Journal, 1839
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Source Note
JS, “Minute Book. 1839 J. Smiths Journal Escape from Prison,” Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839; handwriting of ; fifteen pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes redactions and archival marking.Makeshift notebook measuring 10 × 4 inches (25 × 10 cm). The journal was fashioned by folding eight 10 × 8 inch (25 × 20 cm) sheets of paper in half lengthwise to form the notebook of sixteen leaves (thirty-two pages). Inscriptions that reach the end of a line and cross the gutter onto another leaf indicate that the folded pages were not sewn during their original use. Wear on the first and last pages indicates that the pages were not bound for some time. The text of the journal is inscribed on the first fifteen pages in black ink that later turned brown. The remaining seventeen pages are blank. At some point, a sheet of blue stock measuring 10 × 16 inches (25 × 41 cm) was folded in half twice to create a cover that measures 10 × 4 inches; the notebook was then pamphlet bound with hand stitching. On the front cover, wrote “Minute Book. | 1839 | J. Smiths Journal | Escape from Prison”, below which are seven decorative underlines in black ink. Near the top of the back cover, the lines “Joseph Smith’s Journal | Escape from Prison 1839” are written sideways in black ink. This notation, in unidentified handwriting, appears to be early archival marking. Textual redactions and use marks made in graphite pencil were added by later scribes who used the journal to produce the multivolume manuscript history of the church.This thin journal was probably among the miscellaneous documents collectively listed in Nauvoo and early Utah inventories of church records. The use of the journal in connection with the manuscript history, early inventories, and recent archival records indicate that this journal—like the other JS journals—has remained in continuous church custody.
Footnotes
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1
“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Inventory,” [2]; “Historian’s Office Inventory,” [3], Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
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2
See Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 7.
Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.
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Historical Introduction
Following their success in forcing the Mormons to evacuate the village of in Carroll County, Missouri, in October 1838, anti-Mormon vigilantes applied similar pressure in , beginning with raids on isolated Mormon homes. State militia commander acknowledged that his troops could not be relied upon to maintain order or to protect the Latter-day Saints’ property rights. The Mormons mounted a preemptive strike in Daviess County beginning in mid-October, targeting the property of vigilantes.Burning and plundering by both sides and the evacuation of most of ’s non-Mormon residents led to outright warfare. After a company of volunteers captured three Latter-day Saints in an area lying between and Ray counties, JS helped mobilize a company of Mormons from Caldwell County as a rescue party. The ensuing battle at on 25 October, at which two Mormons, their guide, and one Missourian were killed, gave rise to exaggerated reports that the Mormons had killed or captured the entire Ray County contingent and were about to attack , the seat of Ray County. In the wake of this news and word of Mormon depredations in Daviess County, in late October 1838 governor decried Mormon “outrages” and ordered a large militia force to “exterminate” the Mormons or drive them from the state. JS and other leaders were arrested and incarcerated, and most Mormons left Missouri in early 1839, trudging eastward for more than 150 miles and crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois.After a grueling confinement through the winter in the , Missouri, JS and his fellow Mormon prisoners were transported to for a grand jury investigation. There they were indicted for treason, riot, arson, burglary, and receiving stolen goods but were granted a change of venue to Columbia, Missouri, for their contemplated trial. During the journey to the new location, the guards allowed their prisoners to escape.On 22 April 1839, six days after their escape, JS and his companions crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. There they reunited with thousands of other Latter-day Saint refugees from , many of whom had received a sympathetic, hospitable reception from the citizens of , Illinois. That same day, JS rehired , who had performed clerical work for him the previous autumn. Mulholland began his record in this small journal by noting JS’s escape in Missouri and then, beginning with JS’s arrival in Quincy, kept a contemporaneous record for six months.During the period covered by this journal, worked closely with JS, recording JS’s history and occasionally accompanying him in his travels. Unlike the September–October 1838 journal, which Mulholland kept for JS in , the present journal benefits from JS reporting to his scribe some of the activities that took place in Mulholland’s absence. A few of the entries in these instances may have been dictated by JS, although most entries were based on Mulholland’s observation.While keeping this journal for JS, was also keeping his own journal, which he wrote in the back of the record he had kept for JS during autumn 1838. Mulholland’s personal journal entries, where illuminating, are used to annotate the parallel entries he wrote for JS in the present journal. When he was separated from JS, Mulholland also focused entries in JS’s journal on Mulholland’s own activities. Mulholland’s use of first-person narration to refer