Letter from Robert B. Thompson, 13 May 1839
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Source Note
, Letter, , Adams Co., IL, to “the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (including JS), [, Hancock Co., IL], 13 May 1839. Featured version copied [between 22 May and 30 Oct. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 7, 10–11; 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 13 May 1839, wrote a letter to the , expressing his concern that two letters church member had written and recently published in local newspapers might cause difficulties with the non-Mormon population in western and with government officials in Illinois and . After the Saints’ expulsion from , most church members were destitute. In early 1839, many gathered to , Illinois, and the surrounding area, where they were met with generosity. Residents of Quincy collected donations on behalf of church members, opened their homes to them, and offered them desperately needed loans.The editors of both local newspapers, the Quincy Whig and the Quincy Argus, published articles discussing the conflict in , the political repercussions of that conflict, and the treatment of the Saints. On 4 and 11 May 1839, the Quincy Whig published letters that wrote during his imprisonment with JS in the in , Missouri. The letters described the violence the Saints endured in Missouri and condemned Democratic officials in Missouri for their failure to protect the Saints and to redress the Saints for their losses. The editors of the Quincy Whig may have printed Wight’s letters partly to undermine local Democrats, who the editors believed were pandering to the Saints for political gain. However, because the Quincy Democratic Association helped facilitate the Saints’ warm reception there, feared that Wight’s letters might offend the church’s benefactors in . Thompson was also likely sensitive to Wight’s attack on Democrats because Thompson supported the party and worked as an editor for the Democratic Quincy Argus.On 12 May, met with church leaders in and raised his concerns about ’s letters. The church leaders shared these concerns and appointed a committee to meet with Wight and dissuade him from further politicizing how the Saints were treated in . The next morning, Thompson wrote the letter featured here to the members of the First Presidency, who were in , Illinois. Thompson expressed concern that Wight’s statements would be misconstrued as representing the views of the church as a whole, potentially upsetting local interests in Quincy and leading to a repeat of the Missouri violence. Thompson called upon the First Presidency to “correct the publick mind on this subject, And as a Church disavow all connexions with politics.”The original letter from to JS is no longer extant. The version featured here was copied, presumably from the original, into JS Letterbook 2 by sometime between 22 May and 30 October 1839.
Footnotes
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1
For more information on the generosity of Quincy residents, see Letter from Edward Partridge, 5 Mar. 1839; “Proceedings in the Town of Quincy,” Quincy (IL) Argus, 16 Mar. 1839, [1]; George Miller, St. James, MI, to “Dear Brother,” 22 June 1855, in Northern Islander (St. James, MI), 9 Aug. 1855, [1]; and Tillson, History of the City of Quincy, Illinois, 68.
Quincy Argus. Quincy, IL. 1836–1841.
Northern Islander. St. James, MI. 1850–1856.
Tillson, John. History of the City of Quincy, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1900.
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2
See Editorial, Quincy (IL) Whig, 23 Feb. 1839, [1]; News Item, Quincy (IL) Argus, 2 Mar. 1839, [2]; “Proceedings in the Town of Quincy,” and “The Mormons, or Latter Day Saints,” Quincy Argus, 16 Mar. 1839, [1]–[2]; “The Mormons,” Quincy Whig, 16 Mar. 1839, [1]; Isaac Galland, Commerce, IL, 12 Apr. 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy Argus, 20 Apr. 1839, [1]; “The Quincy Argus an Enemy of Missouri,” Quincy Whig, 27 Apr. 1839, [1]; and “The Mormons,” Quincy Argus, 11 May 1839, [2].
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
Quincy Argus. Quincy, IL. 1836–1841.
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3
On 1 May 1839, Wight sent the Quincy Whig a letter containing extracts of a letter he wrote to the Louisville Journal on 2 April 1839. On 4 May, the Whig published the letter, in which Wight assailed Democratic leaders in Missouri. On 7 May 1839, he sent the newspaper a letter consisting of extracts from a 30 March 1839 letter he sent to Thomas Hart Benton, a United States senator from Missouri. The Whig published the condensed letter on 11 May 1839 and included Wight’s introduction to the letter, in which he criticized the Democratic leaders of Missouri. Wight represented himself as one who had “heretofore been a strong advocate” of the Democratic Party. (Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 1 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy [IL] Whig, 4 May 1839, [2]; Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 7 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy Whig, 11 May 1839, [2].)
