History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2]
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Source Note
JS, History, [ca. June 1839–ca. 1841]; handwriting of and ; sixty-one pages; in JS History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, CHL. Includes redactions, use marks, and archival marking.Large blank book composed of ruled paper printed with forty horizontal lines in (now faint) blue ink. The text block includes thirty gatherings of various sizes, each about a dozen leaves per gathering, and originally had 384 interior leaves cut to measure 13⅝ × 9 inches (35 × 23 cm). The text block, which was conserved in the late twentieth century, was probably originally sewn on recessed cords and was apparently also glued on leather tapes. The binding features false bands. The endpapers were single-sided marbled leaves featuring a traditional Spanish pattern with slate blue body and veins of black and red. The block was bound to pasteboard covers, probably with a hollow-back ledger binding, making a book measuring 14¼ × 9½ × 2½ inches (36 × 24 × 6 cm). The boards were bound in brown suede calfskin. At some point, blind-tooled decorations were made around the outside border and along the board edges and the turned-in edges of the inside covers.The volume was originally used for JS’s 1834–1836 history, comprising 154 pages. It was subsequently turned upside down so the back cover became the front cover, and on the new first page, began copying the history that had been begun by the church presidency in 1838. He left the first seventeen lines blank, presumably to create a large title when the work was complete, although a title was never added. Because the volume had been turned upside down, the unlined top margin became the bottom margin and there was no longer any top margin. Mulholland inscribed pages 2–19 beginning at the head of the page; then, beginning with page 20, he left the line at the top of the page blank, effectively creating a top margin. He also inscribed one line of text below the lowest printed line at the foot of the page, in the original top margin. Starting on page 13, he penciled in a horizontal line at the bottom of each page to ensure straight text on this last line. Mulholland inscribed 59 pages in all. , who replaced Mulholland as scribe, commenced on page 60 and wrote for sixteen pages, the first two pages of which are included in the transcript herein. Thompson maintained the blank upper margin, but instead of filling in the lower margin as Mulholland had done, he left the space blank. In addition, he created a left margin on each page by penciling in a vertical line. Both Mulholland and Thompson numbered the pages as they inscribed them. At a later time, inserted headings giving the year, or the month and year, narrated on each page. The volume includes 553 pages of the history inscribed beginning in 1839, followed by sixteen pages of addenda that were recorded by Charles Wandell and . Four blank pages separate the addenda from the end of the 1834–1836 history. Multiple layers of emendations and other later marks accumulated as the history was created, revised, and published. The transcript here presents the initial text, along with only those revisions made to it by the first two scribes, Mulholland and Thompson.With the later history’s side of the book upward, the spine of the book was at some point in time labeled as volume “A | 1” of the multivolume history. Archival stickers were also added at some point to the spine and inside front cover. Two interior leaves are now missing from the initial gathering of the volume and one leaf is missing from the final gathering. The original flyleaves and pastedowns were also removed. The volume shows moderate wear, browning, water staining, and brittleness. It has been resewn, rebound, and otherwise conserved.In the first half of the 1840s, the volume was in the possession of church scribes and printers while JS’s history was updated and prepared for publication, which was begun in the church newspaper in , Illinois, in the 15 March 1842 issue. JS maintained custody of the volume through his later life, as indicated by a note he inscribed memorializing his deceased brother , which was attached to the verso of the front flyleaf. The volume is listed in the first extant Historian’s Office inventory, made in in February 1846 by clerk , and it is listed in inventories of church records made in Salt Lake City in the second half of the nineteenth century. These and later archival records, as well as archival marking on the volume, indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
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1
See Source Note for 1834–1836 history.
JS History, 1834–1836 / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1834–1836. In Joseph Smith et al., History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, back of book (earliest numbering), 9–20, 46–187. Historian's Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, box 1, vol. 1.
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2
Of the excerpt transcribed here, manuscript pages 1–9, 18, 19, and 36 do not have a heading.
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3
See JS History, vol. A-1, microfilm, Dec. 1971, CHL. Only one leaf of the original pastedowns and flyleaves is extant. The pastedowns were replaced with undecorated paper in 1994, according to a conservation note on the verso of the extant marbled leaf archived with the volume.
JS History, vol. A-1. Microfilm, Dec. 1971. CHL. CR 100 102, reel 1.