sometimes to himself and sometimes to JS requires careful reading to determine whose activities are being described.The Illinois resumption of JS’s record keeping reflected the reestablishment of characteristically Mormon procedures that were suspended during the upheaval in . Record keeping lapsed during the Mormon War, the imprisonment of JS, and the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from the state. The principle of gathering—at least in an official sense—also lapsed during the aftermath of that expulsion. Latter-day Saints realized that their practice of gathering to create religious communities, though mandated by revelation, aroused antagonism of nearby citizenry wherever they settled. In the interest of survival, should they now intersperse with others, coming together for worship but not living in tight-knit, exclusive communities? Writing from in January 1839, JS acknowledged that for the present “the gathering of necessity [is] stopt.”Yet the gathering did not stop. Even without JS’s direction, many of the Mormons fleeing sought collective refuge in western Illinois and thereby kept the question of gathering alive. In March, before JS’s escape, a church conference at conducted by confronted the question of whether to “gather” or “scatter.” Young advised settling “in companies,” or at least in sufficiently close proximity to establish congregations.Within days of his arrival in , JS decisively arranged for a new gathering place. In the months to come, he taught that a gathered community of believers was essential for building a house of the Lord. As was true for , Ohio, and as JS had intended for , Missouri, this new gathering place was to become a city with a temple.After purchasing some land about fifty miles upriver, at in Hancock County, Illinois, JS moved his family and his people there. The riverfront site had poor harbors and swampy lowlands plagued with malaria-bearing mosquitoes. This journal offers glimpses of JS’s involvement in land purchases and community planning that provided a basis for a cluster of Mormon settlements on both sides of the Mississippi. The journal also records JS’s trips to , , and , Illinois, and other nearby places to visit family, groups of Latter-day Saints, and regional political and commercial centers.Meanwhile, JS and members of the Quorum of the Twelve clung tenaciously to another facet of the Mormon mission: widespread proselytizing. An 1838 revelation commanded the Twelve to depart from , Missouri, on 26 April 1839 for a mission to Europe. From , JS reminded the apostles of that obligation. Enemies declared it in advance a false revelation, as they now had the power to prevent it from being fulfilled. Nonetheless, as diary entries began in mid-April 1839, members of the Quorum of the Twelve under acting president had just left to return to to fulfill the injunction. Their predawn meeting on 26 April 1839 at Far West marked the symbolic beginning of their mission abroad. But with much preparation remaining, they returned to Illinois and did not actually depart for the East until late summer. In the intervening months, JS met frequently with the eight or nine available apostles to teach them and help them prepare. JS also attempted to strengthen and unify the quorum by helping to resolve the status of two apostles— and —who had abandoned the Latter-day Saints during the Missouri crisis. The departure of the Twelve was marked by lengthier-than-usual journal entries reporting sermons and admonitions, indicative of the significance attached to the mission.The resettlement of the Mormons in and vicinity and the resumption of church affairs—including the departure of the Twelve to Britain—were hampered by a malaria epidemic that ravaged the area from late June to November. When JS was preoccupied with aiding the victims of the scourge for eleven weeks in July, August, and September, journal entries were scaled back to weekly summaries. While the entries suggest the duration and centrality of JS’s focus on relieving the sick, they characteristically only skim the surface. For months, the Smith home and environs served as a hospital of sorts, with JS and nursing malaria victims. The couple moved their own family into a tent to provide better care in their house for the sick. JS himself contracted the disease but soon recovered and continued to minister to the afflicted. spent three weeks in late August and early September caring for his own wife, who was ill.Despite the epidemic, the Latter-day Saints remained at their new headquarters. When the disease abated somewhat, JS became increasingly involved in arrangements for a new, larger town that would soon eclipse and absorb . At a general conference of the church convened at Commerce in early October 1839, JS advocated—and the membership of the church affirmed—that this was a suitable location to be designated a stake of Zion and a gathering place for the Saints.Even while JS built a new stake, still occupied much of his attention. In the months and years following the expulsion of his people from that state, JS sought persistently to call attention to the losses and injustices the Latter-day Saints had suffered and, if possible, to obtain government compensation. He left on 29 October 1839, two weeks after the conclusion of this journal, to visit to seek relief and redress from the federal government. The next day, a gravely ill was taken to ’s makeshift hospital, where he died on 3 November, possibly a victim of the malaria epidemic. It is not clear to what extent the cessation of journal entries after 15 October resulted from Mulholland’s illness or from a lack of access to JS. Daily entries did not resume until December 1841, more than two years later, when took up the pen a few months after his return from missionary service in England.
