Footnotes
Huntington’s copy and the Times and Seasons version share about fifty variants that are not found in other versions. In one case, the Times and Seasons incorporated wording regarding Sampson Avard that was inserted between lines of text in Huntington’s copy. (See JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, in Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:82–86.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Church clerk Thomas Bullock used this copy as a source text for an amalgamated version of the 16 December 1838 letter he inscribed in JS’s manuscript history in the mid-1840s. The document was included in the Joseph Smith Collection circa 1970. (Historian’s Office, JS History, Rough Draft Notes, 16 Dec. 1838; JS History, vol. C-1, 868–873.)
Footnotes
See Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity, 27–47.
Doty, William G. Letters in Primitive Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.
Two drafts of the circa 22 March 1839 general epistle are extant. JS dictated the first draft, corrected and revised it, and then had a fair copy made that reflected the changes. Despite differences between the drafts, JS evidently sent both versions of the circa 22 March epistle to the Saints, presumably to broaden circulation. (See Historical Introduction to Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; see also Hall, Ways of Writing, 32–33.)
Hall, David D. Ways of Writing: The Practice and Politics of Text-Making in Seventeenth-Century New England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
See JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, in “General,” Record Book, 101–108. There are two indications that Mulholland copied the letter before moving from Missouri to Illinois. First, Mulholland inscribed the letter in the record book that was JS’s primary journal in Missouri in 1838. After Mulholland copied the letter into the record book, it remained unused until the mid-1840s. When Mulholland copied JS’s Missouri-era correspondence in Illinois, he used a different record book, JS Letterbook 2. Second, George W. Robinson probably corrected Mulholland’s transcript while the two men were working together in Missouri, perhaps when Robinson corrected Mulholland’s copy of a revelation in the Missouri journal that Robinson was keeping for JS. There is no indication that Robinson functioned as JS’s scribe after leaving Missouri. (See Source Note for Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838; JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, pp. 72–74; Mulholland, Journal, 22 Apr. 1839.)
“General,” Record Book, 1838. Verso of Patriarchal Blessings, vol. 5. CHL.
Mulholland, James. Journal, Apr.–Oct. 1839. In Joseph Smith, Journal, Sept.–Oct. 1838. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 1, fd. 4.
Huntington arrived in Commerce, Illinois, on 16 May 1839. Although it is possible that Huntington copied the epistle after her removal to Illinois, her own illness and the death of her mother makes it unlikely. Her copy includes an interlineal insertion regarding Sampson Avard that was later incorporated into the version of the letter published in the Times and Seasons, indicating that April 1840 is the last possible copying date. (Zina Huntington Young, Autobiographical Sketch, 10; Oliver Huntington, “History of Oliver Boardman Huntington,” 47–48, 52–54; JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, in Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:85.)
Young, Zina Huntington. Autobiographical Sketch, no date. Zina Card Brown Family Collection, 1806–1972. CHL.
Huntington, Oliver B. “History of Oliver Boardman Huntington,” 1845–1846. BYU.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
At a later date, Phebe Carter Woodruff made an incomplete copy of the letter that reflected the rough draft’s textual tradition. Although Woodruff’s copy closely parallels Mulholland’s, her copy contains some copying errors—for example, writing “mental” instead of “mutual” and “starve” instead of “strive.” She also omitted some words and short phrases, apparently inadvertently. A few variants may have been editorial decisions, such as changing words (for example, revising “evidence” to “witness”) and adding phrases that were probably not in the original letter, such as the heading “An Epistle given to the church of Latter-day Saints in Caldwell County Missouri by Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith jr. while in Liberty jail.” For unknown reasons, Woodruff did not complete the copy. According to a note written on the letter’s wrapper, Phebe’s husband, Wilford Woodruff, donated the copy to the Church Historian’s Office on 27 May 1857. (JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, JS Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
David Foote, Adams Co., IL, to Thomas Clement and Betsey Foote Clement, Dryden, NY, 14 May 1839, CHL.
Foote, David. Letter, to Thomas Clement, 14 May 1839. CHL.
JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, in Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:82–86.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Cleminson was another member of Hinkle’s delegation. According to Peck, Cleminson opposed the expulsion of Cowdery and others from Far West in June 1838, as well as the church’s October 1838 military operations in Daviess County. Cleminson testified for the prosecution at the November 1838 hearing, stating that JS ordered Cleminson, who was the clerk for the Caldwell County Circuit Court, not to issue warrants in “vexatious” suits against church leaders. (R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 29, 37, 84, 108; John Cleminson, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [51], in State of Missouri, “Evidence.”)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
See 2 Peter 2:14.
