Letter to Wilford Woodruff, circa 18 June 1838
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Source Note
on behalf of JS, Letter, , Caldwell Co., MO, to , Vinalhaven, Fox Islands, Waldo Co., ME, [ca. 18 June 1838]. Written on a copy of “Prospectus for the Elder’s Journal, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints”; handwriting of ; four pages; Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL. Includes address in the handwriting of , a stamped postmark and manuscript postage in red ink, a docket in ink in the handwriting of , and an archival call number in graphite.Bifolium measuring 16 × 10¼ inches (41 × 26 cm). The letter was written on a published prospectus for the issues of the Elders’ Journal. The document was trifolded twice in letter style and then postmarked in red ink. The letter was later refolded for archival filing and then docketed. The folds are weakened and partially separated. Adhesive wafers that sealed the letter created holes in the paper when the letter was opened, resulting in some loss of inscription. The document has undergone some conservation.In addition to the signatures of , the letter includes a docket in ’s handwriting: “Thomas B Marsh | April 30. 1838”. Woodruff apparently donated the letter to the LDS church as part of his collected papers, possibly during his tenure as assistant church historian (1856–1883) or church historian (1883–1889).
Footnotes
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1
“Contents of the Historian and Recorder’s Office. G. S. L. City July 1858,” 6, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; Turley, “Assistant Church Historians,” 20–21; see also Park, “Developing a Historical Conscience,” 115–134.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Turley, Richard E., Jr. “Assistant Church Historians and the Publishing of Church History.” In Preserving the History of the Latter-Day Saints, edited by Richard E. Turley Jr. and Steven C. Harper, 19–47. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010.
Park, Benjamin E. “Developing a Historical Conscience: Wilford Woodruff and the Preservation of Church History.” In Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints, edited by Richard E. Turley Jr. and Steven C. Harper, 115–134. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010.
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Historical Introduction
Sometime in mid- or late spring 1838, JS assigned to write a letter to , who was proselytizing in the northeastern . In the letter, Marsh responded to a 9 March 1838 missive that Woodruff and two fellow missionaries addressed to , JS and his counselors in the , and the Saints in . Woodruff, the primary author of the letter, reported on his proselytizing efforts, challenges, and successes in the , located off the coast of . He also requested that publication of the Elders’ Journal be recommenced in Missouri because missionaries desperately needed church literature to counter false information being circulated about the church. Woodruff concluded by expressing loyalty to JS and the church and by admonishing the Saints in Missouri to avoid making the mistakes church members in had made. It is unclear when Woodruff’s letter arrived in , Missouri, but later in the year, correspondence between Marsh and Woodruff traveled through the mail in less than four weeks, suggesting that this letter arrived sometime in early or mid-April.JS apparently read the letter or heard it read and assigned to reply. Marsh was of the and therefore held ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the apostles, , and all traveling —including —which made Marsh an appropriate person to respond to Woodruff. Marsh acknowledged that the letter had arrived “some day’s since” and explained that the bishop and First Presidency had been busy with church affairs.wrote to on a copy of the prospectus for the issues of the Elders’ Journal. The prospectus, which requested that traveling elders such as Woodruff enlist subscribers for the newspaper, was printed at the top of the recto of the first leaf of a bifolium, with Marsh’s letter beginning below the prospectus. Marsh ended his letter on the top half of the verso of the second leaf, slightly compressing his last few lines to leave room for the address, which he added after folding the letter as an envelope. As with the copy of the prospectus Marsh used, other copies of the prospectus may have been printed on bifolia, inscribed with personal notes, and then folded and mailed to Mormon missionaries who were proselytizing outside of Missouri. Marsh wrote the letter sometime between 30 April, which was the publication date of the prospectus, and 18 June, the date of the postmark stamped on the letter. The postscript Marsh added suggests he may have written the letter over more than one day, apparently completing it on or shortly before 18 June. Marsh may have written the letter at his home in .The letter to has two parts. The first part of the letter explains the disaffection of and other Latter-day Saints in . The second part of the letter explains church members’ dissatisfaction with and , as well as the excommunication of Phelps, John Whitmer, , , and . Marsh concluded his letter by noting that with the excommunications, internal opposition had been removed from the church in , that JS and had moved to Zion, and that the Elders’ Journal would soon be published again. Marsh’s postscript describes the April revelation designating as a holy place of in which to build a city of Zion and a .Because knew the church newspaper would soon be reestablished, he may have written the letter with the intention of responding to personally and of publishing the letter in the newspaper to explain to a broader audience the recent developments in and . Or, Marsh may have determined after writing the letter that it could be published as a report on recent events. A revised version of the letter, apparently based on a retained copy, appeared in the July issue of the Elders’ Journal. Before mailing the letter, Marsh made some revisions that softened the antagonism he originally expressed toward the Kirtland dissenters, perhaps to make the letter more suitable for publication. Some of the substantive changes Marsh made in the version he sent to Woodruff do not appear in the Elders’ Journal version, suggesting that Marsh further revised the letter to Woodruff after making the retained copy. Marsh also revised the retained copy before publishing it.The letter, mailed on 18 June, probably reached the post office in Vinalhaven, Maine, in mid- or late July. The letter was apparently received by one of ’s converts on the , as Woodruff had been on the mainland since late April. When he returned to the islands on 7 August 1838, he visited fellow Latter-day Saints Ephraim Luce, Stephen Luce, and a “Brother Sterretts,” and one of them apparently gave Woodruff the letter.
