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  2. Documents, Volume 1, Part 4 Introduction: October 1830–January 1831

Part 4: October 1830–January 1831

Soon after the second conference of the Church of Christ on 26 September 1830,
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
led a group of men on a mission to evangelize American Indians, who were believed by church members to be descendants of peoples described in the Book of Mormon.
1

JS’s history explains: “At this time a great desire was manifest by several of the Elders respecting the remnants of the house of Joseph—the Lamanites residing in the west, knowing that the purposes of God were great to that people and hoping that the time had come when the promises of the Almighty in regard to that people were about to be accomplished.” (JS History, vol. A-1, 60–61.)


The missionaries’ travels eventually took them 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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and to the area now known as eastern Kansas, where several Indian tribes had recently been relocated by the federal government. A September 1830 revelation appointed Cowdery to this mission, and subsequent revelations in September and October directed
Peter Whitmer Jr.

27 Sept. 1809–22 Sept. 1836. Tailor. Born at Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, in Seneca Lake, Seneca Co. One of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, June 1829. Among six...

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,
Parley P. Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

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, and
Ziba Peterson

Ca. 1810–1849. Teacher, farmer, law officer. Born in New York. Lived in Macedon, Wayne Co., New York, ca. 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an elder, by 9 June 1830. Served mission to Ohio and Missouri, 1830–1831. Stripped...

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to join him.
2

JS History, vol. A-1, 61; Revelation, Sept. 1830–B [D&C 28:8]; Revelation, Sept. 1830–D [D&C 30:5]; Revelation, Oct. 1830–A [D&C 32:2–3].


By late October they “commenced their journey, preaching by the way.”
3

Pratt, Autobiography, 49; JS History, vol. A-1, 61.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

The group briefly preached to a group of Seneca Indians near
Buffalo

Located in western New York on eastern shore of Lake Erie at head of Niagara River and mouth of Buffalo Creek. County seat. Settled by 1801. Land for town allocated, 1810. Incorporated as village, 1813, but mostly destroyed later that year during War of 1812...

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, New York.
4

Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 12 Nov. 1830; Pratt, Autobiography, 49, 61.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

En route to the West,
Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

View Full Bio
encouraged the missionaries to stop in
Mentor

Located in northeastern Ohio, about three miles northeast of Kirtland. Area claimed by Connecticut (referred to as Western Reserve), 1786. Surveyed 1796. Settled by early 1798. Organized 1815. Population in 1830 about 700. Included village of Mentor. Sidney...

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, Ohio, to approach his former spiritual leader,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, a preacher associated with
Alexander Campbell

12 Sept. 1788–4 Mar. 1866. Teacher, minister, magazine publisher, college president. Born near Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Ireland. Son of Thomas Campbell and Jane Corneigle. Raised Presbyterian. Moved to Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland, 1808. Immigrated to Buffalo ...

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.
5

Rigdon, who headed a restorationist congregation in Mentor, had recently broken away from the Campbellite movement. (Hayden, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, 298–299.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hayden, Amos Sutton. Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, Ohio; with Biographical Sketches of the Principal Agents in Their Religious Movement. Cincinnati: Chase and Hall, 1875.

There the missionaries met with success, and within a few weeks Rigdon and many members of his congregation in northeastern
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
joined the Church of Christ.
6

Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 12 Nov. 1830; [Matthew S. Clapp], “Mormonism,” Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 15 Feb. 1831, [1]–[2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

In November,
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
,
Whitmer

27 Sept. 1809–22 Sept. 1836. Tailor. Born at Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, in Seneca Lake, Seneca Co. One of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, June 1829. Among six...

View Full Bio
,
Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

View Full Bio
, and
Peterson

Ca. 1810–1849. Teacher, farmer, law officer. Born in New York. Lived in Macedon, Wayne Co., New York, ca. 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an elder, by 9 June 1830. Served mission to Ohio and Missouri, 1830–1831. Stripped...

View Full Bio
, accompanied by new convert
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

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, left the area and continued on their mission to the American Indians living west of
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 ...

More Info
. Soon after the missionaries departed, Rigdon, along with fellow inquirer
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

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, traveled to
New York

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

More Info
to meet JS. The two stopped in
Manchester

Settled 1793. Formed as Burt Township when divided from Farmington Township, 31 Mar. 1821. Name changed to Manchester, 16 Apr. 1822. Included village of Manchester. Population in 1825 about 2,700. Population in 1830 about 2,800. JS reported first vision of...

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, where they visited with the Smiths’ former neighbors and inspected the farm that had belonged to
Joseph Smith Sr.

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

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They then traveled to Waterloo, where they found JS preaching a sermon at the residence of his parents. At the conclusion of JS’s sermon, Partridge rose to speak and asked JS to baptize him.
7

Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 10, [7].


Until
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
left to fulfill his preaching mission, he and JS had been actively working on a “
translation

To produce a text from one written in another language; in JS’s usage, most often through divine means. JS considered the ability to translate to be a gift of the spirit, like the gift of interpreting tongues. He recounted that he translated “reformed Egyptian...

