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  2. Introduction to Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843

Joseph Smith Documents from March through July 1843

During the evening of 14 May 1843, Joseph Smith conversed with a small group of Latter-day Saints in
Lima

Area settled, 1828. Platted 1833. Post office established, 1836. Many Latter-day Saints settled in area, 1839, after expulsion from Missouri. Considered important settlement by Latter-day Saint leaders. Lima stake organized, 22 Oct. 1840. Stake reduced to...

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, Illinois. Reflecting on his eventful day-to-day life, he remarked, “Excitement has almost become the essens of my life[;] when that dies away I feel almost lost.” He reflected further that “when a man is reigned up continually by excitement he becomes strong & gains power & knowledge.”
1

Woodruff, Journal, 14 May 1843.


This introspective comment provides insight into Joseph Smith’s experiences from March through July 1843. During these months, demanding civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities occupied his attention, as did ongoing legal entanglements with the state 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 ...

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. Even with these considerable claims on his time, though, Smith found opportunities to engage in what he viewed as his most urgent task: instructing the
Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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on the principles of salvation and exaltation. Joseph Smith’s documentary record from March through July comprises approximately four hundred documents, excluding duplicates of correspondence and civic records, which were often reproduced several times. This volume of The Joseph Smith Papers features ninety-six of those documents, representing the core of Joseph Smith’s documents from this period, including his correspondence, accounts of his discourses, and his last major written revelation. The volume also features a representative selection of his more routine documents such as deeds, ecclesiastical authorizations, and financial and legal records.
One of Joseph Smith’s pressing concerns during the months covered by this volume was his ongoing trouble with the state 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 ...

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. In the 1830s, thousands of Latter-day Saints settled in Missouri in response to Smith’s 1831 revelation designating it as “the land of promise & the place for the City of Zion.”
2

Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:2].


Citing political, cultural, and religious differences, the church’s antagonists in Missouri violently forced the Saints from multiple counties during the decade. In fall 1838, after it became apparent that civil and military authorities would not protect the Saints, church members targeted settlements they believed to be vigilante havens, burning buildings and confiscating goods. The vigilantes responded in kind, and hundreds of individuals on both sides lost their homes. During this conflict, approximately forty Latter-day Saints were killed, as was one individual who was not a member of the church. In October 1838, Missouri 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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ordered that church members “be exterminated or driven from the state,” resulting in the Saints’ exodus out of Missouri and Joseph Smith’s winter imprisonment in the
Clay County

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

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jail

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
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...

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, Missouri.
3

“Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

After his guards allowed him to escape custody in April 1839, Smith rejoined the Saints in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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, where they had taken refuge. Soon after Smith arrived, he and many church members began settling in and around
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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, Illinois—later renamed
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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. As they struggled to rebuild, the dispossessed and impoverished Saints sought redress for their losses 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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at the federal level, even as Missouri officials worked to impede their efforts.
4

See “Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841.”


In addition, these officials attempted to have Smith extradited from Illinois to stand trial for charges stemming from the 1838 conflict. Smith appeared in June 1841 before an Illinois judge, who discharged him on a writ of
habeas corpus

“Have the body”; a written order from a court of competent jurisdiction commanding anyone having a person in custody to produce such person at a certain time and place and to state the reasons why he or she is being held in custody. The court will determine...

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, a common law remedy that permitted an authorized judge to review the legality of a prisoner’s detention.
5

See Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes; “Part 4: June–July 1843”; and “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454–456.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

In May 1842, an unknown assailant shot
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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in his home in
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

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, Missouri. Allegations quickly circulated that Smith had directed his longtime associate
Orrin Porter Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

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, a Latter-day Saint, to assassinate Boggs as revenge for his role in the 1838–1839 conflict and expulsion.
6

“Assassination of Ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 21 May 1842, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

In July 1842,
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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officials initiated procedures to have Smith and Rockwell extradited from
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
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 stand trial for the alleged crimes, and Illinois officials complied with the demand.
7

Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842; Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842.


The two men, however, avoided arrest the next month and went into hiding.
8

JS, Journal, 8 and 11 Aug. 1842.


In January 1843, Smith appeared before the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, which held that Missouri officials had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the extradition. The court accordingly discharged him from custody.
9

Court Ruling, 5 Jan. 1843; see also “Part 1: March 1843”; and Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes.


Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

View Full Bio
spent the winter in hiding around
Philadelphia

Port city founded as Quaker settlement by William Penn, 1681. Site of signing of Declaration of Independence and drafting of U.S. Constitution. Nation’s capital city, 1790–1800. Population in 1830 about 170,000; in 1840 about 260,000; and in 1850 about 410...

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. For reasons that remain unclear, he attempted to return to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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in early 1843. While traveling under an assumed name through
St. Louis

Located on west side of Mississippi River about fifteen miles south of confluence with Missouri River. Founded as fur-trading post by French settlers, 1764. Incorporated as town, 1809. First Mississippi steamboat docked by town, 1817. Incorporated as city...

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, Rockwell was recognized, apprehended, and incarcerated.
10

See “Part 1: March 1843.”


