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This item is reproduced by permission of Special Collections Dept., J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.
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Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 March 1843

Source Note

JS, Blessing, to , [, Hancock Co., IL, 23 Mar. 1843]. Featured version copied [ca. 1848] in Joseph Kingsbury, Autobiography, 14–16; handwriting of ; Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Small notebook measuring 6¼ × 4 × ½ inches (16 × 10 × 1 cm) and containing fifty-six leaves. titled the notebook “The | History of Joseph. C. | Kingsbury Written by | this own Hands 1846–|1847–1848–1849=1850–” on the first leaf of the volume.
The volume, updated by throughout his life, was apparently inherited by family members upon his death in 1898 and passed down in the family. Descendant Ronald Kingsbury and his wife, Ilene Hanks Kingsbury, donated several boxes of family material, including this history, to the University of Utah in 1973.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995, in the J. Willard Marriott Library catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 23 March 1843 in , Illinois, JS pronounced on a blessing that promised eternal life for him and his recently deceased wife, . In addition, the blessing promised Joseph Kingsbury that he and Caroline would “dwell together in a Kingdom in the in the presents of God.” Joseph Kingsbury had been a member of the for more than a decade. Born in 1812 and raised in , Ohio, Kingsbury heard rumors in the early 1830s of the “new revelation that was Broat forth by Joseph Smith Jr.” He moved in with recent converts to the church and in , Ohio, and “gladly imbraced the oppertunity of Going to there meetings & Believing all there testimones[.] I went in obedient to the command of God & was on the 15th day of January 1832.” Kingsbury remained in Kirtland and began working as a clerk in Whitney’s store. After Kingsbury served a mission in mid-1835, he and Caroline Whitney, sister of Newel K. Whitney, were married by JS in 1836.
Because of the Kingsburys’ close connection to the Whitney family, who were longtime, close associates of JS, the couple’s subsequent hardships were probably well-known to JS. Their first son, Joseph Whitney Kingsbury, died in summer 1838, about a year and a half after his birth. During a subsequent pregnancy in 1842, experienced “a Severe Sickness of three months.” On 16 October 1842, she gave birth to a son and died that day. This second son—named Newel, likely after —lived only thirteen hours. Caroline’s obituary spoke of her dying with the “hope of a glorious resurrection.” later recalled his feelings upon his wife’s death: “I remain[ed] Alone & felt as though I had Lost Some part of myself, for Truley she was a grate help meat to me.”
The blessing featured here came as a comfort to . He understood the blessing as uniting him eternally with his and two deceased sons. “How thankfull I feal,” he recalled, “thinking I Shall See & meat her again to Enjoy each other Society for Ever to part no more & also my Two little Sons Joseph W & Newel.” He also believed the blessing required continued faithfulness on his part: “My desires is to live long upon the Earth to See that all things is prepared to meat them all in the Celestial Kingdom of Glory.” This is the earliest contemporaneously documented instance of a living individual being sealed to a deceased spouse. Unlike the practice that subsequently developed, in which a living proxy would stand in for the deceased individual in a marriage ceremony, this sealing occurred in the form of a blessing.
The blessing was witnessed by and and their daughter . It was given the same day that JS inscribed a blessing for Sarah Ann, who was previously sealed to JS. When copied his blessing into his history about five years later, he framed the experience by describing an agreement to “stand by Sarah Ann Whitney as supposed to be her husband” in “a pretended marriage.” This “pretended marriage” took place a little over a month later on 29 April 1843. Having agreed to assist JS and Sarah Ann Whitney in “Bringing about the purposes of God,” Kingsbury was promised “Great Glory Honner & Eternal lives to the full desire of my heart in having my Companion in the first Reserection to kain [claim?] her & no one to have power to take her from me.”
There is no evidence that JS’s scribes or others who were normally apprised of his movements were aware of the activities of 23 March. The blessings to and are apparently the only extant records of that day’s activities. On 21 March, reported in JS’s journal that JS left for , Illinois, about twenty-five miles up the in Henderson County, Illinois. Richards stated only that JS returned on 24 March, “having been out west.” indicated in his own journal that he and JS started the trip to Shokokon together on 21 March. However, JS left Clayton, meeting up with him again on 24 March, after which they returned to together. Apparently JS’s secrecy proved effective. As of at least two years later, Clayton, a close confidant of JS, evidently still believed that the marriage between Kingsbury and Sarah Ann Whitney was genuine.
JS characterized the blessing as “a ,” which was unusual because JS had not been appointed to the office of in the church, as had his father, , and his brother . However, in 1835 wrote that JS was “the , and first patriarch of the church.” JS had given at least one other patriarchal blessing in 1840.
Around the time copied the blessing into his history, he also copied one other blessing and several records of into his history, which indicates that he was likely working from a personal collection of documents rather than reconstructing the featured blessing from memory at a later date. The original document from which Kingsbury likely copied is apparently nonextant, so it is unclear how the original was recorded. The blessing appears to have been given verbally, unlike ’s blessing, which JS evidently wrote and delivered to her on the same day Kingsbury received his blessing. Kingsbury’s unique spelling of several words suggests that he may have recorded the blessing himself, perhaps making notes during or immediately following the blessing. Alternatively, it is possible that one of the three Whitney family members recorded the words as JS spoke them out loud. Two other early versions of this blessing exist: one copied by into the Patriarchal Blessing Book on 14 April 1860 and the other copied by Kingsbury into a family history book in the late nineteenth century. The version in Kingsbury’s autobiography is the version featured here. Significant differences between versions are noted.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 1–4, 14, 16.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  2. [2]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 4.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  3. [3]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 7–9; Marriage License for Joseph Kingsbury and Caroline Whitney, 26 Jan. 1836, Geauga Co., OH, Common Pleas Court Marriage Licenses, CHL; Obituary for Caroline Whitney Kingsbury, Wasp, 29 Oct. 1842, [3].