View Glossary
” or revision of the Bible.
8

JS’s Bible revision project began about June 1830 and continued until summer 1833. (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57–59.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

This was not a translation in the usual sense, and neither JS nor his scribes mentioned use of the
Urim and Thummim

A device used to translate and receive revelation. In the Old Testament, the high priest of Israel used a device by this name to discern God’s will for Israel. The Book of Mormon gives an account of an ancient prophet, Mosiah, who translated records into ...

View Glossary
or a seer stone, which JS had earlier used to translate the Book of Mormon. Instead, working from a published copy of the King James Bible, JS dictated to a scribe corrections, refinements, and additions to the Old and New Testaments as he felt inspired.
9

The Bible was purchased in October 1829 from E. B. Grandin’s shop, where the Book of Mormon was being printed. The Bible is at the Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri: The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Together with the Apocrypha. . . . (Cooperstown, NY: H. Phinney and E. Phinney, 1828).


In Cowdery’s absence,
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
and
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
served as JS’s scribes until
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, who extended his stay in
New York

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

More Info
, assumed the role in December.
10

See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 63–64.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

JS and
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
worked on the Bible revision until late December, when a revelation commanded the
New York

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

More Info
church members to “assemble together at the
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
.” They were to stop translating until they had relocated but in the meantime were to preach to the various congregations of the church.
11

Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:1–3]. JS’s and Rigdon’s travels took in Colesville, New York, and Harmony, Pennsylvania.


They accordingly “went to the several churches preaching and propheceing [prophesying].”
12

Whitmer, History, 5.


On 2 January 1831, the members of the Church of Christ met in
Fayette

Located in northern part of county between Seneca and Cayuga lakes. Area settled, by 1790. Officially organized as Washington Township, 14 Mar. 1800. Name changed to Fayette, 6 Apr. 1808. Population in 1830 about 3,200. Population in 1840 about 3,700. Significant...

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, New York, for their third conference, during which a revelation repeated the earlier commandment to gather to Ohio and promised, “There I will give unto you my law & there you shall be endowed with power from on high.”
13

Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32].


Days later, JS sent
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
to Ohio. Whitmer became the first church member to relocate from New York to Ohio, carrying with him “the commandments and revelations . . . to comfort and strengthen” converts there.
14

Whitmer, History, 10. Whitmer arrived in Ohio about the middle of January. (“Mormonism,” Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 18 Jan. 1831, [3]; see also Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 111.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

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...

View Full Bio
left for Ohio in late January 1831.
15

Although most New York church members removed to Ohio in spring 1831, JS’s departure may have been hastened by a letter from John Whitmer describing problems among church members in Ohio and requesting his assistance. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 10, [8].)


  1. 1

    JS’s history explains: “At this time a great desire was manifest by several of the Elders respecting the remnants of the house of Joseph—the Lamanites residing in the west, knowing that the purposes of God were great to that people and hoping that the time had come when the promises of the Almighty in regard to that people were about to be accomplished.” (JS History, vol. A-1, 60–61.)

  2. 2

    JS History, vol. A-1, 61; Revelation, Sept. 1830–B [D&C 28:8]; Revelation, Sept. 1830–D [D&C 30:5]; Revelation, Oct. 1830–A [D&C 32:2–3].

  3. 3

    Pratt, Autobiography, 49; JS History, vol. A-1, 61.

    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.

  4. 4

    Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 12 Nov. 1830; Pratt, Autobiography, 49, 61.

    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.

  5. 5

    Rigdon, who headed a restorationist congregation in Mentor, had recently broken away from the Campbellite movement. (Hayden, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, 298–299.)

    Hayden, Amos Sutton. Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, Ohio; with Biographical Sketches of the Principal Agents in Their Religious Movement. Cincinnati: Chase and Hall, 1875.

  6. 6

    Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 12 Nov. 1830; [Matthew S. Clapp], “Mormonism,” Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 15 Feb. 1831, [1]–[2].

    Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

  7. 7

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 10, [7].

  8. 8

    JS’s Bible revision project began about June 1830 and continued until summer 1833. (See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57–59.)

    Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

  9. 9

    The Bible was purchased in October 1829 from E. B. Grandin’s shop, where the Book of Mormon was being printed. The Bible is at the Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri: The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Together with the Apocrypha. . . . (Cooperstown, NY: H. Phinney and E. Phinney, 1828).

  10. 10

    See Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 63–64.

    Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.

  11. 11

    Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:1–3]. JS’s and Rigdon’s travels took in Colesville, New York, and Harmony, Pennsylvania.

  12. 12

    Whitmer, History, 5.

  13. 13

    Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32].

  14. 14

    Whitmer, History, 10. Whitmer arrived in Ohio about the middle of January. (“Mormonism,” Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 18 Jan. 1831, [3]; see also Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 111.)

    Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

    Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

  15. 15

    Although most New York church members removed to Ohio in spring 1831, JS’s departure may have been hastened by a letter from John Whitmer describing problems among church members in Ohio and requesting his assistance. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 10, [8].)

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