Letter from John E. Page, 23 September 1840

Although Hyde and Page intended to meet up eventually in New York City, Page was mistaken that Hyde was there already. After parting with Page in Cincinnati at the end of August, Hyde spent the following weeks in various parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Writing from Burlington County, New Jersey, on 28 September, Hyde stated that he would soon return to Philadelphia, where he had preached earlier in the month and where he anticipated reuniting with Page. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.)  

The 1840 stereotyped edition of the Book of Mormon was the third American edition. The Book of Mormon was printed first in Palmyra, New York, by E. B. Grandin in 1830, and then again in Kirtland, Ohio, by O. Cowdery & Co. in 1837. It is unclear precisely when the first copies of the new edition of the Book of Mormon were ready for sale or whether Page was still in Cincinnati when they became available. At a session of the general conference in Nauvoo on 4 October 1840, Robinson reported that the printing was “nearly completed.” He might have been referring, however, to the conclusion of the print run. Decades later, his reminiscence in the Return implied that he brought some copies with him when he returned to Nauvoo and had already distributed other copies to people who had paid for advance subscriptions. (Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 261–262.)  

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

Latter-day Saint efforts to initiate the gathering of Israel, of which Hyde’s and Page’s mission was a part, reflected the widespread interest of many North American and western European Christians in the gathering of the Jews and their resettlement of Jerusalem. (See Historical Introduction to Recommendation for Orson Hyde, 6 Apr. 1840.)  

After Page’s letter was read at the general conference in Nauvoo on 3 October 1840, the conference appointed Samuel Bennett—previously the presiding elder of the church branch in Philadelphia—to “take charge of the church which he [Page] and Elder Hyde had raised up in Cincinnatti.” (Minutes and Discourse, 13 Jan. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840.)  

On 17 July 1840, the Nauvoo high council appointed Bent and Harris to procure funds for printing a hymnal, JS’s revision of the Bible, and a new stereotyped edition of the Book of Mormon. (Minutes, 17 July 1840; “Books!!!,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:140; Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840.)  

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Henry G. Sherwood, Charles C. Rich, and Dimick B. Huntington had earlier been appointed as a committee to build homes for the wives of the traveling members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At a 2 May 1840 meeting of the Nauvoo high council, this committee was also assigned to oversee fencing and ploughing on the lots of land owned by these families. The families were also given food and other commodities, when needed. For example, on 15 June 1840, JS wrote to Bishop Newel K. Whitney instructing him to provide to a “Mrs Young”—likely Mary Ann Angell Young, wife of apostle Brigham Young—“any thing she wants” from a store Whitney was operating. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 2 May 1840, 58–59; Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840.)  

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.