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  4. [4]

    Newel served as bishop of the church in Kirtland, and Elizabeth Ann was a counselor in the presidency of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo. (Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–A [D&C 72:8]; Minutes and Discourses, 17 Mar. 1842.)

  5. [5]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 9–10.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  6. [6]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 12.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  7. [7]

    Obituary for Caroline Whitney Kingsbury, Wasp, 29 Oct. 1842, [3].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  8. [8]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 12.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  9. [9]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 12–13.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  10. [10]

    See JS, Journal, 29 May 1843; and Jacob Scott, Nauvoo, IL, to Mary Scott Warnock, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, 5 Jan. 1844, CCLA. In 1842, JS was sealed to three widows of faithful Latter-day Saint men—Agnes Coolbrith Smith, wife of JS’s younger brother Don Carlos Smith; Delcena Johnson Sherman, wife of Lyman Sherman; and Martha McBride Knight, wife of Vinson Knight. These plural marriages may have been marriages for time accompanied by proxy sealings to the deceased husbands for eternity. However, no surviving sources describe the form that these proxy sealings would have taken. (See Young, Journal, 1837–1845, 6 Jan. 1842; Johnson, “Life Review,” 91–92; and Martha McBride Kimball, Affidavit, Millard Co., Utah Territory, 8 July 1869, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL.)

    Scott, Jacob. Letter, Nauvoo, IL to Mary Scott Warnock, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, 5 Jan. 1844. CCLA. Photocopy at CHL.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

    Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.

  11. [11]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 16.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  12. [12]

    See Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843; and Revelation, 27 July 1842.

  13. [13]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 13. Kingsbury concluded the initial section of his autobiography, which included the blessing, on 25 June 1848. (Kingsbury, Autobiography, 26.)

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  14. [14]

    Nauvoo, IL, Recorder, Marriage Record, 12.

  15. [15]

    Kingsbury, Autobiography, 13.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  16. [16]

    See Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843.

  17. [17]

    JS, Journal, 21 Mar. 1843.

  18. [18]

    JS, Journal, 24 Mar. 1843.

  19. [19]

    Clayton, Journal, 21 and 24 Mar. 1843. Clayton and JS traveled together until about fifteen miles northeast of Nauvoo, near the Camp Creek branch. (Plewe et al., Mapping Mormonism, 59.)

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

    Hartley, William G. “The Exodus Begins.” In Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History, edited by Brandon S. Plewe, S. Kent Brown, and Donald Q. Cannon, 72–74. Provo, UT: BYU Press, 2012.

  20. [20]

    As late as 1845, Clayton wrote of Kingsbury and Whitney as husband and wife. (Clayton, Journal, 19 Oct. 1845.)

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

  21. [21]

    See Oliver Cowdery, Note, in Patriarchal Blessings, 1:8–9; Historical Introduction to Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; and Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:91–93].

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

  22. [22]

    The quote continued, “For although his father laid hands upon, and blessed the fatherless, . . . he was not the first elder, because God called upon his son Joseph and ordained him to this power and delivered to him the Keys of the kingdom, that is, of authority and spiritual blessings upon the church.” (Oliver Cowdery, Note, in Patriarchal Blessings, 1:8.)

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

  23. [23]

    Blessing to James Ivins, 7 Jan. 1840.

  24. [24]

    See Kingsbury, Autobiography, 17–23; and Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843.

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  25. [25]

    See, for instance, his spelling of “wourld,” “Reserection,” and “Enthrowned” in his history. (Kingsbury, Autobiography, 3, 13, 14.)

    Kingsbury, Joseph C. Autobiography, ca. 1848–1864. Ronald and Ilene Kingsbury Papers, 1832–1995. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  26. [26]

    JS, Blessing for Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in Patriarchal Blessings, 1:145; JS, Blessing for Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843, in Kingsbury Record Book, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

    Kingsbury Record Book. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 March 1843
Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 March 1843, as Recorded in Patriarchal Blessing Book

Page 14

I upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ to bestow upon the[e] a according to the Power and authority of the Holy vested in me I Say unto thee thou Shalt Be Blessed with <​the​> Good things of this wourld abundently in thy Lifetime and I the[e] up to come forth in the first reserection unto Eternal Life— [p. 14]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 March 1843
ID #
10455
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:104–108
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Kingsbury

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although it was unusual for JS to pronounce patriarchal blessings on church members, when JS blessed James Ivins three years earlier, he began the blessing similarly: “I lay my hands upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. and bless thee with a Patriarchal Blessing: in virtue of the Authority of the Holy Priesthood invested in me.” (Blessing to James Ivins, 7 Jan. 1840.)

  2. [2]

    See Revelation 20:5–6; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 183–184 [Mosiah 15:21–26]; and Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:64–65].

  3. [3]

    Two months later, JS said of William Clayton that “nothing but the unpardonable sin” could prevent him “from inheriting eternal glory for he is sealed up by the power of the priesthood unto eternal life.” (Instruction, 16 May 1843.)

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