Letter to Oliver Cowdery, December 1834

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Letter to Oliver Cowdery, December 1834
Source Note

JS, Letter, [
Kirtland Township
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, Geauga Co., OH], to
Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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, [
Kirtland Township
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, Geauga Co., OH], Dec. 1834. Featured version published in Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1834, 40.

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate (
Kirtland
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, Geauga Co., OH), vol. 1, nos. 1–8, Oct. 1834–May 1835, and nos. 9–12, June–Sept. 1835; nos. 1–8 edited by
Oliver Cowdery
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(in
Kirtland
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) and nos. 9–12 edited by
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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(in
Kirtland
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); vol. 2, nos. 1–6, Oct. 1835–Mar. 1836, and nos. 7–12, Apr.–Sept. 1836; nos. 1–6 edited by
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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(in
Kirtland
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Oliver Cowdery
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(in
Kirtland
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); vol. 3, nos. 1–4, Oct. 1836–Feb. 1837, and nos. 5–12, Mar.–Sept. 1837; nos. 1–4 edited by
Oliver Cowdery
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(in
Kirtland
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Warren A. Cowdery
17 Oct. 1788–23 Feb. 1851. Physician, druggist, farmer, editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Married Patience Simonds, 22 Sept. 1814, in Pawlet, Rutland Co. Moved to Freedom, Cattaraugus Co., New York, 1816...
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(in
Kirtland
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).

Each monthly issue featured sixteen octavo pages that measured 8½ × 5⁷/₁₆ inches (22 × 14 cm). Each page was printed in two columns. The copy used for transcription is currently bound in a volume at the Church History Library.
Historical Introduction
The December 1834 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, a monthly periodical of the Church of the Latter Day Saints published in
Kirtland
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, Ohio, contains this letter from JS to
Oliver Cowdery
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, the newspaper’s editor, discussing the early years of JS’s life. In October 1834, Cowdery had announced that he hoped to provide “a full history of the rise of the church of the Latter Day Saints, and the most interesting parts of its progress, to the present time” in the Messenger and Advocate. JS was to assist with the project, particularly with the “many items connected with the fore part” of the church’s history.
1
Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:13; see also JS History, 1834–1836, 46–102.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
JS History, 1834–1836 / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1834–1836. In Joseph Smith et al., History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, back of book (earliest numbering), 9–20, 46–187. Historian's Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, box 1, vol. 1.
Sometime in summer 1832, JS had composed a brief history of his life up to the time that he met Cowdery in 1829;
William W. Phelps
17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...
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had also provided a brief account of the beginnings of the church in The Evening and the Morning Star in April 1833.
2
JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 1–6; “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Apr. 1833, [4].
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Cowdery’s history promised to be a fuller account, and JS’s letter was apparently intended to help Cowdery fill in details about JS’s early life.