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4
“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue 1858,” 2, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
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1
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Historical Introduction
In addition to working on an initial draft of JS’s history in summer 1839, devoted some of his time to inscribing the history compiled to that point into a large manuscript book. He began this new draft of the history in the back of the volume in which the 1834–1836 history had been inscribed, turning it over so the back cover became the front cover. Serving as principal sources for this version of the history were the manuscript that JS, , and had created in in 1838, and Draft 1. Textual evidence that the nonextant 1838 material was used when composing Draft 2 is found in the second paragraph of the latter, which situates the composition in “the eighth year since the [1830] organization of said Church,” and a later passage that gives the date of composition as “the Second day of May, One thousand Eight hundred and thirty eight.” Starting at 15 May 1829, the remainder of the text in Mulholland’s handwriting is a copy of Draft 1. Although the first seven pages of Draft 1 match Draft 2 quite closely, the two versions are markedly less similar after that point. This contrast may indicate that an intermediate draft of the history was made beginning at about page 7 of Draft 1 and that Mulholland copied the text from this intermediate draft, not directly from Draft 1.inscribed pages 1–59 in the large history volume. After his death in November 1839, served as scribe for the history. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding Thompson’s inscription, totaling only sixteen pages, in the large history volume. The transcript of Draft 2 presented herein ends on page 61 of the manuscript volume, after the first two pages of Thompson’s inscription, to correspond with the end of Draft 3; the other fourteen pages in his hand give a biographical sketch of , including a brief narrative of his conversion to Mormonism. Because the majority of the pages in Thompson’s hand deal with Rigdon’s life before joining the church, Rigdon was likely consulted for this portion of the narrative.The opening statement of the draft in the large manuscript volume refers to defamation and persecution to which the Latter-day Saints and JS in particular had been subjected, and it characterizes such maltreatment as one motivation for telling the story of the church and its founder: “Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation by evil disposed and designing men,” JS proclaimed, the history was designed to “disabuse the publick mind, and put all enquirers after truth into possession of the facts” and set the record straight “in relation both to myself and the Church.” This introduction was written not long after JS had fled , Ohio, for , Missouri, under threat of several lawsuits; thus, when he began the history in summer 1838 he was especially motivated to justify himself and the church in light of what he considered a long history of persecution. Such an introduction may also have been written as a more general response to the accumulated negative reports transmitted orally and in the press beginning in JS’s youth and continuing throughout the 1830s.After briefly narrating JS’s birth and early years, Draft 2 proceeds immediately to the circumstances that culminated in his first vision of Deity in the spring of 1820, followed closely by the visitations of an angel in 1823 and JS’s commission to retrieve a sacred record buried nearby. JS’s religious mission is the primary focus; his personal affairs, like his marriage to , whom he met while employed in digging for a rumored silver mine, are discussed only briefly and in the context of that mission.Following JS’s recitation of his retrieval of the ancient record, the beginnings of his translation thereof, and the loss of the translation manuscript, began including the full texts of JS’s revelations, which became a major element of the account. The revelations were integrated into the history starting with July 1828, and they generally appear in chronological order. Mulholland copied the revelations into the history from the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, rather than from earlier versions. Many of JS’s early revelations underwent significant updating and expansion in order to suit rapidly changing circumstances after the organization of the Church of Christ in 1830, so the inclusion of the 1835 version of revelations into a narrative covering events before 1835 introduced numerous anachronisms. Significant instances of anachronism are identified in the annotation of the text herein.Additionally, the narrative itself, composed beginning in 1838, necessarily reflects the perspective of JS and his collaborators at the time of its production, thus inadvertently introducing terminology and concepts that were not operative a decade earlier in the period the narrative describes. Examples include using later priesthood nomenclature such as “Aaronic” and “Melchizedek” and calling the church JS established “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” a name not designated until 1838. Such usage makes it difficult to trace the details of the unfolding of church governance and doctrine in the faith’s dynamic early years. Readers wishing to more fully understand these issues may consult the revelation texts and other documents found in the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers.While much of the narrative is anchored by documents, particularly published revelations, JS and his associates were dependent upon unrecorded memories for the balance of the historical account found in Draft 2. JS used collective memory and oral recollections of fellow participants, such as , to reconstruct the events of early church history. Such reminiscences formed the basis for not only factual details in the history but likely for quotations as well, such as long portions of the report of the 1830 trial proceedings in South Bainbridge and , New York. JS evidently had to rely on his own memory and that of others to provide some extensive quotations, such as the words of the angel Moroni during his first appearance to JS and the remarks scholars in made to when he showed them characters copied from the gold plates. Lists of persons baptized may have come from records no longer extant or possibly from eyewitnesses consulted for the production of the history.The manuscript itself was a dynamic text, emended at several times by various scribes. Revisions made in the hand of at the time of inscription or shortly after are included in the transcript herein. Later changes in the hand of , made beginning in December 1842, are not incorporated into the transcript, although substantial changes are described in annotation. Thus, the transcript of Draft 2 presents the history in an early stage, before changes were made by Richards and others, and it approximates the state of the history when used it for a new history draft in about 1841.For more information about the relationship between this draft and Drafts 1 and 3, see Introduction to Early Drafts of History, 1838–1856.
Footnotes
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1
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.
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2
Although the history was begun in 1838, it is possible that the preamble in the first paragraph was added in 1839 when James Mulholland wrote Draft 2. If so, the concern with negative publicity may also have been a reaction to the widespread news of the Mormon conflict in Missouri in fall 1838 andJS’s imprisonment, or to the growing number of publications critical of JS and the church since 1838. See, for example, Origen Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally (New York, 1838), and La Roy Sunderland’s eight-part series published in the Methodist Zion’s Watchman from 13 January to 3 March 1838 and republished in pamphlet form as Mormonism Exposed and Refuted (New York: Piercy & Reid, 1838).
