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Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 16–17 October 1843

Source Note

Reuben Hedlock

1809–5 July 1869. Printer, carpenter, journeyman. Born in U.S. Married first Susan Wheeler, 1827. Married second Lydia Fox. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1836. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, and ordained an elder, by ...

View Full Bio
, Letter,
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries to England arrived in...

More Info
, Lancashire, England, to
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
, the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
(including JS), and
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 16–17 Oct. 1843; handwriting and signature of
Reuben Hedlock

1809–5 July 1869. Printer, carpenter, journeyman. Born in U.S. Married first Susan Wheeler, 1827. Married second Lydia Fox. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1836. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, and ordained an elder, by ...

View Full Bio
; eight pages; Brigham Young Office Files, CHL. Includes address, notation, and docket.
Two bifolia folded together to make a gathering of four leaves measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on all eight pages. It was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. The letter was later refolded and docketed for filing.
The notation “
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries to England arrived in...

More Info
Nov 5[th]. 1843
H. Clark

22 Sept. 1795–28 Dec. 1853 Born in Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of Lyman Clark and Parmela. Married first Mary Fenno. Moved to Antwerp, Jefferson Co., New York, by 1820. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1835. Married second Thankful...

View Full Bio
&
Ward

9 Sept. 1808–4 Mar. 1847. Newspaper editor, schoolmaster. Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England. Son of Richard Ward and Elizabeth. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Dec. 1840. Ordained an elder by Parley P. Pratt. Moved to Manchester...

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Conserning Pasengers” was added in unidentified handwriting either in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
or after the document was received in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. The letter was docketed by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856.
1

Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

By 1994 the document had been included in the Brigham Young Office Files at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
2

See the full bibliographic entry for Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early docket and inclusion in the Brigham Young Office Files by 1994 suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  2. [2]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 16 and 17 October 1843,
Reuben Hedlock

1809–5 July 1869. Printer, carpenter, journeyman. Born in U.S. Married first Susan Wheeler, 1827. Married second Lydia Fox. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1836. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, and ordained an elder, by ...

View Full Bio
, the
presiding elder

A leader over a local ecclesiastical unit of the church; also a title indicating the leading officers of the church. When the church was organized, JS and Oliver Cowdery were ordained as first and second elders, respectively, distinguishing them as the church...

View Glossary
of the British mission, wrote a second letter from the mission office in
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries to England arrived in...

More Info
to the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
and the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, reporting on the state of the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
in the British Isles.
1

Hedlock sent a letter to church leaders on 4 October, shortly after he arrived in Liverpool; this second communication provided a more comprehensive overview of the challenges facing the church in the British Isles. (Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843.)


During the early 1840s, the church had grown immensely in the region due to the proselytizing efforts of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other missionaries.
2

There were approximately eight thousand members in Great Britain by October 1843; this figure does not include the thousands of British Saints who had already migrated to Nauvoo. (Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843; “General Conference,” Millennial Star, July 1843, 4:36.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

The message preached by these missionaries was especially attractive to members of the working class, many of whom labored in the burgeoning industrial centers of Lancashire and Staffordshire.
3

Morris, “Emergence and Development of the Church . . . in Staffordshire, 1839–1870,” chaps. 3–5; Allen and Thorp, “Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41,” 499–500, 503–521.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Morris, David Michael. “The Emergence and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Staffordshire, 1839–1870.” PhD diss., University of Chichester, 2010.

Allen, James B., and Malcom R. Thorp. “The Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 499–526.

Missionaries organized scores of new Latter-day Saint congregations throughout
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
, Scotland, and Wales, which generated both enthusiasm and antagonism toward the church.
4

“General Conference,” Millennial Star, July 1843, 4:33–36; see also Allen and Thorp, “Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41,” 522–523.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Allen, James B., and Malcom R. Thorp. “The Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 499–526.

In 1841 and 1842, the return of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other prominent missionaries to the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
—as well as the emigration of some British leaders to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
—resulted in a leadership vacuum in local
branches

An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...

View Glossary
, doctrinal disagreements, and apostasy in some congregations.
5

Woodruff, Journal, 20 Apr. and 19 May 1841; Hiram Clark, “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:145–148; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; “From P. P. Pratt,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1843, 3:206; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

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

At the same time, negative depictions of the church circulated in the British media, especially because of the writings of
Henry Caswall

11 May 1810–17 Dec. 1870. Clergyman, professor, author. Born at Yateley, Hampshire, England. Son of Robert Clarke Caswall and Mary Burgess. Moved to U.S. to study at newly founded Kenyon College in Gambier, Knox Co., Ohio, 1828. First ordained graduate of...

