Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 November 1832
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Source Note
JS, Letter, , OH, to , [, Jackson Co., MO], 27 Nov. 1832. Retained copy, [ca. 27 Nov. 1832] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4; handwriting of JS and ; includes JS copy of signature of JS; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.
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Historical Introduction
After returning to , Ohio, on 6 November 1832 from his trip with to and New England, JS answered letters he had received from “the brethren” in . The present letter, which was written by JS to on 27 November 1832, may have been written in response to an earlier letter from Phelps, but no such communication has been located. The letter presented here reflects the continuing difficulties between JS and leaders in Missouri. Although JS expressed consternation about some of the leaders, he also conveyed satisfaction about Phelps’s devotion. Such praise was in stark contrast to a 31 July letter that chastised Phelps for his “cold and indifferent manner.”JS began the letter anticipating a question on the part of . JS imagined Phelps wondering what was to be the fate of those church members who came to but did not “receive an by ” from the . Why such individuals may not have received an inheritance is unclear from JS’s letter, but Phelps discussed this subject in the November 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. After noting that a total of 810 individuals had migrated to Zion “since the gathering commenced” in 1831, Phelps posed several questions, including, “Have you all fulfilled the law of the church, which saith: Behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast, unto me, with a covenant and deed that cannot be broken?” Apparently, at least some individuals had not followed the to consecrate their properties and had consequently not received an inheritance.In writing to , JS highlighted the need for the church to maintain the system of consecration in that previous revelations had established. He explained to Phelps that the Lord’s clerk, , was to keep a “Book of the Law of God” to record the names of those who consecrated their property and received their inheritance. Individuals who did not comply with the consecration commandment were not to be listed. In this way, the church could keep an orderly record of consecration and of inheritance distributions.Record keeping was of great concern to JS at this time. After sending and to in November 1831 with a record book containing copies of his revelations, JS purchased another record book in February or March 1832, into which he and began copying revelations that had been dictated since November 1831. Probably only a few months before writing this November letter to , JS composed his first history, “A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr. an account of his marvilous experience . . . and also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time.” In his July 1832 letter to the Missouri Saints, JS instructed Phelps to remind Whitmer of the need “to keep a history of the church & the gathering.” Moreover, the same day that JS composed the November letter to Phelps, JS purchased a record book and began his first journal “for the purpose to keep a minute acount of all things that come under my obsevation &c.” Instructing Phelps and Whitmer about keeping a “Book of the Law of God” fits with this general pattern of maintaining records. However, if Phelps or Whitmer kept such a record at this time, it is not extant.The original letter JS sent to has not been located. JS and copied it as the first letter in JS’s first letterbook, likely before sending it to . The letter appears in the letterbook immediately after JS’s 1832 history, which is the first item in the book. After Phelps received the letter, he published a portion of it in the January 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, prefacing it by saying, “In relation to consecrating, and continuing worthy, and faithful to the end, we make the following extract of a letter.” The extract commenced with the words, “It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk” and ended after quoting from Ezra 2:61–62.
Footnotes
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1
JS History, vol. A-1, 240.
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3
Saints were expected to “consecrate” their property to the Church of Christ and then receive property—called an “inheritance” or “stewardship”—back from the bishop. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–36]; Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:35–36].)
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4
“The Gathering,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [5].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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5
“To the Saints,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6]. Phelps was quoting “the Laws of the Church of Christ,” a February 1831 revelation. John Whitmer brought a copy of the revelation to Missouri in late 1831. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 64 [D&C 42:30].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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6
See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–38]; and Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:35–36].
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7
See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 2; and Whitmer, History, 38.
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10
JS, Journal, 27 Nov. 1832.
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11
JS’s letter referenced Ezra 2:61–62 without quoting the verses, but Phelps reproduced the referenced verses in the publication. This extract was later published in the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as section 85. (“Let Every Man Learn His Duty,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [5]; JS, Kirtland, OH, to William W. Phelps, [Independence, MO], 27 Nov. 1832, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4 [D&C 85].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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1
Cite this page
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Document Information
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Footnotes
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Frederick G. Williams handwriting ends; JS begins.
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JS handwriting ends; Frederick G. Williams begins.
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6
TEXT: “when” written over “time” and then canceled with the rest of the passage.
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7
A revelation dated 11 September 1831 stated that it was “a day of Sacrifice & a day for the tithing of my People for he that is tithed shall not be burned.” (Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:23].)
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8
After conversing with JS about this passage in January 1834, Oliver Cowdery told John Whitmer, “The names of the saints are to be kept in a book that contains the law of God; this is what is meant in bro. Joseph’s letter.” Two February 1831 revelations contained the “Laws of the Church of Christ.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to John Whitmer, [Liberty, MO], 1 Jan. 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 14–15; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:1–72]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:74–93].)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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