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Letter to Stephen Post, 17 September 1838

Source Note

JS and
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, Letter,
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, Caldwell Co., MO, to
Stephen Post

3 Jan. 1810–18 Dec. 1879. Schoolteacher, blacksmith. Born in Greenwich, Washington Co., New York. Son of Samuel Post and Mary Sprague. Moved to Sparta Township, Crawford Co., Pennsylvania, after 1830. Married Jane Force, ca. 1835. Baptized into Church of ...

View Full Bio
, Bloomfield Township, Crawford Co., PA, 17 Sept. 1838; handwriting of
George W. Robinson

14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...

View Full Bio
; three pages; Stephen Post, Papers, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, and wafer seal.
Bifolium measuring 12⅝ × 7⅞ inches (32 × 20 cm). The letter was trifolded and gatefolded before being sealed with a red wafer and addressed for mailing. A hole along one of the folds, apparently caused by rodents, obscures text on both sides of the first leaf. The letter was retained by
Stephen Post

3 Jan. 1810–18 Dec. 1879. Schoolteacher, blacksmith. Born in Greenwich, Washington Co., New York. Son of Samuel Post and Mary Sprague. Moved to Sparta Township, Crawford Co., Pennsylvania, after 1830. Married Jane Force, ca. 1835. Baptized into Church of ...

View Full Bio
’s family until his grandson Edward O. Post donated the letter and other correspondence to the LDS church in July 1971.
1

Evans, Register of the Stephen Post Papers, 3.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Evans, Max J. Register of the Stephen Post Papers in the Church Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1975.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Evans, Register of the Stephen Post Papers, 3.

    Evans, Max J. Register of the Stephen Post Papers in the Church Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1975.

Historical Introduction

On 17 September 1838, JS and
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
wrote to church member
Stephen Post

3 Jan. 1810–18 Dec. 1879. Schoolteacher, blacksmith. Born in Greenwich, Washington Co., New York. Son of Samuel Post and Mary Sprague. Moved to Sparta Township, Crawford Co., Pennsylvania, after 1830. Married Jane Force, ca. 1835. Baptized into Church of ...

View Full Bio
, answering several questions he posed in a letter that is apparently not extant. Post was baptized in 1835 and was
ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

View Glossary
to the office of
elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
and then
seventy

A priesthood office with the responsibility to travel and preach and assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, similar to the seventy in the New Testament. In February and March 1835, the first members of the Seventy were selected and ordained. All of those...

View Glossary
in 1836.
1

Post, Journal, 14 July 1835; 27 Jan. and 13 Feb. 1836; Quorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 9.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

After a brief stay in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, during winter 1835–1836, Post returned to his home in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, which was relatively close to church headquarters in Kirtland, likely enabling him to regularly receive news about the church via traveling elders and the church’s newspapers.
2

Post, Journal, 30 Nov. 1835–4 Apr. 1836; see also, for example, Post, Journal, 6 Feb. and 25 Apr. 1837.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

In 1836–1838 he spent considerable time preaching in surrounding neighborhoods and towns.
3

Post, Journal, 13 Apr. 1836–2 Sept. 1838.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

On 1 August 1838, after the vast majority of
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
had moved to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
, Post wrote to JS, seemingly in preparation to move to Missouri. In his letter, Post apparently requested news about the church and clarification of some doctrines. Post’s letter likely arrived in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
by late August, when a doctrinal treatise he wrote—and probably enclosed in his letter to JS—was published in the Elders’ Journal.
4

Stephen Post, “Reflections on the Order of God and Effects Flowing from It,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 49–50. The August edition of the Elders’ Journal was published sometime after 15 August 1838. (See Historical Introduction to Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838.)


As JS explained in the reply to Post’s letter, JS was too busy to respond immediately to Post’s missive, possibly because of ongoing legal difficulties stemming from the 8 August confrontation with
Adam Black

11 Sept. 1801–14 July 1890. Farmer, sheriff, justice of the peace, judge. Born at Henderson Co., Kentucky. Son of William Black and Jane Wilson. Moved near Booneville, Copper Co., Missouri Territory, and then to Ray Co., Missouri Territory, 1819. Elected ...

View Full Bio
.
5

See Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 5 Sept. 1838; Historical Introduction to Recognizance, 7 Sept. 1838; and Historical Introduction to Letter from Austin A. King, 10 Sept. 1838.


