Letter to Robert B. Thompson, 25 May 1839
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Source Note
JS, , and , Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Adams Co., IL], 25 May 1839. Featured version copied [between 25 May and 30 Oct. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, p. 11; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
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Historical Introduction
On 25 May 1839, JS and his in the wrote a letter responding to the 13 May letter of , who expressed concern regarding letters that church member had recently published in the Quincy Whig. Wight’s letters condemned Democratic officials, and Thompson feared that Wight’s statements would be interpreted as representing the church’s position and would therefore have serious repercussions for the Saints. After reading Thompson’s letter, the First Presidency wrote a letter to the editors of the Quincy Whig on 17 May to clarify the church’s position.On 25 May, JS attended a meeting with other church leaders and discussed ’s concerns. The council members agreed that they did not approve of “making the subject of our sufferings a political question” but that he had written with good intentions. Later in the day, the First Presidency wrote the letter featured here; though addressed to Thompson, JS expected the letter would also be published. The presidency suggested that Thompson use the letter to assuage the concerns of residents. Two days later, JS dictated a letter to Wight regarding his publications and their potential consequences for the Saints.The original 25 May letter to is not extant, but copied it into JS Letterbook 2 between 25 May and 30 October 1839. The letter was also printed in the 15 June 1839 issue of the Quincy Argus, with some standardization of capitalization and punctuation and one difference in wording, which is noted in annotation.
Footnotes
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1
For more information on Wight’s letters and Thompson’s concerns, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Robert B. Thompson, 13 May 1839.
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4
Mulholland may have copied the letter the day it was composed.
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5
Joseph Smith et al., Commerce, IL, to Robert B. Thompson, [Quincy, IL], 25 May 1839, in Quincy (IL) Argus, 15 June 1839, [2].
Quincy Argus. Quincy, IL. 1836–1841.
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