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Document Transcript
| . |
| Eternal punishment) | Endless punishment |
| is God’s punishment:) | is God’s punishment: |
Footnotes
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James Mulholland handwriting begins.
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1
A later redaction here by Willard Richards points to “Note A,” which he penned by December 1842 on pages 131–132 of the manuscript book. The note describes JS’s contraction of typhoid fever as a child, a leg infection that ensued, and the operation he underwent to remove pieces of the bone. The note also recounts the difficult journey JS made with his mother and siblings to join his father, who had relocated to Palmyra, New York.
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2
A later redaction here by Willard Richards points to “Note E page 2. adenda.” The relevant note is actually note C, which was written in the handwriting of Charles Wandell in the “Addenda” section following page 553 of the manuscript book. The note provides birth information for JS’s paternal ancestors.
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3
Joseph Smith Sr. left Vermont in late summer or early fall 1816, when JS was ten years old. The rest of the Smith family joined him in Palmyra in early 1817, shortly after JS turned eleven. (Palmyra, NY, Record of Highway Taxes, 1817, Copies of Old Village Records, 1793–1867, microfilm 812,869, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 3, [3]–[6]; JS History, vol. A-1, 131–132.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. 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.
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4
Lucy Mack Smith stated that two years after they arrived in Palmyra, or by 1819, the Smiths settled on the Palmyra side of the Palmyra-Farmington township line and began clearing land for a farm on the Farmington side. The eastern part of Farmington, which included the Smith farm, was divided off and became Manchester Township in 1822. The Smiths did not actually move across the township line onto their Manchester farm until they completed their frame house in late 1825. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 3, [7]–[8]; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 32–34; Porter, “Study of the Origins,” 38–43, 76–77.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
Porter, Larry C. “A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1971. Also available as A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
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5
Methodists held camp meetings at Palmyra in June 1818 and at Oaks Corners, near Vienna and within six miles of Palmyra, in July 1819. (Latimer, Three Brothers, 12; Peck, Early Methodism, 502; Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 128–130.)
Latimer, E. The Three Brothers: Sketches of the Lives of Rev. Aurora Seager, Rev. Micah Seager, Rev. Schuyler Seager, D. D. New York: Phillips and Hunt, 1880.
Peck, George. Early Methodism Within the Bounds of the Old Genesee Conference from 1788 to 1828; or, The First Forty Years of Wesleyan Evangelism in Northern Pennsylvania, Central and Western New York, and Canada. . . . New York: Carlton and Porter, 1860.
Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.
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6
TEXT: The right edge of the page is damaged, obscuring end punctuation.
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7
Lucy Mack Smith and three of her children, Hyrum, Sophronia, and Samuel, attended the Western Presbyterian Church in Palmyra. Lucy wrote that their affiliation began following the death of son Alvin in November 1823, or near the end of JS’s eighteenth year. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 4, [7]–[8]; see also “Records of the Session of the Presbyterian Church in Palmyra,” 10 Mar. 1830.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
“Records of the Session of the Presbyterian Church in Palmyra, New York.” 1830. CHL. MS 858.
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8
In his circa summer 1832 history, JS recounted that by the time of his vision he had already concluded that the world lay in apostasy and that “there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament.” (JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 2.)
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
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9
JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 3, indicates that this event occurred “in the 16th year of my age,” or 1821.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
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10
See Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9; and 2 Timothy 3:5.
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11
TEXT: “thing[edge worn]”.
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12
For JS’s other accounts of this vision of Deity, see JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 3; JS, Journal, 9–11 Nov. 1835; JS, “Church History,” 706–707; and JS, “Latter Day Saints,” 404–405.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Rupp, Israel Daniel, ed. He Pasa Ekklesia [The Whole Church]: An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, Contains Authentic Accounts of Their Rise, Progress, Statistics and Doctrines. Written Expressly for the Work by Eminent Theological Professors, Ministers, and Lay-Members, of the Respective Denominations. Projected, Compiled and Arranged by I. Daniel Rupp, of Lancaster, Pa. Philadelphia: J. Y. Humphreys; Harrisburg: Clyde and Williams, 1844.
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13
A later redaction here by Willard Richards points to note “B,” which he penned on pages 132–133 of the manuscript book on 2 December 1842. The note describes JS’s interaction with his mother following the vision, when he told her, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” (Richards, Journal, 2 Dec. 1842.)
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
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14
In an 1834 account, Oliver Cowdery mentioned Methodist preacher George Lane in connection with religious excitement in Palmyra and vicinity in “the 15th year” of JS’s life. Cowdery subsequently revised the dating to “the 17th” year. Although there is no recorded statement from JS mentioning Lane specifically, the latter’s assignments and travels between July 1819 and July 1825 placed him in close enough proximity to Palmyra and Manchester that he would have had numerous opportunities for contact with JS. (Oliver Cowdery, “Letter III,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1834, 1:42; Oliver Cowdery, “Letter IV,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1835, 1:78 [; Porter, “Reverend George Lane,” 328–339.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Porter, Larry C. “Reverend George Lane—Good ‘Gifts,’ Much ‘Grace,’ and Marked ‘Usefulness’.” BYU Studies 9 (Spring 1969): 321–340.
