Revelation, 2 December 1841
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Source Note
Revelation, [, Hancock Co., IL], 2 Dec. 1841. Featured version copied [ca. 25 Jan. 1842] in JS, Journal, 25 Jan. 1842, in Book of the Law of the Lord, p. 66; 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 2 December 1841 JS dictated a revelation stating that and should provide shelter and care for and her children in , Illinois, while her husband, , served a protracted mission abroad. The revelation also contained instruction for Marinda Hyde that may have related to the practice of plural marriage.In conjunction with the Quorum of the Twelve’s second mission to , which ran from 1840 to 1841, was appointed to fulfill a mission to the Jews in , Europe, Constantinople, and the Holy Land with . During Orson’s extended absence and the Hyde children, like the families of the other apostles, faced bouts with infectious disease and acute material hardships, including inadequate shelter, clothing, and food. Hyde and her two daughters were likely living in temporary accommodations or with friends when this revelation was recorded. A 29 January 1842 entry in the Book of the Law of the Lord, which documented a tithing donation Hyde made, seems to confirm the family’s poverty. The notation states that Hyde “presented her offering for the . a Table cloth value $5.00. which was accept[e]d and returned to her again, for her benefit. she having to support herself. & two little. children by her industry while her husband is absent.”and were living in better conditions. Ebenezer was the proprietor and editor of the Times and Seasons, a semimonthly periodical. Though it was not likely a highly lucrative endeavor, the business was doing well enough by spring 1841 that he constructed an “extensive building” on the northwest corner of Water and Bain streets in to house a printing press, stereotype foundry, and bookbindery, as well as to serve as the couple’s home.Though the text of the revelation is dated 2 December 1841, JS and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed the Hydes’ situation two days earlier. In a 30 November 1841 journal entry, noted, “I spent some time with Joseph & the Twelve Joseph says must live with Br & if they receive them kindly and patiently it shall prove a great blessing with them.” Whether or not JS received portions of the revelation before 2 December, the earliest extant copy, featured here, bears that date.After JS dictated the revelation, he apparently delivered a copy to the Robinsons, and delivered a copy to . Reminiscent accounts written by and Hyde indicate that the Robinsons complied with the revelation’s instructions for them. In an 1890 account, Robinson recalled that he and his wife “readily and ungrudgingly” obeyed the revelation by immediately moving Hyde and her two daughters into their home. Similarly, Hyde recalled that the Robinsons “received me and mine and gave us shelter until another place was provided.” Hyde apparently also complied with the instruction directed at her, specifically that she “hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her.” In a reminiscent account written four decades later, Hyde explained that the revelation was delivered to her shortly after JS taught her “the doctrine of celestial marriage.” She added, “I followed the council of the prophet Joseph as above instructed and cherish in my heart the hope of realising the fulfilment of the promises and blessing, herein contained.” In 1869 Hyde recalled that she was “married or sealed” to JS in May 1843. According to a list of marriages and sealings that scribe later added to JS’s journal, Hyde married JS as a plural wife in April 1842. Textual notations on copies of the revelation suggest that two of JS’s scribes, and Bullock, viewed the revelation as primarily addressed to Hyde.The original manuscript of the revelation is not extant, but several copies exist. The featured text, which is the earliest extant copy, was copied into the Book of the Law of the Lord by , likely on or around 25 January 1842. Another handwritten copy was included in a statement signed around 1880.
Footnotes
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1
Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1840. Though Hyde and Page left Nauvoo together in mid-April 1840, they parted before Hyde sailed for England. (Orson Hyde and John E. Page, Quincy, IL, 28 Apr. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:116–117; Letter from Orson Hyde, 15 June 1841.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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2
See Allen et al., Men with a Mission, chap. 11. Death records suggest that many of the early residents of Nauvoo suffered from mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria (also known as “ague”), and disorders brought on by malnutrition and poor hygiene, such as canker (also known as “noma”). (Heiner et al., “Medical Terms Used by Saints in Nauvoo,” 151–162; Ivie and Heiner, “Deaths in Early Nauvoo,” 163–173.)
Allen, James B., Ronald K. Esplin, and David J. Whittaker. Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.
Heiner, Douglas C., Evan L. Ivie, and Teresa Lovell Whitehead. “Medical Terms Used by Saints in Nauvoo and Winter Quarters, 1839–48.” Religious Educator 10, no. 3 (2009): 150–162.