Footnotes
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1
LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, chaps. 7–14; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” chaps. 7–12; Hartley, “Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen,” 9–10, 36–37.
LeSueur, Stephen C. The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987.
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
Hartley, William G. “‘Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen’: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 1838–39.” Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 6–40.
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2
Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132; Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.
Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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3
JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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4
“Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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5
Leonard, Nauvoo, 235–237.
Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
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6
See Revelation, 8 July 1838–A, in JS, Journal, 8 July 1838 [D&C 118].
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7
JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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8
Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 213–214; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 34–35; Woodruff, Journal, 12, 19, 22, and 25 July 1839; Mulholland, Journal, 19 Aug.–8 Sept. 1839.
Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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9
Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Washington DC, 6 Dec. 1839, Charles Aldrich Autograph Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
Aldrich, Charles. Autograph Collection. State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
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Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
While being taken from Gallatin, Daviess County, Missouri, to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, in compliance with a change of venue in their legal case, JS and fellow prisoners escaped with the cooperation of their guards near Yellow Creek. Some sources point to the possibility that the prisoners were intended to be held without bail—as hostages—until their people evacuated Missouri. If that was the case, the purpose of their incarceration was now largely fulfilled. (Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL; compare JS, Journal, 28 Feb. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; see also Madsen, “Missouri Court of Inquiry”; Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; and Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Madsen, Gordon A. “Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry: Austin A. King’s Quest for Hostages.” BYU Studies 43, no. 4 (2004): 93–136.
Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.
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2
In his own journal, James Mulholland noted that on this day he began again to “write for the Church.” (Mulholland, Journal, 22 Apr. 1839.)
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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3
In addition to JS, this committee, which was assigned to visit Iowa “for the purpose of making locations for the church,” also included Vinson Knight and Alanson Ripley. The council determined that church members should “move on to the north as soon as they possibly can.”a The committee left Quincy the following day, 25 April 1839, to assess possibilities on both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River. The initial acquisitions of land in the area of Commerce, Illinois, occurred on 30 April. They consisted of 47.17 acres located south of Commerce from Isaac Galland, two additional parcels totaling 12.2 acres from Galland, and about 130 acres from Hugh White.b The church purchased additional land from Galland in Lee County, Iowa, in May and June. Deeds list a total of 18,920 acres in Iowa purchased from Galland by the church.c
(aGeneral Church Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; compare JS History, vol. C-1, 929.bHancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 31–32, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.cLee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, vol. 1, pp. 507–510, 29 May 1839, microfilm 959,238; vol. 2, pp. 3–6, 13–16, 26 June 1839, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; JS History, vol. C-1, 931–932; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, in Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1856, CHL.)General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL. CR 100 318.
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.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
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The church held the three-day conference, 4–6 May 1839, at the Presbyterian campground two miles north of Quincy.a The conference minutes, in James Mulholland’s handwriting, report that JS “addressed a few observations on the state of his own peculiar feelings, after having been so long separated from his brethren.” The conference temporarily suspended apostles Orson Hyde and William Smith from acting in their office; they regained standing by the end of June. The conference also ratified the actions of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve on 26 April 1839 at the temple site at Far West, Missouri, where they ordained new apostles to fill vacancies in their quorum and officially commenced their mission to Europe.b
(aWoodruff, Journal, 4, 5, and 6 May 1839.bGeneral Church Minutes, 4 May 1839; JS, Journal, 25 May and 27 June 1839.)Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL. CR 100 318.