JS prepared his response to
Post

3 Jan. 1810–18 Dec. 1879. Schoolteacher, blacksmith. Born in Greenwich, Washington Co., New York. Son of Samuel Post and Mary Sprague. Moved to Sparta Township, Crawford Co., Pennsylvania, after 1830. Married Jane Force, ca. 1835. Baptized into Church of ...

View Full Bio
on 17 September, with
George W. Robinson

14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...

View Full Bio
acting as scribe. Although the entire letter is written in first-person singular,
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
signed the document along with JS. The letter contains several copying errors, such as repeated and canceled words, suggesting that the version Robinson sent to Post is a copy of a draft that is no longer extant. Robinson added his name as scribe before folding and addressing the letter. The missive was not mailed until 3 October; Post presumably received it sometime in late October or early November.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Post, Journal, 14 July 1835; 27 Jan. and 13 Feb. 1836; Quorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 9.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

    Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

  2. [2]

    Post, Journal, 30 Nov. 1835–4 Apr. 1836; see also, for example, Post, Journal, 6 Feb. and 25 Apr. 1837.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  3. [3]

    Post, Journal, 13 Apr. 1836–2 Sept. 1838.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  4. [4]

    Stephen Post, “Reflections on the Order of God and Effects Flowing from It,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 49–50. The August edition of the Elders’ Journal was published sometime after 15 August 1838. (See Historical Introduction to Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838.)

  5. [5]

    See Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 5 Sept. 1838; Historical Introduction to Recognizance, 7 Sept. 1838; and Historical Introduction to Letter from Austin A. King, 10 Sept. 1838.

Page [2]

The road is full companies of frequently 10, 20 & 30 <​wagons​> arrives, some almost daily
11

During spring and summer 1838, several small companies of Latter-day Saints journeyed from Ohio to join the main body of Saints in Missouri. (See Rockwood, Journal, 14 Oct. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rockwood, Albert Perry. Journal Entries, Oct. 1838–Jan. 1839. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2606.

One company which is the camp
12

TEXT: Possibly “comp[any]”.


is close here with one hundred wagons
John E Page

25 Feb. 1799–14 Oct. 1867. Born at Trenton, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Ebenezer Page and Rachel Hill. Married first Betsey Thompson, 1831, in Huron Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Emer Harris, 18 Aug. 1833, at Brownhelm...

View Full Bio
report says is comming less than one hundred miles of this place, with 64 wagons and the road is litterly lined with wagons between here and
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
.
13

At the time JS dictated this letter, Page was leading a company of Saints from Upper Canada to Missouri. While on the road, Page’s company joined with a larger company of Saints traveling to Missouri from Kirtland. This larger company, known as the “Kirtland Camp,” contained over five hundred Saints. At some point, Page likely wrote to JS about the progress of this large company and other groups Page met on the way. On 17 September, the day JS replied to Post, the Kirtland Camp passed through Jacksonville, Illinois—approximately two hundred miles from Far West. The company did not arrive at its final destination of Adam-ondi-Ahman until 4 October 1838. (Page, Journal Synopsis, [1]–[2]; Kirtland Camp, Journal, 13 Mar.–2 Oct. 1838; Tyler, Journal, 4 Oct. 1838, 74–75.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Page, John E. Journal Synopsis, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 641.

Kirtland Camp. Journal, Mar.–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 4952.

Tyler, Samuel D. Journal, July–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 1761.

The work of the gathering is great. all the saints should gather as soon as possible, urge all the saints to gather immediately if they possibly can.
14

On 26 April 1838, JS dictated a revelation directing that “the City Far West should be built up spedily, by the gathering of my Saints,” and that JS should appoint further locations for gathering. (See Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:17–18].)


The chance is great for purchasing lands here land is very cheap the old settlers will sell for half price yes, for quarter price they are determined to get away. Congress land is plenty
15

JS was likely referring to land patents granted by the federal government’s General Land Office. In 1836 JS and many other Latter-day Saints began acquiring patent titles for land in Caldwell County. JS’s own application was approved just ten days prior to the date of this letter, though the news had not yet reached JS. (See Application for Land Patent, 22 June 1836; and Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838.)


and good land can be had for property other than money, such as horses wagons goods of all kinds &c, &c,
Andiana [Indiana]

First settled by French at Vincennes, early 1700s. Acquired by England in French and Indian War, 1763. U.S. took possession of area following American Revolution, 1783. Area became part of Northwest Territory, 1787. Partitioned off of Northwest Territory ...