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15
See Acts 26:12–18.
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16
See Acts 11:17.
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17
A later redaction here by Willard Richards points to “Note C,” which he penned on page 133 of the manuscript book on 2 December 1842. The note explains that JS’s sins were of a minor nature. This insertion was written after the Times and Seasons began publishing JS’s history in March 1842 and does not appear in that publication. (Richards, Journal, 2 Dec. 1842.)
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
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18
A later redaction in the hand of Albert Carrington changed “Nephi” to “Moroni” and noted that the original attribution was a “clerical error.” Carrington probably made the note in 1871, at a time when he was Church Historian and Recorder. He and others at the Historian’s Office were assigned by Brigham Young to investigate the difference of the name of the angel in this source compared with other sources.a Early sources often did not name the angelic visitor, but sources naming Moroni include Oliver Cowdery’s historical letter published in the April 1835 LDS Messenger and Advocate; an expanded version of a circa August 1830 revelation, as published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants; and a JS editorial published in the Elders’ Journal in July 1838.b The present history is the earliest extant source to name Nephi as the messenger, and subsequent publications based on this history perpetuated the attribution during JS’s lifetime.c
(aVogel, History of Joseph Smith, 1:xxxiv, 12n21.bOliver Cowdery, “Letter VI,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1835, 1:112; Revelation, ca. Aug. 1830, in Doctrine and Covenants 50:2, 1835 ed. [D&C 27:5]; [JS], Editorial, Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 42–44.cSee “History of Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1842, 3:753–754; and “History of Joseph Smith,” LDS Millennial Star, Aug. 1842, 3:53–54. For JS’s other accounts of this experience, see JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; JS, Journal, 9–11 Nov. 1835; JS, “Church History,” 707; and JS, “Latter Days Saints,” 405.)Vogel, Dan, ed. History of Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: A Source and Text-Critical Edition. 8 vols. Salt Lake City: Smith-Pettit Foundation, 2015.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
Rupp, Israel Daniel, ed. He Pasa Ekklesia [The Whole Church]: An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States, Contains Authentic Accounts of Their Rise, Progress, Statistics and Doctrines. Written Expressly for the Work by Eminent Theological Professors, Ministers, and Lay-Members, of the Respective Denominations. Projected, Compiled and Arranged by I. Daniel Rupp, of Lancaster, Pa. Philadelphia: J. Y. Humphreys; Harrisburg: Clyde and Williams, 1844.
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19
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 172–173, 546 [Mosiah 8:13–17; Ether 4:5], where the instrument is referred to as “interpreters.”
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
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20
See Romans 11:25; see also Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 15:4, 1835 ed. [D&C 45:28].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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21
In 1835, Oliver Cowdery wrote that JS was “sensibly shocked” each time he attempted to remove the plates from their repository. (Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1835, 2:198; see also Knight, Reminiscences, 1; and Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 5, [5].)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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22
Alvin Smith died 19 November 1823. (Morgan, Cemetery Records, Palmyra, Wayne, New York, 2; Patriarchal Blessings, 1:1; Joseph Smith Sr., “To the Public,” Wayne Sentinel [Palmyra, NY], 29 Sept. 1824, [3].)
Morgan, Sara, comp. Cemetery Records, Palmyra, Wayne, New York. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society, 1945. Copy at FHL.
Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.
Wayne Sentinel. Palmyra, NY. 1823–1852, 1860–1861.
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23
TEXT: James Mulholland inscribed this insertion on a loose slip of paper, which was pinned to this page of the manuscript. On the opposite side of the slip he made another asterisk and wrote, “I mentioned to President Smith that I considered it necessary that an explanation of <the location of> the place where the box was deposited would be required in order that the history be satisfactory. J, M,”.
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24
According to Oliver Cowdery, Stowell hoped to discover a substantial quantity of coins said to have been minted by Spaniards from ore they had mined in the vicinity and left in a “subterraneous vault.” (Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1835, 2:201.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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25
JS acknowledged receiving wages of fourteen dollars per month from Stowell for his assistance in treasure seeking. Additionally, JS and his father purportedly were parties to a contract regarding shares in the distribution of any valuables they found.a Several of JS’s neighbors recounted his participation in treasure-seeking activities between 1823 and 1826 in locations ranging from the Palmyra-Manchester area to Harmony.b
(a[JS], Editorial, Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 42–44; Isaac Hale et al., Agreement, Harmony, PA, 1 Nov. 1825, in “An Interesting Document,” Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 23 Apr. 1880, [4].bTrial proceedings, Bainbridge, NY, 20 Mar. 1826, State of New York v. JS, [J.P. Ct. 1826], in “The Original Prophet,” Fraser’s Magazine, Feb. 1873, 229–230; “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly, July 1859, 164; see also Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 48–52.)Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.