Because the
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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court system had proven hostile to the Latter-day Saints during the previous decade, Joseph Smith sought to ensure that Rockwell’s rights were protected. Smith corresponded with several attorneys in an effort to develop legal strategies for Rockwell’s defense.
11

See Letter from Joseph Wood, 14 Mar. 1843; Letter to Richard Blennerhassett, 17 Mar. 1843; Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 17–18 Mar. 1843; Letter to Justin Butterfield, 18 Mar. 1843; Letter from Justin Butterfield, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 10 Apr. 1843; and Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Mar. 1843.


Despite this flurry of correspondence, Rockwell remained imprisoned awaiting trial during the months covered in this volume.
Conflict with
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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returned in early June 1843, when a grand jury 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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, Missouri, indicted Joseph Smith in absentia for allegedly committing treason during the 1838 conflict. Missouri officials again initiated extradition proceedings, sending Sheriff
Joseph H. Reynolds

1813–29 Mar. 1884. Grocer, government official. Born in Lincoln Co., Kentucky. Moved to Independence, Jackson Co., Missouri, 1834. Elected county coroner, Aug. 1836, and justice of the peace, 1837. Served in Seminole War. Married first, by June 1840. Served...

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as the agent authorized to transport Smith, once apprehended, out of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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. In mid-June, Illinois governor
Thomas Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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issued a warrant for Smith’s arrest. Later that month, while Smith and his family were visiting relatives near
Dixon

Post village in northwestern Illinois, located on Rock River. Area settled and ferry established, spring 1828. Post office established, 1829. John Dixon settled in area with family, 11 Apr. 1830, and purchased ferry. Fort built in area during Black Hawk War...

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, Illinois, Constable
Harmon T. Wilson

1 Feb. 1815–27 June 1851. Merchant, deputy sheriff. Born in Montgomery Co., Virginia. Son of John Wilson and Elizabeth Cummins. Moved to Christianburg, Montgomery Co., by 7 Aug. 1820; to Newbern, Montgomery Co., by June 1830; and to Hancock Co., Illinois,...

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of
Hancock County

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

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, Illinois, arrested Joseph Smith and transferred custody to Reynolds, who had accompanied Wilson during the arrest. The two lawmen quickly attempted to move Smith out of Illinois. However, he secured legal counsel in Dixon and employed several legal strategies to impede the extradition, including obtaining a writ of habeas corpus. He also filed a civil suit against the two officers for false imprisonment and personal injury, which in turn led to the arrest of Wilson and Reynolds by James Campbell, sheriff of
Lee County

Located in north-central Illinois, with part of northern county boundary formed by Rock River. Fertile agricultural area. French trappers frequented area, by 1780. Second Black Hawk campaign fought in area, 1832. Illinois Central Railroad construction began...

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, Illinois.
12

“Part 4: June–July 1843”; Affidavit, 24 June 1843.


On 26 June 1843, Joseph Smith, his attorneys, his captors, and Sheriff Campbell all left
Dixon

Post village in northwestern Illinois, located on Rock River. Area settled and ferry established, spring 1828. Post office established, 1829. John Dixon settled in area with family, 11 Apr. 1830, and purchased ferry. Fort built in area during Black Hawk War...

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together. Their stated destination was
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, for a hearing before Judge
Richard M. Young

20 Feb. 1798–28 Nov. 1861. Attorney, judge, politician. Born in Fayette Co., Kentucky. Moved to Jonesboro, Union Co., Illinois Territory. Admitted to Illinois bar, 1817, in Jonesboro. Served as state representative from Union Co., 1820–1822. Married Matilda...

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. However, Smith and his attorneys decided to instead go to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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and appear before the city’s municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus. The party grew as groups of
Nauvoo Legion

A contingent of the Illinois state militia provided for in the Nauvoo city charter. The Nauvoo Legion was organized into two cohorts: one infantry and one cavalry. Each cohort could potentially comprise several thousand men and was overseen by a brigadier...

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troops—who had mobilized to protect Smith—found and joined them. Despite
Reynolds

1813–29 Mar. 1884. Grocer, government official. Born in Lincoln Co., Kentucky. Moved to Independence, Jackson Co., Missouri, 1834. Elected county coroner, Aug. 1836, and justice of the peace, 1837. Served in Seminole War. Married first, by June 1840. Served...

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’s protestations, the group entered Nauvoo on 30 June. The next day, Smith appeared before the municipal court at a habeas corpus hearing. After hearing testimony regarding the Saints’ sufferings during the 1838 conflict as well as arguments detailing the legal deficiencies in the extradition documents, the court discharged Smith.
13

“Part 4: June–July 1843”; see also Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843; and Discourse, 30 June 1843.


Wilson

1 Feb. 1815–27 June 1851. Merchant, deputy sheriff. Born in Montgomery Co., Virginia. Son of John Wilson and Elizabeth Cummins. Moved to Christianburg, Montgomery Co., by 7 Aug. 1820; to Newbern, Montgomery Co., by June 1830; and to Hancock Co., Illinois,...

