JS History, vol. A-1, 15.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [1].
“Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, 1.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Agreement with Isaac Hale, 6 Apr. 1829; JS History, vol. A-1, 13; Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10], may have been dictated around this same time. The three revelations dictated to Cowdery are Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6]; Revelation, Apr. 1829–B [D&C 8]; and Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9]. Another April revelation was Account of John, Apr. 1829–C [D&C 7].
Revelation, May 1829–A [D&C 11]; Revelation, May 1829–B [D&C 12].
Revelations, June 1829–A through E [D&C 14–18].
Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:9].
In a published interview, David Whitmer stated, “I received another letter from Cowdery, telling me to come down into Pennsylvania and bring him and Joseph to my father’s house, giving as a reason therefor that they had received a commandment from God to that effect.” (“Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, 1; see also Gurley, “Questions Asked of David Whitmer,” 2.)
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Gurley, Zenos. “Questions Asked of David Whitmer at His Home in Richmond Ray County Mo,” 14–21 Jan. 1885. CHL. MS 4633.
JS recommenced translating soon after he arrived, with John and Christian Whitmer serving as scribes along with Oliver Cowdery. (JS History, vol. A-1, 21–22; “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, 1; “The Last Man,” Times [Chicago], 17 Oct. 1881, 5.)
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Times. Chicago. 1854–1895.
JS History, vol. A-1, 23. David Whitmer reported decades later that he was baptized, confirmed, and ordained an elder in June 1829. (Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 32.)
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:18].
Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6:6]; see also, for example, Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10:53].
JS History, vol. A-1, 17–18.
Revelation, ca. Aug. 1830, in Doctrine and Covenants 50:3, 1835 ed. [D&C 27:12–13]. The 1835 publication of the Doctrine and Covenants is the earliest extant record of the angelic visitation of Peter, James, and John. For discussions of this event and its dating, see Porter, “Restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods,” 30–47; Quinn, Origins of Power, chap. 1; Prince, Power from on High, 3–15, 47–57; and Hartley, “Upon You My Fellow Servants,” 49–72.
Porter, Larry C. “The Restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.” Ensign, Dec. 1996, 30–47.
Quinn, D. Michael. The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. Salt Lake City: Signature Books with Smith Research Associates, 1994.
Prince, Gregory A. Power from on High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995.
Hartley, William G. “‘Upon You My Fellow Servants’: Restoration of the Priesthood.” In The Prophet Joseph: Essays on the Life and Mission of Joseph Smith, edited by Larry C. Porter and Susan Easton Black, 49–72. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988.
JS History, vol. A-1, 27; see also Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1–3, 10–12].
Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:5]; “Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829.
JS History, vol. A-1, 26.
Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:18].
Martin Harris to Egbert B. Grandin, Indenture, Wayne Co., NY, 25 Aug. 1829, Wayne Co., NY, Mortgage Records, vol. 3, pp. 325–326, microfilm 479,556, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Historical Introduction to Preface to Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829. John H. Gilbert, who proofread the manuscript and set most of the type, said they began “about the middle of August, 1829, and the printing was completed in March, 1830.” (John H. Gilbert, Palmyra, NY, to James T. Cobb, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 10 Feb. 1879, in Theodore Schroeder Papers . . . Relating to Mormonism.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Gilbert, John H. Letter, Palmyra, NY, to James T. Cobb, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 10 Feb. 1879. Theodore Schroeder Papers: Corres., Writings and Printed Ephemera Relating to Mormonism. Microfilm. New York: New York Public Library Photographic Service, 1986. Copy at CHL.
Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 32. Daniel Hendrix’s late recollection stated, “Not only were pretended copies of the engraved plates exhibited, but whole chapters of what were called translations were shown; meetings were held at the Smith house and in the barns on the adjoining farms.” (Henry G. Tinsley, “Origin of Mormonism,” San Francisco Chronicle, 14 May 1893, 12.)
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. 1865–1925.
“T B Marsh,” [1], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL; see also C. C. Blatchly, “Caution against the Gold Bible,” New-York Telescope, 20 Feb. 1830, 150.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
New-York Telescope. New York City. 1824–1831.
Hyde, Journal, 46.
Hyde, William. Journal, ca. 1868–1873. CHL. MS 1549.
JS History, vol. A-1, 37.
The Reverend Diedrich Willers reported from Fayette that by June 1830 the “Mormonites” had baptized Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, and members of the German Reformed Church in that vicinity, amounting to perhaps “at least 100 persons.” (Diedrich Willers, Fayette, NY, to L. Mayer and D. Young, York, PA, 18 June 1830, in Quinn, “First Months of Mormonism,” 331.)
Quinn, D. Michael. “The First Months of Mormonism: A Contemporary View by Rev. Diedrich Willers.” New York History 54 (July 1973): 317–333.
The narrative may skip over these months because the history was compiled using the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, with the revelations and their dates of reception serving as a chronological outline. During the period from June 1829 to the end of March 1830, only one JS revelation is known, and that revelation (Revelation, ca. Early 1830) was not published in the Doctrine and Covenants and is not mentioned in the history.
“Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829. Lucy Mack Smith implicitly suggested that meetings had taken place earlier in 1829 when she wrote, “During the fall and winter [of 1829–1830] we held no meetings because of the plotting schemes of the people against us.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 9, [12].)
“Gold Bible,” Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 9 Dec. 1829, 39..
Reflector. Palmyra, NY. 1821–1831.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 9, [9]–[11]; “Book of Mormon,” The Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 22 Jan. 1830, 27–28.
Reflector. Palmyra, NY. 1821–1831.
See Grandin, Diary, 14 July 1831.
Grandin, Egbert Bratt. Diary, 1831–1841. CHL. MS 7228.
“The Book of Mormon,” Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, NY), 26 Mar. 1830, [3].
Wayne Sentinel. Palmyra, NY. 1823–1852, 1860–1861.
Knight, Reminiscences, 6–7.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
JSP, H1:187–464.
JSP, H1 / Davidson, Karen Lynn, David J. Whittaker, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, eds. Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories, 1832–1844. Vol. 1 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2012.