Footnotes
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2
Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:33–35]; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:1–10].
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Woodruff left the Fox Islands on 28 April 1838. Regarding his return on 7 August, Woodruff wrote, “I received a letter from Elder Thomas B. Marsh from Zion in answer to the one I wrot to the Bishop & Presidency & Saints in Zion.” The following day, Woodruff visited the post office to obtain further mail, which indicates that he received Marsh’s letter from one of the members he visited before he went to the post office. (Woodruff, Journal, 28 Apr. and 7–8 Aug. 1838.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
JS spent most of late May and early June in Daviess County, surveying the land and directing the construction of houses. (JS, Journal, 18 May–5 June 1838.)
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After hearing reports of “much evil” regarding fellow apostles Luke Johnson, John F. Boynton, and Lyman Johnson, Marsh called for the apostles to meet in Kirtland on 24 July 1837 so he could help resolve problems and give counsel regarding the quorum’s proselytizing plans. Marsh, William Smith, and Patten—who were members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles—departed Far West sometime in late May or June and arrived by 8 July 1837. (Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten, Far West, MO, to Parley P. Pratt, Toronto, Upper Canada, 10 May 1837, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 62–63; “T. B. Marsh,” [2], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Mary Fielding, Kirtland, OH, to Mercy Fielding Thompson, Upper Canada, 8 July 1837, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.)
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At the reorganization conference held in early September 1837, members in Kirtland voted to retain in office JS and church leaders who were loyal to him. (See Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837.)
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Marsh and Hyrum Smith left Kirtland in early September and arrived in Far West by mid-October 1837. (See Vilate Murray Kimball, Kirtland, OH, to Heber C. Kimball, Preston, England, ca. 10–12 Sept. 1837, Heber C. Kimball, Collection, CHL; and Power of Attorney to Hyrum Smith, 5 Sept. 1837.)
Kimball, Heber C. Collection, 1837–1898. CHL. MS 12476.
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It is uncertain why Marsh inserted “Pres[iden]t” before William Smith’s name. Smith was called “Pres[ident]” in two instances in JS’s journal in 1836, but extant documents do not mention Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, being appointed president of any church council or quorum. It is possible that, like his brother Hyrum; his father, Joseph; and his uncle John, he was at some point included in the general church presidency, although there is no other evidence of him belonging to the presidency. The designation of Smith as “Pres[iden]t” was omitted in the version of the letter published in the July issue of the church newspaper. (JS, Journal, 28 Jan. and 6 Feb. 1836; Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837; Thomas B. Marsh, [Far West, MO], to Wilford Woodruff, [Vinalhaven, ME], [ca. 18 June 1838], in Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 36.)
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JS, Rigdon, William Smith, and Vinson Knight departed Kirtland for Far West on 27 September 1837. (Travel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837.)
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Both John Smith and Vilate Kimball identified Parrish, Boynton, Johnson, Coe, and Martin Harris as “the Leaders” of the dissenting party. Smith also named Cyrus Smalling as a leader. (John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Vilate Murray Kimball, Kirtland, OH, to Heber C. Kimball, Preston, England, 19–29 Jan. 1838, Heber C. Kimball, Collection, CHL.)
Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.
Kimball, Heber C. Collection, 1837–1898. CHL. MS 12476.
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TEXT: Marsh apparently inserted “Prest.” before “Wm. Smith”, inserted “Mr.” before “Parish”, and changed “for the overthrow” to “refuting the procedings” after the retained copy was made. Most of the other substantive revisions to the letter are reflected in the version of the letter published in the Elders’ Journal.
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Marsh apparently meant that this group intended to overturn the results of the September 1837 reorganization conference in which JS and members loyal to him were retained in their church offices. (See Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837.)
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11
In the Book of Mormon, Gadianton was the founder of the “Gadianton robbers”—a secret society of political and religious dissenters who sought to obtain wealth and power through intrigue, murder, and war. (See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 411, 423, 427–428 [Helaman 2:8; 6:17–19; 7:21].)
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See, for example, 1 Corinthians 14:33; see also Minutes, 3 May 1834.
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Daniel 7:18.
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Daniel 7:27.