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The conference this day focused on plans for obtaining legal redress for the depredations committed against the Latter-day Saints in Missouri as well as for securing their rights in Illinois. Sidney Rigdon was assigned to present the church’s case before the national government in Washington DC. Almon Babbitt was authorized to represent the church to the state government in Springfield, Illinois. Lyman Wight was appointed to gather affidavits regarding individual losses in Missouri to be forwarded to Washington. (General Church Minutes, 5 May 1839.)
General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL. CR 100 318.
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TEXT: “[hole burned in paper]d”. The top of the “n” is visible at the edge of the hole.
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Two sessions of the conference were held this day. At the first session, a general gathering, sixty men were ordained as elders or as members of the Quorum of the Seventy and eighteen men were assigned to accompany the Quorum of the Twelve to Europe. William Marks was appointed to preside over the church in Commerce, with the church’s bishops to assist him in leadership, which effectively established a new gathering center for the church in Illinois. Later in the day, a second session of the conference involving JS, the Twelve, and the bishops was held at the home of Bishop Edward Partridge. (Woodruff, Journal, 6 May 1839; General Church Minutes, 6 May 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL. CR 100 318.
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8
Although the three-day general conference ended on Monday, JS spent Tuesday in council and conversation with church leaders and members. (Kimball, “History,” 104.)
Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.
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JS and family left Quincy on 9 May, accompanied by James Mulholland, and arrived in Commerce on 10 May. (Mulholland, Journal, 9 May 1839; Foote, Autobiography, 9 May 1839.)
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
Foote, Warren. Autobiography, not before 1903. Warren Foote, Papers, 1837–1941. CHL. MS 1123, fd. 1.
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10
At the conference held in Quincy, Illinois, a week earlier, Granger was appointed an agent for the church with a commission to oversee remaining church business in Kirtland, Ohio. (Certificate, JS et al. to Oliver Granger, Commerce, IL, 13 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 45–46; JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Oliver Granger, New York, [23] July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 159–161.)
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
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James Mulholland recorded in his personal journal that his wife accompanied him on the return to Commerce, suggesting that one purpose for his visit in Quincy was to effect a permanent move to Commerce. While his scribe was away, JS remained in Commerce, busy with various matters of church business, including directing the survey of the city plot. (Mulholland, Journal, 14–19 May 1839; JS History, vol. C-1, 940; Woodruff, Journal, 18 May 1839; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 28.)
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
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JS wrote to William W. Phelps declining his offer to sell property in Missouri for Joseph Smith Sr. JS also wrote letters to Newel K. Whitney and others, urging them to move to Commerce. (William W. Phelps, Far West, MO, to John P. Greene, Quincy, IL, 23 Apr. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 7; JS, Commerce, IL, to William W. Phelps, Far West, MO, 22 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 7; JS, Commerce, IL, to Newel K. Whitney, 24 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 13; JS, Commerce, IL, to G. W. Harris, Quincy, IL, 24 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 11–12; JS and Emma Smith, Commerce, IL, to “Judge Cleveland and Lady,” Quincy, IL, 24 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 12.)
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
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13
On 21 May, JS and other church leaders surveyed several square miles of land in Iowa across the river from Commerce. (Woodruff, Journal, 21 May 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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14
William Smith was suspended from the Quorum of the Twelve at the 4–6 May 1839 conference.a Wilford Woodruff, also a member of the quorum, recorded that the Twelve “spent the day in council with Joseph” at his home and that “Brother W m . Smith was restored to his quorum.”b The council also discussed Lyman Wight’s letters—recently published in the Quincy Whig—regarding depredations committed against the Latter-day Saints in Missouri.c
(aGeneral Church Minutes, 4 May 1839.bWoodruff, Journal, 25 May 1839; see also Kimball, “History,” 104.cJS, Commerce, IL, to Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 27 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 13–14; “Difference of Opinion,” Quincy Whig, 25 May 1839, [1]; JS et al., Commerce, IL, to Robert B. Thompson, Quincy, IL, 25 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 11.)General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL. CR 100 318.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
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15
Wilford Woodruff’s journal clarifies that Pratt and Taylor preached in JS’s home. (Woodruff, Journal, 26 May 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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At Quincy, JS met with Latter-day Saints, instructed members of the Quorum of the Seventy, and prepared licenses for missionaries. On 4 June, JS dictated a lengthy list of Missouri losses. (Woodruff, Journal, following 17 June 1839; Richards, “Pocket Companion,” 63–73; Missionary certificates for Brigham Young, George A. Smith, and Wilford Woodruff, Quincy, IL, 3 June 1839, signed by Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and JS, JS Collection, CHL; JS, “Bill of Damages against the State of Missouri on Account of the Sufferings and Losses Sustained Therein,” Quincy, IL, 4 June 1839, JS Collection, CHL; compare JS, “Extract, from the Private Journal of Joseph Smith Jr.,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:7.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Richards, Willard. “Willard Richards Pocket Companion Written in England,” ca. 1838–1840. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, box 2, fd. 6.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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17
TEXT: “pre[hole burned in paper]ed”.