Salt Lake Daily Tribune. Salt Lake City. 1871–.
“The Original Prophet. By a Visitor to Salt Lake City.” Fraser’s Magazine 7, no. 28 (Feb. 1873): 225–235.
“Mormonism,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (May 1859): 46–51; (July 1859): 119–121; (Aug. 1859): 163–170. Tiffany's Monthly. New York City. 1856–1859.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
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26
Isaac Hale wrote later that he told JS his reasons for refusing to consent to the marriage, “some of which were, that he was a stranger, and followed a business that I could not approve,” apparently referring to JS’s involvement with treasure seeking. (Isaac Hale, Affidavit, 20 Mar. 1834, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 263.)
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.
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27
Porter, “Study of the Origins,” 75, 86n40.
Porter, Larry C. “A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1971. Also available as A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
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28
Lucy Mack Smith related that JS hid the plates in the woods the day he obtained them and that a few days later, after retrieving them from their hiding place, he was attacked three times while carrying them home. Subsequently, she wrote, two more unsuccessful attempts were made to take the plates from the Smith property in Manchester. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 5, [6], [12]; bk. 6, [2].)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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29
JS worked on the initial composition of this text in late April and early May 1838, and James Mulholland incorporated the 1838 work into Draft 2 in 1839. (See JS, Journal, 30 Apr.–4 May 1838.)
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30
Lucy Mack Smith indicated that in response to a request from JS and Emma Smith to the Hales, Emma’s brother Alva Hale came to Manchester to help the couple move to Harmony, Pennsylvania. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 6, [6].)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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31
According to Lucy Mack Smith, JS asked her to approach Harris for financial assistance to enable JS to continue translation work. JS was preparing to move to Harmony when Harris met him and Alva Hale at a “public house” and gave him a bag of silver valued at fifty dollars “to do the Lords work with.” In a later interview, Harris was quoted as saying that he encouraged JS to move to Harmony, paid JS’s debts, and “furnished him money for his journey.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 6, [3], [6]; “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly, Aug. 1859, 170.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
“Mormonism,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (May 1859): 46–51; (July 1859): 119–121; (Aug. 1859): 163–170. Tiffany's Monthly. New York City. 1856–1859.
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32
Although this account does not indicate why Harris took the sample to New York City, other narratives suggest that his errand was to explore the possibilities for obtaining a translation and that JS began translating only after Harris returned without finding a translator. (Knight, Reminiscences, 3; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 6, [7]; JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 6.)
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
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33
The origin of the Harris account quoted here is unknown. In none of the earlier accounts of this episode was there an indication that Harris took a copy of JS’s translation of the characters to Anthon or Mitchill. Journalist James Gordon Bennett produced the earliest known written account of what Harris said about his trip to New York. According to Bennett, Harris told lawyer Charles Butler that Anthon “said that he did not know what language they were” and referred Harris to Mitchill. The latter “compared them with other hieroglyphics—thought them very curious—and they were the characters of a nation now extinct which he named.” Harris then revisited Anthon, “who put some questions to him and got angry with Harris.”a According to two later accounts by Anthon, Mitchill referred Harris to Anthon, who concluded that the story of the gold plates was “a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money” and declined to give Harris a written statement.b
(aArrington, “James Gordon Bennett’s 1831 Report on ‘the Mormonites,’”355; see also [James Gordon Bennett], “Mormon Religion—Clerical Ambition—Western New York—The Mormonites Gone to Ohio,” Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer [New York City], 1 Sept. 1831 [2]; and Bennett, “Read This I Pray Thee,” 212–216. bCharles Anthon, New York, to Eber D. Howe, Painesville, OH, 17 Feb. 1834, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 270–272; Charles Anthon, New York, to Thomas Winthrop Coit, New Rochelle, NY, 3 Apr. 1841, in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233–238.)Arrington, Leonard J. “James Gordon Bennett’s 1831 Report on ‘The Mormonites.’” BYU Studies 10 (Spring 1970): 353–364.
Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer. New York City. June 1829–June 1861.
Bennett, Richard E. “‘Read This I Pray Thee’: Martin Harris and the Three Wise Men of the East.” Journal of Mormon History 36 (Winter 2010): 178–216.
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.
Clark, John A. Gleanings by the Way. New York: Robert Carter, 1842.
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34
Emma Smith later stated that she also served as a scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon, as did her brother Reuben Hale. Their inscriptions were likely included in this earliest manuscript, along with Harris’s. (Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289–290.)
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
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35
Lucy Mack Smith said that Harris “bound himself in a written covenant of the most solemn nature.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 127.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1845. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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36
In his preface to the first edition of the Book of Mormon, JS wrote: “I would inform you that I translated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said account, some person or persons have stolen and kept from me, notwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it again.” (Preface to Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., iii.)
