Interview, 3 November 1841
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Source Note
“A.”/“D.,” Interview with JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 3 Nov. 1841. Featured version published in “Mormons and Mormonism,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 25 Nov. 1841, vol. 20, [2]. Transcription from a digital color image obtained from the Missouri History Museum Library, St. Louis, Missouri, in 2017.Each issue of the Daily Missouri Republican featured four pages that measured 24¾ × 18 inches (63 × 46 cm). Each page was divided into seven columns, and each column measured 23 × 2½ inches (58 × 6 cm).George Knapp and A. B. Chambers edited the newspaper between 1841 and 1842, when the twentieth volume was published. In addition to national news, the newspaper contained news articles, editorials, and advertisements for , Missouri, and its surrounding regions.
Footnotes
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1
Stevens, St. Louis, 1:155–157; Williams, A History of Northwest Missouri, 1:221.
Stevens, Walter B. St. Louis: The Fourth City, 1764–1911. 3 vols. St. Louis, MO: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1911.
Williams, Walter, ed. A History of Northwest Missouri. 3 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1915.
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Historical Introduction
On 3 November 1841, an unnamed preacher from , Missouri, reported visiting , Illinois, and interviewing JS. The following day, while apparently still in Nauvoo, the man penned a letter to the Daily Missouri Republican, rehearsing details of the meeting and reporting the substance of the interview. The author identified himself only as “A.” in the interview and as “D.” at the close of his letter. Along with an account of the interview, the letter included a description of the city that provided glimpses into its growth and progress. The author provided some basic facts about Nauvoo and briefly described the ongoing construction of the , as well as the “crowds of people, from ” who were making their way to the city. He stated that he believed most were left to suffer in want and suggested that the name of the was “in bad odor with their neighbors” because some of them were stealing supplies from residents of nearby areas to support themselves in Nauvoo.In his letter, the author also described the setting for his interview with JS, noting that upon his arrival in , he and a friend sought out JS’s home, hoping to meet briefly with him. Expecting to find “a person of some dignity and reserve” possessing “at least an outside of austere piety,” they found JS “asleep, in his rocking-chair” while and the children took care of some household chores. One or two missionaries, likely members of the who had recently returned from , were also at the house during the visit and interview.The text of the interview focused on JS’s role and influence within the City Council and the as well as on interpretations of the Bible. The details in the interview, particularly regarding the progress of Nauvoo, suggest that the interviewer likely did visit the city and JS during November 1841. However, the contemporary conventions of recording such accounts suggest that the interview itself likely does not represent a verbatim transcript of JS’s statements on the occasion.Following the letter’s publication in the 25 November 1841 issue of the Daily Missouri Republican, other American newspapers reprinted it either in whole or in part during December 1841 and January 1842. Only the interview portion of the letter is featured here.
Footnotes
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1
For examples of other depictions of the growth and progress of Nauvoo in 1841, see “Nauvoo,” Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 9 Feb. 1841, [2]; “Matters and Things in General, and the Mormons in Particular,” North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 9 Jan. 1841, [2]; “Nauvoo—Joe Smith,” Cleveland Daily Herald, 23 June 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” New-York Tribune, 27 July 1841, [4]; and “The Mormons,” New-York Tribune, 29 Sept. 1841, [1].
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.
Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
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2
“Mormons and Mormonism,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 25 Nov. 1841, [2]. During late 1841 there were several verified cases of theft by Latter-day Saints, resulting in at least five excommunications. The problem was prevalent enough to prompt JS to publish an affidavit denouncing the practice in the Times and Seasons. (Minutes, Ramus, IL, 18 Nov. 1841, in Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1841, 3:616; Affidavit, 29 Nov. 1841.)
Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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3
“Mormons and Mormonism,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 25 Nov. 1841, [2].
Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.
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4
No corresponding account of the interview has been found in other contemporary documents, nor is it mentioned in JS’s history, making it difficult to determine the accuracy of JS’s recorded statements. Throughout the nineteenth century, published interviews of this kind emerged as an important genre of American journalism and literature. (See Rubery, Novelty of Newspapers, 110–140.)
Rubery, Matthew. The Novelty of Newspapers: Victorian Fiction after the Invention of the News. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
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“Mormons and Mormonism,” New-York Spectator, 8 Dec. 1841, [2]; “Mormons and Mormonism,” Pittsburgh Gazette, 10 Dec. 1841, [4]; News Item, Raleigh Register and North-Carolina Gazette, 14 Dec. 1841, [3]; “The Prophet at Home,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 15 Dec. 1841, [1]; “A Visit to the Mormon Leader,” Liberator (Boston), 7 Jan. 1842, [4].
New-York Spectator. New York City. 1804–1867.
Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA, July 1786–.
Raleigh Reigster and North-Carolina Gazette. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1825–1848.
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
Liberator. Boston. 1831–1865.
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