More Info
and
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
State Banks will buy Congress lands,
16

JS was discussing a type of land speculation that increased in the western United States in the mid-1830s. In 1839, land speculator and recent Latter-day Saint convert Isaac Galland explained to a friend that the Illinois courts in particular expressed a preference for patent titles over other legal claims. “Patents are therefore in demand,” Galland reported, “and you may venture to purchase all that you can get at a fair price.” (Isaac Galland, Chillicothe, OH, to Samuel Swasey, North Haverhill, NH, 22 July 1839, CCLA; see also Rohrbough, Land Office Business, 221–249.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Galland, Isaac. Letter, Chillicothe, OH, to Samuel Swasey, North Haverhill, NH, 22 July 1839. CCLA.

Rohrbough, Malcolm J. The Land Office Business: The Settlement and Administration of American Public Lands, 1789–1837. New York: Ocford University Press, 1968.

Eastern money can be exchanged on the road, with ease.
17

By the late 1830s, many banks in the eastern United States had expanded their spheres of influence westward, and most western banks depended on eastern capital for financial stability. (Bodenhorn, History of Banking in Antebellum America, 185–189, 193–195; Knodell, “Interregional Financial Integration,” 291.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bodenhorn, Howard. A History of Banking in Antebellum America: Financial Markets and Economic Development in an Era of Nation-Building. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Knodell, Jane. “Interregional Financial Integration and the Banknote Market: The Old Northwest, 1815–1845.” Journal of Economic History 48, no. 2 (June 1988): 287–298.

You next ask what is the cause of the papers stoping it was because the
office

Following destruction of church printing office in Independence, Missouri, July 1833, JS and other church leaders determined to set up new printing office in Kirtland under firm name F. G. Williams & Co. Oliver Cowdery purchased new printing press in New ...

More Info
was burnt down, by the decenters [dissenters] from the faith in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
,
18

See Introduction to Part 7: 17 Sept. 1837–21 Jan. 1838.


As to Mechanical branches, all kinds are needed, & would do well,
19

In later census records, Post was identified as a blacksmith, suggesting that he may have asked JS about the prospect of blacksmithing in Missouri. (1850 U.S. Census, Rome Township, Crawford Co., PA, 270[A].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

As to the Stick of Joseph in the hand of Ephraim,
20

See Ezekiel 37:19. Post recorded using this passage in a sermon nearly four months prior to his letter to JS. (Post, Journal, 15 Apr. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

I will merely say suppose yourself to be an Ephraimite, and suppose all this church to be, of the blood of Ephraim
21

Ephraim was one of two sons of Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Old Testament. Several JS revelations in 1831 associated descent from Ephraim with membership in the church. (See, for example, Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:36]; Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66]; Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:30–34]; and Mauss, “In Search of Ephraim,” 145–147.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mauss, Armand. “In Search of Ephraim: Traditional Mormon Conceptions of Lineage and Race.” Journal of Mormon History 25, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 131–173.

and the book of Mormon to be a record of Manasseh
22

The Book of Mormon states that the Nephites and the Lamanites were descendants of Manasseh, a son of Joseph in the Old Testament. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 248 [Alma 10:3].)


which would of course [be a re]cord
23

TEXT: “[Page torn]cord”.


of Joseph, Then suppose you being an Ephraimite, Should take the record of Joseph in your hand, would not then the stick of Joseph of Joseph be in the hand of Ephraim. solve this mistery and se[e].
24

The Book of Mormon and JS’s revelations taught that the prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37 of the Old Testament, which mentions the “stick of Joseph,” was a reference to the writings of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 67 [2 Nephi 3:11–12]; and Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:5].)


The persecutors of the saints are not asleep in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
but God is near as to communicate his will unto us, I can write no more at present, I would say say may [p. [2]]
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Source Note

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Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Stephen Post, 17 September 1838
ID #
415
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:240–245
Handwriting on This Page
  • George W. Robinson

Footnotes

  1. [11]

    During spring and summer 1838, several small companies of Latter-day Saints journeyed from Ohio to join the main body of Saints in Missouri. (See Rockwood, Journal, 14 Oct. 1838.)

    Rockwood, Albert Perry. Journal Entries, Oct. 1838–Jan. 1839. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2606.

  2. [12]

    TEXT: Possibly “comp[any]”.

