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Letter from J. J. Lugenbühl, 15 February 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Orleans Parish, LA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 15 Feb. 1844; handwriting and signature presumably of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document is ruled with thirty-six horizontal lines printed in blue ink, now faded. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are present on the recto and verso. When the letter was opened, the wafer tore a hole at the bottom of the leaf. The letter was later refolded for filing. There is separation along one of the folds.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

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]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 15 February 1844, —who was probably —wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, asking him to verify ’s standing in the . Brown had been preaching in the building used by Lugenbühl’s church, the German Protestant Orthodox Congregation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Saviour. The Latter-day Saints had established a presence in New Orleans sometime before Lugenbühl reached out to JS. In 1841 and Elam Luddington wrote to JS, requesting that an be sent to New Orleans. In response, church leaders sent , who preached in the area later that year. It appears that missionary work continued in New Orleans in the years that followed. On 14 January 1844, a church was held in New Orleans, during which a of the church was organized and “fellowship was withdrawn from Samuel C. Brown.”
had been under scrutiny long before the conference disfellowshipped him. In 1842 Brown traveled to and there began publishing a newspaper called the Mormon Expositor. A local church conference held in in late 1842 denounced the paper as “detrimental to the cause of the church of Christ.” Afterward, the conference’s clerk sent a letter to , president of the , criticizing the newspaper’s “innumerable violations of all the rules of language,” pointing out “the plain fact that the publisher is wholly unqualified for the business of writing for the press,” and questioning the paper’s accuracy. Later, at an April 1843 elders conference, Brown was apparently forbidden from serving as a missionary and was instead called to labor on the for three months. It is unclear when Brown left or arrived in New Orleans.
On 29 January 1844, —who both presided at the conference in which Brown was disfellowshipped and served as the president of the newly created branch—wrote a letter to Christian Sans, the minister of ’s congregation. In the letter, Jacaway announced that had been disfellowshipped and that the church was no longer responsible for what he taught. He explained that Brown had been convicted of teaching false doctrine and had refused to return his . , the branch’s clerk and one of Jacaway’s assistants, certified the letter while implying that Samuel Brown’s character was questionable. , an elder in the branch, then added a final note stating that he agreed with Jacaway’s and Edmond Brown’s statements.
requested in his 15 February letter that JS verify the statements of , , and . It is unknown when JS received this letter, and no response from him has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Orleans Parish, LA, Fourth District Court, Case Papers, 1846–1880, no. 11869, microfilm 1,750,157, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    In March 1842, Lugenbühl’s church was legally incorporated as the German Orthodox Evangelical Congregation of New Orleans and Lafayette. In December 1843, this church split into two factions, which were subsequently reunited in 1844 as the German Evangelical Orthodox Church in New Orleans. (Wegener, St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, 2–3.)

    Wegener, G. J. A Short History of the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, La. Translated by Frederick R. Zucker. 1957.

  3. [3]

    “Summary,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1841, 2:339; “News from the South—Disturbances in Lafayette City,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:447; Elam Luddington, “A Short Account of Elam Luddington’s Life, and Travels on Missions,” Missionary Reports, CHL; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 57, 97.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Missionary Reports, 1831–1900. CHL. MS 6104.

  4. [4]

    “Report of the First Presidency,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:384; Letter from Harrison Sagers, ca. Apr. 1841; “News from the South—Disturbances in Lafayette City,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:445–447.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  5. [5]

    Luddington preached in New Orleans over a three-year period, although he spent his summers in Nauvoo. (See Elam Luddington, “A Short Account of Elam Luddington’s Life, and Travels on Missions,” Missionary Reports, CHL.)

    Missionary Reports, 1831–1900. CHL. MS 6104.

  6. [6]

    Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, 22 Jan. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1844, 5:477.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  7. [7]

    Letter from Samuel C. Brown, 22 Apr. 1842; Minutes, Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1843, 4:175; L. R. Foster, New York City, NY, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 21 Oct. 1842, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; “Elder’s Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:158; Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans, LA], 29 Jan. 1844, CHL; “Lo Here! Lo There!,” Gospel Herald, 30 May 1850, 81.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Jacaway, Fields. Letter, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans. LA], 29 Jan. 1844. CHL.

    Gospel Herald. Voree, WI. 1846–1850.

