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Journal, 1839

16 April 1839 • Tuesday Page 1 22–23 April 1839 • Monday–Tuesday Page 1 24 April–3 May 1839 • Wednesday–Friday Page 1 4 May 1839 • Saturday Page 1 5 May 1839 • Sunday Page 1 6 May 1839 • Monday Page 1 7 May 1839 • Tuesday Page 1 10 May 1839 • Friday Page 1 13–14 May 1839 • Monday–Tuesday Page 1 14–19 May 1839 • Tuesday–Sunday Page 1 20–24 May 1839 • Monday–Friday Page 2 25 May 1839 • Saturday Page 2 26 May 1839 • Sunday Page 2 27 May–8 June 1839 • Monday–Saturday Page 2 9 June 1839 • Sunday Page 2 10 June 1839 • Monday Page 2 11 June 1839 • Tuesday Page 2 12–14 June 1839 • Wednesday–Friday Page 2 15 June 1839 • Saturday Page 2 15–17 June 1839 • Saturday–Monday Page 3 16 June 1839 • Sunday Page 3 17 June 1839 • Monday Page 3 18 June 1839 • Tuesday Page 3 18 June 1839 • Tuesday Page 3 20 June 1839 • Thursday Page 4 22–23 June 1839 • Saturday–Sunday Page 4 24–25 June 1839 • Monday–Tuesday Page 4 26 June 1839 • Wednesday Page 4 27 June 1839 • Thursday Page 4 28 June 1839 • Friday Page 5 29 June 1839 • Saturday Page 5 30 June 1839 • Sunday Page 5 1 July 1839 • Monday Page 5 2 July 1839 • Tuesday Page 5 3 July 1839 • Wednesday Page 6[b] 4–5 July 1839 • Thursday–Friday Page 6[b] 6 July 1839 • Saturday Page 6[b] 7 July 1839 • Sunday Page 6[b] 8–20 July 1839 • Monday–Saturday Page 9 21 July 1839 • Sunday Page 9 22–23 July 1839 • Monday–Tuesday Page 9 28 July–3 August 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 9 4 August 1839 • Sunday Page 10 11–17 August 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 11 18–24 August 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 11 25–31 August 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 11 1–7 September 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 11 8–14 September 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 12 15 September 1839 • Sunday Page 12 16–21 September 1839 • Monday–Saturday Page 12 22–28 September 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 12 29 September–6 October 1839 • Sunday–Sunday Page 12 6–12 October 1839 • Sunday–Saturday Page 14 13 October 1839 • Sunday Page 14 15 October 1839 • Tuesday Page 14

Source Note

JS, “Minute Book. 1839 J. Smiths Journal Escape from Prison,” Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839; handwriting of
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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; fifteen pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes redactions and archival marking.
Makeshift notebook measuring 10 × 4 inches (25 × 10 cm). The journal was fashioned by folding eight 10 × 8 inch (25 × 20 cm) sheets of paper in half lengthwise to form the notebook of sixteen leaves (thirty-two pages). Inscriptions that reach the end of a line and cross the gutter onto another leaf indicate that the folded pages were not sewn during their original use. Wear on the first and last pages indicates that the pages were not bound for some time. The text of the journal is inscribed on the first fifteen pages in black ink that later turned brown. The remaining seventeen pages are blank. At some point, a sheet of blue stock measuring 10 × 16 inches (25 × 41 cm) was folded in half twice to create a cover that measures 10 × 4 inches; the notebook was then pamphlet bound with hand stitching. On the front cover,
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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wrote “Minute Book. | 1839 | J. Smiths Journal | Escape from Prison”, below which are seven decorative underlines in black ink. Near the top of the back cover, the lines “Joseph Smith’s Journal | Escape from Prison 1839” are written sideways in black ink. This notation, in unidentified handwriting, appears to be early archival marking. Textual redactions and use marks made in graphite pencil were added by later scribes who used the journal to produce the multivolume manuscript history of the church.
This thin journal was probably among the miscellaneous documents collectively listed in Nauvoo and early Utah inventories of church records.
1

“Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Inventory,” [2]; “Historian’s Office Inventory,” [3], Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

The use of the journal in connection with the manuscript history, early inventories, and recent archival records indicate that this journal—like the other JS journals—has remained in continuous church custody.
2

See Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 7.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Inventory,” [2]; “Historian’s Office Inventory,” [3], Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  2. [2]

    See Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 7.

    Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.

Historical Introduction

Following their success in forcing the Mormons to evacuate the village of
De Witt

Located on bluffs north of Missouri River, about six miles above mouth of Grand River. Permanently settled, by 1826. Laid out, 1836. First called Elderport; name changed to De Witt, 1837, when town acquired by speculators David Thomas and Henry Root, who ...

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in Carroll County, Missouri, in October 1838, anti-Mormon vigilantes applied similar pressure in
Daviess County

Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...

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, beginning with raids on isolated Mormon homes. State militia commander
Alexander Doniphan

9 July 1808–8 Aug. 1887. Lawyer, military general, insurance/bank executive. Born near Maysville, Mason Co., Kentucky. Son of Joseph Doniphan and Ann Smith. Father died, 1813; sent to live with older brother George, 1815, in Augusta, Bracken Co., Kentucky...

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acknowledged that his troops could not be relied upon to maintain order or to protect the Latter-day Saints’ property rights. The Mormons mounted a preemptive strike in Daviess County beginning in mid-October, targeting the property of vigilantes.
Burning and plundering by both sides and the evacuation of most of
Daviess County

Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...

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’s non-Mormon residents led to outright warfare. After a company of
Ray County

Located in northwestern Missouri. Area settled, 1815. Created from Howard Co., 1820. Initially included all state land north of Missouri River and west of Grand River. Population in 1830 about 2,700; in 1836 about 6,600; and in 1840 about 6,600. Latter-day...

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volunteers captured three Latter-day Saints in an area lying between
Caldwell

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

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and Ray counties, JS helped mobilize a company of Mormons from Caldwell County as a rescue party. The ensuing battle at
Crooked River

Located in northwest Missouri. Rises in Clinton Co. and flows about sixty miles southeast through Caldwell and Ray counties; drains into Missouri River. Saints settled mainly on northwestern and southeastern sections of river, by 1835; main settlement also...

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on 25 October, at which two Mormons, their guide, and one Missourian were killed, gave rise to exaggerated reports that the Mormons had killed or captured the entire Ray County contingent and were about to attack
Richmond

Area settled, ca. 1814. Officially platted as Ray Co. seat, 1827. Population in 1840 about 500. Seat of Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri; also location of courthouse and jails. JS and about sixty other Latter-day Saint men were incarcerated here while...

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, the seat of Ray County. In the wake of this news and word of Mormon depredations in Daviess County, in late October 1838
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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governor
Lilburn W. Boggs

14 Dec. 1796–14 Mar. 1860. Bookkeeper, bank cashier, merchant, Indian agent and trader, lawyer, doctor, postmaster, politician. Born at Lexington, Fayette Co., Kentucky. Son of John M. Boggs and Martha Oliver. Served in War of 1812. Moved to St. Louis, ca...

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decried Mormon “outrages” and ordered a large militia force to “exterminate” the Mormons or drive them from the state. JS and other leaders were arrested and incarcerated, and most Mormons left Missouri in early 1839, trudging eastward for more than 150 miles and crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois.
1

LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, chaps. 7–14; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” chaps. 7–12; Hartley, “Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen,” 9–10, 36–37.


Comprehensive Works Cited

LeSueur, Stephen C. The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987.

Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

Hartley, William G. “‘Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen’: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 1838–39.” Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 6–40.

After a grueling confinement through the winter in the
jail at
Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

More Info

Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...

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, Missouri, JS and his fellow Mormon prisoners were transported to
Daviess County

Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...

More Info
for a grand jury investigation. There they were indicted for treason, riot, arson, burglary, and receiving stolen goods but were granted a change of venue to Columbia, Missouri, for their contemplated trial. During the journey to the new location, the guards allowed their prisoners to escape.
2

Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132; Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.

Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

On 22 April 1839, six days after their escape, JS and his companions crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. There they reunited with thousands of other Latter-day Saint refugees from
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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, many of whom had received a sympathetic, hospitable reception from the citizens of
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

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, Illinois. That same day, JS rehired
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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, who had performed clerical work for him the previous autumn. Mulholland began his record in this small journal by noting JS’s escape in Missouri and then, beginning with JS’s arrival in Quincy, kept a contemporaneous record for six months.
During the period covered by this journal,
Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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worked closely with JS, recording JS’s history and occasionally accompanying him in his travels. Unlike the September–October 1838 journal, which Mulholland kept for JS in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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, the present journal benefits from JS reporting to his scribe some of the activities that took place in Mulholland’s absence. A few of the entries in these instances may have been dictated by JS, although most entries were based on Mulholland’s observation.
While keeping this journal for JS,
Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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was also keeping his own journal, which he wrote in the back of the record he had kept for JS during autumn 1838. Mulholland’s personal journal entries, where illuminating, are used to annotate the parallel entries he wrote for JS in the present journal. When he was separated from JS, Mulholland also focused entries in JS’s journal on Mulholland’s own activities. Mulholland’s use of first-person narration to refer sometimes to himself and sometimes to JS requires careful reading to determine whose activities are being described.
The Illinois resumption of JS’s record keeping reflected the reestablishment of characteristically Mormon procedures that were suspended during the upheaval in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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. Record keeping lapsed during the Mormon War, the imprisonment of JS, and the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from the state. The principle of gathering—at least in an official sense—also lapsed during the aftermath of that expulsion. Latter-day Saints realized that their practice of gathering to create religious communities, though mandated by revelation, aroused antagonism of nearby citizenry wherever they settled. In the interest of survival, should they now intersperse with others, coming together for worship but not living in tight-knit, exclusive communities? Writing from
jail in
Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

More Info

Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...

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in January 1839, JS acknowledged that for the present “the gathering of necessity [is] stopt.”
3

JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

Yet the gathering did not stop. Even without JS’s direction, many of the Mormons fleeing
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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sought collective refuge in western Illinois and thereby kept the question of gathering alive. In March, before JS’s escape, a church conference at
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

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conducted by
Brigham Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

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confronted the question of whether to “gather” or “scatter.” Young advised settling “in companies,” or at least in sufficiently close proximity to establish congregations.
4

“Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Within days of his arrival in
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

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, JS decisively arranged for a new gathering place. In the months to come, he taught that a gathered community of believers was essential for building a house of the Lord. As was true for
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

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, Ohio, and as JS had intended for
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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, Missouri, this new gathering place was to become a city with a temple.
5

Leonard, Nauvoo, 235–237.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

After purchasing some land about fifty miles upriver, at
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

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in Hancock County, Illinois, JS moved his family and his people there. The riverfront site had poor harbors and swampy lowlands plagued with malaria-bearing mosquitoes. This journal offers glimpses of JS’s involvement in land purchases and community planning that provided a basis for a cluster of Mormon settlements on both sides of the Mississippi. The journal also records JS’s trips to
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

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,
Plymouth

Village located about thirty-five miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Surveyed 1836. Post office established, 1837. Population in 1846 about 60. JS’s brother William Smith moved to farm in area, 1839. JS visited William, June 1839. JS’s sister Katharine...

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, and
Macomb

Incorporated as city, 1841. McDonough Co. seat. JS’s brother Don Carlos Smith lived nearby Macomb, 1839. Branch of church organized in city, June 1839.

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, Illinois, and other nearby places to visit family, groups of Latter-day Saints, and regional political and commercial centers.
Meanwhile, JS and members of the Quorum of the Twelve clung tenaciously to another facet of the Mormon mission: widespread proselytizing. An 1838 revelation commanded the Twelve to depart from
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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, Missouri, on 26 April 1839 for a mission to Europe.
6

See Revelation, 8 July 1838–A, in JS, Journal, 8 July 1838 [D&C 118].


From
jail in
Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

More Info

Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...

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, JS reminded the apostles of that obligation.
7

JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

Enemies declared it in advance a false revelation, as they now had the power to prevent it from being fulfilled. Nonetheless, as diary entries began in mid-April 1839, members of the Quorum of the Twelve under acting president
Brigham Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

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had just left
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

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to return to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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to fulfill the injunction. Their predawn meeting on 26 April 1839 at Far West marked the symbolic beginning of their mission abroad. But with much preparation remaining, they returned to Illinois and did not actually depart for the East until late summer. In the intervening months, JS met frequently with the eight or nine available apostles to teach them and help them prepare. JS also attempted to strengthen and unify the quorum by helping to resolve the status of two apostles—
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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and
William Smith

13 Mar. 1811–13 Nov. 1893. Farmer, newspaper editor. Born at Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811; to Norwich, Windsor Co., 1813; and to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816...

