Letter to Thomas Sharp, 26 May 1841

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Letter to Thomas Sharp, 26 May 1841
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JS, Letter,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL, to
Thomas Sharp
25 Sept. 1818–9 Apr. 1894. Teacher, lawyer, newspaper editor and publisher. Born in Mount Holly, Burlington Co., New Jersey. Son of Solomon Sharp and Jemima Budd. Lived at Smyrna, Kent Co., Delaware, June 1830. Moved to Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania...
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,
Warsaw
Located at foot of Des Moines rapids of Mississippi River at site of three military forts: Fort Johnson (1814), Cantonment Davis (1815–1818), and Fort Edwards (1816–1824). First settlers participated in fur trade. Important trade and shipping center. Post...
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, Hancock Co., IL, 26 May 1841. Featured version published in “Highly Important!!” Warsaw Signal, 2 June 1841, vol. 2, no. 4, p. [2]. Transcription from a digital color image obtained from the Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations in 2018.

Each weekly issue featured four pages that measured 21¼ × 15¾ inches (54 × 40 cm). Each page was printed in six columns, with each column measuring 17¼ × 2¼ inches (44 × 6 cm).

On 13 May 1840,
Warsaw
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, Illinois, resident D. N. White inaugurated a weekly newspaper known as the Western World. In November 1840, White sold the paper to
Thomas C. Sharp
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, a Warsaw lawyer. Sharp continued to publish the paper under the name of the Western World through 5 May 1841. Beginning with the 12 May 1841 issue, Sharp changed the name of the newspaper to Warsaw Signal. The second volume of the Signal was published each Wednesday and contained fifty-two issues, culminating in the 4 May 1842 issue. In addition to national news, the newspaper contained news articles, editorials, and advertisements for
Hancock County
Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...
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, Illinois, and its surrounding regions.
Historical Introduction
On 26 May 1841, JS wrote a letter to
Thomas Coke Sharp
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, the editor of the Warsaw Signal newspaper, asking Sharp to cancel JS’s subscription. Sharp, the twenty-two-year-old son of a Methodist minister, had lived in
Warsaw
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, Hancock County, Illinois, since September 1840 and had edited the town’s weekly Whig newspaper, formerly called the Western World, since November of that year.
1
Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 427; [Thomas Sharp], “Salutatory,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 11 Nov. 1840, [2]; on the partisan nature of the Warsaw Signal, see “The New Volume,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 12 May 1841, [2].
Comprehensive Works Cited
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
JS subscribed to the Warsaw publication and likely wrote the letter featured here in response to a 19 May 1841 editorial titled “The Mormons,” published in the Signal. In the editorial, Sharp refuted accusations that he, as a staunch Whig, had attempted to gain the political favor of the
Latter-day 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...
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because he feared the political power of the church. Sharp’s editorial declared that he would take a stand against the “inordinate power which the Prophet and the leaders of the Church possess over their people.”
2
“The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2]. In the 1 June 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons, the editors published a strong rebuttal to the 19 May article in the Warsaw Signal and to another article in that paper that questioned the character of John C. Bennett. (“The Warsaw Signal,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1841, 2:431–432.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Sharp
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’s strident editorial of 19 May and JS’s caustic response of 26 May marked a shift in their relationship, which had appeared neutral or even friendly but became quite bitter. Before May 1841, Sharp had published informative articles about the church; its
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 ...
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troubles; the foundations and organization of
Nauvoo
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, Illinois; and the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Nauvoo
temple
Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...
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.
3
See, for example, “The Mormons,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 3 Feb. 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” Western World, 24 Feb. 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” Western World, 7 Apr. 1841, [3]; “The Mormons,” New-York Tribune, 22 Apr. 1841, [2].
Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
Sharp had even attended the 6 April cornerstone event at JS’s invitation and had sat on the scaffold next to JS as an honored guest.
4
Jacob, Reminiscence and Journal, 4; see also Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841; and Editorial, Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [2].
Jacob, Norton. Reminiscence and Journal, May 1844–Jan. 1852. CHL. MS 9111.
Just over a month later, however, Sharp began to publish articles critical of the church and its leaders, warning citizens of
Hancock County
Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...
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about the Latter-day Saints’ political power, the church’s growth and town-building, and JS’s alleged control over all aspects of his followers’ lives. In his paper, Sharp also argued for the need of an anti-Mormon party in the county.
5
“The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2]; “Read and Ponder,” Warsaw Signal, 9 June 1841, [2]; Editorial, Warsaw Signal, 21 July 1841, [2]; “Mormon Visiters,” Warsaw Signal, 21 July 1841, [2]; “Anti-Mormon Nominations,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [2]; “Communications,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [3].
JS’s letter illustrates the mutual contempt the two men developed for one another, which continued to play out publicly, often in the columns of the newspaper.

JS probably received the 19 May issue of the Signal within a day or two of publication and presumably wrote
Sharp
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shortly thereafter. The original letter is apparently not extant. As requested by JS, Sharp published the letter in the next issue of the Warsaw Signal, dated 2 June 1841. Sharp introduced the letter by calling it a new revelation “from his holiness, the Prophet.” In the same issue, Sharp also responded to the letter with a taunting demand that JS pay the three dollars owed to the paper for a past year’s subscription, declaring, “For mercy’s sake don’t get a revelation that it is not to be paid.”
6
“Highly Important,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 2 June 1841, [2].
Footnotes
[1]
Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 427; [Thomas Sharp], “Salutatory,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 11 Nov. 1840, [2]; on the partisan nature of the Warsaw Signal, see “The New Volume,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 12 May 1841, [2].
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
[2]
“The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2]. In the 1 June 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons, the editors published a strong rebuttal to the 19 May article in the Warsaw Signal and to another article in that paper that questioned the character of John C. Bennett. (“The Warsaw Signal,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1841, 2:431–432.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
[3]
See, for example, “The Mormons,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 3 Feb. 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” Western World, 24 Feb. 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” Western World, 7 Apr. 1841, [3]; “The Mormons,” New-York Tribune, 22 Apr. 1841, [2].
Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
[4]
Jacob, Reminiscence and Journal, 4; see also Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841; and Editorial, Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [2].
Jacob, Norton. Reminiscence and Journal, May 1844–Jan. 1852. CHL. MS 9111.
[5]
“The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2]; “Read and Ponder,” Warsaw Signal, 9 June 1841, [2]; Editorial, Warsaw Signal, 21 July 1841, [2]; “Mormon Visiters,” Warsaw Signal, 21 July 1841, [2]; “Anti-Mormon Nominations,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [2]; “Communications,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [3].
[6]
“Highly Important,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 2 June 1841, [2].
Page 2
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Nauvoo
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, Ill, May 26, 1841.

Mr. [Thomas] Sharp
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, Editor of the Warsaw Signal:

Sir—You will discontinue my paper—its contents are calculated to pollute me, and to patronize the filthy sheet—that tissue of lies—that sink of iniquity—is disgraceful to any moral man.

Yours, with utter contempt,

JOSEPH SMITH.

P. S. Please publish the above in your contemptible paper.

J.S. [p. 2]
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