Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 January 1833
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Source Note
and , on behalf of “a of 12 ” (including JS), Letter, , Kirtland Township, OH, to “the his councel and the inhabitents of ,” [, MO], 14 Jan. 1833. Retained copy, [ca. 14 Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 20–25; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.
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Historical Introduction
A “ of ,” including JS, met in , Ohio, on 13 January 1833, in part to assign and to write a letter to the leaders of the church in . Hyde and Smith composed the letter on 14 January, after which the conference reconvened so that participants could review and approve what they had written. The letter described Kirtland leaders’ objections to the tone and content of several letters from Missouri leaders. It also reaffirmed the conference’s desire to see church members living in repent, thereby forestalling calamities that awaited the disobedient.This was the latest letter in a series of correspondence between and church leaders. JS and others had been attempting for some time to curb what they perceived as a spirit of rebellion in Missouri. Such perceptions arose from JS’s interactions with Missouri leaders during a trip to , Missouri, in the spring of 1832, as well as from several letters, none of which are extant, sent to JS between June 1832 and January 1833 from Missouri leaders such as , , and . In answer to these communications, JS sent letters to Phelps on 31 July 1832, 27 November 1832, and 11 January 1833, calling the Missouri leaders to repentance. Because and ’s letter addressing the discord came at the behest of this conference of twelve high priests, it may have served as an even stronger chastisement than JS’s letters. According to a later JS history, the transmission of Hyde and Smith’s letter, JS’s 11 January 1833 letter to Phelps, and a revelation of 27–28 December 1832, which JS described as “the Lords message of peace to us,” caused the Missouri leaders to evince a spirit of repentance. On 26 February 1833, a special council of high priests convened in Missouri and resolved that a committee “write an epistle to our brethren in Kirtland,” apparently in response to the letters from Hyde and Smith and JS. At that February conference, the high priests in attendance “all kneeled before the Lord & asked him to effect a perfect harmony between us & our brethren in Kirtland which was the desire of our hearts.” Such actions, according to the later JS history, were “satisfactory to the presidency and church at Kirtland.”The original letter is no longer extant. copied the letter into JS’s letterbook, probably soon after its creation.
Footnotes
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1
See Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833; and Letter to Emma Smith, 6 June 1832.
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2
See Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832; Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833. It is probable that JS sent additional letters, but only these three are known.
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3
JS History, vol. A-1, 282; Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833. The 27–28 December 1832 revelation was labeled an “Olieve leaf,” the olive leaf being a traditional symbol of peace. Even before receiving these communications, Edward Partridge had apparently called solemn assemblies among the different congregations of Saints in Missouri, exhorting them all to repentance. (Pettigrew, Journal, 15.)
Pettegrew, David. Journal, 1840–1857. Pettigrew Collection, 1836–1883, 1926–1930. CHL. MS 22278, box 1, fd. 1.
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4
Minute Book 2, 26 Feb. 1833.
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5
JS History, vol. A-1, 282.
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1
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
Edward Partridge was the bishop in Missouri. His counselors were Isaac Morley and John Corrill. (Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831 [D&C 41]; Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831.)
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2
Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:76]. The “you” referred to in the revelation is JS, who visited the Missouri congregations in the spring of 1832. (Letter to Emma Smith, 6 June 1832.)
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4
Before adjourning on 13 January, the conference resolved “that prayer be offered up by all the members of the conference that the epistle written might have the desired effect.” The minutes also note that Hyde and Hyrum Smith had “the prayers of the conferen[ce] for the holy spirit to direct them in writing the said Epistle.” (Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833.)
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5
See Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:54–59]. Phelps commented on this condemnation in the January 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star: “The inhabitants of Zion are brought under condemnation for neglecting the book of Mormon, from which they not only received the new covenant, but the fulness of the gospel.” He then asked, “Has this been done for the sake of hunting mysteries in the prophecies? or has it come to pass by carelessness?” This same issue carried an extensive explanation of the Book of Mormon. (“Some of Mormon’s Teaching,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [4]; “The Book of Mormon,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [1]–[3].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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6
JS, Rigdon, and Whitney departed Jackson County on 6 May 1832. (JS History, vol. A-1, 214.)
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7
In the spring of 1832, JS, Rigdon, Whitney, and Jesse Gause traveled to Jackson County, Missouri. They conducted several meetings with leaders in Independence, including one in which difficulties between Rigdon and Edward Partridge were supposedly resolved. In this same meeting, the high priests in attendance sustained JS as president of the high priesthood, and Partridge gave him the right hand of fellowship on behalf of the church in Missouri. (Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.)
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8
Corrill’s letter is not extant, but in a 31 July 1832 letter to Phelps, JS explained that Corrill’s letter “gave us this inteligence, that the Devel had been to work with all his inventive immagination to reward us for our toils in travling from this country to Zion.” The letter, JS continued, mentioned “those things which had been settled & forgiven & which they dare not bring to our faces.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
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9
In July 1832, JS stated that the charges Corrill made against him were “absolutely false & could not come from any other sourse than the fath[e]r of all lies.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
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10
When the church was officially organized on 6 April 1830, a revelation designated JS as “a seer & Translater & Prop[h]et an Apostle of Jesus Christ an Elder of the Church” and instructed the church to “give heed unto all his words & commandments which he ghall [shall] give unto you.” According to a later JS history, the church, “by an unanimous vote,” received him and Oliver Cowdery “as their teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God.” Subsequently, at a 25 January 1832 conference in Amherst, Ohio, JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood. (Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1, 4]; JS History, vol. A-1, 37; Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832.)