  3. [13]

    At the time JS dictated this letter, Page was leading a company of Saints from Upper Canada to Missouri. While on the road, Page’s company joined with a larger company of Saints traveling to Missouri from Kirtland. This larger company, known as the “Kirtland Camp,” contained over five hundred Saints. At some point, Page likely wrote to JS about the progress of this large company and other groups Page met on the way. On 17 September, the day JS replied to Post, the Kirtland Camp passed through Jacksonville, Illinois—approximately two hundred miles from Far West. The company did not arrive at its final destination of Adam-ondi-Ahman until 4 October 1838. (Page, Journal Synopsis, [1]–[2]; Kirtland Camp, Journal, 13 Mar.–2 Oct. 1838; Tyler, Journal, 4 Oct. 1838, 74–75.)

    Page, John E. Journal Synopsis, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 641.

    Kirtland Camp. Journal, Mar.–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 4952.

    Tyler, Samuel D. Journal, July–Oct. 1838. CHL. MS 1761.

  4. [14]

    On 26 April 1838, JS dictated a revelation directing that “the City Far West should be built up spedily, by the gathering of my Saints,” and that JS should appoint further locations for gathering. (See Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:17–18].)

  5. [15]

    JS was likely referring to land patents granted by the federal government’s General Land Office. In 1836 JS and many other Latter-day Saints began acquiring patent titles for land in Caldwell County. JS’s own application was approved just ten days prior to the date of this letter, though the news had not yet reached JS. (See Application for Land Patent, 22 June 1836; and Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838.)

  6. [16]

    JS was discussing a type of land speculation that increased in the western United States in the mid-1830s. In 1839, land speculator and recent Latter-day Saint convert Isaac Galland explained to a friend that the Illinois courts in particular expressed a preference for patent titles over other legal claims. “Patents are therefore in demand,” Galland reported, “and you may venture to purchase all that you can get at a fair price.” (Isaac Galland, Chillicothe, OH, to Samuel Swasey, North Haverhill, NH, 22 July 1839, CCLA; see also Rohrbough, Land Office Business, 221–249.)

    Galland, Isaac. Letter, Chillicothe, OH, to Samuel Swasey, North Haverhill, NH, 22 July 1839. CCLA.

    Rohrbough, Malcolm J. The Land Office Business: The Settlement and Administration of American Public Lands, 1789–1837. New York: Ocford University Press, 1968.

  7. [17]

    By the late 1830s, many banks in the eastern United States had expanded their spheres of influence westward, and most western banks depended on eastern capital for financial stability. (Bodenhorn, History of Banking in Antebellum America, 185–189, 193–195; Knodell, “Interregional Financial Integration,” 291.)

    Bodenhorn, Howard. A History of Banking in Antebellum America: Financial Markets and Economic Development in an Era of Nation-Building. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

    Knodell, Jane. “Interregional Financial Integration and the Banknote Market: The Old Northwest, 1815–1845.” Journal of Economic History 48, no. 2 (June 1988): 287–298.

  8. [18]

    See Introduction to Part 7: 17 Sept. 1837–21 Jan. 1838.

  9. [19]

    In later census records, Post was identified as a blacksmith, suggesting that he may have asked JS about the prospect of blacksmithing in Missouri. (1850 U.S. Census, Rome Township, Crawford Co., PA, 270[A].)

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  10. [20]

    See Ezekiel 37:19. Post recorded using this passage in a sermon nearly four months prior to his letter to JS. (Post, Journal, 15 Apr. 1838.)

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  11. [21]

    Ephraim was one of two sons of Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Old Testament. Several JS revelations in 1831 associated descent from Ephraim with membership in the church. (See, for example, Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:36]; Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66]; Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:30–34]; and Mauss, “In Search of Ephraim,” 145–147.)

    Mauss, Armand. “In Search of Ephraim: Traditional Mormon Conceptions of Lineage and Race.” Journal of Mormon History 25, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 131–173.

  12. [22]

    The Book of Mormon states that the Nephites and the Lamanites were descendants of Manasseh, a son of Joseph in the Old Testament. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 248 [Alma 10:3].)

  13. [23]

    TEXT: “[Page torn]cord”.

  14. [24]

    The Book of Mormon and JS’s revelations taught that the prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37 of the Old Testament, which mentions the “stick of Joseph,” was a reference to the writings of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 67 [2 Nephi 3:11–12]; and Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:5].)

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