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Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833

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Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833

Source Note

JS, Letter, , OH, to , [, Jackson Co., MO], 11 Jan. 1833. Retained copy, [ca. 11 Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 18–20; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.

Historical Introduction

On 11 January 1833, JS wrote a letter to in , enclosing with the letter a copy of a revelation dated 27–28 December 1832 and perhaps also a copy of a revelation dated 3 January 1833. In addition to transmitting the revelations, the letter responded to a communication from Phelps dated 15 December 1832 and to one from dated 10 December 1832. Although Phelps’s and Gilbert’s letters are no longer extant, Gilbert’s letter contained what and called “low, dark, & blind insinuations” and Phelps’s “a lightness of spirit.” Other communications from Missouri earlier in 1832 had revealed a rift between church leaders in Missouri and . In part to resolve these differences, JS traveled to Missouri in the spring of 1832 and met with various leaders, but subsequent letters indicated that problems remained. On 31 July 1832, JS reproved Phelps for his “cold and indifferent” spirit and accused other Missouri leaders of “raking up evry fault” and “looking for motes in the eyes of those who are laboring with tender and prayerful hearts continually for there salvation.” Phelps may have shown a repentant spirit at some point thereafter, because JS stated in a November 1832 letter that he had “the most implicit confidence” in Phelps “as a man of God.” JS’s response to the December communications from Phelps and Gilbert, however, shows that tension between Missouri and Ohio leaders persisted.
Revelations throughout 1832 and early 1833 called on the Saints to repent of their sins lest calamities should befall them, and JS wrote this letter to emphasize the importance of that instruction. Asserting that JS and other leaders were deeply interested in the welfare of those Saints living in , the letter outlined the problems that would afflict Missouri church members if they did not repent. It also chastised and for the contents of their previous letters.
JS’s letter implied that the Saints living in were not under the same condemnation as the “children of .” A revelation dated just two weeks earlier stated instead that the Ohio Saints’ willingness to “receive his [the Lord’s] will” was “pleasing” and “the rejoice over [them].” The letter reiterated some of the instructions contained in the 27–28 December revelation pertaining to those living in , Ohio, such as the direction to construct a . The revelation had told the “first labourers, in this last kingdom” to “appoint among yourselves, a teacher” and gain instruction in both secular and spiritual matters. According to this letter to , the school was to be “a ”—perhaps much like the “schools of the prophets” that Congregational and Presbyterian churches had established in the 1700s to train divinity students interested in the ministry. JS’s letter reported that Kirtland church leaders were in the process of establishing this school; later, in the summer of 1833, the Saints in would create their own “school of Elders.”
The original letter is not extant, but copied it into JS’s letterbook, probably soon after its composition. published an excerpt from the 27–28 December 1832 revelation in the February 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, which indicates that he received the letter and the enclosed revelation. Phelps also acted on JS’s instruction in the letter to make the Star more interesting by giving “the rise progress and faith of the church.” In the March 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, Phelps included an article titled “Prospects of the Church,” in which he stated his intent “to give the particulars of the rise and progress of the church.” The following month, Phelps published a column titled “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” which he evidently intended as a series. Similar columns, including letters from those reporting on their preaching in the , followed in the April, June, and July 1833 issues of the Star.

Footnotes

  1. See Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126].

  2. Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 Jan. 1833; see also Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.

  3. See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78]; Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.

  4. Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.

  5. Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832.

  6. A September 1832 revelation stated that the “children of Zion” were under “condemnation” for “vanity and unbelief,” as well as for “treat[ing] lightly” the revelations and commandments they had received. (Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:54–56].

  7. Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–2].

  8. Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:74, 78–80, 122]. The 3 January 1833 revelation, which may have been included in this transmission, provided additional instructions regarding how to conduct this school. (Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].)

  9. See Darowski, “Schools of the Prophets,” 1–3.

    Darowski, Joseph F. “Schools of the Prophets: An Early American Tradition.” Mormon Historical Studies 9 (Spring 2008): 1–13.

  10. See Pratt, Autobiography, 99–100.

    Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

  11. “Commandments,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  12. “Prospects of the Church,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [4].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  13. See, for example, the following articles in The Evening and the Morning Star: “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” Apr. 1833, [4]; “The Progress of the Church of Christ,” June 1833, [4]–[5]; and “Progress of the Church of Christ,” July 1833, [4]–[5].

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833 Letterbook 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”
for the salvation of the nations, for the Lord will have a place for from whence his word will go forth in these last days in purity, for if , will not purify herself so as to be approved of in all things in his sight he will seek— another people for his work will go on untill Isreal is & they who will not hear his voice must expect to feel his wrath, Let me say unto you, seek to purefy yourselves, & also all the inhabitants of lest the Lords anger be kindled to fierceness, repent, repent, is the voice of God, to , & yet strange as it may appear, yet it is true mankind will presist in self Justification until all their eniquity is exposed & their character past being redeemed, & that which is treasured up in their hearts be exposed to the gaze of mankind, I say to you— (& what I say to you, I say to all) hear the <​warning.​> voice of God lest fall, & the Lord swore swear in his wrath the inhabiteints of shall not enter into my rest, The Brethren in pray for you unceasingly, for knowing the terrors of the Lord, they greatly fear for you; you will see that the Lord commanded us in to build an , & establish a , this is the word of the Lord to us, & we must— yea the Lord helping us we will obey, as on conditions of our obedience, he has promised <​us​> great things, yea <​even​> a visit from the heavens to honor us with his own presence, we greatly fear before the Lord lest we should fail of this great honor which our master proposes to confer on us, we are seeking for humility & great faith lest we be ashamed in his presence, our hearts are greatly greaved at the spirit which is breathed both in your letter & that of the wery spirit which is wasting the strength of like a pestalence, and if it is not detected & driven from you it will ripen for the threatened Judgments of God, remember God sees the secret springs of human action, & knows the hearts of all living, Br suffer us to speak plainly for God has respect to the feelings of his saints & he will not let them be tantalized with impunity tell that low insinuations God hates, but he rejoices in an honest heart and knows better who is guilty than he does, we send him this worning [warning] voice & let him fear greatly for himself lest a worse thing overtake him, all we can say by way of conclusion is, if the fountain of our tears are not dried up we will <​still​> weep for , this from your brother who trembles greatly for ,— and for the wrath of heaven which awaits her if she repent not,—— PS. I am not in the habit of crying peace, when there is no peace, and knowing the th[r]eatened Judgments of God, I say Wo,— unto them who are at ease [p. 19]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833
ID #
140
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:364–368
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. The revelation of 22–23 September 1832 declared that “those to whom the kingdom has been given” needed to be “upbraded for there evil hearts of unbelief.” (Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:76].)

  2. A November 1831 revelation stated that the “iniquities” of “the rebelious” would be “spoken upon the house tops & their seceret acts shall be revealed.” (Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:3].)

  3. See Psalm 95:8–11; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:23–24].

  4. See 2 Corinthians 5:11.

  5. The December 1832 revelation accompanying this letter mandated the organization of this school. (Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:74–80, 119–123]; see also Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137].)

  6. See Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:68].

  7. “Teased or tormented by the disappointment of the hope of good.” (“Tantalized,” in American Dictionary [1845], 824.)

    An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.

  8. See Jeremiah 9:1; and Psalm 137:1. JS used the same expression several days earlier in a letter to Noah C. Saxton, editor of the American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. (Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 Jan. 1833.)

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