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18
JS began work on a new history the year before. JS and Mulholland evidently resumed work on the history at this time. (See JS, Journal, 30 Apr. 1838; 1, 2, 3, and 4 May 1838; and Mulholland, Journal, 10–13 June 1839.)
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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19
James Mulholland’s handwriting appears in the surviving pages of a draft of the beginning of JS’s 1838–1856 history and in the first fifty-nine pages of the complete manuscript. Mulholland’s personal journal also records their work on the history. (JS History, 1839 [draft]; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 441, 450, 464; JS History, vol. A-1, 1–59; Mulholland, Journal, 10–13 June 1839.)
JS History, 1838–ca. 1841 (draft) / Smith, Joseph. History, 1838–ca. 1841. Draft. CHL.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
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.
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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20
Possibly Joseph Rose. (1840 U.S. Census, Adams Co., IL, 78.)
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
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21
JS’s history has Knight returning to Quincy the same day, 17 June. (JS History, vol. C-1, 956.)
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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22
Possibly Anson Mathews. (1840 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 169; “A Record of the Names of the Members of the Church,” Nauvoo, IL, 1842, p. 21, in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nauvoo 1st Ward, IL, Record of Members, 1841–1845, microfilm 889,392, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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23
Coltrin, president of the local congregation, apparently lived in or near Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. (Notice, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:31.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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24
Probably John Vance, who lived in or near Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. (Notice, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:31; Woodruff, Journal, 11–12 Aug. 1839; “Agents for the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:64.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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25
The local Latter-day Saint congregation consisted of about seventy members. (Notice, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:31.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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26
Probably Benjamin Wilcox, who lived in or near Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. (Notice, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:31.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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27
This was the third day of a three-day conference held by the Twelve, which commenced before JS’s return to Commerce. Hyde was disaffected from the church in Missouri, where he and Thomas B. Marsh made a statement that apostle Wilford Woodruff characterized as “fals testimony against the presidency & the Church before the authorities of the State of Missouri which was a leading cause of the Governour’s calling out thirty thousand of the Militia against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” Woodruff’s journal also clarifies that Hyde was restored this day to full fellowship in the Quorum of the Twelve, from which he and William Smith had been suspended in May 1839.a At the conference, JS gave instructions on faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of tongues, the resurrection, and the doctrine of election. Woodruff recorded that JS presented one of a “vast number of the Keys of the Kingdom of God” to the Twelve “for there benefit in there experience & travels.”b The conference inaugurated a series of meetings in which JS instructed the Twelve in preparation for their mission to Europe.c
(aEsplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” chap. 7, esp. pp. 339–343; chap. 9, esp. p. 399; Woodruff, Journal, 25 June 1839.bRichards, “Pocket Companion,” 15–22; Woodruff, Journal, 27 June 1839.cSee Woodruff, Journal, 2 and 7 July 1839.)Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Richards, Willard. “Willard Richards Pocket Companion Written in England,” ca. 1838–1840. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, box 2, fd. 6.
