On 15 February 1844, a committee of members in , Wisconsin Territory, composed two letters to church leaders in , Illinois, containing their recommendation that the church look into establishing a new place in the . Prior to writing these letters, the committee met to discuss the church’s lumber operations in Black River Falls and concluded that by July 1844 the Saints in would have more than enough lumber for the Nauvoo and the , thus fulfilling their purposes in Wisconsin. Furthermore, the committee concluded that the church could find more profitable enterprises by gathering to Texas, where the Saints might also proselytize among larger numbers of Native American groups. The committee was aware of recent missionary work in the southern and therefore also recommended that the church invite wealthy slaveholders to join this relocation and consecrate the profits of their plantations to support the growth of the church. The committee assigned and —both of whom were trustees of the —to draft letters to church leaders in Nauvoo forwarding the committee’s recommendations and asking how the Wisconsin Saints should proceed. Unable to decide which letter to send, the committee resolved to send both letters. The letter featured here was created by George Miller and inscribed by Otis Hobart.

The letters were brought to by and then discussed in a meeting with JS, available members of the , and the on 10 March 1844. That meeting was adjourned until the next day, 11 March, when the was formally organized. later copied these letters into the Council of Fifty record. Miller’s original letter is featured here.