Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, circa 22 March 1839
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Source Note
JS, , , , and , Letter, [, Clay Co., MO], to and the church, , Adams Co., IL, [ca. 22 Mar. 1839]; handwriting of , with insertion by JS; signatures of JS, , , , and ; nine pages; Revelations Collection, CHL. Includes address and dockets, with a redaction in graphite.Three bifolia measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document was trifolded twice in letter style for mailing and was then addressed. The final leaf has marked soiling, and there is separation at the folds, with some loss of paper. Likely after being damaged at the folds, the bifolia were fastened with staples; subsequently, the staples were removed. The document has undergone conservation more than once. When cellophane tape was removed, the paper was damaged, reducing the legibility of portions of the document. Mold and then bleaching to remove the mold have caused the ink to fade, further reducing legibility.The Times and Seasons published an edited version of the letter in July 1840. Church clerk copied the letter into JS’s multivolume manuscript history in 1845. The letter was included in inventories for the Church Historian’s Office in about 1904, and it was cataloged in the Revelations Collection in 1983, indicating continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
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1
“An Extract of a Letter Written to Bishop Partridge,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:131–134.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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2
JS History, vol. C-1, 907–912; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 441.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
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3
See “Index to Papers. in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, p. 3; “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, p. 1, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; and the full bibliographic entry for the Revelations Collection in the CHL catalog.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
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1
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Historical Introduction
Around 22 March 1839, JS composed this epistle in the in , Missouri. Addressed to and the , the letter offered counsel on a range of issues. The epistle was the second letter JS wrote to the church in March 1839, and he evidently planned to write additional general epistles that month, offering guidance and comfort to the church after the devastating setbacks of 1838 and amid church members’ forced removal from in early 1839. The first epistle, addressed to the church in general and Partridge in particular, was drafted on 20 March 1839 and included meditations on persecution and the church’s divine destiny. At the conclusion of the missive, JS stated that the prisoners’ intent was to “continue to offer further reflections in our next epistle.” This undated letter appears to be the promised sequel. JS was the primary author of the epistle, although the other prisoners may have assisted in its composition. Like the 20 March 1839 epistle, the undated letter shifts between three rhetorical perspectives: the first-person plural of all the prisoners, the first-person singular of JS, and the voice of Deity directed to JS. Each prisoner signed the letter.Dating the letter presents significant challenges. On 21 March 1839, JS informed , “I have sent an Epistle to the church,” presumably referring to the 20 March letter. He then told her that he intended to “send an other as soon as posible,” likely referring to this undated epistle. The undated letter could have been written anytime between 21 March and 6 April, the day the prisoners left for , Missouri, to appear before the Circuit Court. However, JS likely wrote it around 22 March, the day he composed a letter to land speculator , who had offered to sell the church land in and . In the 20 March 1839 epistle, JS deferred to the judgment of church leaders in , Illinois, regarding whether to accept Galland’s offer. JS’s thinking evidently changed by the time he wrote the letter to Galland on 22 March. In that letter, JS remarked that “the church would be wise in making the contract” and requested that Galland reserve the land for the Saints. JS used similar language in the undated epistle, stating that “the church would do well to secure to themselves” Galland’s land offer.In the epistle, JS revisited other major themes of the 20 March 1839 letter and also included new insights. In the earlier epistle, JS reflected on lessons learned from past mistakes; in the undated missive, JS further contemplated previous errors and suggested ways to avert similar problems in the future. The second epistle also contained an extended meditation on the righteous use of power; during the meditation, the perspective transitioned from the combined voice of JS and his companions addressing a general church audience to the voice of Deity addressing JS with regard to his future influence. After reviewing JS’s recent arrest, forced separation from his family, and incarceration, the divine voice assured JS that his suffering would provide necessary experience. The letter then returned to the voice of JS and his companions, alternating between first-person singular and first-person plural. The epistle also instructed the Saints to prepare affidavits describing their losses in , to be submitted to government officials. The letter then concluded with an extended affirmation of the inspired nature of the Constitution and the principle of religious liberty.JS presumably dictated the rough draft of the epistle, which is in the handwriting of , who acted as scribe for other lengthy documents produced in the jail. This draft contains corrections by JS. When it was completed, each of the prisoners signed the epistle before it was folded in letter style and addressed to JS’s wife in . For reasons that remain unclear, McRae then produced a fair copy that incorporated JS’s revisions to the rough draft. After McRae and JS made additional minor corrections to the fair copy, the prisoners signed it, and then it was folded and addressed to Emma Smith. The fair copy is featured here because it appears to be the most complete version of the letter sent to .The undated general epistle may have been among the “package of letters” that church member obtained from the on 22 March 1839. Alternatively, if the letter was not yet completed at the time of Ripley’s visit, other visitors to the jail in late March and early April, including and , may have been entrusted with the letter. The letter was presumably delivered to , as it was addressed to her. On 11 April 1839, ’s wife, Mary Fielding Smith, indicated that both the 20 March 1839 epistle and the undated letter had arrived in . “We have seen the Epistols to the Church and read them several times,” she wrote to her husband. “They seem like food for the hungrey we have taken great pleasure on perusing them.” The undated epistle evidently was circulated widely among church members in Illinois, as indicated by the early copies that and made. An edited version of the letter was published twice in 1840—in church newspapers in , Illinois, and in , England—further increasing the letter’s circulation.
