Letter to Church Leaders in Kirtland, Ohio, 15 December 1841
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Source Note
First Presidency (including JS), Letter, [, Hancock Co., IL], to [church leaders], [, Lake Co., OH], 15 Dec. 1841. Featured version copied [ca. 15 Dec. 1841] in JS, Journal, 15 Dec. 1841, in Book of the Law of the Lord, p. 31; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124].
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Historical Introduction
On 15 December 1841 JS and his counselors in the replied to a letter from , Ohio, leaders , , , and that enquired about the status of the former president of the Kirtland , ; a proposed printing office; and Kirtland’s status as a place for the Latter-day Saints. The majority of church members left Kirtland for , Missouri, during the first half of 1838, but a small number of Latter-day Saints remained in the vicinity of the once-flourishing community. In May 1839 a church in , Illinois, appointed to return to Kirtland to “take the Charge and oversight of the and preside over the general affairs of the Church in that place.” In early October 1840 Almon Babbitt was appointed to preside over the church in Kirtland.On several occasions in 1839 and 1840, the First Presidency directed converts emigrating from or the eastern to settle in ; however, in a proclamation to “the Saints scattered abroad” in January 1841, JS indicated that “all those who appreciate the blessings of the gospel, and realize the importance of obeying the commandments of heaven,” should move to , Illinois. In a 24 May 1841 missive published in the 1 June issue of the Times and Seasons, JS reiterated that church members should “make preparations to come in, without delay,” and declared that all stakes aside from those in , Illinois, and , Iowa Territory, were discontinued. In his capacity as a missionary in 1840, had encouraged church members in the eastern United States to settle in Kirtland, and he continued to do so openly in 1841 as the presiding authority in Kirtland, despite JS’s directive. Babbitt’s intractable position on Kirtland as a gathering place for the Saints likely contributed to the church’s decision in October 1841 to disfellowship him. In early November, JS revoked Babbitt’s legal authority to act as a financial in Kirtland and replaced him with .After learning that had been disfellowshipped, his former counselors, and , along with and Burdick’s counselor , wrote to JS on 16 November 1841 seeking clarification about Kirtland’s status as a “ to .” They also inquired, “What shall be done with the ‘,[’] and Church property”? Additionally, the Kirtland leaders informed JS of their efforts to establish a printing company, which they had explained in a 2 October conference was intended “the more effectually to promulgate the gospel.”The First Presidency responded to the leaders on 15 December 1841. The letter is not extant, but an extract from that letter was copied into the Book of the Law of the Lord by around the time it was written. The extract was prefaced with the following: “In reply to enquiries concerning . the Printing Press. , &c contained in a letter written at Kirtland, Nov 16[th] 1841. by & , acting Prests.— & , . & council. To. Presidents Joseph Smith & &c. it was decided as follows.”
Footnotes
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2
See Kirtland Elders Quorum, “Record,” 3 Jan.–24 June 1838.
Kirtland Elders Quorum. “A Record of the First Quorurum of Elders Belonging to the Church of Christ: In Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838, 1840–1841. CCLA.
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3
Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; Authorization for Oliver Granger, 6 May 1839.
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5
Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Letter to the Saints in Kirtland, OH, 19 Oct. 1840; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841. In a 26 January 1841 communication to Oliver Granger, JS appeared to convey a more flexible attitude regarding the individuals migrating from the East: “I feel desireous that the Eastern brethren should come to this place [Nauvoo], but at the same time, those who had rather move to Kirtland than to this place are at liberty to do so.” (Letter to Oliver Granger, 26 Jan. 1841.)
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7
Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 3 Apr. 1840; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:2, 84]; Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.
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8
Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841. Unaware that he had been disfellowshipped earlier in the month, Babbitt wrote to JS on 19 October 1841 to explain his position and seek clarification. While Babbitt may have been the most visible advocate of Kirtland as a gathering place, other members of the Kirtland branch apparently shared his viewpoint by fall 1841. In a 12 September 1841 meeting of the Kirtland elders quorum, President Amos Babcock remarked on “the Elders teaching the places of gethering and he Sho[w]ed that Kirtland [was a] place of gethering for the Saints in the last days and that Nauvoo was Also a place of gethering.” The men then voted and came to a nearly “unanimous agreemment with the Elders that Kirtland was a place of gethering.” (Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841; Kirtland Elders Quorum, “Record,” 12 Sept. 1841.)
Kirtland Elders Quorum. “A Record of the First Quorurum of Elders Belonging to the Church of Christ: In Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838, 1840–1841. CCLA.
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9
Revocation of Letter of Attorney, 2 Nov. 1841; JS to Reuben McBride, Letter of Attorney, 2 Nov. 1841, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 213–214; see also Power of Attorney to Reuben McBride, 28 Oct. 1841.
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10
Letter from Lester Brooks et al., 16 Nov. 1841. Oliver Granger, JS’s other agent in Kirtland, oversaw various land transfers and was entrusted with the keys to the House of the Lord until he died in August 1841. (Agreement with Oliver Granger, 29 Apr. 1840; Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840; Letter to Oliver Granger, 4 May 1841.)
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11
“Kirtland Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1841, 3:587–589. During the same conference, Kirtland church members voted that Bishop Burdick and his counselors establish a publishing company in Kirtland and that the subscription money be “held in trust and managed by the said company, for the benefit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” The minutes also stipulated that the company would print a periodical called the Olive Leaf. There is no evidence that the publishing company ever printed anything.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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