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
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37
According to Lucy Mack Smith’s account, JS traveled from Harmony to Manchester to ascertain why Harris had not returned to Harmony or communicated with JS after an absence of “nearly three weeks.” JS returned to Harmony after learning that Harris lost the Book of Mormon manuscript. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 127.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1845. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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38
Revelation, July 1828, in Doctrine and Covenants 30, 1835 ed. [D&C 3]. James Mulholland copied this revelation—and all revelations he inscribed in Draft 2 of the history—from the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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39
TEXT: The previous four sets of brackets supply text obscured by residue from adhesive wafers. Text supplied based on the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
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40
TEXT: The asterisks key to a four-page insertion attached by six adhesive wafers to the top of page 11 of Draft 2. The insertion is in the handwriting of James Mulholland and contains a copy of Revelation, ca. Apr. 1829, in Doctrine and Covenants 36, 1835 ed. [D&C 10]. At the top of the first page of the insertion, Mulholland noted where in the manuscript this text was to be inserted: “N.B. This Revelation will read, after the interlined words in page 11 & line 17th—.” The text, which he copied from the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, includes numerous changes in wording from earlier versions of the revelation. Mulholland’s insertion of the revelation at this point and his contextualization of its receipt—an explanation apparently composed under the direction of JS—contradict the May 1829 dating of the revelation given in both the 1833 Book of Commandments and the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants and repeated here. Since the first two pages of the revelation are missing from the earliest extant copy of the revelation, in Revelation Book 1, it is impossible to know what specific date may have been listed in that source, but it was situated among revelations dated April 1829 and the index of Revelation Book 1 gives the year as 1829. Although the brief explanation that Mulholland penned in the history suggests that the revelation originated in summer 1828, content analysis suggests that at least some of the material originated in about April 1829. (Doctrine and Covenants 36, 1835 ed.; Book of Commandments 9; Revelation Book 1, pp. 11–12, [207] [D&C 10].)
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009).
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41
JS purchased about thirteen acres of land in Harmony, Pennsylvania, from Isaac Hale. (Isaac Hale to JS, Agreement, Harmony, PA, 6 Apr. 1829, JS Collection, CHL; Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, Indenture, 25 Aug. 1830, JS Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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42
Revelation, Feb. 1829, in Doctrine and Covenants 31, 1835 ed. [D&C 4].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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43
Revelation, Mar. 1829, in Doctrine and Covenants 32, 1835 ed. [D&C 5].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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44
TEXT: Possibly “tongue,”. The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants has “tongue”.
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45
TEXT: The text on the fourth page of the insertion is upside down relative to the text on the third page. The asterisks at the bottom of page 3 and the top of page 4 were likely intended to indicate continuity.
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46
TEXT: This is the final page of the long insertion.
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47
The Book of Mormon referred to three future witnesses who were to see the plates. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 110, 548 [2 Nephi 27:12; Ether 5:2–4].)
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
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48
JS’s siblings Katharine, Don Carlos, and Lucy Smith were probably among the 107 pupils who were enrolled in the Joint District 11 school in Manchester, where Cowdery taught. (See Report to New York common schools superintendent, 1 July 1829, microfilm, Manchester, NY, Public School Records, 1828–1915, BYU.)
Manchester Commissioners of Common Schools, report “To the Superintendent of Common Schools of the State of New York,” 1 July 1829, microfilm, Manchester Town Office, Clifton Springs, NY, Public School Records, 1828–1915, BYU.
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49
Revelation, Apr. 1829–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 8, 1835 ed. [D&C 6].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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50
Account of John, Apr. 1829–C, in Doctrine and Covenants 33, 1835 ed. [D&C 7].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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51
Revelation, Apr. 1829–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 34, 1835 ed. [D&C 8].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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52
An earlier version of this revelation specified this as “the gift of working with the sprout rod.” (Revelation Book 1, p. 13.)
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009).
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53
Revelation, Apr. 1829–D, in Doctrine and Covenants 35, 1835 ed. [D&C 9].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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54
Oliver Cowdery indicated specifically that the impetus for seeking further information about baptism was the translation of “the account given of the savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent.” This account, found in the Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 472–510 [3 Nephi 9–28], includes several passages concerning baptism. (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15.)
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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55
The earliest known account of this event, written by Oliver Cowdery, gives the angel’s statement thus: “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer this priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon the earth, that the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.” (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:16; see also Malachi 3:3.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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56
Use of the term “Aaronic priesthood” in an 1829 context is anachronistic. The term first appears in JS’s written record in a document dated circa April 1835. An earlier revelation of September 1832 referred to “the lesser priesthood which priesthood was confirmed upon Aaron and his Sons.” (Instruction on Priesthood, ca. Apr. 1835, in Doctrine and Covenants 3:1, 2, 8, 1835 ed. [D&C 107:1, 6, 13–14]; Revelation, 22 and 23 Sept. 1832, in Revelation Book 1, pp. 150–151 [D&C 84:30].)
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.