Footnotes
- 1
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2
See Historical Introduction to Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.
- 3
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4
The letter’s closing indicates that JS and his companions were still prisoners. The letter does not reference leaving the Clay County jail, meaning the letter was likely written before the prisoners departed Liberty on 6 April 1839. It is possible, though not likely, that it was written toward the end of their stay in Liberty rather than around 22 March. Hyrum Smith generally noted in his journal when correspondence arrived and was sent out. He did not write in his journal between 20 and 29 March, and his journal entries from 30 March to 6 April do not mention JS composing a general epistle to the church. When church clerks copied the undated letter into JS’s manuscript history in 1845, they inserted the epistle between entries for 25 March and 4 April 1839, dates associated with the departure of Heber C. Kimball and Theodore Turley from Liberty for Jefferson City, Missouri, and their later return to Liberty. (Hyrum Smith, Diary, 30 Mar.–6 Apr. 1839; Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 25 Mar.–4 Apr. 1839; see also Historical Introduction to Petition to George Tompkins, between 9 and 15 Mar. 1839.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
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5
JS’s thinking may have changed because he had given Galland’s 26 February 1839 letter greater thought than he had before writing the 20 March missive. (Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.)
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6
Isaac Galland, Commerce, IL, to David Rogers, [Quincy, IL], 26 Feb. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 1.
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7
Portions of the undated epistle were subsequently canonized in sections 121–123 of the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Doctrine and Covenants, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Containing the Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, Jun., the Prophet, for the Building Up of the Kingdom of God in the Last Days. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Office, 1876.
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8
See Petition to George Tompkins, between 9 and 15 Mar. 1839; and Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.
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9
Parley P. Pratt recalled that when JS dictated documents, “each sentence was uttered slowly and very distinctly, and with a pause between each, sufficiently long for it to be recorded, by an ordinary writer, in long hand.” McRae’s script in the rough draft is notably looser than in other documents he inscribed for JS in the jail, especially the fair copy of the letter, and may be the result of dictation. Although both the rough draft and the fair copy were written on paper of the same size, the relative tightness of McRae’s script in the fair copy enabled him to fit an additional two to three words per line, reducing the length of the document by two pages. This draft contains the type of error commonly made by scribes who mishear similar-sounding words. For example, McRae wrote “thine elder one.” When correcting the manuscript, JS canceled “one” and inserted “son.” (Pratt, Autobiography, 48; JS et al., [Liberty, MO], to Edward Partridge and the Church, Quincy, IL, [ca. 22 Mar. 1839], Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
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10
Both the rough draft and the fair copy were folded, addressed, and carried to Illinois, but it is unknown whether they were transported together.
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11
Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:323.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
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12
Hyrum Smith, Diary, 30 Mar.–4 Apr. 1839. Heber C. Kimball, Theodore Turley, and Alanson Ripley were associated with the removal committee, a group charged with assisting the prisoners in Liberty and with organizing the Latter-day Saint exodus from Missouri. Ripley departed Missouri in early April and could have taken the undated letter to Illinois. (Far West Committee, Minutes, 26 Jan. 1839; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, 1839–1860, CHL; Letter from Alanson Ripley, 10 Apr. 1839; see also Far West Committee, Minutes, 7 Apr. 1839.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
Far West Committee. Minutes, Jan.–Apr. 1839. CHL. MS 2564.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
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13
Just as JS had wanted Emma Smith “to have the first reading” of the 20 March 1839 epistle, he likely wanted her to be the first to read the undated epistle. (Letter to Emma Smith, 21 Mar. 1839.)