In addition to writing about his early life, JS responded to recent accusations against his character.
Eber D. Howe
9 June 1798–10 Nov. 1885. Newspaper editor and publisher, farmer, wool manufacturer. Born at Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., New York. Son of Samuel William Howe and Mabel Dudley. Moved with family to Ovid, Seneca Co., New York, 1804. Located at Niagara District...
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, editor of the Painesville Telegraph, had recently published Mormonism Unvailed, a work intended to expose JS as an impostor and “break the spell” that Mormonism had cast over its followers.
3
Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, vii–ix. The 28 November 1834 issue of the Painesville Telegraph contained an advertisement for Mormonism Unvailed, saying it was “just published in this Town.” (“Mormonism Unvailed,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 28 Nov. 1834, [3].)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.
The publication included several “depositions,” or statements, from individuals living in
Pennsylvania
Area first settled by Swedish immigrants, 1628. William Penn received grant for territory from King Charles II, 1681, and established British settlement, 1682. Philadelphia was center of government for original thirteen U.S. colonies from time of Revolutionary...
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and
Palmyra
Known as Swift’s Landing and Tolland before being renamed Palmyra, 1796. Incorporated, Mar. 1827, two years after completion of adjacent Erie Canal. Population in 1820 about 3,700. Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family lived in village briefly, beginning ...
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and
Manchester
Settled 1793. Formed as Burt Township when divided from Farmington Township, 31 Mar. 1821. Name changed to Manchester, 16 Apr. 1822. Included village of Manchester. Population in 1825 about 2,700. Population in 1830 about 2,800. JS reported first vision of...
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, New York, who claimed to be familiar with JS and his family. These affidavits and other statements painted the Smiths and JS in an unflattering light, claiming that when they lived in Pennsylvania and
New York
Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
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, family members had not been gainfully employed and had wasted their time in treasure seeking and drinking. Accusing JS of being “entirely destitute of moral character, and addicted to vicious habits,” the statements attacked JS’s honesty and reputation.
4
Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 231–232, 247–249, 261–262, italics in original.
JS was probably familiar with the contents of the statements well before their publication in Mormonism Unvailed,
5
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, a former member of the church, had been hired by a Kirtland committee to collect such statements; he “exhibeted them to numerous congregations in Chagrin Kirtland Mentor and Painesville” sometime before 22 January 1834. Oliver Cowdery responded to Hurlbut’s general efforts to discredit JS and the church in an April 1834 editorial in The Evening and the Morning Star. Other statements against JS from Pennsylvania were published first in the Susquehanna Register in May 1834 and then republished in a fall issue of the Baptist Register. Cowdery briefly responded to these statements in a letter to his brother Warren Cowdery, which was published in the September 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. (Letter to the Church in Clay Co., MO, 22 Jan. 1834; [Oliver Cowdery], Editorial, The Evening and the Morning Star, Apr. 1834, 150; “Mormonism,” Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian [Montrose, PA], 1 May 1834, [1]; “Answer,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 190.)
Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian. Montrose, PA. 1831–1836.
but this letter to Cowdery appears to be his first public response to them. The letter emphasizes that although JS had been subject to the foibles of youth, he had never engaged in “wronging or injuring any man or society of men.”

The original manuscript of JS’s letter to
Cowdery
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has not been located. Cowdery published the letter in the December 1834 issue of the Messenger and Advocate, commenting in a separate letter that it provided information on “the life and character of our esteemed friend and brother, J. Smith Jr.”
6
“Letter III,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1834, 1:42.
Footnotes
[1]
Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:13; see also JS History, 1834–1836, 46–102.
JS History, 1834–1836 / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1834–1836. In Joseph Smith et al., History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, back of book (earliest numbering), 9–20, 46–187. Historian's Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, box 1, vol. 1.
[2]
JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 1–6; “Rise and Progress of the Church of Christ,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Apr. 1833, [4].
[3]
Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, vii–ix. The 28 November 1834 issue of the Painesville Telegraph contained an advertisement for Mormonism Unvailed, saying it was “just published in this Town.” (“Mormonism Unvailed,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 28 Nov. 1834, [3].)
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.
[4]
Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 231–232, 247–249, 261–262, italics in original.
[5]
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, a former member of the church, had been hired by a Kirtland committee to collect such statements; he “exhibeted them to numerous congregations in Chagrin Kirtland Mentor and Painesville” sometime before 22 January 1834. Oliver Cowdery responded to Hurlbut’s general efforts to discredit JS and the church in an April 1834 editorial in The Evening and the Morning Star. Other statements against JS from Pennsylvania were published first in the Susquehanna Register in May 1834 and then republished in a fall issue of the Baptist Register. Cowdery briefly responded to these statements in a letter to his brother Warren Cowdery, which was published in the September 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. (Letter to the Church in Clay Co., MO, 22 Jan. 1834; [Oliver Cowdery], Editorial, The Evening and the Morning Star, Apr. 1834, 150; “Mormonism,” Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian [Montrose, PA], 1 May 1834, [1]; “Answer,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 190.)
Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian. Montrose, PA. 1831–1836.
[6]
“Letter III,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1834, 1:42.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Oliver Cowdery, December 1834
Page 40
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Brother
O[liver] Cowdery
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:
Having learned from the first No. of the Messenger and Advocate, that you were, not only about to “give a history of the rise and progress of the
church of the Latter Day Saints
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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;” but, that said “history would necessarily embrace my life and character,”
1
Cowdery had told readers in the October 1834 issue of the Messenger and Advocate that he would “hereafter give [them] a full history of the rise of this church, up to the time stated in my introduction; which will necessarily embrace the life and character of this brother [JS].” (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, in LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:16.)
I have been induced to give you the time and place of my birth; as I have learned that many of the opposers of those principles which I have held forth to the world, profess a personal acquaintance with me, though when in my presence, represent me to be another person in age, education, and stature, from what I am.
2
In October 1834, JS, Oliver Cowdery, and other church leaders left Kirtland, Ohio, for Michigan Territory. Along the way, they encountered a man named Ellmer, who, without knowing that JS was in the company, professed an acquaintance with JS and said he “had heard him preach his lies.” Cowdery asked the man for details about JS’s “appearance, size, age, &c.” and “found that the man was guilty of falsehood.” (Oliver Cowdery, Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:3–4.)