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The vision of Daniel culminated with all nations dissolving and with the people of God receiving everlasting dominion over the earth. (Daniel chap. 7.)
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Early American Deists believed in a singular creator god and rejected all shades of polytheism, including Trinitarian theology. They tended to believe that the creator god was the architect of the universe, who after setting the stars and planets in motion withdrew from any further intervention. Deists rejected miracles, spiritual gifts, and any form of supernatural revelation, including those described in the Bible. They criticized classical Christian theology and espoused in its place a commonsense morality. (Holifield, Theology in America, 162–170.)
Holifield, E. Brooks. Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
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17
Woodruff had encountered Marsh while proselytizing in Kentucky in August and September 1836. (Woodruff, Journal, 29 Aug. and 2–4 Sept. 1836.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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18
Marsh and Groves were commissioned to raise money to help poor Latter-day Saints moving to Missouri. (Minute Book 2, 25 July 1836.)
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19
This money was borrowed at 10 percent interest. (“T. B. Marsh,” [2], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.)
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
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When Marsh and Groves were commissioned to raise money, they were instructed to “put the same into the hands of the Zion Presidency.” (Minute Book 2, 25 July 1836.)
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21
Phelps and Whitmer purchased the original square mile for Far West in August 1836 and used the money raised by Marsh and Groves to purchase additional land in the vicinity in November 1836. Because the church was not incorporated in Missouri, church leaders could hold church property in their own names only. The use and administration of such property, however, was often subject to the deliberations of church councils. (Caldwell Co., MO, Original Land Entries, 1835–1859, p. 11, microfilm 2,438,695, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Minute Book 1, 2 Apr. 1836.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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22
In November 1836, the Zion church presidency “selected and appointed Jacob Whitmer, Elisha H. Groves, and George M. Hinkle for a building committee to assist the Presidency to build the house of the Lord.” In April 1837, the high council and the bishop and his counselors accepted the appointment of this committee and the Zion presidency’s related plans. (Minute Book 2, 15 Nov. 1836 and 7 Apr. 1837.)
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When the Zion high council was organized in 1834, JS told the council members “that he now had done his duty in organizing the High Council, through which Council the will of the Lord might be known on all importent occasions in the building up of Zion.” (Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)
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Among their various holdings, Phelps and Whitmer owned the land for the platted town of Far West. Marsh may have been specifically referring to a map of Far West that was used for allotment—possibly a certified copy of the Far West plat. (“Description of Far West Plat,” BYU Church History and Doctrine Department, Church History Project Collection, CHL.)
BYU Church History and Doctrine Department. Church History Project Collection, 1977–1981. Photocopy. CHL.
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25
Most other members of the Quorum of the Twelve lived in Ohio or were on proselytizing missions. (See Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten, Far West, MO, to Parley P. Pratt, Toronto, Upper Canada, 10 May 1837, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 62–63.)
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26
According to the minutes of the meeting, the council prepared a list of questions for the two men, challenging the presidents’ authority to unilaterally select and purchase the land for the new settlement, sell lots in the city plat for their own profit, designate the temple site, appoint a committee to help build the temple, and take other actions. Two of the questions focused on whether the land and proceeds from selling lots should remain in the hands of Phelps and Whitmer or whether some should be distributed to other church leaders as compensation for their services. (Minute Book 2, 3 Apr. 1837.)
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The Far West plat was one mile square, constituting 640 acres, half of which were owned by Phelps and the other half by Whitmer. Between August 1836 and January 1837, Phelps and Whitmer purchased additional land in Caldwell County, including nineteen 80-acre tracts. Fourteen of these tracts were adjacent to or near the land platted for Far West. Of these fourteen, Phelps and Whitmer deeded to Edward Partridge the two tracts west of the town plat in sections 10 and 15, a tract located on the northeast corner of the plat in section 11, and a tract located about a half mile south of the plat in section 22 or section 23. (“Description of Far West Plat,” BYU Church History and Doctrine Department, Church History Project Collection, CHL; Caldwell Co., MO, Original Land Entries, 1835–1859, p. 11, microfilm 2,438,695, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Edward Partridge and Lydia Partridge, Mortgage, Far West, MO, to William W. Phelps and John Whitmer, 17 May 1837, John Whitmer Family Papers, CHL.)
BYU Church History and Doctrine Department. Church History Project Collection, 1977–1981. Photocopy. CHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
John Whitmer Family Papers, 1837–1912. CHL.
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28
The minutes of the meeting clarify that this group would determine the disposition of the property. The minutes indicate the group included the high council, Bishop Partridge and his counselors, and the two apostles, but not Phelps and Whitmer. (Minute Book 2, 5–7 Apr. 1837.)
