Letter to Church Officers in Clay County, Missouri, 31 August 1835
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Source Note
JS, , , , , and , Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to church officers, , MO, 31 Aug. 1835. Retained copy, [between May 1837 and Mar. 1838], in John Whitmer, History, 1831–ca. 1847, pp. 77–81; handwriting of ; CCLA. For more complete source information, see the source note for John Whitmer, History.
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Historical Introduction
On 31 August 1835, “the of the presidency of and ,” including JS, wrote this letter to church officers in concerning who had the authority to regulate spiritual and temporal affairs there. The letter was apparently written because of “difficulties Existing among the of Mo [Missouri] respecting who should be President of the Elders.” The extant records are not clear as to the exact nature of these difficulties. Though was apparently serving as the president of the elders at this time, it is possible that individuals in Missouri were attempting to appoint someone else to that position. Some of the confusion likely resulted from the fact that the presidency of the Missouri high council and nearly all the counselors were in Kirtland, Ohio, leading to questions about who should govern the church in Missouri in their absence.In the previous several months, JS and other leaders in had received various reports about troubles with the elders in . later recounted that “there came some letters to the Presidency respecting the Presidency of the Elders of Zion, there being some difficulty concerning the matter among them.” Elders who traveled to Kirtland from Missouri also brought information on the subject. In a July 1835 letter, told his wife, , that Peter Brownell and David Shibley, upon arriving in Kirtland, provided him and other church leaders with “tidings from the region of Zion up to June 12th,” including news “that the spirit of Satan had started the Elders to do what they ought not to do and leave undone that which they ought to do.” On 12 July, William W. Phelps stated, church leaders also “received news by up to the 30th of June.” This included “all the intelligence we could wish.”Church leaders had also written to elders in an attempt to resolve these problems. A 1 June 1835 letter from JS, , , and to stated that “the elders in Zion or in her immediate region have no authority, nor right to medelle [meddle] with her affairs.” Instead, the letter continued, the right to administer Zion’s spiritual affairs lay with the Missouri high council, while the governance of Zion’s temporal affairs rested with “the and his council.” Elders were to go out and preach, rather than try to administer the church. Phelps provided additional instruction to the Missouri Saints in a July 1835 letter to his wife, . “The three Presidents of Zion act for her good, whether in Zion, , or ,” he declared. “Therefore, when any one attempts to meddle with her affairs, she will be held to an account before God.” Although Phelps reported in July that these communications “checked the Elders in their crusade for exaltation,” this 31 August 1835 letter suggests that problems remained. It reiterates some of the counsel given in the earlier communications and again clarifies that administration of the church in Missouri, including the ordination of officers, was the purview of the Missouri high council, its presidency, and Bishop .In addition to this counsel, the letter mentions church leaders’ hopes that they could regain the Saints’ lands in , Missouri. According to this letter, church leaders still believed that Governor would call up the militia to escort the Saints back to their lands. However, after the Camp of Israel disbanded in summer 1834, there is no evidence that Dunklin had any intention of calling up the militia. In his November 1834 message to the state legislature, Dunklin raised the plight of the Saints and described their expulsion from Jackson County as an outrage. But Dunklin called on the legislature only “to determine what amendments the laws may require so as to guard against such acts of violence for the future,” not to obtain any kind of help for restoring church members to their lands. Although the Saints hoped that laws preventing future attacks would be passed, the state legislature took no such action. Church leaders continued to pursue lawsuits against their Jackson County assailants and gathered signatures for a petition requesting Dunklin to ask the president of the to call out federal forces on their behalf, but nothing indicated that any kind of substantial relief was forthcoming.At the bottom of this 31 August letter, JS added a postscript to , who had moved to in July 1831 with members of the , New York, branch. In the postscript, JS authorized Peck to read the communication to the Saints in .Three early manuscript copies of this letter exist. One is in the handwriting of and may be the earliest copy. However, ’s signature and JS’s postscript were apparently excised from that version at some point. also copied the letter into his history of the church for this period, possibly written in 1835 but probably in 1838. Although the Phelps copy was likely created earlier, the Whitmer copy, featured here, is more complete, as it includes Rigdon’s signature and the postscript. , who was a member of the church in in 1835, had another copy of the letter, which he provided to the church in 1863, saying he found it in “some old papers.” It is unclear when that copy was made. Major differences in the three versions are noted herein.
Footnotes
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1
JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brethren,” no date, Jameson Family Collection, CHL; JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brother,” 1 Sept. 1835, in JS History, vol. C-1, miscellaneous papers.
Jameson Family Collection, 1825–1938. CHL. MS 14052.
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.
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2
See Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835.
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3
Historical Introduction to Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835.
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4
Whitmer, History, 76; see also “Some Early Letters of William W. Phelps,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Jan. 1940, 29.
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine. Salt Lake City. 1910–1940.
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5
William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835.
Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.
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6
Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835. Part of the letter to Burk was published in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. (Letter to the Saints Scattered Abroad, June 1835.)
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7
William W. Phelps to Sally Waterman Phelps, 20 July 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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8
William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835.
Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.
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9
Not long after the composition of this letter, Phelps stated that it contained “much good instruction.” (William W. Phelps to Sally Waterman Phelps, 9 Sept. 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.)
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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10
“From the West,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1834, 1:41; J. W. Thompson, Jefferson City, MO, to William W. Phelps, 25 Nov. 1834; William W. Phelps, Liberty, MO, to J. W. Thompson, Jefferson City, MO, 11 Dec. 1834, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.
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11
William W. Phelps, Liberty, MO, to J. W. Thompson, Jefferson City, MO, 11 Dec. 1834, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.
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12
William W. Phelps to Robert W. Wells, 5 Jan. 1835, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL; Alvin C. Graves to “Dear Brother,” no date, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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13
This petition was sent to Dunklin in December 1835. (William W. Phelps et al., Kirtland, OH, to Daniel Dunklin, 30 Dec. 1835, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.)
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.
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14
Despite the unwillingness of the Missouri government to restore the Saints to their lands, JS and other church leaders continued to prepare for a return to Jackson County. A May 1835 council in Kirtland voted that church members “never give up the struggle for Zion, even until Death. or until Zion is Redeemed,” and in June 1835, JS told his cousin Almira Mack Scobey that he trusted the Saints would all “receive an inheritance in the land of refuge which is so much to be desired.” Meanwhile, in summer 1835, another council in Kirtland by “the dictation of the Spirit of the Lord through Joseph the Revelator” determined the order in which leaders were to receive inheritances, or parcels of land, in Zion. (Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835; Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835; Whitmer, History, 71–72; William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.)
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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15
Porter, “Study of the Origins,” 299; “Records of Early Church Families,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Apr. 1936, 78.
Porter, Larry C. “A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1971. Also available as A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
“Records of Early Church Families.” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 27 (Apr. 1936): 76–82.
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16
JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brethren,” no date, Jameson Family Collection, CHL.
Jameson Family Collection, 1825–1938. CHL. MS 14052.
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17
Historical Introduction to Whitmer, History.
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18
Holbrook, Reminiscences, 40; Joseph Holbrook, Bountiful, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 22 Jan. 1863, in JS History, vol. C-1, miscellaneous papers; JS et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brother,” 1 Sept. 1835, in JS History, vol. C-1, miscellaneous papers.
Holbrook, Joseph. Reminiscences, not before 1871. Photocopy. CHL. MS 5004. Original in private possession.
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.
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