Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 November 1832
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Source Note
JS, Letter, , OH, to , [, Jackson Co., MO], 27 Nov. 1832. Retained copy, [ca. 27 Nov. 1832] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4; handwriting of JS and ; includes JS copy of signature of JS; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.
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Historical Introduction
After returning to , Ohio, on 6 November 1832 from his trip with to and New England, JS answered letters he had received from “the brethren” in . The present letter, which was written by JS to on 27 November 1832, may have been written in response to an earlier letter from Phelps, but no such communication has been located. The letter presented here reflects the continuing difficulties between JS and leaders in Missouri. Although JS expressed consternation about some of the leaders, he also conveyed satisfaction about Phelps’s devotion. Such praise was in stark contrast to a 31 July letter that chastised Phelps for his “cold and indifferent manner.”JS began the letter anticipating a question on the part of . JS imagined Phelps wondering what was to be the fate of those church members who came to but did not “receive an by ” from the . Why such individuals may not have received an inheritance is unclear from JS’s letter, but Phelps discussed this subject in the November 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. After noting that a total of 810 individuals had migrated to Zion “since the gathering commenced” in 1831, Phelps posed several questions, including, “Have you all fulfilled the law of the church, which saith: Behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast, unto me, with a covenant and deed that cannot be broken?” Apparently, at least some individuals had not followed the to consecrate their properties and had consequently not received an inheritance.In writing to , JS highlighted the need for the church to maintain the system of consecration in that previous revelations had established. He explained to Phelps that the Lord’s clerk, , was to keep a “Book of the Law of God” to record the names of those who consecrated their property and received their inheritance. Individuals who did not comply with the consecration commandment were not to be listed. In this way, the church could keep an orderly record of consecration and of inheritance distributions.Record keeping was of great concern to JS at this time. After sending and to in November 1831 with a record book containing copies of his revelations, JS purchased another record book in February or March 1832, into which he and began copying revelations that had been dictated since November 1831. Probably only a few months before writing this November letter to , JS composed his first history, “A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr. an account of his marvilous experience . . . and also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time.” In his July 1832 letter to the Missouri Saints, JS instructed Phelps to remind Whitmer of the need “to keep a history of the church & the gathering.” Moreover, the same day that JS composed the November letter to Phelps, JS purchased a record book and began his first journal “for the purpose to keep a minute acount of all things that come under my obsevation &c.” Instructing Phelps and Whitmer about keeping a “Book of the Law of God” fits with this general pattern of maintaining records. However, if Phelps or Whitmer kept such a record at this time, it is not extant.The original letter JS sent to has not been located. JS and copied it as the first letter in JS’s first letterbook, likely before sending it to . The letter appears in the letterbook immediately after JS’s 1832 history, which is the first item in the book. After Phelps received the letter, he published a portion of it in the January 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, prefacing it by saying, “In relation to consecrating, and continuing worthy, and faithful to the end, we make the following extract of a letter.” The extract commenced with the words, “It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk” and ended after quoting from Ezra 2:61–62.
Footnotes
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1
JS History, vol. A-1, 240.
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3
Saints were expected to “consecrate” their property to the Church of Christ and then receive property—called an “inheritance” or “stewardship”—back from the bishop. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–36]; Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:35–36].)
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4
“The Gathering,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [5].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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5
“To the Saints,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6]. Phelps was quoting “the Laws of the Church of Christ,” a February 1831 revelation. John Whitmer brought a copy of the revelation to Missouri in late 1831. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831, in Revelation Book 1, p. 64 [D&C 42:30].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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6
See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–38]; and Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:35–36].
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7
See Historical Introduction to Revelation Book 2; and Whitmer, History, 38.
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10
JS, Journal, 27 Nov. 1832.
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11
JS’s letter referenced Ezra 2:61–62 without quoting the verses, but Phelps reproduced the referenced verses in the publication. This extract was later published in the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as section 85. (“Let Every Man Learn His Duty,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [5]; JS, Kirtland, OH, to William W. Phelps, [Independence, MO], 27 Nov. 1832, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4 [D&C 85].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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1
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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Frederick G. Williams handwriting begins.
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1
It is unclear to what letter JS refers, but the most recent extant JS letter to Phelps is dated 31 July 1832. (Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
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2
See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–38]; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:7]; Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:17, 35–36]; and Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107:68, 71].