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28
On 26 June, Knight, acting as a church agent, purchased land in the “Half-Breed Tract,” Lee County, Iowa, that totaled 16,281.78 acres according to the property deeds, at a cost of approximately $41,200.a Wilford Woodruff recorded that the group “rode four miles down the river to see the place called Blefens point whare the Saints expected to build a town, Joseph pronounced it good & we returned.”b “Blefens point” apparently was named after a previous landowner, “J. P. Blevins.” This land later became the Latter-day Saint settlement of Nashville, Iowa.c
(aSee Lee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, vol. 2, pp. 3–6, 13–16, 26 June 1839, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.bWoodruff, Journal, 2 July 1839; see also 27 June 1839.cWoodruff, Journal, 28 June 1839; Lee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, vol. 2, pp. 5–6, 26 June 1839; vol. 2, p. 547, 22 Jan. 1841, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Elias Smith, Journal, 24 and 29 June 1839; History of Lee County, 679.)U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Smith, Elias. Journals, 1836–1888. CHL. MS 1319.
The History of Lee County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c., a Biographical Directory of Citizens. . . . Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1879.
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29
This meeting was held at Brigham Young’s Montrose lodgings on the Iowa side of the river. (Woodruff, Journal, 2 July 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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30
Woodruff and Smith were ordained apostles 26 April 1839 at the temple lot in Far West, Missouri, when the Twelve symbolically commenced their mission to Europe, in accordance with revelation. (Woodruff, Journal, 26 Apr. 1839; Minutes, Far West, MO, 26 Apr. 1839, JS Letterbook 2, pp. 138–139; Revelation, 8 July 1838–A, in JS, Journal, 8 July 1838 [D&C 118].)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
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31
The presidency laid hands on Brigham Young’s wife, Mary Ann Angell Young; John Taylor’s wife, Leonora Cannon Taylor; and Wilford Woodruff’s wife, Phebe Carter Woodruff. (Woodruff, Journal, 2 July 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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32
JS explicitly directed his comments toward the Twelve, encouraging them to cooperate and support each other while on their mission in Europe. Heber C. Kimball later reported that around this time JS also spoke of “unfolding keys of knowledge to detect Satan, and preserve us in the favor of God.” (Woodruff, Journal, 2 July 1839; Richards, “Pocket Companion,” 11; Kimball, “History,” 106.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Richards, Willard. “Willard Richards Pocket Companion Written in England,” ca. 1838–1840. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, box 2, fd. 6.
Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.
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33
In April 1839, the church purchased land in the Commerce area and on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River from Galland, an early settler of the area. (Leonard, Nauvoo, 165; Cook, “Isaac Galland,” 270; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
Cook, Lyndon W. “Isaac Galland—Mormon Benefactor.” BYU Studies 19 (Spring 1979): 261–284.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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34
The Knight family was prominent in the Colesville, New York, branch of the church during the first year of the church’s organization. Knight presumably assisted with the history by providing information about his experiences with JS and the church in the period between April and August 1830. (JS History, vol. A-1, 37–53.)
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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35
TEXT: The second of two pages numbered “6”; page numbers remain one off through the rest of the journal.
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36
The promises to which Page referred were apparently on pages 541 and 534 of the original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, not the 1837 edition. Those pages of the original edition correspond to Ether 2:4–13 and Mormon 8:26–36 in the modern edition of the Book of Mormon. Promises found on page 541 concern freedom for the “land which is choice above all other lands,” contingent on the inhabitants serving Jesus Christ. The content of page 534 focuses on conditions that would prevail when the Book of Mormon would be brought forth “out of the earth.”
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
Taylor, like other Latter-day Saints, believed that the “everlasting gospel” had been restored to the earth by an angel, as prophesied by John the Revelator. (See Revelation 14:6–7; and Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 100:4, 1835 ed. [D&C 133:36–40].)
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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38
Wilford Woodruff recorded that JS encouraged the Twelve with an allusion to his own recent imprisonment: “If you are placed whare you can ownly see your Brethren through the grates of a window while in Irons because of the gospel of Jesus Christ remember Brother Joseph has been in like circumstances also.” (Woodruff, Journal, 7 July 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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39
Pratt, Autobiography, 324.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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40
Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 213–214; see also Huntington, Diary, 1.
Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.
Huntington, Oliver B. Diary and Reminiscences, 1843–1900. Typescript. CHL. MS 1648.
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41
Woodruff, Journal, 12 and 19 July 1839; “The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith,” Saints’ Herald, 20 Nov. 1934, 1479.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
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42
Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 34; see also Mace, Autobiography, 31.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
Mace, Wandle. Autobiography, ca. 1890. CHL. MS 1924.