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and Reynolds then appealed to
Governor Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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to send the state militia to detain Joseph Smith again, arguing that he had resisted arrest and that the Nauvoo Municipal Court had exceeded its jurisdiction in the case. For much of July 1843, Smith’s time was consumed with defending himself and the court from these charges by preaching discourses explaining his arrest, by dispatching missionaries throughout the state to address misunderstandings about the legal proceedings, and by forwarding petitions, affidavits, and other evidence to the governor.
14

See, for example, Discourse, 4 July 1843; Affidavit, 7 July 1843; Letter from Edward Southwick, 29 July 1843; and Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.


While the drama of
Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

View Full Bio
’s arrest 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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and the attempt to extradite Smith from
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
demanded much of Smith’s time and attention, he was also occupied with more mundane civic responsibilities. The Illinois legislature had incorporated
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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in 1840 and granted the city a charter with significant powers.
15

Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.


In 1842, the city council elected Joseph Smith mayor of Nauvoo to complete the term of his predecessor, former Latter-day Saint
John C. Bennett

3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...

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, and in February 1843, Smith was elected in a general election to a full term.
16

JS, Journal, 19 May 1842 and 6 Feb. 1843.


From March through July 1843, Smith participated in city council meetings and signed ordinances that regulated the local economy, including one that authorized him to operate a ferry on the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

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.
17

JS, Journal, 4 Mar. 1843; Ordinance, 1 June 1843.


He also presided in the mayor’s court, in which he adjudicated alleged breaches of city ordinances. In addition, he served as a justice of the peace, allowing him to hear civil cases involving minor disputes and alleged violations of state statutes.
18

See Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.


In the latter capacity, Joseph Smith sat as judge in a breach-of-contract suit, Charles Dana v. William Brink, involving the wrongdoing of a local physician. With the assistance of his scribe
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...

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, Smith prepared a lengthy ruling in favor of the plaintiff and delivered that ruling on 10 March. Later that month, Nauvoo’s city newspaper, the Wasp, printed his decision—his only published trial report.
19

Trial Report, 4–22 Mar. 1843.


The
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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charter also allowed the city council to organize an independent military unit within the
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
state militia. In February 1841, the court-martial of the newly formed
Nauvoo Legion

A contingent of the Illinois state militia provided for in the Nauvoo city charter. The Nauvoo Legion was organized into two cohorts: one infantry and one cavalry. Each cohort could potentially comprise several thousand men and was overseen by a brigadier...

View Glossary
appointed Joseph Smith lieutenant general and commander of the legion, a position he continued to hold throughout the months covered in this volume.
20

Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Minutes, 4 Feb. 1841.


On 6 May 1843, Smith led the legion on parade and delivered a discourse pledging to use the military strength of the legion to defend the rights of the oppressed.
21

Discourse, 6 May 1843.


Joseph Smith also continued to be heavily involved in land transactions in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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. In 1839, he and other church leaders purchased on credit the rights to approximately four hundred acres of land in the area that became Nauvoo from land speculators
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

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,
Smith Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

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, and
John Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

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.
22

Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.


In February 1841, a
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...

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of the church appointed Smith as trustee-in-trust for the church, giving him primary responsibility over the church’s financial assets and obligations, including its land holdings.
23

Appointment as Trustee, 2 Feb. 1841.


The same year, in the midst of a national financial recession, the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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Congress passed bankruptcy legislation to relieve debtors. Partly because of the church’s substantial losses resulting from the 1839 expulsion 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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, Smith applied for bankruptcy in 1842.
24

Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.


Although Smith intended to honor his agreement with Hotchkiss, the sale of Smith’s assets as part of his bankruptcy proceedings introduced the possibility that Smith might lose his claim to the land and that it would then revert to Hotchkiss and his partners.
25

Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 May 1842.


Hotchkiss wrote to Smith in April 1843 and assured him that, in the event default occurred, the Latter-day Saints living on the property would not be evicted but would instead be considered rent-paying tenants.
26

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 7 Apr. 1843.


In July 1843, Tuttle and Gillet visited Nauvoo to renegotiate the terms of the 1839 agreement, ultimately allowing the church to retain forty-seven acres in fifty lots—primarily located to the west of the church’s unfinished
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

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—while returning the rights to the remaining property to the land speculators.
27

Bond from Smith Tuttle and John Gillet, 7 July 1843; see also Letter from Chauncey Robison, 8 Mar. 1843.


Additionally, several individuals wrote letters to Smith during the months covered in this volume requesting assistance in completing land transactions or settling property disputes in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
and
Iowa Territory

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...

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.
28

See Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Letter from George W. Robinson, 26 Apr. 1843; Letter from John Wilson Williams, 27 Apr. 1843; Letter from Henry A. Cyrus, 1 May 1843; Letter from William Griffey, 18 May 1843; and Letter to Isaac Morris, 16 June 1843.


From March through July 1843, Joseph Smith devoted considerable time and attention to his ecclesiastical responsibilities as president of the church. In late March, he considered removing his longtime associate
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...

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as a counselor in the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
, largely because of his lingering suspicions that Rigdon was secretly conspiring with
John C. Bennett

3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...