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—who had abandoned the Latter-day Saints during the Missouri crisis. The departure of the Twelve was marked by lengthier-than-usual journal entries reporting sermons and admonitions, indicative of the significance attached to the mission.
The resettlement of the Mormons in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

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and vicinity and the resumption of church affairs—including the departure of the Twelve to Britain—were hampered by a malaria epidemic that ravaged the area from late June to November. When JS was preoccupied with aiding the victims of the scourge for eleven weeks in July, August, and September, journal entries were scaled back to weekly summaries. While the entries suggest the duration and centrality of JS’s focus on relieving the sick, they characteristically only skim the surface. For months, the Smith home and environs served as a hospital of sorts, with JS and
Emma

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

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nursing malaria victims. The couple moved their own family into a tent to provide better care in their house for the sick. JS himself contracted the disease but soon recovered and continued to minister to the afflicted.
Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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spent three weeks in late August and early September caring for his own wife, who was ill.
8

Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 213–214; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 34–35; Woodruff, Journal, 12, 19, 22, and 25 July 1839; Mulholland, Journal, 19 Aug.–8 Sept. 1839.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.

Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

Despite the epidemic, the Latter-day Saints remained at their new headquarters. When the disease abated somewhat, JS became increasingly involved in arrangements for a new, larger town that would soon eclipse and absorb
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

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. At a general conference of the church convened at Commerce in early October 1839, JS advocated—and the membership of the church affirmed—that this was a suitable location to be designated a stake of Zion and a gathering place for the Saints.
Even while JS built a new stake,
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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still occupied much of his attention. In the months and years following the expulsion of his people from that state, JS sought persistently to call attention to the losses and injustices the Latter-day Saints had suffered and, if possible, to obtain government compensation. He left
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

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on 29 October 1839, two weeks after the conclusion of this journal, to visit
Washington DC

Created as district for seat of U.S. federal government by act of Congress, 1790, and named Washington DC, 1791. Named in honor of George Washington. Headquarters of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of U.S. government relocated to Washington ...

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to seek relief and redress from the federal government. The next day, a gravely ill
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

View Full Bio
was taken to
Emma Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
’s makeshift hospital, where he died on 3 November, possibly a victim of the malaria epidemic.
9

Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Washington DC, 6 Dec. 1839, Charles Aldrich Autograph Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Aldrich, Charles. Autograph Collection. State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.

It is not clear to what extent the cessation of journal entries after 15 October resulted from Mulholland’s illness or from a lack of access to JS. Daily entries did not resume until December 1841, more than two years later, when
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
took up the pen a few months after his return from missionary service in England.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    LeSueur, 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, chaps. 7–14; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” chaps. 7–12; Hartley, “Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen,” 9–10, 36–37.

    LeSueur, Stephen C. The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987.

    Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

    Hartley, William G. “‘Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen’: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 1838–39.” Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 6–40.

  2. [2]

    Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132; Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.

    Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

  3. [3]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

  4. [4]

    “Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  5. [5]

    Leonard, Nauvoo, 235–237.

    Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

  6. [6]

    See Revelation, 8 July 1838–A, in JS, Journal, 8 July 1838 [D&C 118].

  7. [7]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, Far West, MO, 16 Jan. 1839, JS Collection, CHL.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

  8. [8]

    Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 213–214; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 34–35; Woodruff, Journal, 12, 19, 22, and 25 July 1839; Mulholland, Journal, 19 Aug.–8 Sept. 1839.

    Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.

    Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

  9. [9]

    Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Washington DC, 6 Dec. 1839, Charles Aldrich Autograph Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.

    Aldrich, Charles. Autograph Collection. State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.

Page [1]

1839.
16 April 1839 • Tuesday
Escaped

16 Apr. 1839

JS and companions allowed to escape while en route to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, for trial, Chariton County.