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3
This “vision of heavn” probably occurred sometime after JS wrote his letter of 31 July 1832 to Phelps. (See Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
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4
This reiterated a charge given to John Whitmer in a March 1831 revelation: “it shall be appointed unto you to Keep the Church Record & History continually.” (Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–B [D&C 47:3].)
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5
At this point, Frederick G. Williams apparently began copying a later portion of the letter. JS then took over the copying, still in the wrong part of the letter, and copied several lines. Williams transcribed the rest of the section before realizing the mistake and crossing out the section. The entire canceled portion appears later in the letter.
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Frederick G. Williams handwriting ends; JS begins.
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JS handwriting ends; Frederick G. Williams begins.
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6
TEXT: “when” written over “time” and then canceled with the rest of the passage.
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7
A revelation dated 11 September 1831 stated that it was “a day of Sacrifice & a day for the tithing of my People for he that is tithed shall not be burned.” (Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:23].)
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8
After conversing with JS about this passage in January 1834, Oliver Cowdery told John Whitmer, “The names of the saints are to be kept in a book that contains the law of God; this is what is meant in bro. Joseph’s letter.” Two February 1831 revelations contained the “Laws of the Church of Christ.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to John Whitmer, [Liberty, MO], 1 Jan. 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 14–15; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:1–72]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:74–93].)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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Frederick G. Williams handwriting ends; JS begins.
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9
See 1 Kings 19:12.
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10
TEXT: Word runs off the page.
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11
See Isaiah 28:2.
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12
According to the Bible, the Lord told Moses to divide the land of Canaan among the children of Israel by lot. (Numbers 26:52–56; 34:13.)
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13
No such record kept by Whitmer or Phelps during this period is extant. In the early 1840s, however, JS directed the keeping of “the Book of the Law of the Lord,” which contained both his journal entries and tithing donations for the construction of the Nauvoo, Illinois, temple. (JS, Journal, Dec. 1841–Dec. 1842; Smith, “Book of the Law of the Lord,” 131–163.)
Smith, Alex D. “The Book of the Law of the Lord,” Journal of Mormon History 38 (Fall 2012): 131–163.
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14
Writing about this passage in January 1834, Oliver Cowdery explained, “Brother Joseph says, that the item in his letter that says, that the man that is called &c. and puts forth his hand to steady the ark of God, does not mean that any one had at the time, but it was given for a caution to those in high standing to beware, lest they should fall by the shaft of death as the Lord had said.” (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to John Whitmer, [Liberty, MO], 1 Jan. 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 15.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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15
See Malachi 3:16. JS’s revisions to Genesis that became known as the Book of Moses discussed a book of remembrance written “in the Language of Adam.” (Old Testament Revision 1, pp. 11–13 [Moses chap. 6].)
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16
TEXT: Word runs off the page.
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17
TEXT: Word runs off the page.
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18
JS used similar language in his 31 July 1832 letter to Phelps, stating, “Now this is a warning to all to whom this knowledge may come, and he that thinks he stands, let him take heed least he fall.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
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19
See 1 Peter 1:8.
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20
The subscription rate for The Evening and the Morning Star was “one dollar for a year in advance.” JS may have received these subscriptions on his trip to the eastern states in October and November 1832. (Notice, The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [8].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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21
Phelps reported in the November 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that “new churches have been built up” in a variety of locations, including Guyandotte, Virginia. (“The Gathering,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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22
Vienna Jaques’s sister Harriet was married to a “Mr Angel.” In July 1832, Orson Hyde and Samuel Smith stayed with the Angels near Providence, Rhode Island. Although Angel was at first friendly to the missionaries, his feelings changed when Harriet expressed her desire to take their eleven-year-old child to Zion in Missouri. Hyde and Smith initially counseled Harriet to stay with her husband, even though it was clear he had abused her in the past, “but when he turned against [the] work we concluded that if the way opened that it was best for her to go.” This letter indicates that Harriet and her son did indeed go to Missouri. Whether Jaques traveled with them from New England to Ohio is unclear, but the information in this letter implies Jaques may have been in Ohio in fall 1832. Jaques did not move to Missouri until 1833. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 22 July and 26 Nov. 1832; see also Hyde, Journal, 22 July 1832; and Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson County, Missouri, 2 July 1833.)
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JS handwriting ends; Frederick G. Williams begins.