View Full Bio
to undermine him. Rigdon denied the allegation.
29

Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.


In early April 1843, Joseph Smith presided at the church’s special conference in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, where he presented himself and his counselors in the First Presidency “for trial,” allowing church members to either sustain or oppose their standing. Smith was overwhelmingly sustained, as was his other counselor,
William Law

8 Sept. 1809–12/19 Jan. 1892. Merchant, millwright, physician. Born in Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Son of Richard Law and Ann Hunter. Immigrated to U.S. and settled in Springfield Township, Mercer Co., Pennsylvania, by 1820. Moved to Delaware Township, Mercer Co...

View Full Bio
. Rigdon too was sustained, but only after responding to questions regarding his connections with Bennett.
30

JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.


At this same conference, Joseph Smith addressed
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
’s two major church-sponsored building projects: the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
and the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
. An 1841 revelation had designated Nauvoo as a “corner stone of
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
” and commanded the Saints to construct a house “for the Most High to dwell,” where sacred temple ceremonies would be performed and “the fulness of the
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
” would be revealed. The revelation further commanded church members to build the Nauvoo House, a building where “the weary traveller may find health and safety, while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord” and “the glory of Zion.”
31

Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:2, 23, 27–28, 60].


Construction on the two edifices had progressed slowly, however, and Joseph Smith announced at the April 1843 conference that the Saints should prioritize the Nauvoo House, as the city lacked a suitable hotel for prominent visitors. He also indicated that the previous method of allowing any traveling
elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
to collect donations from Saints living outside of Nauvoo was discontinued. He instead designated the members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

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
as the only agents authorized to receive contributions and indicated that the apostles would raise funds in the eastern states later that year.
32

Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843; Authorization for Brigham Young, 1 June 1843.


Also during the April conference, Joseph Smith announced that the minutes of the conference were to be published and distributed among the Saints outside of
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. Smith subsequently reviewed the minutes kept by the conference clerk,
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, and determined they were inadequate. Under Smith’s guidance, his scribes prepared new drafts of the minutes amalgamated with the notes that
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
had taken during the conference; the revised minutes appeared in the 1 May 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons, the church’s religious newspaper in Nauvoo. The extant documentation of this publication process provides a rare window into print culture in Nauvoo and Smith’s involvement in it.
33

Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.


Joseph Smith continued to participate in church councils during these months. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1834, he organized
high councils

A governing body of twelve high priests. The first high council was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on 17 February 1834 “for the purpose of settling important difficulties which might arise in the church, which could not be settled by the church, or the bishop...

View Glossary
composed of priesthood holders who convened when necessary to assist him in church governance, to discipline wayward church members, and to resolve disputes among the Saints. Members could appeal decisions of the high councils to the First Presidency.
34

Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:27].


In April 1843, the First Presidency heard on appeal a property dispute between
Anson Mathews

1 Dec. 1787–after 27 Jan. 1848. Tinsmith. Born in Chatham, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. Son of Asael (Asahel) Mathews and Anner Harding. Married Elizabeth (Betsey) Burgess, ca. 15 Sept. 1811, in Conway, Franklin Co., Massachusetts. Moved to Canandaigua, Ontario...

View Full Bio
and
Graham Coltrin

11 Dec. 1797–24 May 1851. Farmer. Born in Colrain, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Coltrin and Sarah Graham. Moved to Strongsville, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1820. Married first Anna Norwood, 16 Nov. 1828, in Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Baptized into...

View Full Bio
, and it ultimately reversed the high council’s decision and ruled in favor of Mathews. Scribes
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
and
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
kept detailed minutes, a rare example of such an appeal to the First Presidency.
35

Minutes, 30 Apr. 1843. Although the case started as an appeal, the First Presidency decided that because the high council lacked authority to decide land issues in Nauvoo, the presidency would retry the case.


Joseph Smith met with the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

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
in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
on at least two occasions between March and July 1843. On 19 April 1843, he convened the apostles who were in the area and helped make missionary proselytizing assignments and plan the apostles’ fund-raising mission for the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
and the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
.
36

Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843.


Smith met again with the
quorum

An organized group of individuals holding the same office in the Melchizedek priesthood or the Aaronic priesthood. According to the 1835 “Instruction on Priesthood,” the presidency of the church constituted a quorum. The Twelve Apostles also formed a quorum...

View Glossary
on 27 May 1843 to consider the conduct of
Benjamin Winchester

6 Aug. 1817–25 Jan. 1901. Farmer, author, merchant, brick maker. Born near Elk Creek, Erie Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Stephen Winchester and Mary Case. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, early 1833, in Elk Creek. Moved to Kirtland, ...

View Full Bio
, a key—albeit divisive—figure in the church in
Philadelphia

Port city founded as Quaker settlement by William Penn, 1681. Site of signing of Declaration of Independence and drafting of U.S. Constitution. Nation’s capital city, 1790–1800. Population in 1830 about 170,000; in 1840 about 260,000; and in 1850 about 410...

More Info
during the early 1840s. The Philadelphia
branch

An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...

