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Letter from Washington Tucker, 4 May 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Union Co., AR, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 4 May 1844; handwriting and signature presumably of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, docket, redactions, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The bifolium consists of light blue paper ruled with horizontal lines printed in blue ink. There are twenty-seven lines on the recto of the first leaf and twenty-nine lines on both the verso of the first leaf and recto of the second. The verso of the second leaf is unruled. The letter was inscribed on the first three pages. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which are on the recto and verso of the second leaf. There is a hole in the second leaf and a tear in the first leaf from when the letter was opened. Attached to the wafer is the portion of the second leaf that was torn off. The document was later refolded for filing.
The letter was 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. Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856, copied the letter into JS’s history sometime between 9 April and 7 June 1856. By 1973 this letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its inclusion in JS’s history, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; JS History, vol. F-1, 91; see also Source Note and Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1 [1 May 1844–8 Aug. 1844].

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

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 4 May 1844, wrote a letter from , Arkansas, to JS in , Illinois, requesting that a Latter-day Saint preacher be sent to his area. At some point during winter 1843–1844, Tucker visited Mississippi, where he encountered one of the ’s missionaries and examined some of the church’s “sacred Books.” Tucker reported that what he had seen and read impressed him and left him with a desire to learn more. In spring 1844, several emigrants from Mississippi came to the El Dorado area and reported favorably on the Saints. Their statements may have prompted Tucker to write to JS a few days later, expressing his own interest in learning more about the church’s doctrines. In his letter, Tucker suggested that the county in which he lived was ripe to receive the gospel and requested that a Latter-day Saint be sent to preach there.
The letter was postmarked 9 May 1844, and JS received it by 12 June, when he wrote a response to . In his reply, JS thanked Tucker for his letter, gave him counsel, and promised to send an as soon as it could be arranged. It is unknown if missionaries ever visited Tucker.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Washington Tucker, El Dorado, AR, 12 June 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL.

  2. [2]

    The Times and Seasons reported that Andrew Timmons, John McIntosh, Darwin Chase, and Nathaniel Levett were appointed to serve missions in Arkansas at the April 1844 conference, but no record of their service has been located. James Pace recorded in his autobiography that he left Nauvoo on 19 May 1844 to preach in Arkansas but never specified where he went in the state. He returned home in July having baptized several individuals. (“Special Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1844, 5:505–506; Pace, Autobiographical Sketch, 4.)

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

    Pace, James. Autobiographical Sketch, ca. 1861. James Pace, Papers, 1846–1861. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Washington Tucker, 4 May 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Union Co. Arkansas May 4th 1844
To His Holiness Joseph Smith of Illinois—
Reverned Sir:—
Last winter while in the State of Mississippi I became acquainted with one of your missionaries who was laboring at the time in that State— Also at the same time I had an opportunity of perusing some of your sacred Books, and from what I have been able to learn as well from reading as from observation I am constrained to be very favorably impressed towards the new doctrin, although to me it certainly appears quite novel, yet I cannot do otherwise than believe their is great reality in it— so much so, indeed that I am extremely anxious to become better informed on this all important and truly vital matter—
And moreover, I am not the only one in this part who is an ardent seeker after truth; indeed the subject is beginning to produce a great deal of enquiry and some excitement in this county— hundreds who never before heard of the new Revilation [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Washington Tucker, 4 May 1844
ID #
1348
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Washington Tucker

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Several elders were laboring in Mississippi during winter 1843–1844, including Benjamin Clapp, W. Huitt, Samuel Gully, John Brown, and Haden W. Church. (See W. Huitt and S. Gully, Nauvoo, IL, Mar. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1844, 5:484–485; Benjamin Clapp, Kemper Co., MS, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1844, 5:[460]–461; John Brown, Monroe Co., MS, 17 Aug. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:702–703; and Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, bk. A, 9.)

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

    Brown, John. Reminiscences and Journals, 1843–1896. CHL. MS 1636.

  2. [2]

    “Sacred Books” may be a reference to canonical books such as the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants but could also include noncanonical tracts, such as A Voice of Warning. (Parley P. Pratt, A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People . . . [New York: W. Sandford, 1837].)

    Pratt, Parley P. A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People, Containing a Declaration of the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Commonly Called Mormons. New York: W. Sanford, 1837.

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