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Letter to Emma Smith, 18 May 1834

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Wayne Co., IN, to , , Geauga Co., OH, 18 May 1834; handwriting of JS; signature of JS (now missing); one page; CHL.
Single sheet of lined paper, folded in half to create two leaves measuring approximately 127/16 × 7⅞ inches (32 × 20 cm) each. The document was folded for mailing. Clear cellophane tape was applied to the majority of the left-hand side of the document and along folds where the paper has weakened and begun to separate. The first leaf contains the text of the letter on the recto, with the verso blank. The second leaf contains the address on the verso, with the recto blank. Folding allowed the second leaf to serve as a wrapper for the letter, but a portion of that leaf is missing. An adhesive wax wafer is extant on the second leaf, but the corresponding portion of the wrapper is missing. It appears that the letter itself was not sealed, but rather the wrapper was. JS’s signature has been cut out of the document, leaving the bottom right portion of the letter missing.
Records do not indicate when the Community of Christ obtained this letter, nor from whom it was received. It was in the Community of Christ’s possession by December 1879, when it was published in the Saints’ Herald. In 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acquired the letter from the Community of Christ, and it is now held at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Letters of Joseph Smith, the Martyr,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Dec. 1879, 356–357.

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

Historical Introduction

On 18 May 1834, JS wrote this letter from Richmond, Indiana, to his wife . JS and a group of approximately one hundred men had left , Ohio, on 5 May, bound for to aid the Saints who had been expelled from in November 1833. On 6 May, in , Ohio, the group, which came to be known as the (and later Zion’s Camp), met an advance contingent that had departed Kirtland on 1 May. After organizing into companies of twelve and money into a general fund to cover camp expenses, the combined group departed New Portage on 7 May and proceeded through several towns, including Chippewa, Wooster, , Bellefontaine, and , Ohio, before entering on Saturday, 17 May. They set up camp in so that they would not have to travel on the Sabbath. Walking as many as thirty miles per day, many of those on the expedition had “sore and blistered” feet upon arriving in Indiana; according to , “Our stockings were wet with blood.”
On the night of 17 May, “lost the spirit of peace” and called fellow camp member “an old Jack ass.” According to one report, when JS intervened, Sylvester Smith stated that he was not afraid of JS “and would contradict him in the face of all presant.” Other reports indicate that JS then told the camp that if this rebellious spirit continued, “they would meet with misfortunes, difficulties and hindrances.” According to ’s history, the next morning—the same morning that JS wrote this letter to —the horses of the camp were lame. “The brethren then deeply realized the effects of discord,” Kimball reported, and they humbly petitioned God for a restoration of their horses’ health. All the horses were immediately healed, “with the exception of one of Sylvester Smith’s which soon afterwards died.” The camp then held church services in which they partook of the and heard preaching by and .
After the meeting, JS wrote this letter, one of the few surviving letters in his own hand, to . The letter suggests that it is the first communication he had written to her while on the expedition, perhaps because of the arduous travel schedule and JS’s leadership responsibilities. JS did not discuss any of the camp’s difficulties but instead informed Emma that all was well with the expedition. The letter shows JS’s concern for his family and his joy in receiving letters from them. It was mailed on 19 May.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 477–478. For more information on the reasons behind JS’s expedition to Missouri, see “Joseph Smith Documents from April 1834 through September 1835,”

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.

  2. [2]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 477–478; Woodruff, Journal, 1 May 1834.

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.

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

  3. [3]

    Some accounts indicate the camp may not have left until 8 May. (Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 9; Woodruff, “History and Travels of Zion’s Camp,” 7.)

    Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.

    Woodruff, Wilford. “The History and Travels of Zion’s Camp, Led by the Prophet Joseph Smith from Kirtland Ohio to Clay County Missoura in the Spring of 1838,” 1882. CHL.

  4. [4]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 478; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 8; Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 9; McBride, Reminiscence, 2; Martin, Journal, 2–17 May 1834, 1–4.

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.

    Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

    Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.

    McBride, Reuben, Sr. Reminiscence, no date. CHL. MS 8197.

    Martin, Moses. Journal, 1834. CHL. MS 1986.

  5. [5]

    Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 9; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 14–17; Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 9.

    Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

    Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

    Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.

  6. [6]

    Hancock, Autobiography, 138.

    Hancock, Levi Ward. Autobiography, 1803–1836. New Mormon Studies CD-ROM: A Comprehensive Resource Library, 2009. CHL.

  7. [7]

    “Elder Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1845, 6:772; Martin, Journal, 18 May 1834, 4.

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

    Martin, Moses. Journal, 1834. CHL. MS 1986.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Emma Smith, 18 May 1834
ID #
221
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:48–52
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