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Letter to Church Brethren, 15 June 1835

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Letter to Church Brethren, 15 June 1835

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to “brethren in the Lord”, 15 June 1835; handwriting of ; signature of JS; one page; negative photostatic copy of photograph; JS Collection, CHL.
Negative photostatic copy of a photograph measuring 6⅝ × 4¾ inches (17 × 12 cm); the dimensions of the original manuscript are unknown. The copy captured only the recto of the original manuscript; nothing is known about the verso of the manuscript, and the verso of the copy is blank. The copy was folded in half at one time.
The photostatic copy was donated to the Church Historian’s Office sometime in the 1930s by Ethel Longstroth Goates. According to one source, sometime before November 1932, Goates received an envelope that her father had given her sister, which contained “records and documents signed by” early church members, including JS. It is likely that this letter was included in that material. The locations of the original manuscript and the source photograph are unknown.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Memorandum, 12 Apr. 1995, CHL.

    Memorandum, 12 Apr. 1995. CHL.

  2. [2]

    “Treasures of Truth,” 52.

    “Treasures of Truth.” Improvement Era 36, no. 1 (Nov. 1932): 52.

Historical Introduction

On 15 June 1835, JS wrote a letter to his “brethren in the Lord.” It is unclear who these brethren were or where they were located. This may have been a form letter sent to different branches of the church, but JS’s notation at the end to give love to his relatives suggests that this particular letter was directed to a specific location. The letter declares that a collection of JS’s revelations—the Doctrine and Covenants—and JS’s revision of the Bible were nearly ready for publication. However, more funds were required before these texts could be published.
JS and other church leaders had discussed publishing his Bible revision since at least 1832 when JS implied that the revision would be published only under his direct supervision. A June 1833 letter to church leaders in , Missouri, reiterated that the revision would not be published until JS and others in , Ohio, could “attend to it [them]selves.” By August 1833, church leaders were planning the construction of a in Kirtland where the Bible revision, as well as other publications, could be printed. In April 1834, a revelation instructed JS and others to secure a copyright for the book. It is unclear whether that copyright was ever obtained, but , one of JS’s main critics in , stated that by late 1834 JS’s Bible revision was “ready for the press, in its amended form, and will be forthcoming, as soon as the state of their [church leaders’] finances will permit.” This 15 June 1835 letter from JS indicates that funding was still an issue, although by the end of May 1835, printing of the Doctrine and Covenants was well underway.
The urgent need for money may have been related to backing out of an agreement he had made in September 1834 to loan church leaders funds for printing. In July 1835, Bosley was called before the to answer charges of breaking that agreement. It is possible that JS knew of Bosley’s change of mind before writing this letter. With Bosley unwilling or unable to provide funds, money was needed from other sources.
This attempt to solicit funding for the printing of JS’s Bible revision and the Doctrine and Covenants was just one of a number of fund-raising efforts occurring at this time. For example, and had been sent to the eastern to raise funds to help church members who had been expelled from their lands in in November 1833. In addition, and had been collecting money for the construction of the in . The , who were traveling through the eastern United States, were also instructed to inform the Saints of the need for donations to fund the temple construction, the redemption of land in Jackson County, and the publication of “the word.”
Apparently this letter did not succeed in raising the necessary money for the printing of the Bible revision. Although church leaders evidently received enough money to continue printing the Doctrine and Covenants, which was available by September 1835, the body of JS’s work on the Bible was never published during his lifetime.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    A later account indicates that the letter may have been received by an individual with the last name Doremus, although no other information about this person is known. At this time, JS had relatives in several different locations, including New York, New England, and Missouri. (Memorandum, 12 Apr. 1995, CHL; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 246; JS History, vol. B-1, addenda, 5nR; Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835.)

    Memorandum, 12 Apr. 1995. CHL.

    Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1845. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.

  2. [2]

    JS worked on his Bible revision from 1830 to 1833. He saw the project as an inspired process of revising, clarifying, and expanding the biblical text. (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 6, 46–47.)

    Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

  3. [3]

    Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.

  4. [4]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833.

  5. [5]

    Revelation, 2 Aug. 1833–B [D&C 94:10]; Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104]; see also Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 6 Aug. 1833.

  6. [6]

    Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 131.

    Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

  7. [7]

    William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU. An article in the May 1835 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate stated that if the editors were “prospered a few weeks,” they would “have this volume ready for distribution.” (Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, May 1835, 1:122.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  8. [8]

    Minutes, 14 July 1835.

  9. [9]

    Recommendation for Edward Partridge and Isaac Morley, 1 June 1835; “Bishop Partridge,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, June 1835, 1:139.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  10. [10]

    Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1835, 1:107; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 4 Aug. 1835.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  11. [11]

    Historical Introduction to Doctrine and Covenants, 1835.

  12. [12]

    Jackson, “Joseph Smith and the Bible,” 30. Portions of JS’s revisions were published; some of his work on the book of Genesis, for example, appeared in The Evening and the Morning Star in 1832 and 1833. (“Extract from the Prophecy of Enoch,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832, [2]–[3]; “The Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1833, [1]; “The Gospel,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Apr. 1833, [1]–[3].)

    Jackson, Kent P. “Joseph Smith and the Bible.” Scottish Journal of Theology 63, no. 1 (2010): 24–40.

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

Page [1]

June 15, 1835
Dear brethren in the Lord,
I send you my love and warmest wishes for your prosperity in the great cause of our Redeemer.
We are now commencing to prepare and print the New Translation, together with all the revelations which God has been pleased to give us in these last days, and as we are in want of funds to go on with so great and glorious a work, brethren <​we​> want you should donate and loan us all the means or money you can that we may be enable[d] to accomplish the work as a great means towards the salvation of Men.
My love to my relatives &c
your brother in the bonds of the .
Joseph Smith Jr [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Church Brethren, 15 June 1835
ID #
254
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:345–347
Handwriting on This Page
  • William W. Phelps
  • Joseph Smith Jr.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 400 [Alma 61:14].

  2. [2]

    This could be read as suggesting that the Bible revision would be part of the Doctrine and Covenants. However, earlier discussions indicate that the revision was meant to be a separate, stand-alone volume. An April 1833 letter stated that the revision would “go to the world together in a volume by itself,” and an April 1834 revelation instructed that a separate copyright be obtained for it. Moreover, when a council established a committee in September 1834 to prepare the Doctrine and Covenants for publication, the council foresaw that volume as containing “the doctrine of Jesus Christ for the government of the church of Latter-Day Saints,” taken from “the bible, book of mormon, and the revelations which have been given to the church up to this date.” The Bible revision was not mentioned as a part of the book. (Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 21 Apr. 1833; Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104]; Minutes, 24 Sept. 1834.)

  3. [3]

    The term “new covenant” (also referred to as “everlasting Covenant” or “new and everlasting covenant”) generally referred to the “fulness of [the] Gospel,” or the sum total of the church’s message, geared toward establishing God’s covenant people on the earth. (See Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66:2]; Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:15, 22]; Revelation, 12 July 1843, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 132:4, 6, 19, 26–27, 41]; and JS History, vol. D-1, 1551; see also “Everlasting covenant” in the glossary.)

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.