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14
Mary Fielding Smith, [Quincy, IL], to Hyrum Smith, 11 Apr. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
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15
See JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839, copy, CHL; JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, copy, Albert Perry Rockwood, Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; “An Extract of a Letter Written to Bishop Partridge,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:131–134; and “Letter from Elder Jos. Smith,” LDS Millennial Star, Dec. 1840, 195–199.
Smith, Joseph. Letter, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839. Copy. CHL.
Rockwood, Albert Perry. Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
For more information on Galland’s offer to sell property in Iowa Territory and Commerce, Illinois, to the church, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Edward Partridge, 5 Mar. 1839; and Historical Introduction to Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.
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2
In his letter dated 26 February 1839, Galland reported that Van Allen (1816–1839) had recently stated he would endeavor to protect the Latter-day Saints “from insult or violence.” (Isaac Galland, Commerce, IL, to David Rogers, [Quincy, IL], 26 Feb. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 2.)
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3
Albert Ellis (1800–1885) was appointed the first surveyor general of Iowa Territory. In late February or early March 1839, Ellis met with church leaders in Quincy and offered to identify sites in Iowa Territory where the Latter-day Saints could settle. Further, Ellis stated that after the Saints selected a site, he would submit a petition to the United States Congress, “requesting that the entire tract be given to” the Saints. The minutes for the undated meeting with Ellis were included in the packet of documents Rogers delivered to the prisoners on 19 March 1839. (Wisconsin Bureau of Vital Statistics, Registration of Deaths, ca. 1862–1907, vol. I, p. 64, microfilm 1,311,649, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 207, 208; Minutes, no date, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 48.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, for the Years 1873, 1874, 1875 and 1876. Vol. 7. Madison, WI: E. B. Bolens, 1876.
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4
JS inserted “to this end” in the rough draft.
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5
See Isaiah 11:5.
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6
The rough draft had “the saints,” which JS canceled; he then inserted “unto them.”
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7
See Zephaniah 1:15.
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8
JS inserted “of heaven” in the rough draft.
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9
JS inserted “else where and” in the rough draft.
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10
JS inserted “the saints and” in the rough draft.
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11
See Ephesians 4:30.
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12
See Isaiah 32:15; Ezekiel 39:29; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 164 [Mosiah 4:20].
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13
See Romans 8:26–27.
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14
See Matthew 20:16; 22:14.
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15
See Psalm 32:1; Romans 4:7; and 1 Peter 4:8.
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16
See Acts 26:14.
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17
TEXT: “[Page torn]xercise”.
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18
TEXT: “ma[page torn]y”.
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19
TEXT: “[Page torn]”. Here and in the rest of the document, missing text was supplied from the rough draft of this letter. (JS et al., [Liberty, MO], to Edward Partridge and the Church, Quincy, IL, [ca. 22 Mar. 1839], Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
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20
TEXT: “ch[page torn]”. See Matthew 20:16; 22:14.
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21
TEXT: “[Page torn]f[page torn]”.
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22
TEXT: “[Page torn]rt[page torn]”.
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23
See 2 Corinthians 6:6; and 1 Peter 1:22.
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24
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 315 [Alma 32:28].
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25
See Galatians 6:10.
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26
See Hebrews 1:8.
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27
See Daniel 4:34; 7:14.
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28
TEXT: “[Page torn]to”.
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29
See Isaiah 52:10; Psalm 65:5; Job 37:3; Acts 13:47; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 524 [Mormon 3:18].
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30
TEXT: “[Page torn]uire”.
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31
TEXT: “na[page torn]”.
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32
TEXT: “deri[page torn]ion”.
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33
See Matthew 5:8; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 128 [Jacob 3:2]; and Revelation, 2 Aug. 1833–A [D&C 97:21].
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34
For more information on the prosecution witnesses at the November 1838 hearing, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
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35
See 2 Corinthians 11:26.
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36
Lucy Mack Smith later recalled that when JS was arrested, the Smith family feared he would be shot. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 16, [2].)
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37
The rough draft had “one,” which JS canceled; he then inserted “son.”
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38
Joseph Smith III recalled that when JS “was brought to the house by an armed guard I ran out of the gate to greet him, but was roughly pushed away from his side by a sword in the hand of the guard and not allowed to go near him. My mother, also, was not permitted to approach him and had to receive his farewell by word of lip only.” (“The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith,” Saints’ Herald, 6 Nov. 1934, 1414.)