Aprile 16 th
1

While being taken from Gallatin, Daviess County, Missouri, to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, in compliance with a change of venue in their legal case, JS and fellow prisoners escaped with the cooperation of their guards near Yellow Creek. Some sources point to the possibility that the prisoners were intended to be held without bail—as hostages—until their people evacuated Missouri. If that was the case, the purpose of their incarceration was now largely fulfilled. (Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL; compare JS, Journal, 28 Feb. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; see also Madsen, “Missouri Court of Inquiry”; Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; and Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

Madsen, Gordon A. “Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry: Austin A. King’s Quest for Hostages.” BYU Studies 43, no. 4 (2004): 93–136.

Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.

22–23 April 1839 • Monday–Tuesday
President Smith and his fellow prisoners,
arrived safe

22 Apr. 1839

JS reunited with wife and children, who were residing in home of John and Sarah Cleveland, Quincy, Illinois.

at
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
Ill. on Tuesday Monday the 22nd of April and spent all next day greeting and receiving visits from his brethren and friends
2

In his own journal, James Mulholland noted that on this day he began again to “write for the Church.” (Mulholland, Journal, 22 Apr. 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

——
24 April–3 May 1839 • Wednesday–Friday
In the evening of the 24th met in council with the Church—when a committee was appointed to go to
Ioway [Iowa]

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
&c. of which he was one.
Went to
Ioway

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info

24 Apr. 1839

JS and others investigated land for Latter-day Saint settlement, traveling to Lee County, Iowa Territory, and then Hancock County, Illinois.

made purchases

30 Apr. 1839

Church agents George Robinson and Alanson Ripley purchased approximately 180 acres of land in Commerce, Illinois, area from Isaac Galland and Hugh White.

& returned on friday the 3rd May—
3

In addition to JS, this committee, which was assigned to visit Iowa “for the purpose of making locations for the church,” also included Vinson Knight and Alanson Ripley. The council determined that church members should “move on to the north as soon as they possibly can.”a The committee left Quincy the following day, 25 April 1839, to assess possibilities on both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River. The initial acquisitions of land in the area of Commerce, Illinois, occurred on 30 April. They consisted of 47.17 acres located south of Commerce from Isaac Galland, two additional parcels totaling 12.2 acres from Galland, and about 130 acres from Hugh White.b The church purchased additional land from Galland in Lee County, Iowa, in May and June. Deeds list a total of 18,920 acres in Iowa purchased from Galland by the church.c (aGeneral Church Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; compare JS History, vol. C-1, 929.bHancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 31–32, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.cLee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, vol. 1, pp. 507–510, 29 May 1839, microfilm 959,238; vol. 2, pp. 3–6, 13–16, 26 June 1839, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; JS History, vol. C-1, 931–932; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, in Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1856, CHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

General Church Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839

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.

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

4 May 1839 • Saturday
Saturday 4 th May presided at general
Conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
near
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
Ill.
4

The church held the three-day conference, 4–6 May 1839, at the Presbyterian campground two miles north of Quincy.a The conference minutes, in James Mulholland’s handwriting, report that JS “addressed a few observations on the state of his own peculiar feelings, after having been so long separated from his brethren.” The conference temporarily suspended apostles Orson Hyde and William Smith from acting in their office; they regained standing by the end of June. The conference also ratified the actions of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve on 26 April 1839 at the temple site at Far West, Missouri, where they ordained new apostles to fill vacancies in their quorum and officially commenced their mission to Europe.b(aWoodruff, Journal, 4, 5, and 6 May 1839.bGeneral Church Minutes, 4 May 1839; JS, Journal, 25 May and 27 June 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

General Church Minutes, 4 May 1839

5 May 1839 • Sunday
Sunday Do [ditto] continued.
5

The conference this day focused on plans for obtaining legal redress for the depredations committed against the Latter-day Saints in Missouri as well as for securing their rights in Illinois. Sidney Rigdon was assigned to present the church’s case before the national government in Washington DC. Almon Babbitt was authorized to represent the church to the state government in Springfield, Illinois. Lyman Wight was appointed to gather affidavits regarding individual losses in Missouri to be forwarded to Washington. (General Church Minutes, 5 May 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

General Church Minutes, 5 May 1839

6 May 1839 • Monday
Monday <​6th​> met in council with the
twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
[an]d
6

TEXT: “[hole burned in paper]d”. The top of the “n” is visible at the edge of the hole.