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11
It is not clear what specific incidents in the Book of Mormon and the Bible Hyde and Smith are referring to, but several possibilities exist. In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel, the brothers of Nephi, accuse him of seeking to be a ruler over them. After the death of their father, the family splits into two groups—Nephites and Lamanites—mainly because of Laman and Lemuel’s attempts to kill Nephi for “think[ing] to rule over us.” The Nephites “observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord” and therefore “prosper exceedingly.” The Lamanites are not obedient and are “cut off” from the presence of the Lord for a time. In the Bible, chapter 16 of the book of Numbers gives an account of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelling against Moses and Aaron, in part because of their belief that Moses is trying to make himself “altogether a prince over us.” Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are eventually swallowed up by the earth. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 71–73 [2 Nephi 5:2–5, 10–11, 20–24]; Numbers 16:12–13, 31–33.)
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12
See 2 Samuel 12:7.
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13
See 1 Corinthians 5:7.
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14
A July 1831 revelation reiterated a commandment that Gilbert “be an agent unto the church to buy lands in all the regions round about.” It also instructed Gilbert to “establish a store that he may sell goods without fraud that he may obtain money to buy lands for the good of the Saints.” Gilbert had established the store, using funding provided by Whitney. (Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:6, 8]; Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 229–230; see also Revelation, 8 June 1831 [D&C 53].)
Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.
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15
See Isaiah 29:21.
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16
Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:57]. There is no evidence that JS had made any plans to move himself or his family to Missouri at this time.
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17
In his letter to Phelps, JS stated, “The Brethren in Kirtland pray for you unceasingly, for knowing the terrors of the Lord, they greatly fear.” He also explained that “if the fountain of our tears are not dried up we will still weep for zion, this from your brother who trembles greatly for Zion,— and for the wrath of heaven which awaits her if she repent not.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833.)
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18
See Isaiah 52:1.
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19
Hyde and Smith may be referring to an action taken by a council of high priests in Missouri on 3 December 1832. At this council, Isaac Morley and Corrill were appointed to regulate the different branches in Zion. Gilbert was made a member of a committee that would receive and consider recommendations from Morley and Corrill on who should be ordained high priests, elders, and priests in those branches. Apparently, high priests and elders appointed to preach had gone to Zion and assumed authority to direct the operations of branches there, rather than recognizing the authority of those leaders already designated to preside in Missouri. McLellin may have been one of those attempting to direct the branches, or he may have opposed Gilbert’s appointment to this committee. (Minute Book 2, 3 Dec. 1832; JS History, vol. A-1, 283.)
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20
Likely Lewis William Gilbert, brother of Sidney Gilbert. Lewis William Gilbert died on 24 October 1832 in St. Louis after contracting a severe case of cholera. (Jacobus, Families of Ancient New Haven, 655; “Cholera,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6].)
Jacobus, Donald Lines, comp. Familes of Ancient New Haven. Vol. 1–3. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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21
TEXT: Or “Generation,”. See Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:74–75].
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22
The Book of Commandments was being printed in January 1833, but at the time this letter was written, published revelations were most widely available in The Evening and the Morning Star, where Phelps had been printing them since June 1832. (Notice, The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1832, [8]; see also “Revelations Printed in The Evening and the Morning Star.”)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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23
See 1 Peter 5:6.
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24
Days before this letter was composed, JS wrote that “if Zion, will not purify herself so as to be approved of in all things in his sight he will seek— another people for his work will go on untill Isreal is gathered.” (Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833.)
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25
See Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3].
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26
According to the minutes, three elders—William Smith, John F. Boynton, and John Reed—also attended. (Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833.)
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27
See Joel 2:17.
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28
Revelations of 27–28 December 1832 and 3 January 1833 instructed the Saints to establish a school for the “first elders” of the church. As Samuel Smith recorded in his journal, “The Lord commanded the first Elders to Establi[sh] a school & appoint a teacher among them & get l[e]arning by study & by faith get a knowledge of countries & languages & thus the School of the Prophets was established.” (Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]; Samuel Smith, Diary, 8 May 1833; see also Minutes, 22–23 Jan. 1833.)
Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.
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29
Hyde and Samuel Smith had only recently returned from preaching in the eastern United States. According to a report in The Evening and the Morning Star, they baptized sixty individuals and “built up four churches” in Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Hyrum Smith and William Smith had also recently returned from a three-week mission to Pennsylvania, where they baptized twenty-three people. In addition, Lyman Johnson and Orson Pratt had baptized “nearly one hundred” in the East, and Simeon Carter and Jared Carter had baptized over one hundred in Vermont and other eastern states. (“Extracts of Letters from the Elders Abroad,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
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30
Although the minutes of the meeting do not record it, the conference apparently sanctioned everything in the letter except the specific assertions about Sidney Gilbert knowing his brother William was in Cleveland. (See Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833.)