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
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39
See Genesis 37:20, 22, 24; 2 Samuel 18:17; Revelation 20:3; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 557 [Ether 9:29].
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40
For more information on the 1 November 1838 court-martial, in which JS and other church leaders were sentenced to death, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
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41
See Jonah 2:3.
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42
JS inserted “and shall be for thy good” in the rough draft.
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43
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 582 [Moroni 8:16].
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44
See Genesis 48:21.
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45
See Matthew 9:36; John 11:52; and James 1:1.
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46
On 16 January 1839, the First Presidency wrote in a letter to senior apostles Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young that “the gathering of necessity [had] stopt” but that, pending further developments, the Latter-day Saints could consider gathering to “Kirtland, and the regions round about.” (Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839.)
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47
JS inserted “in property” in the rough draft.
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48
In 1831 JS dictated a revelation that outlined the “Laws of the Church of Christ” for consecrating, or donating, property to the church to assist the poor. In the 1830s, church leaders used several strategies to administer these laws, with varying degrees of success. During summer 1838, the church organized multiple firms designed to combine the resources and organize the labor of the burgeoning Latter-day Saint population in Missouri. According to church member Luman Shurtliff, he “was attached with all [he] possessed” to “a cooperative Firm” led by Isaac Morley, a counselor in the Far West bishopric, and the firms were divided into companies of ten men. Property was apparently leased to the church rather than transferred outright. The firms were designed to facilitate agricultural production; coordinate the construction of homes, a temple, and other church buildings; and stimulate manufacturing to help the church achieve economic independence. Laborers were paid one dollar per day and were given access to the church’s storehouses for provisions. Although JS taught that participation in the firms was voluntary, dissenters John Corrill and Reed Peck later stated that Sampson Avard and other Danites resorted to coercion to enforce participation. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:1–72]; JS, Journal, 27 July and 20–21 Aug. 1838; Shurtliff, Autobiography, 119; Rockwood, Journal, 6 Oct. 1838; Corrill, Brief History, 45–46; Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 34–35, 53–55, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 8 July 1838–C [D&C 119].)
Shurtliff, Luman Andros. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1852–1876. CHL. MS 1605.
Rockwood, Albert Perry. Journal Entries, Oct. 1838–Jan. 1839. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2606.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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49
JS inserted “and virtious and honest” in the rough draft.
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50
See 2 Timothy 3:5.
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51
See 1 Corinthians 4:15.
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52
JS inserted “and hellish” in the rough draft.
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53
See Romans 1:20; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:82].
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54
See Psalm 89:13. These instructions to document and publicize the Saints’ persecutions reiterated directions in an 1833 revelation to petition Missouri judges, the Missouri governor, and the president of the United States for redress following the 1833 expulsion of Latter-day Saints from Jackson County, Missouri. The revelation promised that if these officials denied the Saints’ petitions, “the Lord [would] arise and come forth out of his hiding place & in his fury vex the nation.” In late 1833 and in 1834, church members petitioned the aforementioned officials, as well as the American people in general, but the Saints received no relief. (Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:81–92]; Historical Introduction to Letter, 30 Oct. 1833; Jennings, “Importuning for Redress,” 15–29; see also Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839.)
Jennings, Warren A. “Importuning for Redress.” Bulletin 27, no. 1 (Oct. 1970): 15–29. Published by the Missouri Historical Society.
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55
On 22 March 1839, JS wrote in a letter to Galland that the Latter-day Saints opposed “creeds or superstitious notions of men,” presumably referring to official statements of belief that various religious groups had adopted throughout the history of Christianity. JS explained that such creeds violated “the first and fundamental principle of our holy religion,” and he asserted that the Saints had the “right to embrace all, and every item of truth, without limitation or without being circumscribed.” (Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.)
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56
See Jeremiah 16:19.
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57
See Malachi 4:6.
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58
See Romans 8:21–22; and Works of the Rev. Isaac Watts, 3:208.
The Works of the Rev. Isaac Watts. D. D. 9 vols. Leeds, England: William Baynes, 1812.
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59
See Deuteronomy 28:48; and Jeremiah 28:13–14.
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60
See Isaiah 28:22.
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61
See Ephesians 4:14.
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62
See 1 Corinthians 4:5.
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63
See Exodus 14:13.
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64
See Isaiah 53:1.