Ivie, Evan L., and Douglas C. Heiner. “Deaths in Early Nauvoo, 1839–46, and Winter Quarters, 1846–48.” Religious Educator 10, no. 3 (2009): 163–173.
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3
The Hyde family’s exact place of residence at the time of this revelation is unknown. Orson, a pregnant Marinda, and their two-year-old daughter, Laura, briefly lived with Emma Smith during fall 1839; their daughter Emily was born in Commerce, Illinois, on 13 December 1839. In February 1840 the family was living with a Mrs. McFall but apparently planned to move to the “Bosier place” shortly thereafter. (“History of Orson Hyde,” 16, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Letter from Emma Smith, 6 Dec. 1839; Joseph Smith Hyde, “Orson Hyde Genealogy,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Apr. 1913, 60; Vilate Murray Kimball and Orson Hyde, Commerce, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 2 Feb. 1840, photocopy, Heber C. and Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, CHL; see also Orson Hyde, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1843, 4:91; and Richards, Journal, 10 June 1843.)
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine. Salt Lake City. 1910–1940.
Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
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5
Masthead, Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1841, 3:638; [Ebenezer Robinson], Editorial, Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1841, 3:615; Bray, “Times and Seasons,” 72–73; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, July 1890, 302; Sept. 1890, 324.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Bray, Robert T. “Times and Seasons: An Archaeological Perspective on Early Latter Day Saints Printing.” Historical Archaeology 13 (1979): 53–119.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
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6
Woodruff, Journal, 30 Nov. 1841.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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7
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde, Statement, ca. 1880, CHL; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Sept. 1890, 324.
Hyde, Marinda Nancy Johnson. Statement, [ca. 1880]. CHL. MS 23157.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
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8
Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Sept. 1890, 324.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
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9
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde, Statement, ca. 1880, CHL. Hyde and her children remained in the home even after Ebenezer Robinson sold it and the printing establishment to the church on 4 February 1842. After Orson Hyde returned from England in January 1842, he traveled to the eastern United States to preach and to raise funds to build a house for his family. That house was not completed until June 1843. (Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Oct. 1890, 346–347; Orson Hyde, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1843, 4:91; Richards, Journal, 10 June 1843.)
Hyde, Marinda Nancy Johnson. Statement, [ca. 1880]. CHL. MS 23157.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
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10
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde, Statement, ca. 1880, CHL. Hyde’s statement was created sometime between the time Orson Hyde died, on 28 November 1878, and the time she died, on 24 March 1886. The statement was signed during a period when the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was making a concerted effort to deny JS’s involvement in plural marriage; in response, more than a dozen women, encouraged by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah, signed formal affidavits stating that they had married JS in Nauvoo. (See, for example, the affidavits in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.)
Hyde, Marinda Nancy Johnson. Statement, [ca. 1880]. CHL. MS 23157.
Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.
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11
Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:15.
Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.
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12
List, in JS, Journal, Dec. 1842–June 1844, bk. 2, p. [310]. JS had married several plural wives by late 1841. The list Bullock made documents eight marriages or sealings of church members in 1842 and 1843; some of the ceremonies were plural marriages, while others involved sealing for eternity individuals who were already married to each other. Bullock inscribed the list sometime after becoming one of JS’s scribes in October or November 1843. (Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 4.)
Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001.
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13
Richards wrote the name “N. M. Hyde” immediately following the date in the featured copy of the revelation. Richards and Bullock may have relied on this copy when compiling JS’s 1838–1856 history. In that history the revelation is prefaced by the statement “I received the following Revelation to Nancy Marinda Hyde.” (JS History, vol. C-1, 1258.)
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14
The Book of the Law of the Lord contains JS’s journal, revelation texts, and records of financial donations to the church. The entries are not always in chronological order, and some dates have multiple entries, casting doubt on the precise date this copy of the revelation was inscribed. During the first few months after being appointed JS’s scribe, Richards left pages blank and then later filled those spaces with texts from earlier months. It is possible that Richards either copied the revelation into the book on 25 January, as dated, or copied it after 25 February 1842 (the latest entry date preceding the 25 January entry). Sometime between 24 February and 3 May 1845, Bullock copied the featured version from the Book of the Law of the Lord (with a few changes to punctuation) into JS’s 1838–1856 history. (JS History, vol. C-1, 1258.)
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15
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde, Statement, ca. 1880, CHL.
Hyde, Marinda Nancy Johnson. Statement, [ca. 1880]. CHL. MS 23157.
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