Skip to main content

Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, [, Hancock Co., IL], to JS, [, Hancock Co., IL], ca. 7 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and notations.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 8 inches (32 × 20 cm). The leaf was hand cut on the left edge of the recto, which suggests that it may have originally been part of a book or larger sheet. The letter was written in blue ink. It was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed in black ink, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The leaf was damaged when the letter was opened, and remnants of the wafer obscure two words on the recto; the verso also contains remnants of the wafer. The letter was later folded in half twice horizontally for filing.
A docket and filing notation were inscribed on the document by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. It was later docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and notation, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  3. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On or around 7 June 1844, former member wrote a letter, presumably from , Illinois, to JS in Nauvoo in which he rejected any offers of reconciliation with JS. The letter was the culmination of a series of contentious interactions between JS and Foster. Although Foster had been a friend of JS since 1839 and had held a position of prominence within Nauvoo, a rift had begun to develop between the two by February 1843 as they clashed over economic and political matters in the city. JS criticized the construction of Foster’s “Mammoth Hotel,” a three-story brick building just east of the Nauvoo site, believing it was hindering the construction of the . Foster took exception to the remarks and reminded JS that he had given $1,000 toward the construction of the Nauvoo House.
In 1844 the rift between the two deepened. In March, accused an unnamed individual, possibly JS or someone acting on JS’s authority, of teaching “the spiritual wife doctrine,” likely a reference to the principle of plural marriage, to Foster’s wife, Sarah Phinney Foster. Soon thereafter, on 24 March, JS publicly stated that Robert D. Foster was involved in “a caucus, desig[n]ing to destroy all the Smith family in a few weeks.” The following month, Foster was excommunicated “for unchristianlike conduct” by a unanimous vote during a meeting of church leaders in , including the and the Nauvoo . Following his excommunication, Foster’s relationship with JS became even more strained. On 26 April, JS had Foster and others arrested after they refused to assist Nauvoo city marshal with arresting for assaulting his brother . On 7 May, Foster received a printing press from , Illinois, and three days later, on 10 May, he and six others issued a prospectus as publishers of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper intended to be an exposé of what they believed to be the political, moral, and spiritual abuses in Nauvoo. That same day, Foster was also cashiered from the city’s militia, the —which JS led as lieutenant general and in which Foster held the rank of surgeon general—for “ungentlema[n]ly conduct.”
In early June, without JS’s knowledge, member sent to in hopes of reconciling Foster and JS. Following his visit with Foster, Huntington concluded that Foster was “almost ready to come back” and that JS attempting reconciliation “would bring it about.” Accordingly, Huntington reported to JS that “he thought there was a chance for his retu[r]n if he could be reinstatd in his office in th[e] Legion.” JS told Huntington that Foster would be restored to his position in the legion if he would return to the church “& do right.” The following day, 7 June, believing that JS instigated Huntington’s earlier visit, Foster requested a private meeting with JS, professing a willingness “to make some concessions— & return to the chu[r]ch.” Unwilling to meet privately, JS proposed they settle matters with witnesses present and informed Foster that witnesses were at his home, prepared for the proposed meeting. In response, Foster asked if he could bring witnesses to the meeting as well and JS agreed. Rather than returning to the meeting with witnesses, however, that evening Foster sent JS the letter, featured here, formally rejecting any other reconciliation proposals.
In the letter, referenced their strained relationship and accused JS of repeatedly insulting him and his friends. He vowed that he would never leave without receiving just compensation for all his properties. Further underscoring his unwillingness to reconcile with JS, the first and only issue of the Nauvoo Expositor—excoriating JS—was published on Foster’s printing press the same day this letter was written.
The letter was apparently delivered to JS by courier soon after it was written. The letter was undated, but sometime after JS received it, inscribed “June 7th 1844” at the top. JS received ’s letter by 8 June, when he read it to the City Council as further evidence of the adversarial actions of the Expositor’s publishers. Foster evidently also sent a copy to the Warsaw Signal, which published the letter on 12 June to demonstrate that none of the dissenters were “anxious to be reinstated, or return back to the Prophet’s Church,” as had been rumored. The Nauvoo Neighbor subsequently published the letter in both a 17 June extra and the 19 June issue as a part of the published minutes of the Nauvoo City Council for 8 and 10 June.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 11 and 13 Feb. 1843; Discourse, 21 Feb. 1843; Cochran et al., History of Hancock County, Illinois, 441; Berrett, Sacred Places, 3:184.

    Cochran, Robert M., Mary H. Siegfried, Ida Blum, David L. Fulton, Harold T. Garvey, and Olen L. Smith, eds. History of Hancock County, Illinois: Illinois Sesquicentennial Edition. Carthage, IL: Board of Supervisors of Hancock County, 1968.