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29
An undated resolution to this effect appears in a note following the minutes of a meeting on 5–7 April 1837. The land was transferred on 17 May 1837. (See Minute Book 2, 5–7 Apr. 1837; and Edward Partridge and Lydia Partridge, Mortgage, Far West, MO, to William W. Phelps and John Whitmer, 17 May 1837, John Whitmer Family Papers, CHL.)
John Whitmer Family Papers, 1837–1912. CHL.
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30
The 640-acre plat and four additional 80-acre tracts totaled 960 acres. Purchased at the usual government fee of $1.25 per acre, the original value of this land totaled $1,200, which was $250 less than the $1,450 Marsh and Groves originally borrowed and delivered to Phelps and Whitmer in fall 1837. By this time, some of the lots would have included improvements that raised the original value of the parcels.
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According to the conditions of the second of two bonds governing the transfer of the land from Phelps and Whitmer to Partridge, the proceeds from selling land were to be used to support poor Saints, purchase additional land for the church, build a house of the Lord in Far West, and establish a printing office. (Edward Partridge, Bond, Far West, MO, to William W. Phelps and John Whitmer, 17 May 1837, John Whitmer Family Papers, CHL.)
John Whitmer Family Papers, 1837–1912. CHL.
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32
At some point prior to May 1837, Phelps and Whitmer each subscribed $1,000 to build a House of the Lord in Far West. The money was to be supplied through selling lots in the town. (Minute Book 2, 5–7 Apr. 1837.)
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The transfer of the town plat and four 80-acre tracts from Phelps and Whitmer to Partridge was conditioned upon a mortgage and two bonds. The first bond required Partridge to pay Phelps and Whitmer $1,450 for the land and to take responsibility for their subscriptions of $1,000 each for building the House of the Lord. The second bond built on and was conditional upon the terms of the first bond and mortgage. This second bond restated the combined sum of $3,450 due to Phelps and Whitmer and established how the proceeds that Partridge earned from selling town lots could be used. The penalty for the first bond was $10,000, while the penalty for the second was $25,000. (Edward Partridge, Bonds, Far West, MO, to William W. Phelps and John Whitmer, 17 May 1837, John Whitmer Family Papers, CHL.)
John Whitmer Family Papers, 1837–1912. CHL.
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34
The construction of the House of the Lord in Far West was postponed in November 1837. (Minutes, 6 Nov. 1837.)
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35
Estate records for Edward Partridge list an undated payment of $187 to Phelps on a $2,000 debt owed to Phelps and Whitmer. (Account, Estate of Edward Partridge with John Whitmer, John Whitmer Family Papers, CHL.)
John Whitmer Family Papers, 1837–1912. CHL.
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36
On 10 November 1837, four days after a conference of church officers voted to halt construction of the House of the Lord, priesthood holders at Far West voted that the funds generated from the sale of town lots would be “consecrated for the public benefit of the church— for building houses for public worship, or such other purposes as the church shall say.” (Minutes, 10 Nov. 1837.)
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37
In January 1838, members of the high council appointed George M. Hinkle, Thomas Grover, and George Morey to this committee. They visited the Zion presidency and Oliver Cowdery, who was functioning as the clerk for the Zion presidency and high council. The committee then reported to the high council regarding the sale of land in Jackson County and the Zion presidency’s observance of the revealed dietary code known as the “Word of Wisdom.” (Minute Book 2, 20 and 26 Jan. 1838.)
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38
Meetings were held in February 1838 in Far West and in four outlying settlements. Based on the outcome of the meetings, David Whitmer and counselors William W. Phelps and John Whitmer were removed from the presidency of the church in Zion. (See Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838.)
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39
Phelps and John Whitmer were excommunicated in March 1838 for their financial dealings and related offenses. (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838.)
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40
Cowdery, Whitmer, and Johnson were excommunicated on a variety of charges in April 1838. (See Minutes, 12 Apr. 1838; and Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838.)
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Lamentations 4:1.
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42
JS and Rigdon arrived in Far West in March and April, respectively. (JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 16; JS History, vol. B-1, 786.)
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43
Woodruff pleaded in his 9 March 1838 letter to church leaders that the Elders’ Journal be recommenced in Missouri. (Letter from Wilford Woodruff et al., 9 Mar. 1838.)
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This wording echoes language Woodruff used in his letter. (See Letter from Wilford Woodruff et al., 9 Mar. 1838.)
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45
See Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115].
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46
Under the direction of the Zion presidency, Latter-day Saints in Far West began excavating for the House of the Lord in July 1837 and then began planning construction, but plans were postponed in November at the direction of the First Presidency. (Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837; Minutes, 6 Nov. 1837.)
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47
JS’s April 1838 revelation regarding Far West and the temple stated that the Latter-day Saints were to build the temple “according to the pattern which I Shall shew unto their presidency.” (Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:16].)
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Postmark stamped in red ink.
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Postage written in red ink in unidentified handwriting.
