Letter to the Church in Colesville, 2 December 1830
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Source Note
JS and , Letter, , Seneca Co., NY, to “Dearly beloved in the Lord” [church members], [, NY], 2 Dec. 1830. Featured version copied [ca. 1871] in , History, 196–211; unidentified handwriting; private possession. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Newel Knight and the Church in Colesville, 28 August 1830.
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Historical Introduction
This letter gives instructions to the church members in , New York, in general but also addresses JS’s brother in particular. At the time JS and wrote it, Hyrum and his wife, , were living in Colesville with and his wife, . Hyrum Smith and Newel Knight were engaged in preaching in the area. The letter included a copy of a recently received letter from , who reported on the great success he and his three missionary companions were experiencing in the area around , Ohio. The entire letter, including Cowdery’s communication, was eventually copied into Newel Knight’s autobiography.This letter was apparently part of an ongoing correspondence, not all of which is extant, between JS and members of the church in . Like JS’s August 1830 letter to members in Colesville, it reflects a belief in an imminent Second Coming and cites international political conflict and natural catastrophes as evidence that “the prophecies of the Book of Mormon are fulfilling as fast as time can bring it about.”
Footnotes
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2
Letter to Newel Knight and the Church in Colesville, 28 Aug. 1830.
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3
The apocalyptic content of the letter raises the possibility that it may also have been intended to prepare the Colesville branch for the forthcoming exodus of church members from New York to Ohio, declaring as it did that the “time is soon at hand that we shall have to flee whithersoever the Lord will, for safety.” The inclusion of Cowdery’s letter, with its encouraging commentary on the work in Kirtland, may have helped prepare members in Colesville to respond positively to the call to leave New York and remove to that distant location. However, no other evidence indicates that JS was contemplating a move to Ohio prior to the 30 December revelation. (See Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:2–3].)
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
See Romans 1:1.
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2
Pratt was confirmed a member of the church and ordained an elder on 1 December 1830 and departed on a mission for Colesville on or soon after 2 December. (“History of Orson Pratt,” 10, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 4 Nov. 1830 [D&C 34].)
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
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3
JS’s use of the term Zion here suggests that he did not yet see Zion as synonymous with the city of New Jerusalem, which was to be built; JS had just dispatched Oliver Cowdery and others to “rear up a pillar as a witness where the Temple of God shall be built, in the glorious New-Jerusalem.” While the two terms would eventually come to be used almost interchangeably, this letter demonstrates that in early December 1830 JS was using Zion to refer more generally to the work of spreading the gospel and building up the church. (Covenant of Oliver Cowdery and Others, 17 Oct. 1830.)
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4
The phrase “Satan’s seat” is used in the book of Revelation. JS may have used the phrase to describe Colesville because throughout the summer of 1830 members and believers were persecuted there. (Revelation 2:13; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, July 1830–A [D&C 24]; and Letter to Newel Knight and the Church in Colesville, 28 Aug. 1830.)
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5
See 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11.
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6
See 2 Timothy 3:1.
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7
New York newspapers reported that several European states experienced revolutions in 1830–1831. One newspaper reflected the fears of political instability when reporting on these events: “It will be seen that the storm of war is gathering with fearful blackness in Europe. Great events are almost hourly transpiring. Revolution succeeds revolution more rapidly than we can publish the accounts. It seems as though the whole frame of society, law, government, every thing was speedily to be revolved into its original elements. All is chaos and terror.” (“Still Later and Important,” Commercial Advertiser (New York City), 1 Nov. 1830, [2]; see also “Still Later and Important,” New-York Spectator, [3] Nov. 1830; and “Important Foreign News,” Rochester [NY] Republican, 9 Nov. 1830, [2].)
Commercial Advertiser. New York City. 1820–1863.
New-York Spectator. New York City. 1804–1867.
Rochester Republican. Rochester, NY. 1829–1838.
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8
In August 1830, Kingston, Jamaica, suffered a “tremendous hurricane” that caused “great injury” to ships and buildings and ruined the coffee and pimento crops. (“Hurricane,” Rochester [NY] Republican, 28 Sept. 1830, [1]; “Hurricane in the West Indies,” New-York Spectator, 23 Oct. 1830, 4.)
Rochester Republican. Rochester, NY. 1829–1838.
New-York Spectator. New York City. 1804–1867.
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9
Late in 1830, Colombia was reportedly “sunk in the horrors of civil war” and in “a state of anarchy.” (“Colombia,” Rochester [NY] Republican, 9 Nov. 1830, [2]; see also “Colombia,” Rochester [NY] Republican, 5 Oct. 1830, [1].)
Rochester Republican. Rochester, NY. 1829–1838.
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10
See Revelation 6:4.
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11
See Luke 21:28. The same affirmation appeared in a revelation dictated a few days later. (Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830 [D&C 35:26].)
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12
See Jude 1:14. At the time this letter was composed JS was in the midst of dictating an expanded account of the biblical Enoch. Shortly after writing this letter, JS dictated a lengthy prophecy of Enoch, a portion of which dealt with the “last days” and the second coming of Christ. (See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 19 [Moses 7:65].)
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13
TEXT: Possibly “appeard ” or “appears ”.
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14
A revelation four weeks later, on 30 December 1830, directed members to leave their New York homes and “assemble together” in Ohio. (Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:3].)
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15
See Isaiah 29:21; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 112 [2 Nephi 27:32].
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16
See, for example, Deuteronomy 32:5; Philippians 2:15; and Revelation, 4 Nov. 1830 [D&C 34:6].
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17
See Zephaniah 1:7; Joel 1:15; and Isaiah 13:6.
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18
In both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, this phrase is attributed to John the Baptist. (Luke 3:4; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 22 [1 Nephi 10:7–10].)
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19
See Luke 17:1.
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20
See Romans 11:25.
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21
The idea that repentant Gentiles would be adopted into the house of Israel is emphasized in the Book of Mormon. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 32, 85, 488, 499, 513–514 [1 Nephi 14:1–2; 2 Nephi 10:18; 3 Nephi 16:13; 21:6; 30:2].)
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22
A contemporary spelling of “vial.” (“Phial” and “Vial,” in American Dictionary.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.
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23
A September 1830 revelation defined the elect as those who “hear my voice & harden not their hearts.” The gathering of the elect was also mentioned in an October 1830 revelation. (Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:7]; Revelation, Oct. 1830–B [D&C 33:6].)
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24
The final lines of this paragraph incorporate a number of biblical phrases and ideas. (See Galatians 6:7; Psalm 74:10, 18; Revelation 16:1; and Luke 21:19.)
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25
Hyrum Smith belonged to Palmyra’s Mount Moriah Lodge No. 112. When he left for Colesville, he owed a small debt to Alexander McIntyre, the Smiths’ family doctor. Lucy Mack Smith paid the debt in corn and beans but was subsequently visited by several men seeking payment. Not believing her that the debt had already been paid, they were about to take stored corn when William Smith arrived and forced them to leave. (Nauvoo Masonic Lodge Minute Book, 30 Dec. 1841; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 4, [3]–[4]; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 181–184.)
Nauvoo Masonic Lodge Minute Book. / “Record of Na[u]voo Lodge Under Dispensation,” 1842–1846. CHL. MS 3436
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26
For the annotated version of this letter, see Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 12 Nov. 1830.
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27
This identifies Hyrum Smith as the recipient.