Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The first three pages are ruled horizontally with twenty-nine blue lines, now faded; the fourth page is unlined. The first page contains an illegible circular embossment in the upper left corner. The letter was inscribed on the recto and verso of the first leaf; the recto of the second leaf is blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was torn, most likely when opened, leaving a substantial hole in the second leaf. The second leaf contains wafer residue. Two dockets were later added, and the document was refolded for filing.

The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, docketed the letter a second time. The document was listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.