View Glossary
of the church had become divided because of contention created under Winchester’s influence. Under Smith’s direction, the May council of apostles stripped Winchester of his priesthood
license

A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...

View Glossary
—his authorization to preach and represent the church publicly—and ordered him to relocate with his wife and children to Nauvoo.
37

Minutes and Discourse, 27 May 1843; see also Letter from Eliza Lowry Nicholson, 23 Apr. 1843; Letter from Sybella McMinn Armstrong, 1 May 1843; and Letter from Isaac Stathem, 10 May 1843.


Other branches outside
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
similarly required Joseph Smith’s attention. Despite the presence of a branch of substantial size in
Boston

Capital city of Massachusetts, located on eastern seaboard at mouth of Charles River. Founded by Puritans, 1630. Received city charter, 1822. Population in 1820 about 43,000; in 1830 about 61,000; and in 1840 about 93,000. JS’s ancestor Robert Smith emigrated...

More Info
, the church suffered from a poor public image in the city. Recognizing the need to improve perceptions of the church, Smith assigned scribes
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
and
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
to write a series of letters to the Boston Daily Bee. Following a common nineteenth-century literary convention, Richards and Phelps wrote under a pseudonym—“Viator,” a purported visitor to Nauvoo who was not a member of the church—describing Joseph Smith, the Saints, and their city in a positive light.
38

Letter to Editor, 22–ca. 27 Apr. 1843. In a similar effort to improve the church’s public image, Smith asked Phelps to write a letter, which was published under Smith’s name in the Times and Seasons, that provided a positive etymology for the word Mormon. (Letter to Editor, ca. 20 May 1843.)


Smith was also kept apprised of the status of other branches in the church as members and missionaries in Boston,
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
,
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
, and elsewhere in the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
sent letters to him reporting on the church’s situation in those areas.
39

Letter from John M. Bernhisel, 8 Mar. 1843; Letter from Hannah Root and James M. Adams, 10 Mar. 1843; Letter from Austin Cowles, 13 Mar. 1843; Letter from James Adams, 14 Mar. 1843; Letter from John P. Greene, 18 Mar. 1843; and Letter from John E. Page, 24 Apr. 1843.


Documents in this volume demonstrate how Smith and other church leaders managed expansion of the church outside North America. In 1837, Latter-day Saint missionaries began preaching in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
, and over the next several years, thousands in the British Isles converted to the church.
40

See Rasmussen, Mormonism and the Making of a British Zion, chaps. 1–3.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rasmussen, Matthew L. Mormonism and the Making of a British Zion. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2016.

Two documents featured in this volume are letters from church leaders in England reporting on church administration and requesting direction on emigration and other challenges.
41

Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 16 Mar. 1843.


Smith also envisioned further international expansion of the church, enjoining church leaders not to “let one single corner of the earth go witho[u]t a mission.”
42

Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843; Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 1 June 1843.


Joseph Smith also dealt with the challenges facing immigrants to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. For example, Smith delivered a public discourse that sought to help new immigrants adjust to the exigencies of life in a new city and country.
43

Discourse, 13 Apr. 1843.


Smith also received a letter from an English immigrant who recounted his financial predicament—alleging that several prominent Latter-day Saints had defrauded him—and requested Smith’s help in resolving his debts.
44

Letter from Thomas Rawcliff, 24 May 1843.


In anticipation of the completion of the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
, Joseph Smith continued to teach temple-related concepts and ceremonies. In 1840, he first taught the Saints that living individuals could be
baptized

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

View Glossary
on behalf of deceased relatives.
45

See Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; and Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

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

The following year, he dictated a revelation that commanded the church to build the temple, indicating that although members were permitted to perform baptisms for the dead outside of the temple while it was under construction, church members should endeavor to finish the building because it was the proper place for proxy baptisms. The revelation also indicated that the administration of other ordinances—including
washings

A ritual ablution of bodies symbolizing a purification from sin. As early as 1830, the Book of Mormon and JS revelations characterized baptism by immersion as a washing away of sins. On 23 January 1833, JS led the members of the School of the Prophets in ...

View Glossary
and
anointings

To apply ceremonial oil to the head or body, often in conjunction with priesthood ordinances and the blessing of the sick. The practice of blessing the sick included anointing with oil and laying hands on the sick person. Ritual washings and anointings were...

View Glossary
and an
endowment

Bestowal of spiritual blessings, power, or knowledge. Beginning in 1831, multiple revelations promised an endowment of “power from on high” in association with the command to gather. Some believed this promise was fulfilled when individuals were first ordained...

View Glossary
ceremony—would likewise be reserved for the temple upon its completion.
46

Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:30–35, 39].


During Sunday services on 11 June 1843, Joseph Smith emphasized the importance of the temple by elaborating on Matthew 23:37, a verse in which Jesus Christ lamented the failure of the Jews to gather to Jerusalem. Smith taught that the purpose of such a
gathering

As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land...

View Glossary
of the Lord’s people was to “build unto the Lord an house” and enjoined the Latter-day Saints to gather to Nauvoo, complete the temple, and receive sacred
ordinances

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were...

View Glossary
in the house of the Lord.
47

Discourse, 11 June 1843–A.


