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Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840

Source Note

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....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

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, [
Dayton

City in western Ohio on east side of Great Miami River, immediately below mouth of Mad River. Located approximately fifty-two miles northeast of Cincinnati and sixty-seven miles southwest of Columbus. First settled, 1796. Established as Montgomery Co. seat...

More Info
, Montgomery Co., OH], 22 July 1840. Featured version copied [ca. 22 July 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 157–158; handwriting of
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

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; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction

On 22 July 1840, JS wrote a letter to
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
, who was then living in
Dayton

City in western Ohio on east side of Great Miami River, immediately below mouth of Mad River. Located approximately fifty-two miles northeast of Cincinnati and sixty-seven miles southwest of Columbus. First settled, 1796. Established as Montgomery Co. seat...

More Info
, Ohio. Phelps had been a prominent leader in the
church

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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but was excommunicated in March 1839 after he testified against JS and other church leaders in a November 1838 hearing 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 ...

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.
1

Phelps was also excommunicated in March 1838 but apparently was reinstated later that year. (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838; Revelation, 8 July 1838–B.)


In June 1840, Phelps sent a letter to JS requesting forgiveness for his past actions and asking to be readmitted into the church. Phelps’s letter was accompanied by a letter from
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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and
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...

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, two members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

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, who were preaching in Dayton. Hyde and Page supported Phelps’s attempt to regain fellowship within the church, stating that Phelps was “willing to make any sacrifice” to become a member of the church again.
2

Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.


Phelps’s letter was read before the Saints on Sunday, 19 July 1840, and the congregation voted “with one voice and uplifted hands” to restore him to fellowship.
3

Editorial, Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:304.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

JS wrote this letter three days later to inform Phelps of the decision and to express his personal joy at Phelps’s repentance.
The original letter is not extant.
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
copied it into JS Letterbook 2 before the letter was sent.
4

Thompson recorded this letter and Phelps’s June 1840 letter to JS immediately following a note dated 4 July 1840. (Note, 4 July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 154.)


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Phelps was also excommunicated in March 1838 but apparently was reinstated later that year. (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838; Revelation, 8 July 1838–B.)

  2. [2]

    Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.

  3. [3]

    Editorial, Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:304.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    Thompson recorded this letter and Phelps’s June 1840 letter to JS immediately following a note dated 4 July 1840. (Note, 4 July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 154.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840 Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 158

the day of thy brother, in the day that he became a stranger neither shouldst thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress”
8

See Obadiah 1:11–12.


However the cup has been drunk, the will of our heavenly Father has been done,
9

See Luke 22:42.


and we are yet alive for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God,
10

In April 1839, a grand jury in Daviess County, Missouri, indicted JS and other church leaders for treason, riot, arson, burglary, and receiving stolen goods. On their way to Boone County, Missouri, where the trial was set to occur, the prisoners escaped. On 22 April 1839, they crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, where they rejoined the main body of the Saints. (JS, “Extract, from the Private Journal of Joseph Smith Jr.,” Times and Seasons, July 1839, 1:7; JS, Journal, 22–23 Apr. 1839.)


we say it is your privilidge to be delivered from the power of the Adversary— be brought into the liberty of God’s dear children, and again take your stand among the saints of the Most High,
11

See Daniel 7:18, 22, 25, 27; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:66]; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82:13]; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832 [D&C 85:11].


and by diligence humility and love unfeigned,
12

See 2 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Peter 1:22; and Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839 [D&C 121:41].


commend yourself to our God and your God and to the
church of Jesus Christ

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
Believing your confession to be real and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal.
13

See Luke 15:11–32. Phelps had opened his letter to JS by stating, “I am as the prodigal Son,” and Hyde and Page had referred to Phelps as “a returning prodigal” in their postscript. (Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.)


Your letter was read to the saints last sunday and an expression of their feeling was taken, when it was unanimously resolved that
W. W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
should be received into fellowship.
“Come on dear Brother since the war is past,
For friends at first are friends again at last.”
14

JS paraphrased a poem written by Methodist poet and hymnist Charles Wesley titled “An Epistle to the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield”: “Come on, my Whitefield! (since the strife is past, / And friends at first are friends again at last.)” (Charles Wesley, “An Epistle to the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield,” in Osborn, Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, 67, emphasis in original.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Osborn, G. The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley: Reprinted from the Originals, with the Last Corrections of the Authors; together with the Poems of Charles Wesley Not before Published. Vol. 6. London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870.

Yours as Ever
Joseph Smith Jr [p. 158]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 158

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840
ID #
555
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:345–348
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert B. Thompson

Footnotes

  1. [8]

    See Obadiah 1:11–12.

  2. [9]

    See Luke 22:42.

  3. [10]

    In April 1839, a grand jury in Daviess County, Missouri, indicted JS and other church leaders for treason, riot, arson, burglary, and receiving stolen goods. On their way to Boone County, Missouri, where the trial was set to occur, the prisoners escaped. On 22 April 1839, they crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, where they rejoined the main body of the Saints. (JS, “Extract, from the Private Journal of Joseph Smith Jr.,” Times and Seasons, July 1839, 1:7; JS, Journal, 22–23 Apr. 1839.)

  4. [11]

    See Daniel 7:18, 22, 25, 27; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:66]; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82:13]; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832 [D&C 85:11].

  5. [12]

    See 2 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Peter 1:22; and Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839 [D&C 121:41].

  6. [13]

    See Luke 15:11–32. Phelps had opened his letter to JS by stating, “I am as the prodigal Son,” and Hyde and Page had referred to Phelps as “a returning prodigal” in their postscript. (Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.)

  7. [14]

    JS paraphrased a poem written by Methodist poet and hymnist Charles Wesley titled “An Epistle to the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield”: “Come on, my Whitefield! (since the strife is past, / And friends at first are friends again at last.)” (Charles Wesley, “An Epistle to the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield,” in Osborn, Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, 67, emphasis in original.)

    Osborn, G. The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley: Reprinted from the Originals, with the Last Corrections of the Authors; together with the Poems of Charles Wesley Not before Published. Vol. 6. London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870.

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