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43
Brigham Young and others of the Twelve later took this selection of hymns on their mission to the British Isles, and it provided a basis for the new collection of hymns they published there in 1840. (A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Europe, ed. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and John Taylor [Manchester, England: W. R. Thomas, 1840]; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 121–124; Hicks, Mormonism and Music, chap. 2.)
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.
Hicks, Michael. Mormonism and Music: A History. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
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44
JS called on a number of men to bless the sick—among them his brother Don Carlos Smith, his cousin George A. Smith, and apostles John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff. (Woodruff, Journal, 12 July 1839; Benjamin F. Johnson to George F. Gibbs, Salt Lake City, UT, 1903, 8–9, Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, CHL.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289, box 2, fd. 1.
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45
Brigham Young’s later history stated that on 22 July, “Joseph arose from his bed of sickness and the power of God rested upon him he commenced in his own house and dooryard, commanding the sick in the name of Jesus Christ to arise and be made whole, and they were healed according to his word; he then continued to travel from house to house, and from tent to tent upon the bank of the river, healing the sick as he went.” The history further reported that JS crossed the Mississippi and healed a number of Iowa Saints, including Young himself. (Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 34–35.)
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
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46
Pratt, one of the last two to escape from prison in Missouri, had just recently rejoined the Latter-day Saints in Commerce. (Parley P. Pratt, Commerce, IL, to Aaron Frost, Bethel, ME, 21 July 1839, Parley P. Pratt, Letters, 1838–1839, CHL; Pratt, Autobiography, chaps. 22–23, 32–33, 36.)
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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47
To purify oneself from within. (See Matthew 23:25–26; and Luke 11:39.)
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48
Wilford Woodruff characterized this as a “meeting of Prayer & fasting.” (Woodruff, Journal, 4 Aug. 1839.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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49
Heber C. Kimball reported JS’s instruction to travel without purse or scrip “according to the revelations of Jesus Christ.” Latter-day Saint missionaries commonly followed the pattern established by the ministry of Jesus’s disciples to “carry neither purse, nor scrip”—money bag or traveling bag—meaning to depend on the hospitality and assistance of others. (Kimball, “History,” 111; Mark 6:8; Luke 10:4; Revelation, July 1830–A, in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7, 1835 ed. [D&C 24:18]; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832, in Doctrine and Covenants 4:13, 1835 ed. [D&C 84:77–78].)
Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.
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
Sickness and poverty delayed and staggered the departure of the Twelve. Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor departed during the week following this Sunday gathering, but others did not leave until later in the fall. (Woodruff, Journal, 25 July 1839; 7 and 8 Aug. 1839; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 35; Allen et al., Men with a Mission, chap. 4.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.
Allen, James B., Ronald K. Esplin, and David J. Whittaker. Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.
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51
In the wake of the recent expulsion from Missouri, the impoverished church had difficulty keeping the agreement to provide for the families of the traveling apostles. A few months after the departure of the Twelve, Hyrum Smith wrote to Parley P. Pratt with considerable understatement, “The families of the Twelve are generally well, but not altogether so comfortably situated as I could wish owing to the poverty of the Church.” (Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Parley P. Pratt, New York City, NY, 22 Dec. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 80–81; see also Allen et al., Men with a Mission, chap. 11.)
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
Allen, James B., Ronald K. Esplin, and David J. Whittaker. Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.
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52
Probably Davidson and Sarah Tilton Hibbard with their children William and Melvina. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, 221, 964; JS History, vol. C-1, 972; “The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith,” Saints’ Herald, 13 Nov. 1934, 1454; 1830 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 286; 1840 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 185; 1850 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 405[B]; 1880 U.S. Census, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 191B; Hancock Co., IL, Marriage Register, 1829–1915, vol. A-1, p. 100, microfilm 954,177, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.
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.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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53
A number of Latter-day Saints still resided in Kirtland. The conference held 4–6 May 1839 at Quincy, Illinois, resolved to advise Latter-day Saints living in the eastern states to gather to Kirtland if they did not want to travel as far as Commerce. (Turley, Journal, 11–14; Far West Committee, Minutes, 4 May 1839.)