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
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4
Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 1 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy (IL) Whig, 4 May 1839, [2]; Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 7 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy Whig, 11 May 1839, [2].
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
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5
See “Proceedings in the Town of Quincy,” Quincy (IL) Argus, 16 Mar. 1839, [1].
Quincy Argus. Quincy, IL. 1836–1841.
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6
Thompson’s wife, Mercy Fielding Thompson, later recounted that in November 1838, her husband and many male church members were “threatened and persued by a Mob” and fled from Far West, Missouri, arriving in Quincy sometime in January 1839. By the time his family arrived in late February, Thompson had secured housing and a position with the Quincy Argus. (Mercy Fielding Thompson, “Robert B. Thompson Biography,” Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, 1839–1860, CHL; Thompson, Autobiographical Sketch, 2–3, 5.)
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
Thompson, Mercy Rachel Fielding. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. CHL. MS 4580.
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7
Mulholland began to “write for the Church” on 22 April 1839, and Thompson’s letter was one of the first documents Mulholland inscribed in Letterbook 2, following a letter dated 22 May 1839.
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1
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
The Quincy Democratic Association organized multiple committees, undertook fact-finding missions, communicated with Sidney Rigdon and possibly others, and publicly called upon citizens of Quincy to set aside prejudice, disregard rumors concerning the refugee Saints, and aid the starving newcomers. (“Proceedings in the Town of Quincy,” Quincy [IL] Argus, 16 Mar. 1839, [1].)
Quincy Argus. Quincy, IL. 1836–1841.
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2
That is, the government officials in Missouri who belonged to the Democratic Party.
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3
In his letter to Benton, Wight described the “wicked mis-rule of Democracy” and how the opposition that “commenced in 1832” was “fanned by enthusiastic demagogues; until they have succeeded in driving at least five or six thousand inhabitants” from Missouri. He questioned why Missouri representatives and senators, especially Benton, did not address the persecution. Wight later echoed these sentiments in his letter to the editors of the Louisville Journal. (Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 1 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy [IL] Whig, 4 May 1839, [2]; Lyman Wight, Quincy, IL, 7 May 1839, Letter to the Editors, Quincy Whig, 11 May 1839, [2].)
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
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4
In 1821 Benton became the first United States senator to represent the newly admitted state of Missouri. Originally a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he joined the Democratic Party in 1825 when the Democratic-Republicans disbanded. (Meigs, Life of Thomas Hart Benton, 133, 260, 262; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, 646; Arrington and Bitton, Mormon Experience, 98–99.)
Meigs, William M. The Life of Thomas Hart Benton. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott, 1904.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive. Edited by Andrew R. Dodge and Betty K. Koed. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.
Arrington, Leonard J., and Davis Bitton. The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latterday Saints. 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
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5
Likely Isaac N. Morris, editor of the Quincy Argus, where Thompson worked as an editor. (“Death of Hon. Isaac N. Morris,” Daily Quincy [IL] Herald, 30 Oct. 1879, 3.)
Daily Quincy Herald. Quincy, IL. 1865–1881.
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6
Thomas Carlin, a Democrat, served as the governor of Illinois from 1838 to 1842.
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7
By spring 1839, church leaders were gathering accounts of the violence against the Saints in Missouri and enumerating the Saints’ losses there, in preparation for seeking redress in Washington DC. The Saints directed their petitions for redress to United States president Martin Van Buren, who was a Democrat, as were the majority of the Saints. (Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; Bill of Damages, 4 June 1839.)
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8
In May 1839, roughly forty community leaders in Springfield signed a declaration denying the Latter-day Saints permission to use the Christian Church’s building in Springfield. One of the signers, Illinois congressman John T. Stuart, later helped publicize the Saints’ complaints in Washington DC. (Washington, They Knew Lincoln, 199–200; Miller, Lincoln and His World, 317–318.)
Washington, John E. They Knew Lincoln. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1942.
Miller, Richard Lawrence. Lincoln and His World: Prairie Politician, 1834–1842. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
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9
See 1 Kings 19:10.
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10
See Genesis 14:22.
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11
See John 16:30.
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12
See Philemon 1:13.
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13
TEXT: The pagination of this copy of the letter does not include the numbers “8” and “9” because Mulholland inserted a loose leaf, which he numbered “8” and “9,” into JS Letterbook 2 using adhesive wafers..