McLellin’s actions and stance toward the church were considered in a disciplinary council on 11 May 1838. Extant records do not indicate whether the apostle was excommunicated at that time, but during the meeting he relinquished his license and withdrew from the church. (See Historical Introduction to Declaration to the Clay County Circuit Court, ca. 6 Mar. 1839.)
John and David Whitmer were excommunicated in March and April 1838. Both were expelled from Far West in June, along with Oliver Cowdery and Lyman Johnson. Heber C. Kimball claimed that the Whitmers accompanied Major General Lucas to Far West and helped identify church leaders, who were later charged with crimes. John Whitmer also testified against JS at the November 1838 hearing. (See Introduction to Part 1: 15 Feb.–28 June 1838; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; Kimball, “History,” 88; and John Whitmer, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [97]–[99], in State of Missouri, “Evidence.”)
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.
Cowdery, previously an “assistant councilor” in the First Presidency, was excommunicated in April 1838 and expelled, along with other dissenters, from Far West in June. (See Minutes, 12 Apr. 1838; and Introduction to Part 1: 15 Feb.–28 June 1838.)
Harris was the only dissenter named in the letter who was not in Missouri in 1838. He was still in Kirtland, Ohio, where he had been a member of the high council. In 1837 he joined with other dissenters who opposed church control over temporal affairs, and the Kirtland high council excommunicated him in December 1837. He was among the founders and financial backers of the “Church of Christ,” a short-lived organization created in 1838 and composed primarily of dissenters. (Stephen Burnett, Orange Township, OH, to Lyman Johnson, 15 Apr. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 64–66; John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Marquardt, “Martin Harris,” 10–15.)
Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.
Marquardt, H. Michael. “Martin Harris: The Kirtland Years, 1831–1870.” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 35, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 1–41.
Marsh, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, strongly supported JS during the 1837–1838 problems that resulted in the removal of the Missouri church presidency. Marsh subsequently became president pro tempore of the church in Missouri. His support may have wavered when other church leaders sided with Lucinda Pendleton Harris in a dispute with Marsh’s wife, Elizabeth Godkin Marsh. Although he opposed the June expulsion of the dissenters from Far West, he remained president of the Twelve and president pro tempore of the church in Missouri until late October, when he dictated an affidavit describing the Danite society and the Saints’ military operations against the Daviess County vigilantes. On 25 October, Marsh explained in a letter to his sister, Ann Marsh Abbott, and her husband, Lewis Abbott, his decision to leave the church “for conscience sake, and that alone,” and he alleged that JS and Sidney Rigdon were permitting theft, arson, and other crimes in Daviess County. (Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838; Cook, “Thomas B. Marsh Returns to the Church,” 394–396; R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 22–23; Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, Affidavit, Richmond, MO, 24 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, Richmond, MO, to Lewis Abbott and Ann Marsh Abbott, Caldwell Co., MO, 25–30 Oct. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 18; see also Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” 340–343.)
Cook, Lyndon W. “‘I Have Sinned Against Heaven, and Am Unworthy of Your Confidence, But I Cannot Live without a Reconciliation’: Thomas B. Marsh Returns to the Church.” BYU Studies 20 (Summer 1980): 389–400.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).
Hyde, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, returned from his mission to England in mid-1838 and settled in Far West. He opposed the church’s military operations against the anti-Mormon vigilantes in Daviess County and filed an affidavit on 24 October that supported Marsh’s more detailed affidavit of the same date. Hyde subsequently wrote a letter to a friend in which he explained that he left the church “fully beleiving, that God is not with them, and is not the mover of their schemes and projects.” (Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, between 22 and 28 May 1838; Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, Affidavit, Richmond, MO, 24 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, Richmond, MO, to Lewis Abbott and Ann Marsh Abbott, Caldwell Co., MO, 25–30 Oct. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 19; see also Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” 336.)
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).
See 2 Peter 2:20.
Although JS ascribed these words to Jesus Christ, the phrase comes from 2 Peter 2:22, which in turn quotes Proverbs 26:11. (See also Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 468 [3 Nephi 7:8].)
See Hebrews 10:26–29.
See Matthew 16:18–19; Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:13]; and Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:19].
In Mulholland’s copy, this phrase is followed by “Fear not, but.” (JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838, in “General,” Record Book, 107.)
“General,” Record Book, 1838. Verso of Patriarchal Blessings, vol. 5. CHL.
See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78:12]; and Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104:9–10].