Turley, Theodore. Reminiscences and Journal, Sept. 1839–July 1840. Photocopy. CHL. MS 1950.
Far West Committee. Minutes, Jan.–Apr. 1839. CHL. MS 2564.
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54
On 12 August 1839, the previous week, William White sold the church eighty acres adjoining Commerce, north of the land obtained from Hugh White that May. (Leonard, Nauvoo, 54–59.)
Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
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55
These “errors” probably included some of the doctrinal positions in Parley P. Pratt, A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People, Containing a Declaration of the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Commonly Called Mormons (New York: W. Sandford, 1837), of which the second edition (1839) contains several substantial revisions. (See Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 97–98.)
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.
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56
TEXT: The remainder of the entry is written in lighter ink.
-
57
The land purchased by the church the prior month for Latter-day Saint settlement. The newly platted land, adjoined to but distinct from Commerce, was soon named Nauvoo and was eventually reorganized to subsume Commerce. (JS, Journal, 18–24 Aug. 1839; Leonard, Nauvoo, 54–59.)
Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
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58
At Plymouth, Illinois. (JS, Journal, 15–17 June 1839.)
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59
JS and his counselors in the presidency sold lots this week from the land the church had earlier purchased for Latter-day Saint settlement. (See, for example, Deed, JS et al. to Randolph Alexander, Nauvoo, IL, 18 Sept. 1839, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; and Deed, JS et al. to Moses Nickerson, Nauvoo, IL, 18 Sept. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.)
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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60
JS’s later history has him traveling to Burlington, but the history may mistakenly assume he is the referent of the statement in this journal that James Mulholland was keeping for him. Mulholland’s personal journal of the same period indicates that Mulholland, at least, did travel to Burlington, whether JS did or not. (JS History, vol. C-1, 967; Mulholland, Journal, 19 Sept. 1839.)
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.
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
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61
Expounding John 14:16–17, 26. JS’s history for this date, prepared under the direction of Willard Richards, adds the phrase “as I had previously taught the Twelve”—apparently referring to JS’s 27 June 1839 instructions to the Twelve regarding the doctrine of election.a Whereas the New Testament identifies the Comforter as the Holy Ghost, JS equated the “other” Comforter with having one’s “calling & Election made sure.” Willard Richards recorded that JS clarified that the “other Comforter” is Jesus Christ and that “when any man obtains this last Comforter he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time. & even he will manifest the Father unto him & they will take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him & the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” JS explained that a person was worthy to receive the other Comforter “when the Lord has thorougly proved him & finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard.”b
(aJS History, vol. C-1, 967.bRichards, “Pocket Companion,” 19–21.)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.
Richards, Willard. “Willard Richards Pocket Companion Written in England,” ca. 1838–1840. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, box 2, fd. 6.
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62
See 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17.
-
63
An August 1831 apocalyptic revelation stated that “the saints also shall hardly escape.” (Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831, in Doctrine and Covenants 20:9, 1835 ed. [D&C 63:34].)
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).
-
64
See Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38.
-
65
Over a dozen Latter-day Saints living in and along the Mississippi River valley had died over the summer, including infants and children, JS’s uncle Silas Smith, and family members of close friends. (Obituary for Silas Smith, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:32; see various obituaries in Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839–Oct. 1840; see also Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 213–214.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.
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66
See Matthew 7:1; and Luke 6:37.
-
67
The conference continued into Monday, 7 October 1839. (Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30–31.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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68
The church newspaper reported that JS “spoke at some length upon the situation of the Church, the difficulties they had had to contend with, and the manner in which they had been led to this place; and wished to know the views of the brethren whether they wished to appoint this a stake or not, stating that he believed it to be a good place and suited for the saints.”a The conference organized a stake in Commerce and a branch of the church across the river in Iowa Territory. JS had decided to join Sidney Rigdon on a previously announced mission to Washington DC to attempt to obtain redress for the injustices suffered by the Latter-day Saints in Missouri, and the conference appointed Judge Elias Higbee to accompany them. JS delivered several addresses, including an admonition to elders to preach with the Holy Ghost and avoid speculative teaching.b
(aMinutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30–31.bMinutes, Commerce, IL, 5 Oct. 1839, JS Letterbook 2, pp. 164–167.)Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.