I was born, (according to the record of the same, kept by my parents,)
3
Although no such written record kept by JS’s parents has been located, the Smith family apparently considered it important to keep records of births, deaths, and marriages. Both JS and Hyrum Smith had family Bibles that contained such information. In addition, a family Bible kept by Asael Smith, JS’s grandfather, contains genealogical information. (JS Family Bible; Hyrum Smith Family Bible; Asael Smith Family Bible, 3–14; see also Youngreen, “From the Prophet’s Life,” 33.)
JS Family Bible / Joseph Smith Family Bible, ca. 1831–1866. Private possession. Copy of genealogical information in Joseph Smith Sr. Family Reunions Files, 1972–2003. CHL.
Hyrum Smith Family Bible, 1834. In Hyrum Smith, Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.
Asael Smith Family Bible, 1795–1950. Private possession. Copy of genealogical information at CHL. MS 19012.
Youngreen, Buddy. “From the Prophet’s Life: A Photo Essay.” Ensign, Jan. 1984, 32–41.
in the town of
Sharon
Township charter granted, 17 Aug. 1761. Area settled, by 1765. Township organized, 1768. Included village of Sharon. Population of township in 1800 about 1,200; in 1810 about 1,400; and in 1830 about 1,500. Joseph Smith Sr. rented sixty-eight-acre farm from...
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, Windsor Co. Vt. on the 23rd of December, 1805.
At the age of ten my father’s family removed to
Palmyra
First permanent white settlers arrived, ca. 1789. Included village of Palmyra. Erie Canal opened, 1825, in southern portion of township. Population in 1810 about 2,200. Population in 1830 about 3,400. Home of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family, beginning...
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, N.Y. where, and in the vicinity of which, I lived, or, made it my place of residence, until I was twenty one—the latter part, in the town of
Manchester
Settled 1793. Formed as Burt Township when divided from Farmington Township, 31 Mar. 1821. Name changed to Manchester, 16 Apr. 1822. Included village of Manchester. Population in 1825 about 2,700. Population in 1830 about 2,800. JS reported first vision of...
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.
4
JS’s family moved from Norwich, Vermont, to the village of Palmyra, New York, in 1816. The family likely first lived in a home on the southeast corner of the intersection of Johnson and Vienna streets. The following year they were living in the vicinity of West Main Street. In 1818 or 1819, the family moved two miles south of Palmyra and built a log house just inside the Palmyra Township line. They remained in the log home until 1825 or 1826, when they moved into a frame house about seven hundred feet to the south, in Manchester Township. (Coray, Notebook, ca. 1841–ca. 1850, [23]; Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 3:412; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 3, [7]–[8]; Berrett, Sacred Places, 2:197, 200.)
Coray, Martha Jane Knowlton. Notebook, ca. 1841–ca. 1850. BYU.
Vogel, Dan, ed. Early Mormon Documents. 5 vols. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996–2003.
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