Joseph Smith’s temple-related teachings in this volume also include eternal marriage, or marital unions
sealed

To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in...

View Glossary
by
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
authority that persist beyond death and through eternity. In contrast to one strand of traditional Christian belief—that familial relations cease after this life—during the nineteenth century an increasing number of people envisioned their familial relations continuing in the afterlife. Although they converged in some ways with these broader trends, Smith’s revelations and teachings on this subject were distinctive in that they explicitly outlined the eternal duration of marriages sealed in priesthood ceremonies.
48

See Brown, In Heaven as It Is on Earth, chap. 8; and McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, 228–275.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Brown, Samuel M. In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

McDannell, Colleen, and Bernhard Lang. Heaven: A History. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. 07

Although Smith evidently began instructing his followers as early as 1835 that their marital unions could be eternal,
49

In May 1835, William W. Phelps wrote to his wife, Sally Waterman Phelps, about a “new idea” that he presumably learned from Joseph Smith: “If you and I continue faithful to the end, we are certain of being one in the Lord throughout eternity.” In another letter, written later that year, while referencing Smith’s “greatest sermons on the duty of wives to their husbands,” William chided Sally for closing a recent letter by stating that she remained his “till death.” He explained that “you will be mine, in this world and in the world to come,” and “you may as well use the word ‘forever,’ as ‘till death.’” (William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU; William W. Phelps, [Kirtland, OH], to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16 Sept. 1835, private possession, copy at CHL, underlining in original; see also William W. Phelps, “Letter No. 8,” Messenger and Advocate, June 1835, 1:130.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

Phelps, William W. Letter, [Kirtland, OH], to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16 Sept. 1835. Private Possession. Copy at CHL. MS 4587.

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

it was not until the 1840s that his teachings on the subject became more explicit. In multiple documents featured in this volume, Smith taught that marriage covenants that were not entered into under priesthood authority with a view toward eternity would end with death.
50

Instruction, 16 May 1843; Discourse, 21 May 1843; Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132:7]; Discourse, 16 July 1843. On 28 May 1843, Joseph Smith was likely sealed for eternity to Emma Smith, his first wife. (JS, Journal, 28 May 1843.)


He also adapted these teachings for individuals who had lost a spouse to death. In a blessing featured in this volume, Smith promised Latter-day Saint
Joseph Kingsbury

2 May 1812–15 Oct. 1898. Mining superintendent, store clerk, teacher, farmer, ferry operator, tithing storehouse supervisor, Temple Square guide. Born at Enfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Solomon Kingsbury and Bathsheba Amanda Pease. Moved from Enfield...

View Full Bio
that he and his recently deceased wife,
Caroline Whitney Kingsbury

10 Mar. 1816–10 Oct. 1842. Born in Jay, Essex Co., New York. Daughter of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by JS, 31 Oct. 1835. Married Joseph C. Kingsbury, 3 Feb. 1836, in Geauga Co., Ohio. Moved...

View Full Bio
, would “be crowned and enthrowned to dwell together in a Kingdom in the
Celestial Glory

Highest kingdom of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the sun. According to a vision dated 16 February 1832, inheritors of the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, & believed on his name, & were baptized,” “receive...

View Glossary
in the presents of God.” In the blessing, Smith gave the same promise to Caroline Kingsbury, with Joseph Kingsbury acting “in her behalf . . . as though She was present herself.”
51

Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842; and JS, Journal, 29 May 1843.


Joseph Smith also expanded the practice of plural marriage during the months covered in this volume. Although the origins of plural marriage among the Saints are obscure, later accounts state that sometime in the 1830s Smith received a commandment from God to enter the practice. The fragmentary nature of the extant evidence precludes a full reconstruction of the emergence of the practice and its development in the early 1840s. The small circle of Latter-day Saints who participated in the practice in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
understood plural marriage to be part of the “restitution of all things” that would occur in the “dispensation of the fulness of times.”
52

Acts 3:21; Ephesians 1:10.


This restoration would include not only the spiritual gifts of the New Testament and the church of Jesus Christ but also Old Testament practices, roles, and ideas, such as temple worship and priesthood, prophets and patriarchs, and the marital system of the biblical patriarchs.
53

Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132:45]; Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 16.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.

During the first half of 1843, Joseph Smith significantly broadened his practice of plural marriage, as he was sealed to about a dozen women during these months, bringing the total number of his plural unions to more than twenty.
54

See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132]; and “Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842.”


Featured in this volume is a blessing to
Sarah Ann Whitney

22 Mar. 1825–4 Sept. 1873. Born in Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio. Daughter of Newel K. Whitney and Elizabeth Ann Smith. Located at Carrollton, Greene Co., Illinois, winter 1838–1839. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, winter 1839–1840, and then to Commerce...

View Full Bio
, who was sealed to Smith as a plural wife in 1842. The blessing is a rare example of a contemporaneously recorded text, written in Smith’s own hand, that attests his personal practice of plural marriage.
55

Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843.


