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Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 November 1833

Source Note

[], Letter, [, MO], to church leaders (including JS), [, Geauga Co., OH], 14 Nov. 1833. Featured version published in “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 119. For more complete source information on The Evening and the Morning Star, see the source note for Letter, 30 October 1833.

Historical Introduction

The letter featured here, written on 14 November 1833 to church leaders in , Ohio, depicts the plight of church members who had been forced to leave their homes in . Distanced from their homes and daily provisions, church members had difficulties finding food and shelter for the coming winter months. A day after arriving in , Missouri, and a small company of men began to fell cottonwood trees to build cabins. The families of and lived together in an old stable for the winter, and many, including , struggled to feed their families.
Following the forced exodus from , , , and all wrote to JS sometime on or after 14 November 1833. They sent their correspondence, possibly as a parcel, to on 19 November. published the Corrill and Phelps letters as part of an article printed in the December 1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. Although Cowdery published the letters without acknowledging their authorship, contemporary sources help determine who wrote each of these two missives.
One letter, dated 17 November 1833, discussed the writer’s imprisonment with at the jail in on 4 November 1833. was imprisoned with Gilbert at that time, indicating that Corrill likely wrote the 17 November letter. The 14 November letter featured here was placed in an article in The Evening and the Morning Star immediately after two other extracts of a letter known to be from , written on 6 and 7 November 1833. Therefore, it is likely that Phelps also wrote the letter featured here. ’s mid-November correspondence, which was not printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, is still extant and is featured as the next document in this volume.
On 10 December 1833, JS responded to the communications from , , and . JS offered spiritual encouragement by turning the suffering refugees’ attention to a revelation he had dictated nearly two years earlier during his first trip to . That revelation stated in part, “After much tribulation cometh the blessings.” Despite the hardships detailed in these letters, JS expressed hope for the redemption of in .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 22.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; Lyman, Journal, 10; Young, “Incidents,” 77–78.

    Lyman, Amasa. Journals, 1832–1877. Amasa Lyman Collection, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 829, boxes 1–3.

    Young, Emily Dow Partridge. “Incidents of the Life of a Mormon Girl,” ca. 1884. CHL. MS 5220.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; Letter from John Corrill, 17 Nov. 1833; Letter to Edward Partridge et al., 10 Dec. 1833.

  4. [4]

    “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 118–120. The Partridge letter was not published in The Evening and the Morning Star. (See Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833.)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  5. [5]

    Letter from John Corrill, 17 Nov. 1833; Orson Hyde, Letter to the Editor, The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 120; see also Corrill, Brief History, 20.

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  6. [6]

    Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833.

  7. [7]

    Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833.

  8. [8]

    Letter to Edward Partridge et al., 10 Dec. 1833.

  9. [9]

    Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:4].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 November 1833
Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 November 1833, as Published in Evening and Morning Star

Page 119

November 14, 1833.
Since I last wrote, our brethren have been moving in every direction. It is impossible to say where many of them are.—The situation of many is critical having nothing to buy food with, and having raised none the passed season. Great destruction is said to be making with the property left—such as corn, potatoes, household furniture, &c. The Savior said, Blessed are ye when ye are hated of all men for my name’s sake—and I think we have come to that. It is impossible to give you the information which requires a personal interview. Now is the hour that tries our souls; yea, the souls of the saints: we want victuals and clothes, and we mean to be saved, even if we die—for life with the present prospect before us, is not very desirable! I shall give more general information in my next if I can obtain it.
In great tribulation,
Yours, &c. [p. 119]
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Page 119

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 November 1833
ID #
7286
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:342–343
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 23–24; Whitmer, History, 48; Corrill, Brief History, 20; [Edward Partridge], “A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Jan. 1840, 1:36; and Parley P. Pratt et al., “‘The Mormons’ So Called,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [2].

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

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  2. [2]

    At great risk to his life, Parley P. Pratt returned to his property in Jackson County in hopes of finding provisions or food that his family had left behind. He wrote, “All my provisions for the winter were destroyed or plundered; and my grain left growing on the ground, for our enemies to harvest.” (See Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 23.)

  3. [3]

    See Luke 21:17; Mark 13:13; Matthew 10:22; 24:9; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 480 [3 Nephi 12:10].

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