During this time, as is common to most, or all youths, I fell into many vices and follies; but as my accusers are, and have been forward to accuse me of being guilty of gross and outragious violations of the peace and good order of the community,
5
For an example of such an accusation, see David Stafford, Statement, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 249.
I take the occasion to remark, that, though, as I have said above, “as is common to most, or all youths, I fell into many vices and follies,” I have not, neither can it be sustained, in truth, been guilty of wronging or injuring any man or society of men; and those imperfections to which I alude, and for which I have often had occasion to lament, were a light, and too often, vain mind, exhibiting a foolish and trifling conversation.
6
In his 1832 history, JS stated that as a youth he “fell into transgressions and sinned in many things which brought a wound upon my soul.” A later JS history states that he “frequently fell into many foolish errors and displayed the weakness of youth and the corruption of human nature.” (JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; JS History, vol. A-1, 5.)
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
This being all, and the worst, that my accusers can substantiate against my moral character, I wish to add, that it is not without a deep feeling of regret that I am thus called upon in answer to my own conscience, to fulfill a duty I owe to myself, as well as to the cause of truth, in making this public confession of my former uncircumspect walk, and unchaste conversation: and more particularly, as I often acted in violation of those holy precepts which I knew came from God. But as the “
Articles and Covenants
A foundational document presented at the first conference of the church for the approval of church members. The Articles and Covenants included a brief historical prologue, a declaration of beliefs, and a description of the offices, ordinances, and procedures...
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” of this church are plain upon this particular point, I do not deem it important to proceed further.
7
See Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:5–6].
I only add, that I do not, nor never have, pretended to be any other than a man “subject to passion,”
8
See James 5:17.
and liable, without the assisting grace of the Savior, to deviate from that perfect path in which all men are commanded to walk!
By giving the above a place in your valuable paper, you will confer a lasting favor upon myself, as an individual, and, as I humbly hope, subserve the cause of righteousness.
I am, with feelings of esteem, your fellow laborer in the gospel of our Lord.
JOSEPH SMITH jr. [p. 40]
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Footnotes
[1]
Cowdery had told readers in the October 1834 issue of the Messenger and Advocate that he would “hereafter give [them] a full history of the rise of this church, up to the time stated in my introduction; which will necessarily embrace the life and character of this brother [JS].” (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, in LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:16.)
[2]
In October 1834, JS, Oliver Cowdery, and other church leaders left Kirtland, Ohio, for Michigan Territory. Along the way, they encountered a man named Ellmer, who, without knowing that JS was in the company, professed an acquaintance with JS and said he “had heard him preach his lies.” Cowdery asked the man for details about JS’s “appearance, size, age, &c.” and “found that the man was guilty of falsehood.” (Oliver Cowdery, Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:3–4.)
[3]
Although no such written record kept by JS’s parents has been located, the Smith family apparently considered it important to keep records of births, deaths, and marriages. Both JS and Hyrum Smith had family Bibles that contained such information. In addition, a family Bible kept by Asael Smith, JS’s grandfather, contains genealogical information. (JS Family Bible; Hyrum Smith Family Bible; Asael Smith Family Bible, 3–14; see also Youngreen, “From the Prophet’s Life,” 33.)
JS Family Bible / Joseph Smith Family Bible, ca. 1831–1866. Private possession. Copy of genealogical information in Joseph Smith Sr. Family Reunions Files, 1972–2003. CHL.
Hyrum Smith Family Bible, 1834. In Hyrum Smith, Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.
Asael Smith Family Bible, 1795–1950. Private possession. Copy of genealogical information at CHL. MS 19012.
Youngreen, Buddy. “From the Prophet’s Life: A Photo Essay.” Ensign, Jan. 1984, 32–41.
[4]
JS’s family moved from Norwich, Vermont, to the village of Palmyra, New York, in 1816. The family likely first lived in a home on the southeast corner of the intersection of Johnson and Vienna streets. The following year they were living in the vicinity of West Main Street. In 1818 or 1819, the family moved two miles south of Palmyra and built a log house just inside the Palmyra Township line. They remained in the log home until 1825 or 1826, when they moved into a frame house about seven hundred feet to the south, in Manchester Township. (Coray, Notebook, ca. 1841–ca. 1850, [23]; Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 3:412; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 3, [7]–[8]; Berrett, Sacred Places, 2:197, 200.)
Coray, Martha Jane Knowlton. Notebook, ca. 1841–ca. 1850. BYU.
Vogel, Dan, ed. Early Mormon Documents. 5 vols. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996–2003.
Smith, Lucy Mack. History, 1844–1845. 18 books. CHL. MS 2049. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
[5]
For an example of such an accusation, see David Stafford, Statement, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 249.
[6]
In his 1832 history, JS stated that as a youth he “fell into transgressions and sinned in many things which brought a wound upon my soul.” A later JS history states that he “frequently fell into many foolish errors and displayed the weakness of youth and the corruption of human nature.” (JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; JS History, vol. A-1, 5.)
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
[7]
See Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:5–6].
[8]
See James 5:17.