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Letter from Erastus Snow, 22 June 1842

Source Note

, Letter, , Suffolk Co., MA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 22 June 1842; handwriting of ; notations in handwriting of ; three pages; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and notations.
Bifolium measuring 10⅝ × 7⅞ inches (27 × 20 cm). A section measuring 7⅞ × 4⅝ inches (20 × 12 cm) was removed from the lower section of the second leaf prior to inscription. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. There is separation along the folds. Slight discoloration of the paper has occurred on the address block on the verso of the second page. The document has undergone conservation.
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, docketed the document. It was likely filed in JS’s office. The letter came into the possession of , the daughter of and ; Whitney retained this letter and other papers. The letter was passed down in Whitney’s family and came into the possession of her granddaughter Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming. The letter and other papers were passed down to Fleming’s daughter Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. Shortly after Petersen’s death in February 1988, one of her children found this letter and other items in a box in her home. By December 1988, the materials had been donated to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  2. [2]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 22 June 1842, wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, describing the situation of the and its members in eastern . With the letter, Snow forwarded donations for the construction of the Nauvoo . By the time he wrote this letter, Snow had served several missions for the church in the eastern . In July 1841, while he was proselytizing in , the directed him to move to , Massachusetts, and focus his missionary efforts there. Snow moved to Salem by September 1841, after which he divided his time between Salem and other Massachusetts cities, including Boston, Lynn, and , with occasional trips to and New Hampshire.
In his 22 June 1842 letter, referred to a previous letter he had sent to JS in April, which contained the minutes of a held in . While preaching in the New England area, Snow had collected funds for the , which he then forwarded to Nauvoo. With his 22 June 1842 letter, he sent thirty-eight dollars and six silver spoons donated by the Salem Latter-day Saints. He further asked that JS or acknowledge these donations in the church newspaper, the Times and Seasons, so that church members who had donated would see that he had sent the money and that it had been received by the church in Nauvoo. Snow continued his letter by seeking JS’s advice about Salem Saints who were preparing to migrate to Nauvoo. Snow also described the proselytizing efforts that he, , and were undertaking, as well as a recent series of religious debates between Adams and Dr. George Montgomery West held in . Snow concluded by expressing his concerns regarding ’s preaching and the negative reactions it was receiving in Boston. Maginn had raised similar concerns a month earlier in a letter to JS, and both men looked to JS to correct Nickerson.
Because ’s letter contains no postal markings and was forwarded with donations, it was likely hand carried to . The letter’s courier is unknown, but it may have been the Mr. Alley mentioned in the letter. The letter was received by JS’s Nauvoo office by 11 July 1842, when the donations were recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord. Despite Snow’s request, neither the April nor June donations were mentioned in the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Snow, Journal, 1835–1837, [7]–[10], [25]; “Death of Apostle Erastus Snow,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 30 May 1888, 312.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Hyrum Smith and William Law instructed Snow to not return to Nauvoo in the fall of 1841 as he had planned. Instead, he was to extend his mission and go to Salem, thus partly fulfilling a revelation JS had dictated on 6 August 1836 regarding the residents of that city. (See Snow, Journal, 1841–1847, 3–5; Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL; and Revelation, 6 Aug. 1836 [D&C 111].)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  3. [3]

    Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL; Snow, Journal, 1841–1847, 19.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  4. [4]

    Snow’s April 1842 letter was referenced in the 2 May 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, but it was not reprinted. If Snow sent another letter after his April 1842 letter, JS apparently never received it. (Notice, Times and Seasons, 2 May 1842, 3:778.)

  5. [5]

    See “Great Discussion on Mormonism,” Times and Seasons, 1 Aug. 1842, 3:863–865; and “Great Discussion on Mormonism,” Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1842, 3:886.

  6. [6]

    See Letter from Eli Maginn, 1 and 3 May 1842.

  7. [7]

    Book of the Law of the Lord, 151.

Page [2]

Two or 3 members of the are about starting west and more are calculating on going west in the fall But If you have not answerd my last and given me the council I asked relative to their going west before your get this I hope you will write immediately and tell me whether I shall let them go all that have a spirit of as fast as they get ready or council them otherwise—
The great wheel is rolling in this country more rapidly now than ever in & . is going west soon but will return to preach in this vicinity through the winter if he is counciled so to do and he [is] rather partial to this section of country as a field of his labours and he is a first rate fellow and I hope you will send him back without fail. His labours are very much needed here and in conjunction with me as intends going west to winter and I should be exceeding glad to do so, if it is the will of God <​but I intend to do as I am councilled​> [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Erastus Snow, 22 June 1842
ID #
1482
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:172–178
Handwriting on This Page
  • Erastus Snow

Footnotes

  1. [7]

    In a 4 February 1842 letter to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Snow asked for advice about Latter-day Saints moving from the eastern United States to Nauvoo and the financial burden this created. Snow wrote: “Some of the saints begin to have a spirit of gathering, but as yet I have not encouraged it, and as you will know my reason for so doing if you think I do wrong you will not fail to inform me[.] I should be much gratified to receive a letter from you, or Brother Joseph or any of the twelve, or any of my old tried friends; and whatever counsil you have for me I shall be happy to receive.” (Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  2. [8]

    TEXT: Page torn. Missing word editorially supplied based on context.

  3. [9]

    See Letter from Eli Maginn, 1 and 3 May 1842.

  4. [10]

    Snow had intended to return to Nauvoo in fall 1841 in order to settle some business matters, such as paying for the property he had purchased, and to attend school. But after receiving the direction of Hyrum Smith and William Law to go to Salem, Snow resolved to make whatever sacrifice was required to follow their counsel. By summer 1842, his financial concerns likely warranted a return to Nauvoo. (See Snow, Journal, 1841–1847, 4; and Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

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