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

  2. JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843; Hyrum Smith to Robert D. Foster, Bond, 20 Jan. 1841, Miscellaneous Accounts, 1841–1842, Nauvoo House Association, Records, CHL; and Nauvoo House Association, Stock Book, [79]–[86].

    Nauvoo House Association. Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375.

    Nauvoo House Association. Stock Book, 1841–1845. Nauvoo House Association, Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375, box 5, fd. 1.

  3. On or about 15 March 1844, Merinus G. Eaton reportedly met with dissidents Joseph H. Jackson, Robert D. Foster, and Chauncey L. Higbee in Nauvoo. According to Eaton’s account, during the visit, Higbee told Eaton about the spiritual wife system, stating his belief that “some of the Elders had ten or twelve [wives] apiece” and that such marriages took place “whether the females were willing or not.” Foster then told Eaton that while he was away from Nauvoo, an unnamed individual—who later rumors evidently implied was JS—had visited his wife, Sarah Phinney Foster, and told her “a great many things against me [Robert D. Foster] to prejudice her mind against me.” This individual then taught Sarah about “the spiritual wife doctrine” and made “an attempt to seduce her,” following which Robert returned home and was greeted by the individual “in a very polite manner.” After the individual left the Foster home, Sarah refused to relate anything regarding the visit until Robert threatened to shoot her. On 23 March, Eaton told JS about his interview with Higbee, Foster, and Jackson and informed him that the three had been part of a conspiracy against JS’s family. The same day—presumably after meeting with Eaton—JS, Alexander Neibaur, and William Clayton visited Sarah Foster at the home of a Mr. Gilman. JS asked her “if she ever in her life knew him [JS] guilty of an immoral or indecent act. She answered no.” JS continued, asking “if he ever proposed to have illicit intercourse with her and especially when he took dinner during the Docters absence. She said no.” On 27 March, Eaton testified before Justice of the Peace Daniel H. Wells regarding his 15 March exchange with Higbee, Foster, and Jackson. (Merinus G. Eaton, Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 27 Mar. 1844, in Nauvoo Neighbor, 17 Apr. 1844, [2]; JS, Journal, 24 Mar. 1844; Clayton, Journal, 23 Mar. 1844.)

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

  4. JS, Journal, 24 Mar. 1844; see also Discourse, 24 Mar. 1844–A.

  5. Clayton, Journal, 18 Apr. 1844; JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1844; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 18 Apr. 1844. William Law, Jane Silverthorn Law, and Wilson Law were also excommunicated during that same meeting. In its only issue, the Nauvoo Expositor condemned the excommunications as unjust because those excommunicated were tried in absentia. The newspaper also stated that Foster had been told his membership would be considered at a meeting on 20 April rather than 18 April, the date he was excommunicated. (“Preamble,” Nauvoo Expositor, 7 June 1844, [2].)

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

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

  6. JS, Journal, 26 Apr. 1844; Pleas, ca. 27 May 1844.

  7. JS, Journal, 7 May 1844; Prospectus of the Nauvoo Expositor (Nauvoo, IL: 10 May 1844), copy at CHL.

    Nauvoo Expositor Prospectus. Nauvoo, IL: ca. 10 May 1844. Copy at CHL.

  8. JS, Journal, 10 May 1844; see also Aaron Johnson, Statement, Nauvoo, IL, 2 May 1844, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; and Court-Martial Proceedings, Nauvoo, IL, 10 May 1844, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.

  9. Minutes, 8 June 1844.

  10. JS, Journal, 6 June 1844.

  11. JS, Journal, 7 June 1844; Clayton, Journal, 7 June 1844; Minutes, 8 June 1844.

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

  12. JS, Journal, 7 June 1844.

  13. Minutes, 8 June 1844.

  14. “For the Warsaw Signal,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 12 June 1844, [3].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  15. “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 17 June 1844, [1]; “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 June 1844, [2].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844 Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844, as Published in Warsaw Signal Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844, as Published in Nauvoo Neighbor –A Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844, as Published in Nauvoo Neighbor –B History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
Go to previous page 1

Page [2]

Genl J Smith
Present
 
<​Filed June 8, 1844—​> [p. [2]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Go to previous page 1

Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Robert D. Foster, circa 7 June 1844
ID #
1385
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert D. Foster
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. “Present” apparently indicates that the letter was to be presented to JS by courier. (See Notification to Daniel Wood, 23 Jan. 1842; and JS, Journal, 23 Jan. 1842.)

  2. Filing notation in the handwriting of Willard Richards.

Go to page