Letter from John E. Page, 23 September 1840
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Source Note
, Letter, , Hamilton Co., OH, to JS and others, [, Hancock Co., IL], 23 Sept. 1840. Featured version copied [ca. Oct. 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 181–182; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
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Historical Introduction
On 23 September 1840, wrote from to JS and the Latter-day Saints in , Illinois. Page was appointed by an April 1840 general of the in Nauvoo to accompany fellow apostle on a mission to Europe and the Holy Land. The principal objective of their mission was to gather information about the Jews and the restoring of the house of Israel. Though Page and Hyde left the Nauvoo area within a week of the conference, they made their way east slowly—and frequently separated from each other—proselytizing and procuring donations for their passage to Europe along the way. Page had been in Cincinnati since at least the end of August and reported that he had thirteen people since his arrival.In this letter, which he wished to have read at a general conference of the church, described the enthusiasm and support that both church members and friendly non-Mormons expressed to him and Hyde on their journey. He also referred to ’s efforts to have a third edition of the Book of Mormon stereotyped and printed. Page ended the letter by requesting that the conference appoint an to take his place in to continue strengthening the church there.’s original letter is apparently not extant. It was probably carried to by , who on his return journey there apparently took a letter from elders and , also written on 23 September in . Clerk read both letters at the general conference in Nauvoo on 3 October. subsequently copied the letter into JS Letterbook 2.
Footnotes
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2
Orson Hyde and John E. Page, Quincy, IL, 28 Apr. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:116–117. Because Page eventually returned to Illinois and Hyde crossed the Atlantic to fulfill the mission alone, Hyde and Page’s separation later became the focal point of church leaders’ criticism of the mission. (“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1842, 3:761–763.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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4
Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840.
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Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
Possibly a reference to 1 John 5:4 or 1 Corinthians 15:57.
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2
In their letter of the same date, Bent and Harris gave a similarly positive, but more detailed, account of Robinson’s efforts to produce a stereotyped edition of the Book of Mormon. Robinson contracted with Edwin Shepard and George Stearns to stereotype and print a new edition of the book. Shepard also helped Robinson engage the services of a paper vendor and a bookbinder. (Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 260–262; see also Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:129–132.)
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
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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3
Although Hyde and Page intended to meet up eventually in New York City, Page was mistaken that Hyde was there already. After parting with Page in Cincinnati at the end of August, Hyde spent the following weeks in various parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Writing from Burlington County, New Jersey, on 28 September, Hyde stated that he would soon return to Philadelphia, where he had preached earlier in the month and where he anticipated reuniting with Page. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.)
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4
The 1840 stereotyped edition of the Book of Mormon was the third American edition. The Book of Mormon was printed first in Palmyra, New York, by E. B. Grandin in 1830, and then again in Kirtland, Ohio, by O. Cowdery & Co. in 1837. It is unclear precisely when the first copies of the new edition of the Book of Mormon were ready for sale or whether Page was still in Cincinnati when they became available. At a session of the general conference in Nauvoo on 4 October 1840, Robinson reported that the printing was “nearly completed.” He might have been referring, however, to the conclusion of the print run. Decades later, his reminiscence in the Return implied that he brought some copies with him when he returned to Nauvoo and had already distributed other copies to people who had paid for advance subscriptions. (Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 261–262.)
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
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5
Latter-day Saint efforts to initiate the gathering of Israel, of which Hyde’s and Page’s mission was a part, reflected the widespread interest of many North American and western European Christians in the gathering of the Jews and their resettlement of Jerusalem. (See Historical Introduction to Recommendation for Orson Hyde, 6 Apr. 1840.)
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6
After Page’s letter was read at the general conference in Nauvoo on 3 October 1840, the conference appointed Samuel Bennett—previously the presiding elder of the church branch in Philadelphia—to “take charge of the church which he [Page] and Elder Hyde had raised up in Cincinnatti.” (Minutes and Discourse, 13 Jan. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840.)
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7
On 17 July 1840, the Nauvoo high council appointed Bent and Harris to procure funds for printing a hymnal, JS’s revision of the Bible, and a new stereotyped edition of the Book of Mormon. (Minutes, 17 July 1840; “Books!!!,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:140; Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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8
Henry G. Sherwood, Charles C. Rich, and Dimick B. Huntington had earlier been appointed as a committee to build homes for the wives of the traveling members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At a 2 May 1840 meeting of the Nauvoo high council, this committee was also assigned to oversee fencing and ploughing on the lots of land owned by these families. The families were also given food and other commodities, when needed. For example, on 15 June 1840, JS wrote to Bishop Newel K. Whitney instructing him to provide to a “Mrs Young”—likely Mary Ann Angell Young, wife of apostle Brigham Young—“any thing she wants” from a store Whitney was operating. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 2 May 1840, 58–59; Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.