Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838

A revelation JS dictated in January 1838 directed faithful church members in Kirtland to “gather themselves together unto Zion.” This revelation was read in the worship services held the day this letter was written to Marks and Whitney. Another JS revelation, from April 1838, expressed the Lord’s will that “the City Far West should be built up spedily, by the gathering of my Saints, and also that other places should be appointed for stakes in the regions round about.” (Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C; JS, Journal, 8 July 1838; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:17–18].)  

Several Latter-day Saints in Kirtland conveyed their property to Marks, who was to sell the property to pay the First Presidency’s debts. (See Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 Feb. 1838.)  

On 24 July 1838, Bishop Edward Partridge wrote a letter to Bishop Newel K. Whitney, stating it was unclear when the land in Daviess County, Missouri, would be for sale. Like other settlers in America’s frontier states and territories, the Latter-day Saints in Daviess County intended to utilize the federal law protecting preemption rights when the land eventually came to market. (Edward Partridge, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 24 July 1838, in Reynolds Cahoon, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 23 July 1838, CHL; Walker, “Mormon Land Rights,” 17–18, 28–34.)  

Cahoon, Reynolds, and Edward Partridge. Letter, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland Mills, OH, 23 and 24 July 1838. CHL.

Walker, Jeffrey N. “Mormon Land Rights in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the Mormon Conflict of 1838: New Findings and New Understandings.” BYU Studies 47, no. 1 (2008): 4–55.

TEXT: Possibly “Ether” or “Ethan”. An Ethan Spencer paid sixty dollars’ worth of Kirtland Safety Society notes to the institution in June 1837. The money may have been a payment for stock—although the stock ledger does not specify that Spencer held any stock—or Spencer may have been returning notes to the society, believing that JS might otherwise be required to redeem the notes. (Kirtland Safety Society, Stock Ledger, 227–228; Historical Introduction to Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837; Staker, “Raising Money in Righteousness,” 248n171.)  

Staker, Mark L. “Raising Money in Righteousness.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander Baugh, 143–253. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.

TEXT: Possibly “Colgrave” or “Colgroves”. The reference is possibly to Nathaniel Colgrove of Claridon, Ohio, or Alanson Colgrove of Kingsville, Ohio. (1840 U.S. Census, Claridon, Geauga Co., OH, 180; Ashtabula Co., OH, Census Records, 1811–1835, microfilm 960,607, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)  

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

Probably a reference to the Kirtland Safety Society. This direction may have been part of an effort to financially bolster the institution. (See Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837; and Staker, “Raising Money in Righteousness,” 248n171.)  

Staker, Mark L. “Raising Money in Righteousness.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander Baugh, 143–253. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.