View Full Bio
, an English-born Episcopalian minister and professor of divinity at Kemper College in
St. Louis

Located on west side of Mississippi River about fifteen miles south of confluence with Missouri River. Founded as fur-trading post by French settlers, 1764. Incorporated as town, 1809. First Mississippi steamboat docked by town, 1817. Incorporated as city...

More Info
.
6

Kemper College, Catalogue of the Officers and Students, 9.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Kemper College, for the Year 1842–43. St. Louis: Ustick & Davies, 1843.

In April 1842, Caswall visited Nauvoo with the intent to expose JS as a fraud. According to his account, Caswall showed JS an ancient Greek psalter and asked him to explain the text inscribed on it. Caswall later claimed that JS told him the book was a “dictionary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics . . . like the letters that was engraved on the golden plates.” Caswall apparently denounced JS as a fraud in front of a group of church members and later publicized his account of their conversation in The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, an exposé published in
London

City in southeast England; located on River Thames about sixty miles west of North Sea. Capital city of England. Population in 1841 about 2,000,000. London conference of British mission organized, 1841.

More Info
in 1842. Sometime before April 1843, he published another critical depiction of the Latter-day Saints in the book The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century.
7

Caswall, City of the Mormons, 5, 35–37, 43–45, italics in original; “Caswall’s Prophet of the Nineteenth Century,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1843, 3:195–199.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Caswall, Henry. The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842. London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1842.

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

In October 1843, the Times and Seasons published an account refuting Caswall’s characterization of the 1842 encounter, insisting that JS “declined having any thing to do with it” after a nervous Caswall asked for a translation of the psalter.
8

“Reward of Merit,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1843, 4:364–365. Speaking of Caswall’s 1842 visit to Nauvoo, John Taylor later recalled, “I saw Mr. Caswell in the printing office at Nauvoo; he had with him an old manuscript, and professed to be anxious to know what it was. I looked at it, and told him that I believed it was a Greek manuscript. In his book, he states that it was a Greek Psalter; but that none of the Mormons told him what it was. Herein is a falsehood, for I told him.” (Taylor, Three Nights’ Public Discussion, 5.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Taylor, John. Three Nights’ Public Discussion between the Revds. C. W. Cleeve, James Robertson, and Philip Cater, and Elder John Taylor, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Liverpool: [By the author], 1850.

The writings of Caswall and other individuals hostile to the church in Great Britain remained a source of consternation to missionaries and church leaders in fall 1843.
The lack of strong leadership and the proliferation of literature antagonistic to the church throughout Great Britain convinced
Hedlock

1809–5 July 1869. Printer, carpenter, journeyman. Born in U.S. Married first Susan Wheeler, 1827. Married second Lydia Fox. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1836. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, and ordained an elder, by ...

View Full Bio
and other local leaders that they needed to disseminate accurate news, correct doctrine, and general instruction through official church publications. In November 1842, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles directed church leaders in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
to cease publishing the
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries to England arrived in...

More Info
-based newspaper Millennial Star following
Parley P. Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

View Full Bio
’s departure until they received further instruction. British leaders received the directive in February 1843, but in early October 1843, Hedlock and his counselors,
Thomas Ward

9 Sept. 1808–4 Mar. 1847. Newspaper editor, schoolmaster. Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England. Son of Richard Ward and Elizabeth. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Dec. 1840. Ordained an elder by Parley P. Pratt. Moved to Manchester...

View Full Bio
and
Hiram Clark

22 Sept. 1795–28 Dec. 1853 Born in Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of Lyman Clark and Parmela. Married first Mary Fenno. Moved to Antwerp, Jefferson Co., New York, by 1820. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1835. Married second Thankful...

View Full Bio
, appealed to church leaders in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
to allow them to continue publishing the Millennial Star or to send them copies of the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
newspaper Times and Seasons to ensure “a means of communication with, and instruction of the English churches.”
9

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Nov. 1842; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843. Though Ward halted the newspaper’s operations for two months, he resumed publishing the paper in July 1843. (Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; “Editorial,” Millennial Star, May 1843, 4:13.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

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

In his letter written on 16 and 17 October, featured here, Hedlock appealed again to church leaders to allow him to resume publishing the Millennial Star or to reprint the Times and Seasons.
Hedlock

1809–5 July 1869. Printer, carpenter, journeyman. Born in U.S. Married first Susan Wheeler, 1827. Married second Lydia Fox. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1836. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, and ordained an elder, by ...

View Full Bio
wrote his letter to the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in his office in
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries to England arrived in...