This volume also features a lengthy revelation on eternal and plural marriage. In May 1843,
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
reluctantly accepted her husband’s practice of plural marriage, conditioned on her ability to choose the women to whom he was sealed. This acceptance, however, was short-lived, and by late June 1843 she again opposed the practice.
56

Young, Diary and Reminiscences, 1–3; Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, pp. 350–351, 366, questions 21, 24, 31, 350, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Young, Emily Dow Partridge. Diary and Reminiscences, Feb. 1874–Nov. 1883. CHL. MS 22253.

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Indepen- dence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894). Typescript. United States Testimony, 1892. Typescript. CHL.

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

The following month, on 12 July 1843, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation that outlined the need for everlasting marriage covenants, the nature of the sealing power, and the biblical basis of plural marriage. Although initially dictated in the immediate context of the situation with Emma, the revelation explicated the divine origin of these teachings, providing the doctrinal and textual foundation of the Saints’ practice of plural marriage over the next half century.
57

See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132].


Finally, this volume features accounts of about twenty discourses, including those previously mentioned, that Joseph Smith delivered from March through July 1843, usually at Sunday meetings, on themes such as the last days, Smith’s 1820 vision of Deity, and the doctrines of salvation and exaltation.
58

See, for example, Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Discourse, 11 June 1843–B; and Discourse, 21 May 1843.


Most of these discourses were delivered in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, although Smith also visited and instructed members in branches of the church outside the city.
59

Minutes, 13 Mar. 1843; Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843 [D&C 130]; Discourse, 14 May 1843; Instruction, 16 May 1843; Discourse, 17 May 1843–A; Discourse, 17 May 1843–B.


Smith did not normally prepare his sermons in advance but instead delivered his orations extemporaneously without notes. Extant accounts of his discourses were made by attentive listeners who hurriedly sought to capture his words as they heard them. These notes were often expanded and polished after the fact. By 1843, an increasing number of individuals began making accounts of Smith’s sermons, meaning that most of the discourses featured in this volume have multiple versions, each of which is reproduced herein.
60

See Smith, “Joseph Smith’s Sermons,” 190–230.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, William V. “Joseph Smith’s Sermons and the Early Mormon Documentary Record.” In Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources, edited by Mark Ashurst-McGee, Robin Scott Jensen, and Sharalyn D. Howcroft, 190–230. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

The documents featured in this volume illuminate Joseph Smith’s endeavors to fulfill the will of the Lord by building a
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

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, a city, and a people. During the five months from March through July 1843, Smith found himself “reigned up continually by excitement”—just as he had professed that evening in mid-May—due to his ecclesiastical and civic responsibilities as well as his persistent problems arising from antagonists 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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. But according to his own judgment, this excitement made him become “strong” and gain “power & knowledge,” which he in turn conveyed to the Saints in temple ceremonies, written revelations, and discourses.
61

Woodruff, Journal, 14 May 1843.


Taken together, the documents featured herein provide a window into Joseph Smith’s efforts to balance the competing demands on his time and attention as an individual, as a civic leader, and as church president.
  1. 1

    Woodruff, Journal, 14 May 1843.

  2. 2

    Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:2].

  3. 3

    “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

  4. 4

    See “Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841.”

  5. 5

    See Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes; “Part 4: June–July 1843”; and “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454–456.

    Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

  6. 6

    “Assassination of Ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 21 May 1842, [3].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  7. 7

    Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842; Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842.

  8. 8

    JS, Journal, 8 and 11 Aug. 1842.

  9. 9

    Court Ruling, 5 Jan. 1843; see also “Part 1: March 1843”; and Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes.

  10. 10

    See “Part 1: March 1843.”

  11. 11

    See Letter from Joseph Wood, 14 Mar. 1843; Letter to Richard Blennerhassett, 17 Mar. 1843; Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 17–18 Mar. 1843; Letter to Justin Butterfield, 18 Mar. 1843; Letter from Justin Butterfield, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 10 Apr. 1843; and Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Mar. 1843.

  12. 12

    “Part 4: June–July 1843”; Affidavit, 24 June 1843.

  13. 13

    “Part 4: June–July 1843”; see also Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843; and Discourse, 30 June 1843.

  14. 14

    See, for example, Discourse, 4 July 1843; Affidavit, 7 July 1843; Letter from Edward Southwick, 29 July 1843; and Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.

  15. 15

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  16. 16

    JS, Journal, 19 May 1842 and 6 Feb. 1843.

  17. 17

    JS, Journal, 4 Mar. 1843; Ordinance, 1 June 1843.

  18. 18

    See Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  19. 19

    Trial Report, 4–22 Mar. 1843.

  20. 20

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Minutes, 4 Feb. 1841.

  21. 21

    Discourse, 6 May 1843.

  22. 22

    Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.

  23. 23

    Appointment as Trustee, 2 Feb. 1841.

  24. 24

    Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.

  25. 25

    Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 May 1842.

  26. 26

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 7 Apr. 1843.

  27. 27

    Bond from Smith Tuttle and John Gillet, 7 July 1843; see also Letter from Chauncey Robison, 8 Mar. 1843.