  8. [8]

    Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans, LA], 29 Jan. 1844, CHL; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 89; Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, 22 Jan. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1844, 5:477; Bozant, Port and Burgundy, 4. Apparently, Jacaway had arranged an appointment to meet personally with Sans on 28 January 1844, but Jacaway had been unable to come because of his health. He tried to visit Sans the next day, but Sans was not at home, which prompted Jacaway to write to him instead. Reverend G. J. Wegener reported that Sans served as the minister for Lugenbühl’s church until the end of 1843. After his departure the congregation split into two factions, each of which “claimed sole ownership of the Church.” (Wegener, St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, 2–3.)

    Jacaway, Fields. Letter, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans. LA], 29 Jan. 1844. CHL.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Bozant, Kevin, ed. Port and Burgundy: A Pictorial History Published in Commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of Saint Paul Lutheran Church. New Orleans: By the author, 1990.

    Wegener, G. J. A Short History of the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, La. Translated by Frederick R. Zucker. 1957.

  9. [9]

    Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans, LA], 29 Jan. 1844, CHL; Fields Jacaway, New Orleans, LA, 22 Jan. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1844, 5:477; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 107, 111.

    Jacaway, Fields. Letter, New Orleans, LA, to “Mr. Sands” [Christian Sans], [New Orleans. LA], 29 Jan. 1844. CHL.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Page [1]

15th. Feby 1844
To Joseph Smith Esqr
Dear Sir I do hereby take the Liberty of addressing a few lines unto you upon a subject of great consequence among us the German Protestant Orthodox Congregation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Saviour of which I am a member
It is sir concerning a certain Individual by the name of who has had the use of our Church for the purpose of Preaching in it the Doctrine of the for some time and is still preaching in it. Sometime since there was <​were​> brought against him several accusations which were given to our Minister Mr. [Christian] Sans accusing Mr. of Preaching false Doctrine and that he was disfellowshiped by the Members of your Church and that he was an imposter who’s character is very much defamed and that he committed several crimes against your Church for which you exspelled him this says that your Brother him in some time since his accusers said that they would accuse him in open Church the next Sunday but they did not do it Therefore I desire to know of you who sir is the principal of the Church whither these accusation are true or not The accusers of are and Mr. is also a minister of your church
Dear Sir answer me as soon as you can posibly do so because on this point Depends much
your humble Svt
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from J. J. Lugenbühl, 15 February 1844
ID #
1274
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Jacob John Lugenbühl

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    This congregation met in a church on the southwest corner of Port and Craps (now Burgundy) streets. Reverend G. J. Wegener described the congregation as a “thoroughly unionistic aggregation, in which everyone, without distinction of confession or faith had the same rights, everyone having his own confessional standpoint, or, rather, no confessional standpoint at all.” (Wegener, St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, 2–3; Bozant, Port and Burgundy, 4.)

    Wegener, G. J. A Short History of the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul’s Congregation U.A.C. of New Orleans, La. Translated by Frederick R. Zucker. 1957.

    Bozant, Kevin, ed. Port and Burgundy: A Pictorial History Published in Commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of Saint Paul Lutheran Church. New Orleans: By the author, 1990.

  2. [2]

    According to notices published in a New Orleans newspaper, Brown was preaching at Lugenbühl’s church every Sunday at eleven thirty in the morning and seven o’clock in the evening. (See Notice, Daily Picayune [New Orleans], 14 Jan. 1844, [2]; and “Notice for Preaching,” Daily Picayune, 4 Feb. 1844, [2].)

    Daily Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 1837–1914.

  3. [3]

    On 6 November 1843, Brown obtained an elder’s license, but the licensing record does not indicate who ordained him. At some point after being appointed to work on the temple, Brown reportedly “asked for another mission, and as he seemed to think himself uncommonly well qualified to teach, Hyrum [Smith] appointed him (in mere irony) to preach to the Twelve, the High Priests, and the authorities of Nauvoo.” (General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 118; “Lo Here! Lo There!,” Gospel Herald, 30 May 1850, 81.)

    Gospel Herald. Voree, WI. 1846–1850.

  4. [4]

    Fields Jacaway’s letter to Sans made no mention of a plan to accuse Brown openly during a church meeting.

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