More Info
. He apparently began writing late in the evening on 16 October and wrote until two o’clock in the morning on 17 October. Later that morning, he resumed and completed the letter. In addition to describing the state of individual branches in Great Britain, Hedlock acknowledged leadership problems, doctrinal disagreements, and the propagation of antagonistic literature in Great Britain. He specifically mentioned
Caswall

11 May 1810–17 Dec. 1870. Clergyman, professor, author. Born at Yateley, Hampshire, England. Son of Robert Clarke Caswall and Mary Burgess. Moved to U.S. to study at newly founded Kenyon College in Gambier, Knox Co., Ohio, 1828. First ordained graduate of...

View Full Bio
’s influence and included a lengthy quotation from his writings. Hedlock also communicated information related to Latter-day Saint migration from
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. At the end of the letter, Hedlock wrote a paragraph directed specifically to apostles
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
regarding British sales of the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
newspapers Times and Seasons and Nauvoo Neighbor and a paragraph directed specifically to JS related to an unspecified business arrangement between the two men. Lastly, he included a postscript indicating that he would send personal items for
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
,
Brigham Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

View Full Bio
, and others on subsequent ships bound for the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
. Hedlock also mentioned that he would include the most recent Millennial Star issues, which are no longer with the letter. The letter contains no postal marks or seals and was likely conveyed to Nauvoo by a courier who traversed the Atlantic aboard the steamship Britannia.
10

The Britannia was a steamship built in 1840 by the Cunard Line, a steamship company that transported passengers and mail across the Atlantic Ocean between Liverpool and Boston. (“Duties on Imports by British Steamers at Boston and New York,” 377; Gibbs, Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean, 48; Smith, Coal, Steam and Ships, 102.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

"Duties on Imports by British Steamers at Boston and New York." Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review 25, no. 3 (Sept. 1851): 377–379.

Gibbs, C. R. Vernon. Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of the North Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day. London: Staples Press, 1952.

Smith, Crosbie. Coal, Steam and Ships: Engineering, Enterprise and Empire on the Nineteenth-Century Seas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Hedlock sent a letter to church leaders on 4 October, shortly after he arrived in Liverpool; this second communication provided a more comprehensive overview of the challenges facing the church in the British Isles. (Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843.)

  2. [2]

    There were approximately eight thousand members in Great Britain by October 1843; this figure does not include the thousands of British Saints who had already migrated to Nauvoo. (Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843; “General Conference,” Millennial Star, July 1843, 4:36.)

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

  3. [3]

    Morris, “Emergence and Development of the Church . . . in Staffordshire, 1839–1870,” chaps. 3–5; Allen and Thorp, “Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41,” 499–500, 503–521.

    Morris, David Michael. “The Emergence and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Staffordshire, 1839–1870.” PhD diss., University of Chichester, 2010.

    Allen, James B., and Malcom R. Thorp. “The Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 499–526.

  4. [4]

    “General Conference,” Millennial Star, July 1843, 4:33–36; see also Allen and Thorp, “Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41,” 522–523.

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

    Allen, James B., and Malcom R. Thorp. “The Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840–41: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 499–526.

  5. [5]

    Woodruff, Journal, 20 Apr. and 19 May 1841; Hiram Clark, “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:145–148; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; “From P. P. Pratt,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1843, 3:206; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

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

  6. [6]

    Kemper College, Catalogue of the Officers and Students, 9.

    Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Kemper College, for the Year 1842–43. St. Louis: Ustick & Davies, 1843.

  7. [7]

    Caswall, City of the Mormons, 5, 35–37, 43–45, italics in original; “Caswall’s Prophet of the Nineteenth Century,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1843, 3:195–199.

    Caswall, Henry. The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842. London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1842.

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

  8. [8]

    “Reward of Merit,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1843, 4:364–365. Speaking of Caswall’s 1842 visit to Nauvoo, John Taylor later recalled, “I saw Mr. Caswell in the printing office at Nauvoo; he had with him an old manuscript, and professed to be anxious to know what it was. I looked at it, and told him that I believed it was a Greek manuscript. In his book, he states that it was a Greek Psalter; but that none of the Mormons told him what it was. Herein is a falsehood, for I told him.” (Taylor, Three Nights’ Public Discussion, 5.)

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

    Taylor, John. Three Nights’ Public Discussion between the Revds. C. W. Cleeve, James Robertson, and Philip Cater, and Elder John Taylor, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Liverpool: [By the author], 1850.

  9. [9]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Nov. 1842; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843. Though Ward halted the newspaper’s operations for two months, he resumed publishing the paper in July 1843. (Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; “Editorial,” Millennial Star, May 1843, 4:13.)