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65
In June 1838, the Society of the Daughter of Zion (later known as the Danite band) was organized in Caldwell County in response to internal and external opposition to the church. Former Danite leader Sampson Avard claimed in his testimony before Judge Austin A. King in November 1838 that JS suggested the “band should be bound together by a covenant.” However, it remains unclear what role—if any—JS played in formulating the oath that Avard recited in court: “In the name of Jesus Christ the son of God, I do solemnly obligate myself, ever to conceal & never to reveal the secret purposes of this society called the daughter of Zion; Should I ever do the same I hold my life as the forfeiture.” John Corrill, who was critical of the society, believed that the Danites swore additional oaths to support each other whether “right or wrong,” to correct wrongs internally rather than relying on the law, to uphold the First Presidency without question, and to eliminate dissent in the church. (Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [2]–[3], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; Corrill, Brief History, 30–31; see also R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 39–41.)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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66
See Genesis 17:13; Ezekiel 16:60; Hebrews 13:20; and Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:39].
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67
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 23, 487 [1 Nephi 10:14; 3 Nephi 16:10].
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Insertion in the handwriting of JS.
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68
In the rough draft, “which belongs” was canceled here.
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69
In the rough draft, JS inserted “that are not of our faith.”
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70
This language parallels the famous rhetoric of religious liberty that Thomas Jefferson used in his Notes on the State of Virginia. In the late eighteenth century, governments at the state and federal levels began passing laws and constitutional provisions such as the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. These laws and provisions, prompted largely by growing religious diversity, guaranteed the free exercise of religion first to white Protestants of all sects and gradually to white non-Protestants. This extension of religious liberty involved disestablishing previously privileged churches and ensuring that all churches enjoyed equal rights. These significant legal changes were paralleled by cultural changes, with white Americans beginning to accept coexistence with members of diverse religious groups. Although religious prejudice did not disappear, as the experience of many Catholics, Latter-day Saints, Jews, and other religious minorities attested, the formal granting of religious liberty gave rise to an unprecedented sense of ecumenism and pluralism in American society. (Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia,” 93–97; An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom [16 Jan. 1786], in Hening, Statutes at Large, 84–86; U.S. Constitution, amend. I; see also Beneke, Beyond Toleration, 6–10.)
Jefferson, Thomas. “Notes on the State of Virginia,” 1783–1784. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.
Hening, William Waller, ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. Vol. 12. Richmond, VA: George Cochran, 1823.
Beneke, Chris. Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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71
Many Americans in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century interpreted the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1787 as providential, arguing that God inspired the framers as they drafted the charter, guiding them to make the United States an “asylum for liberty.” In 1833 JS dictated a revelation affirming that God “established the constitution of this Land by the hands of wise men” whom he “raised up unto this very purpose.” (Guyatt, Providence and the Invention of the United States, 142–146; Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:80].)
Guyatt, Nicholas. Providence and the Invention of the United States, 1607–1876. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
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72
See Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:10–11; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 44 [1 Nephi 17:29].
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73
“Tree of liberty” was a common nineteenth-century phrase used to describe the United States and its Constitution; the tree’s branches extended to provide equal protection for all. (See, for example, Knox, Essays, Moral and Literary, 3:317; and “Charm of the Word Liberty,” 247.)
Knox, Vicesimus. Essays, Moral and Literary. 15th ed. 3 vols. London: J. Mawman and Poultry, 1803.
“Charm of the Word Liberty.” Southern Lady’s Companion 2, no. 11 (Feb. 1849): 246–247.
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74
That is, the Doctrine and Covenants.
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75
See 2 Corinthians 5:1.
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76
See Hebrews 11:10.
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77
See Psalms 8:4; 144:3; and Hebrews 2:6.
-
78
See Ecclesiastes 9:11.
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79
No subsequent epistle from the prisoners has been located.
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80
TEXT: “brethe[page torn]en”.
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81
See Philemon 1:13; and Revelation 14:6.
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82
See Philemon 1:9.
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83
See Mark 8:35.
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84
See Genesis 49:25.
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85
“Serve God with an undivided heart” was a common nineteenth-century saying. (See, for example, Morison, Family Prayers, 196; and Doubleday, “Wife of President Edwards,” 137.)
Morison, John. Family Prayers for Every Morning and Evening throughout the Year. Additional Prayers for Special Occasions. 2nd ed. New York: Fisher, Son, and Company, [1837].
Doubleday, M. E. “The Wife of President Edwards.” Christian Parlor Magazine 7 (1850): 134–138.
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86
TEXT: Original signatures of JS, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae.