others
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
Ill—
7

Two sessions of the conference were held this day. At the first session, a general gathering, sixty men were ordained as elders or as members of the Quorum of the Seventy and eighteen men were assigned to accompany the Quorum of the Twelve to Europe. William Marks was appointed to preside over the church in Commerce, with the church’s bishops to assist him in leadership, which effectively established a new gathering center for the church in Illinois. Later in the day, a second session of the conference involving JS, the Twelve, and the bishops was held at the home of Bishop Edward Partridge. (Woodruff, Journal, 6 May 1839; General Church Minutes, 6 May 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

General Church Minutes, 6 May 1839

7 May 1839 • Tuesday
Tuesday Do [ditto]—— Do Do
8

Although the three-day general conference ended on Monday, JS spent Tuesday in council and conversation with church leaders and members. (Kimball, “History,” 104.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.

10 May 1839 • Friday
May 10,
Moved

9 May. 1839

JS and family moved from Quincy to log home in Commerce, Illinois.

with his family To
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
Hancock Co. Ill.
9

JS and family left Quincy on 9 May, accompanied by James Mulholland, and arrived in Commerce on 10 May. (Mulholland, Journal, 9 May 1839; Foote, Autobiography, 9 May 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

Foote, Warren. Autobiography, not before 1903. Warren Foote, Papers, 1837–1941. CHL. MS 1123, fd. 1.

13–14 May 1839 • Monday–Tuesday
Monday 13 th Transacted various business with
Br [Oliver] Granger

7 Feb. 1794–23/25 Aug. 1841. Sheriff, church agent. Born at Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Pierce Granger and Clarissa Trumble. Married Lydia Dibble, 8 Sept. 1813, at Phelps. Member of Methodist church and licensed exhorter. Sheriff of Ontario Co. ...

View Full Bio
&c
10

At the conference held in Quincy, Illinois, a week earlier, Granger was appointed an agent for the church with a commission to oversee remaining church business in Kirtland, Ohio. (Certificate, JS et al. to Oliver Granger, Commerce, IL, 13 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 45–46; JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Oliver Granger, New York, [23] July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 159–161.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.

at home attending to general business—
Tuesday Do [ditto] wednesday, Do
14–19 May 1839 • Tuesday–Sunday
On the 14 I returned to
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
so kept no record <​Minute​> of course, I got back here Sunday ev[en]ing the 19 th May.
11

James Mulholland recorded in his personal journal that his wife accompanied him on the return to Commerce, suggesting that one purpose for his visit in Quincy was to effect a permanent move to Commerce. While his scribe was away, JS remained in Commerce, busy with various matters of church business, including directing the survey of the city plot. (Mulholland, Journal, 14–19 May 1839; JS History, vol. C-1, 940; Woodruff, Journal, 18 May 1839; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 28.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

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.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.

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Editorial Title
Journal, 1839
ID #
6661
Total Pages
16
Print Volume Location
JSP, J1:331–354
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Mulholland

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    While being taken from Gallatin, Daviess County, Missouri, to Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, in compliance with a change of venue in their legal case, JS and fellow prisoners escaped with the cooperation of their guards near Yellow Creek. Some sources point to the possibility that the prisoners were intended to be held without bail—as hostages—until their people evacuated Missouri. If that was the case, the purpose of their incarceration was now largely fulfilled. (Promissory Note, JS to John Brassfield, 16 Apr. 1839, JS Collection, CHL; compare JS, Journal, 28 Feb. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; see also Madsen, “Missouri Court of Inquiry”; Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 78; and Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 131–132.)

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

    Madsen, Gordon A. “Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry: Austin A. King’s Quest for Hostages.” BYU Studies 43, no. 4 (2004): 93–136.

    Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.

  2. [2]

    In his own journal, James Mulholland noted that on this day he began again to “write for the Church.” (Mulholland, Journal, 22 Apr. 1839.)

    Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

  3. [3]

    In addition to JS, this committee, which was assigned to visit Iowa “for the purpose of making locations for the church,” also included Vinson Knight and Alanson Ripley. The council determined that church members should “move on to the north as soon as they possibly can.”a The committee left Quincy the following day, 25 April 1839, to assess possibilities on both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River. The initial acquisitions of land in the area of Commerce, Illinois, occurred on 30 April. They consisted of 47.17 acres located south of Commerce from Isaac Galland, two additional parcels totaling 12.2 acres from Galland, and about 130 acres from Hugh White.b The church purchased additional land from Galland in Lee County, Iowa, in May and June. Deeds list a total of 18,920 acres in Iowa purchased from Galland by the church.c

    (aGeneral Church Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; compare JS History, vol. C-1, 929. bHancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 31–32, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. cLee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, vol. 1, pp. 507–510, 29 May 1839, microfilm 959,238; vol. 2, pp. 3–6, 13–16, 26 June 1839, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; JS History, vol. C-1, 931–932; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, in Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1856, CHL.)

    General Church Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839

    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.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  4. [4]

    The church held the three-day conference, 4–6 May 1839, at the Presbyterian campground two miles north of Quincy.a The conference minutes, in James Mulholland’s handwriting, report that JS “addressed a few observations on the state of his own peculiar feelings, after having been so long separated from his brethren.” The conference temporarily suspended apostles Orson Hyde and William Smith from acting in their office; they regained standing by the end of June. The conference also ratified the actions of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve on 26 April 1839 at the temple site at Far West, Missouri, where they ordained new apostles to fill vacancies in their quorum and officially commenced their mission to Europe.b

    (aWoodruff, Journal, 4, 5, and 6 May 1839. bGeneral Church Minutes, 4 May 1839; JS, Journal, 25 May and 27 June 1839.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    General Church Minutes, 4 May 1839

  5. [5]

    The conference this day focused on plans for obtaining legal redress for the depredations committed against the Latter-day Saints in Missouri as well as for securing their rights in Illinois. Sidney Rigdon was assigned to present the church’s case before the national government in Washington DC. Almon Babbitt was authorized to represent the church to the state government in Springfield, Illinois. Lyman Wight was appointed to gather affidavits regarding individual losses in Missouri to be forwarded to Washington. (General Church Minutes, 5 May 1839.)

    General Church Minutes, 5 May 1839

  6. [6]

    TEXT: “[hole burned in paper]d”. The top of the “n” is visible at the edge of the hole.

  7. [7]

    Two sessions of the conference were held this day. At the first session, a general gathering, sixty men were ordained as elders or as members of the Quorum of the Seventy and eighteen men were assigned to accompany the Quorum of the Twelve to Europe. William Marks was appointed to preside over the church in Commerce, with the church’s bishops to assist him in leadership, which effectively established a new gathering center for the church in Illinois. Later in the day, a second session of the conference involving JS, the Twelve, and the bishops was held at the home of Bishop Edward Partridge. (Woodruff, Journal, 6 May 1839; General Church Minutes, 6 May 1839.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    General Church Minutes, 6 May 1839

  8. [8]

    Although the three-day general conference ended on Monday, JS spent Tuesday in council and conversation with church leaders and members. (Kimball, “History,” 104.)

    Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.

  9. [9]

    JS and family left Quincy on 9 May, accompanied by James Mulholland, and arrived in Commerce on 10 May. (Mulholland, Journal, 9 May 1839; Foote, Autobiography, 9 May 1839.)

    Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

    Foote, Warren. Autobiography, not before 1903. Warren Foote, Papers, 1837–1941. CHL. MS 1123, fd. 1.

  10. [10]

    At the conference held in Quincy, Illinois, a week earlier, Granger was appointed an agent for the church with a commission to oversee remaining church business in Kirtland, Ohio. (Certificate, JS et al. to Oliver Granger, Commerce, IL, 13 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 45–46; JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Oliver Granger, New York, [23] July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 159–161.)

    JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.

  11. [11]

    James Mulholland recorded in his personal journal that his wife accompanied him on the return to Commerce, suggesting that one purpose for his visit in Quincy was to effect a permanent move to Commerce. While his scribe was away, JS remained in Commerce, busy with various matters of church business, including directing the survey of the city plot. (Mulholland, Journal, 14–19 May 1839; JS History, vol. C-1, 940; Woodruff, Journal, 18 May 1839; Historian’s Office, “History of Brigham Young,” 28.)

    Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.

    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.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Historian’s Office. “History of Brigham Young.” In Manuscript History of Brigham Young, ca. 1856–1860, vol. 1, pp. 1–104. CHL. CR 100 150, box 1, fd. 1.

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