JS, Letter, , Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH, to , , Clay Co., MO, 20 July 1835; handwriting and signature of JS; one page; photograph of original; CHL. Includes address in handwriting of and postal markings.
The document featured here was transcribed from a photograph of the missing original, which included the text of a letter from to his wife, . At one point, the original was apparently owned by a Phelps grandson. Parts of it were copied in the Journal History of the Church by Andrew Jenson sometime between 1906 and 1913, but Jenson did not reproduce JS’s note to Sally.
In 1942, the original letter from to , then held by descendants of the Phelps family, was reproduced with a partial transcript and an image of JS’s 20 July 1835 letter in the Improvement Era. A descendant located a black-and-white photograph of the original, contained in a book of remembrance, in 2012. The photograph shows page edges that were cropped for the Improvement Era reproduction; the letter had apparently been sewn on all edges to a blank page. The letter was written in portrait orientation and tri-folded twice in letter style for mailing. A number of holes at intersecting folds and a crease along the right side obscure small portions of the text.
Digital manipulation created a mirror image of the photograph and allowed transcribers to recover the text of the address block and postal marking. This recovered text is featured herein.
William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835; Bergera, “Commencement of Great Things,” 23, 30.
Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.
Bergera, Gary James. “The Commencement of Great Things: The Origins, Scope, and Achievement of the Journal History of the Church.” Mormon Historical Studies 4, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 23–39.
Phelps, “Letters of Faith from Kirtland,” 529. The transcript of Phelps’s portion of the letter in the Improvement Era differs significantly from the transcript in the Journal History, although some content is similar.
Phelps, Leah Y. “Letters of Faith from Kirtland.” Improvement Era 45, no. 8 (Aug. 1942): 529.
Historical Introduction
On 20 July 1835, JS added a note to a letter had written to his wife, , from , Ohio. Sally was living in , Missouri, and JS’s note, which was addressed to her, sought to comfort her in her husband’s absence. A June 1834 council had instructed William W. Phelps, one of the presidents of the , to travel to Kirtland to receive an “ with power” and help “carry on the printing establishment” there. Accordingly, William, along with his twelve-year-old son, Waterman, left Clay County and arrived in Kirtland on 17 May 1835. Phelps then lived with JS and his family while he assisted in the and worked on the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants. The separation from Sally and his six other children was difficult for Phelps, who stated in an earlier letter that “if any persons under heaven ought to enjoy the blessings prepared for the saints when is redeemed—it is those husbands and wives that freely, and faithfully bear separation for the sake of the Kingdom.” JS’s note to Sally conveyed similar sentiments.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
, as has given me an opertunity in his paper letter, I gladly improve it, how far it may be to your edifycation I know not, but trust you will reciev[e]it in a maner that shall answer my intention in so doing— for my intention is to give you a word of consolation to streng[th]en you in the absence of your most worthy Companion; and— husband whose Merits and experiance and acquirements, but few can compete with in this generation and fewer I fear will ever appretiate the worth of such men; men upon whom God, in his wi[s]dom hath bestowed gifts, that duly qualify them to lead men in the way of life and salvation. I consider in some degree how great a trial you must have in this seperation, but I think I may safely say, that you may rest with a firm reliance that God will so order it that you may not be seperated only but for a short season, and then <your joy will be full,> and if faithful <he will> return and teach you things that have been hid from the wise and prudent, hiden things of old times, as Moses said in Deut. 33d<chap> 19th verse for they shall suck of the abundance of [the][se]as and of the treasures hid in the sand. Some of the[se] things have begun [to] come forththerefore Lift up your heart and be glad; be comforted be faithful: pray in faith; and in fine say to all the saints in as the Lord God liveth the redemtion of Zion is nigh at hand, and we shall live to see it
Phelps had received a letter from Sally the day before. According to Phelps, when JS read Sally’s letter, he “remarked that it was as easy to shed tears while reading that letter as it was when reading the History of Joseph in Egypt.” (Phelps, “Letters of Faith from Kirtland,” 529.)
Phelps, Leah Y. “Letters of Faith from Kirtland.” Improvement Era 45, no. 8 (Aug. 1942): 529.
In an 1832 letter to Phelps, JS told him that he had “the most implicit confidence in [him] as a man of God having obtained this confidence by a vision of heavn.” In August 1835, Oliver Cowdery informed Sally that her husband was “humble and faithful.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832; “Some Early Letters of William W. Phelps,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Jan. 1940, 29.)
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine. Salt Lake City. 1910–1940.
Oliver Cowdery told Sally Phelps in August 1835 that she could expect her husband’s return in the spring of 1836 “if all be well.” Phelps actually returned to Missouri by June 1836. (“Some Early Letters of William W. Phelps,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Jan. 1940, 29; “2d Series—Letter No. I,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1836, 2:340.)
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine. Salt Lake City. 1910–1940.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
In his portion of the letter to Sally, William related that JS had obtained four Egyptian mummies and two papyrus rolls at the end of June. According to William, JS stated that the papyri “contained the sacred record kept of Joseph in Pharaoh’s Court in Egypt, and the teachings of Father Abraham.” William continued, “There is nothing secret or hidden that shall not be revealed.” In a May 1835 letter, William also explained to Sally “a new idea” that “if you and I continue faithful to the end, we are certain of being one in the Lord throughout eternity.” (Phelps, “Letters of Faith from Kirtland,” 529; William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.)
Phelps, Leah Y. “Letters of Faith from Kirtland.” Improvement Era 45, no. 8 (Aug. 1942): 529.