  28. 28

    See Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Letter from George W. Robinson, 26 Apr. 1843; Letter from John Wilson Williams, 27 Apr. 1843; Letter from Henry A. Cyrus, 1 May 1843; Letter from William Griffey, 18 May 1843; and Letter to Isaac Morris, 16 June 1843.

  29. 29

    Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.

  30. 30

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.

  31. 31

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:2, 23, 27–28, 60].

  32. 32

    Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843; Authorization for Brigham Young, 1 June 1843.

  33. 33

    Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.

  34. 34

    Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:27].

  35. 35

    Minutes, 30 Apr. 1843. Although the case started as an appeal, the First Presidency decided that because the high council lacked authority to decide land issues in Nauvoo, the presidency would retry the case.

  36. 36

    Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843.

  37. 37

    Minutes and Discourse, 27 May 1843; see also Letter from Eliza Lowry Nicholson, 23 Apr. 1843; Letter from Sybella McMinn Armstrong, 1 May 1843; and Letter from Isaac Stathem, 10 May 1843.

  38. 38

    Letter to Editor, 22–ca. 27 Apr. 1843. In a similar effort to improve the church’s public image, Smith asked Phelps to write a letter, which was published under Smith’s name in the Times and Seasons, that provided a positive etymology for the word Mormon. (Letter to Editor, ca. 20 May 1843.)

  39. 39

    Letter from John M. Bernhisel, 8 Mar. 1843; Letter from Hannah Root and James M. Adams, 10 Mar. 1843; Letter from Austin Cowles, 13 Mar. 1843; Letter from James Adams, 14 Mar. 1843; Letter from John P. Greene, 18 Mar. 1843; and Letter from John E. Page, 24 Apr. 1843.

  40. 40

    See Rasmussen, Mormonism and the Making of a British Zion, chaps. 1–3.

    Rasmussen, Matthew L. Mormonism and the Making of a British Zion. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2016.

  41. 41

    Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 16 Mar. 1843.

  42. 42

    Minutes, 19 Apr. 1843; Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 1 June 1843.

  43. 43

    Discourse, 13 Apr. 1843.

  44. 44

    Letter from Thomas Rawcliff, 24 May 1843.

  45. 45

    See Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; and Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.

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

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

  46. 46

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:30–35, 39].

  47. 47

    Discourse, 11 June 1843–A.

  48. 48

    See Brown, In Heaven as It Is on Earth, chap. 8; and McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, 228–275.

    Brown, Samuel M. In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

    McDannell, Colleen, and Bernhard Lang. Heaven: A History. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. 07

  49. 49

    In May 1835, William W. Phelps wrote to his wife, Sally Waterman Phelps, about a “new idea” that he presumably learned from Joseph Smith: “If you and I continue faithful to the end, we are certain of being one in the Lord throughout eternity.” In another letter, written later that year, while referencing Smith’s “greatest sermons on the duty of wives to their husbands,” William chided Sally for closing a recent letter by stating that she remained his “till death.” He explained that “you will be mine, in this world and in the world to come,” and “you may as well use the word ‘forever,’ as ‘till death.’” (William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU; William W. Phelps, [Kirtland, OH], to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16 Sept. 1835, private possession, copy at CHL, underlining in original; see also William W. Phelps, “Letter No. 8,” Messenger and Advocate, June 1835, 1:130.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

    Phelps, William W. Letter, [Kirtland, OH], to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16 Sept. 1835. Private Possession. Copy at CHL. MS 4587.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  50. 50

    Instruction, 16 May 1843; Discourse, 21 May 1843; Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132:7]; Discourse, 16 July 1843. On 28 May 1843, Joseph Smith was likely sealed for eternity to Emma Smith, his first wife. (JS, Journal, 28 May 1843.)

  51. 51

    Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842; and JS, Journal, 29 May 1843.

  52. 52

    Acts 3:21; Ephesians 1:10.

  53. 53

    Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132:45]; Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 16.

    Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.

  54. 54

    See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132]; and “Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842.”

  55. 55

    Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843.

  56. 56

    Young, Diary and Reminiscences, 1–3; Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, pp. 350–351, 366, questions 21, 24, 31, 350, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894), typescript, United States Testimony, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843.

    Young, Emily Dow Partridge. Diary and Reminiscences, Feb. 1874–Nov. 1883. CHL. MS 22253.

    Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Indepen- dence, Missouri, et al. (C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894). Typescript. United States Testimony, 1892. Typescript. CHL.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  57. 57

    See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132].

  58. 58

    See, for example, Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; Discourse, 11 June 1843–B; and Discourse, 21 May 1843.

  59. 59

    Minutes, 13 Mar. 1843; Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843 [D&C 130]; Discourse, 14 May 1843; Instruction, 16 May 1843; Discourse, 17 May 1843–A; Discourse, 17 May 1843–B.

  60. 60

    See Smith, “Joseph Smith’s Sermons,” 190–230.

    Smith, William V. “Joseph Smith’s Sermons and the Early Mormon Documentary Record.” In Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources, edited by Mark Ashurst-McGee, Robin Scott Jensen, and Sharalyn D. Howcroft, 190–230. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

  61. 61

    Woodruff, Journal, 14 May 1843.

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