Freeman incredulously reported JS’s claims: “Now it appears not a little strange that there should have been deposited in this western world, and in the secluded town of Manchester, too, a record of this description: and still more so, that a person like this Smith (very illiterate) should have been gifted by inspiration to find and interpret it.” Newspapers as far away as Ohio reprinted this denunciation of the “Golden Bible.” (News item, Wayne Sentinel [Palmyra, NY], 26 June 1829, [3]; “Golden Bible,” Palmyra (NY) Freeman, 11 Aug. 1829, [2], italics in original; see also, for example, “Golden Bible,” Niagara Courier [Lockport, NY], 27 Aug. 1829, [2]; “Golden Bible,” Rochester [NY] Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, 31 Aug. 1829, [2]; “Golden Bible,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 22 Sept. 1829, [3]; and “Golden Bible,” Salem [MA] Gazette, 2 Oct. 1829, [1].)
Wayne Sentinel. Palmyra, NY. 1823–1852, 1860–1861.
Palmyra Freeman. Palmyra, NY. 1828–1829.
Niagara Courier. Lockport, NY. 1827–1834.
Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph. Rochester, NY. 1826–1829.
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.
Salem Gazette. Salem, MA. 1825–1888.
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2
The Book of Mormon.
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4
There is no evidence that Stowell ever provided JS with these funds or received hundreds of copies of the Book of Mormon, which a $500 or $600 investment would have procured.
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5
This line indicated that Oliver Cowdery was the addressee of the letter. Although Cowdery generally signed his name “Oliver Cowdery” or “O. Cowdery,” he also sometimes used “Oliver H P Cowdery” but never explained what either initial stood for.
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