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

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

  10. [10]

    The Britannia was a steamship built in 1840 by the Cunard Line, a steamship company that transported passengers and mail across the Atlantic Ocean between Liverpool and Boston. (“Duties on Imports by British Steamers at Boston and New York,” 377; Gibbs, Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean, 48; Smith, Coal, Steam and Ships, 102.)

    "Duties on Imports by British Steamers at Boston and New York." Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review 25, no. 3 (Sept. 1851): 377–379.

    Gibbs, C. R. Vernon. Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of the North Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day. London: Staples Press, 1952.

    Smith, Crosbie. Coal, Steam and Ships: Engineering, Enterprise and Empire on the Nineteenth-Century Seas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Page 7

not Been gone so Long as to forget their featurs and if they have they can Let the children Serech [search] out their fathers for it may Be that som of them may know their own fathers
Brother [John] Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

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&
[Wilford] Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

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sirs I have sent away a few of the times and seasons to suply a demand for them on subscription Got By
Elder Ward

9 Sept. 1808–4 Mar. 1847. Newspaper editor, schoolmaster. Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England. Son of Richard Ward and Elizabeth. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Dec. 1840. Ordained an elder by Parley P. Pratt. Moved to Manchester...

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39

Ward began working in the church’s Liverpool printing office by February 1842 and became editor of the Millennial Star the following November, after apostle Parley P. Pratt returned to America. (“Notice,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1842, 2:155; Masthead, Millennial Star, Nov. 1842, 3:113.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

and on my touer through the
churches

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
I shall Sell all I Cann and make Return by the first ship that Sails in January you will Be so kind as to forward to me the times and seasons and Nauvoo neibour and I will send you the avails there off by the first ship I much stand in need of the Enteligence from your Press as it is Like Beacon in the midst of the ocean to a sea worn sailor and somthing that chears the heart of a <​man​> in a Distant Land to Read the acts of his friends at home
President Smith Dear sir and Brother I have though[t] often upon the unsetled state of my Labor for you and should have Looked over our accompts [accounts] but in consequence of the Difficulties that troubled you at my Departure
40

This may have referred to JS’s arrest on 23 June 1843 by a Missouri sheriff who intended to extradite him to Missouri; JS remained in the sheriff’s custody until 1 July. Reuben Hedlock was set apart on 23 May and possibly remained in Nauvoo through the following month. (Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS, Journal, 23 June and 1 July 1843; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

and the imperituve Desseir [desire] by the
Quorum of the twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

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that I should hasten on my mission was the Reason that I did not atend to it Before I Left [I] Beeg you will pardon me and be assuerd Dear Brother that it was not for a want of a Disposission to Do so and shall Be much obliged if you will keep my account untill I return and then I will Dead [deal] Rightiously with you the Lord Being my helper and what Ever way you think it Best to Do Concerning our Buisnes will please me if I should Be owing you I hope I shall be able on my Return to settle all Demands with intrest which may the Lord grant you will see by the foregoing Letter the need I have of your Council to by which I shall most cheerfuly abide
41

In a January 1844 letter to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Hedlock noted the visit of John Hill, who gave him information about happenings in Nauvoo. Hedlock stated that this bit of news was “the most information that I have Received from Nauvoo since I Left New York.” (Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, [Nauvoo, IL], 10–21 Jan. 1844, p. 1, JS Collection, CHL.)


I need not Suggest to <​you​> the Propriety or council you <​concerning the welfare of church​> for you Know what the church needs for their prosperity and I Pray the Lord to give through you his will concerning the church in this Land and all others and that He will Deliver you from all the power of your enemies and Enable you bear of the kingdom <​of​> victorious [p. 7]
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Page 7

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 16–17 October 1843
ID #
3414
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:198–211
Handwriting on This Page
  • Reuben Hedlock

Footnotes

  1. [39]

    Ward began working in the church’s Liverpool printing office by February 1842 and became editor of the Millennial Star the following November, after apostle Parley P. Pratt returned to America. (“Notice,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1842, 2:155; Masthead, Millennial Star, Nov. 1842, 3:113.)

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

  2. [40]

    This may have referred to JS’s arrest on 23 June 1843 by a Missouri sheriff who intended to extradite him to Missouri; JS remained in the sheriff’s custody until 1 July. Reuben Hedlock was set apart on 23 May and possibly remained in Nauvoo through the following month. (Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS, Journal, 23 June and 1 July 1843; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843.)

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

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  3. [41]

    In a January 1844 letter to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Hedlock noted the visit of John Hill, who gave him information about happenings in Nauvoo. Hedlock stated that this bit of news was “the most information that I have Received from Nauvoo since I Left New York.” (Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, [Nauvoo, IL], 10–21 Jan. 1844, p. 1, JS Collection, CHL.)

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