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57
Lucy Mack Smith indicated that a revelation through the Urim and Thummim commanded JS and Cowdery “to repair to the water, and attend to the ordinance of baptism,” which they then did. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 144.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1845. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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58
The Book of Mormon and JS’s revision of Genesis chapter 14 stated that Melchizedek was a high priest, but the earliest record of JS using Melchizedek’s name as a title for a higher priesthood is dated February 1832. (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832, in Revelation Book 2, p. 5 [D&C 76:57]; see also Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 260 [Alma 13:14–18]; and Old Testament Revision 1, pp. 33–34 [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 14:18, 27–28].)
Revelation Book 2 / “Book of Revelations,” 1832–1834. Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL.
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
Old Testament Revision 1 / “A Revelation Given to Joseph the Revelator June 1830,” 1830–1831. CCLA. Also available in Scott H. Faulring, 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), 75–152.
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59
Oliver Cowdery’s report of these events was copied into JS’s 1834–1836 history.
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60
This blank was later filled by the insertion “twenty fifth” in what appears to be the handwriting of Thomas Bullock, who began clerking in JS’s office 16 June 1844 and was Willard Richards’s main scribe for JS’s history in 1845. Lucy Mack Smith indicated that Samuel Smith accompanied Oliver Cowdery on his initial trip to Harmony and that Samuel was baptized the same day that JS and Oliver Cowdery “received authority to baptize.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [3]–[4]; see also Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456–458.)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
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61
Revelation, May 1829–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 37, 1835 ed. [D&C 11].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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62
The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants here includes, “Say nothing but repentance unto this generation.” James Mulholland apparently missed this sentence when copying the revelation into the history. (Doctrine and Covenants 37:4, 1835 ed. [D&C 11:9].)
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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63
Actually New York.
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64
Knight recalled that he bought and provided to JS “a Barral of Mackrel and some lined paper for writing[,] … nine or ten Bushels of grain and five or six Bushels taters and a pound of tea.” (Knight, Reminiscences, 6.)
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
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65
Revelation, May 1829–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 38, 1835 ed. [D&C 12].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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66
JS probably became acquainted with the Whitmer family through his parents, who visited the Whitmers before visiting JS in Harmony in the fall of 1828, and through Oliver Cowdery, with whom David Whitmer visited while on “a business trip to Palmyra” in 1828. David Whitmer later wrote that Cowdery wrote him three letters from Harmony in April and May 1829, the third “telling me to come down into Pennsylvania and bring him and Joseph to my father’s house, giving as a reason therefore that they had received a commandment from God to that effect.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 151; “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1].)
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1845. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
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67
David Whitmer recalled later that Christian Whitmer and Emma Smith were scribes for the Book of Mormon at Fayette, in addition to Oliver Cowdery, who inscribed most of the extant text (about a fourth of the original manuscript). Based on an analysis of the extant manuscript, John Whitmer also served as scribe for several pages. Additionally, unidentified handwriting in the manuscript may be that of Martin Harris. It is not known whether other scribes helped with the nonextant portion of the original manuscript. (James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret News, 9 Apr. 1884, 190; see also Skousen, Original Manuscript, 13–14; and Jessee, “Original Book of Mormon Manuscript,” 272–278.)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Skousen, Royal, ed. The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Original Book of Mormon Manuscript.” BYU Studies 10 (Spring 1970): 259–278.
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68
Revelation, June 1829–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 39, 1835 ed. [D&C 14].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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69
Revelation, June 1829–C, in Doctrine and Covenants 40, 1835 ed. [D&C 15].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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70
Revelation, June 1829–D, in Doctrine and Covenants 41, 1835 ed. [D&C 16].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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71
The Reverend Diedrich Willers reported from Fayette that by June 1830 the “Mormonites” had baptized Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, and members of the German Reformed Church in that vicinity, amounting to perhaps “at least 100 persons.” (Diedrich Willers, Fayette, NY, to L. Mayer and D. Young, York, PA, 18 June 1830, in Quinn, “First Months of Mormonism,” 331.)
Quinn, D. Michael. “The First Months of Mormonism: A Contemporary View by Rev. Diedrich Willers.” New York History 54 (July 1973): 317–333.
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See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 110–111, 548; and Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., 118, 577–578 [2 Nephi 27:12–14; Ether 5:2–4].
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
The Book of Mormon: an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi . . . Translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. Kirtland, OH: Printed by O. Cowdery and Co., for P. P. Pratt and J. Goodson, 1837.
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Revelation, June 1829–E, in Doctrine and Covenants 42, 1835 ed. [D&C 17].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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TEXT: “A[page torn]”. Missing text supplied based on the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
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TEXT: “pl[page torn]t[page torn] &c[page torn]”. Missing text supplied based on Draft 1.
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TEXT: Page torn. Missing text supplied based on Draft 1.
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The earliest copy of the testimony that follows is found in the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. Cowdery likely was the author of the statement, given his writing abilities and similarities between the document and Cowdery’s 1829 correspondence to JS and Hyrum Smith. The copies of the “Testimony of Three Witnesses” and the “Testimony of Eight Witnesses” that follow match the versions in the second edition of the Book of Mormon. (Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, 463–464, CCLA; “Testimony of Three Witnesses” and “Testimony of Eight Witnesses,” in Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., [620]–[621]; see also JS Letterbook 1, pp. 4–9.)
Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, 1829–1830. CHL.
The Book of Mormon: an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi . . . Translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. Kirtland, OH: Printed by O. Cowdery and Co., for P. P. Pratt and J. Goodson, 1837.
JS Letterbook 1 / Smith, Joseph. “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
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78
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 539 [Ether 1:33].
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
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79
David Whitmer told several interviewers in the 1870s and 1880s that he saw additional items on this occasion. Most of these later accounts listed the gold plates, the interpreters or Urim and Thummim, the sword of Laban, the “directors,” and additional records; in some Whitmer also mentioned the breastplate. (See, for example, “Interview with David Whitmer,” Deseret News, 21 Aug. 1878, 461; “Mormonism,” Kansas City [MO] Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; and “Letter from Elder W. H. Kelley,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Mar. 1882, 66–69; compare Revelation, June 1829–E, in Doctrine and Covenants 42:1, 1835 ed. [D&C 17:1].)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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David Whitmer recalled that about seventy individuals had been baptized by 6 April 1830. (Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 33.)
Whitmer, David. An Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon. Richmond, MO: No publisher, 1887.
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81
See Matthew 7:7; compare Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 484, 509 [3 Nephi 14:7, 27:29].
The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830.
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82
Revelation, June 1829–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 43, 1835 ed. [D&C 18].
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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JS and Oliver Cowdery. (Revelation Book 1, p. 52.)
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009).
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Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830, in Doctrine and Covenants 2, 1835 ed. [D&C 20]. This document is titled “Church Articles & Covenants” in Revelation Book 1, which indicates that it was “received in Fayette Seneca County New York April 10th. 1830.” Its placement at this point in the history narrative, and the statement here that it designated the day on which the church was to be organized, apparently contradict the 10 April 1830 dating. (Revelation Book 1, p. 52; see also the first volume of the Documents series for additional analysis.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009).
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The church was possibly organized as an unincorporated religious society—a “voluntary association of individuals or families . . . united for the purpose of having a common place of worship, and to provide a proper teacher to instruct them . . . and to administer the ordinances of the church”—and not as a religious corporation. (Tyler, American Ecclesiastical Law, 54; see also “Society,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:515; Stott, “Legal Insights into the Organization of the Church in 1830,” 122–132; and An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Religious Societies [5 Apr. 1813], Laws of the State of New-York [1813], vol. 2, pp. 212–219.)
Tyler, R. H. American Ecclesiastical Law: The Law of Religious Societies, Church Government and Creeds, Disturbing Religious Meetings, and the Law of Burial Grounds in the United States. With Practical Forms. Albany: William Gould, 1866.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.
Stott, David Keith. “Legal Insights into the Organization of the Church in 1830.” BYU Studies 49, no. 2 (2010): 121–148.
Laws of the State of New-York, Revised and Passed at the Thirty-Sixth Session of the Legislature, With Marginal Notes and References. 2 Vols. Albany: H. C. Southwick and Company, 1813.
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The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the source for this copy of the Articles and Covenants, has “calling.” (Doctrine and Covenants 2:8, 1835 ed. [D&C 20:38].)
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
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The copyright was obtained 11 June 1829. (Copyright for Book of Mormon, retained copy, CHL.)
Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829. Copyright Registration Forms, 1829–1870. Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington DC. Retained copy at CHL. MS 14327.
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88
According to Pomeroy Tucker, editor of the Wayne Sentinel (which Grandin printed), Grandin initially declined to publish the Book of Mormon but was persuaded after book printer Elihu F. Marshall of Rochester agreed to do so. Martin Harris mortgaged his farm to guarantee payment. (Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 51–53; Martin Harris to Egbert B. Grandin, Indenture, Wayne Co., NY, 25 Aug. 1829, Wayne Co., NY, Mortgage Records, vol. 3, pp. 325–326, microfilm 479,556, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Tucker, Pomeroy. Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church. New York: D. Appleton, 1867.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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89
The following copy of the title page matches the title page of the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon.
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90
TEXT: The title is written in larger script, each line of text taking up two lines of the page.
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91
Revelation, Mar. 1830, in Doctrine and Covenants 44, 1835 ed. [D&C 19]. The index to the earliest compilation of revelations lists the year for this “Revelation to Martin” as 1829. The 1833 Book of Commandments gives a date of March 1830, which was used in all subsequent official publications and which is probably erroneous. In both the Book of Commandments and the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the March 1830 date was put in parentheses, suggesting the editors were uncertain about the date. (Revelation Book 1, p. [207]; Book of Commandments 16; Doctrine and Covenants 44, 1835 ed.; see also discussion of this revelation in the first volume of the Documents series.)
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009).
A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835.
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Omitted word supplied from Doctrine and Covenants 44:2, 1835 ed. [D&C 19:18].
