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Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843b

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Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , [New Utrecht, Kings Co.], NY, 13 Nov. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 15 Nov. 1843]; handwriting of ; nine pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and dockets.
Five leaves, the first four measuring 12⅞ × 7¾ inches (33 × 20 cm) and the fifth measuring 12¾ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). Each leaf was cut from a bifolium or a blank book. The fifth leaf exhibits an uneven edge on the left side of the recto. All five leaves are numbered (the first on both sides and the final four on the recto only), which indicates that leaves were already separated from the bifolium or book by the time of the document’s inscription. The letter was inscribed on the first nine pages with large margins on the left side of each page. The verso of the fifth leaf was left blank. The text on the verso of each leaf is written upside down in relation to the text on the recto, so that the pages are meant to be flipped vertically instead of horizontally when reading. The first four leaves are singed on the right side. The document was later folded in half twice horizontally for filing. Two dockets were later added to the verso of the fifth leaf.
The letter was docketed 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. , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, docketed it a second time. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [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. [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. [3]

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

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

  4. [4]

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

Historical Introduction

On 13 November 1843, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , New York, responding to a letter that Bennet wrote three weeks earlier. Bennet had informed JS that he was by but stated that “nothing of this kind would in the least attach me to your person or cause.” Despite this, Bennet pronounced JS the “most extraordinary man of the present Age” and advised him that he, Bennet, was “capable of being a most undeviating fr[i]end without being governed by the smallest religious influence” due to his mind’s “so mathematical & philosophical a cast.” Toward the end of the letter, Bennet suggested that he expected JS’s support if Bennet ran for governor of in the future.
JS received ’s letter by 9 November, when he “gave instruction to have it answerd,” apparently assigning the task to scribe . This “instruction” possibly included an outline or language dictated by JS. According to JS’s 13 November journal entry, Phelps called on him at the that morning and “read a letter which I [JS] had dictated to Gen. Jam Ariligtn Bennet whi[c]h pleasd me much.” Phelps apparently read the letter again at JS’s office later that morning, after which JS “made some correcti[o]ns.” Two or three days later, a fair copy and a retained copy of the letter incorporating JS’s changes and additions to the text were prepared. added a postscript to the retained copy. The fair copy was then mailed to Bennet. The fair copy is apparently not extant. The featured version is the retained copy.
In the featured letter, JS quoted liberally from ’s earlier communication and, while referencing the Bible, history, and foreign languages, reproved Bennet for making light of sacred things, critiqued many of his assumptions regarding religion, and explained the significance of revelation and JS’s prophetic mission. JS also declined to pledge support for Bennet’s potential bid for political office in .
received the letter by 7 December 1843, when the New-York Commercial Advertiser published it. The Nauvoo Neighbor published the letter the day before. Several other newspapers, including the Times and Seasons, New York Herald, New-York Spectator, and Niles’ National Register republished the letter.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 24 Oct. 1843, underlining in original.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 9 and 13 Nov. 1843. In a December letter to Bennet, Willard Richards stated that “the Generals reply was dictated.” (Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, 15 Dec. 1843, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 13 Nov. 1843.

  4. [4]

    Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, 15 Dec. 1843, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, to Willard Richards, [Nauvoo, IL], 1 Feb. 1844, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  5. [5]

    JS and his associates, including Phelps, had demonstrated an enduring interest in ancient languages for well over a decade. About a week after this letter was mailed, JS and Phelps collaborated on a pamphlet addressed to Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys that also included a variety of phrases in foreign languages with corresponding translations. (“Part 1: 2 October–1 December 1835”; “Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts”; General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, ca. 21 Nov.–3 Dec. 1843.)

  6. [6]

    “Letter from Joe Smith,” New-York Commercial Advertiser (New York City), 7 Dec. 1843, [2]. When the newspaper printed JS’s 13 November 1843 response, the editor informed readers that the printers were instructed to “‘follow copy’ in every particular—to make no change, even of a letter or a comma.” The editor’s preface to the letter mocked, “The prophet’s missive is a strange specimen of mingled shrewdness, ignorance, impudence and folly—the latter quality being chiefly manifested in the fact that the letter has been written. It is not cunning of Joe to lay himself out on paper; for surely a man of his divine pretensions should be able to spell and to write grammatically.”

    New-York Commercial Advertiser. New York City. 1831–1889.

  7. [7]

    “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 6 Dec. 1843, [3].

  8. [8]

    “For the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1843, 4:371–375; “Singular Mormon Movements,” New York Herald (New York City), 10 Jan. 1844, [1]; “Letter from Joe Smith,” New-York Spectator (New York City), 9 Dec. 1843, [1]; “The Mormons,” Niles’ National Register (Baltimore), 3 Feb. 1844, 355–356. The Times and Seasons published its November 1843 issue around late December 1843.

    New-York Spectator. New York City. 1804–1867.

    Niles’ National Register. Washington DC, 1837–1839; Baltimore, 1839–1848; Philadelphia, 1848–1849.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843 Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843, as Published in Nauvoo Neighbor Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843, as Published in New-York Commercial Advertiser Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843, as Published in Times and Seasons Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843, as Published in New York Herald History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
very well one question, or problem is solved by figures. Now let me ask one for facts: was there ever such a place on the earth, as Egypt? Geography says, yes; ancient history says, yes, and the bible says, yes, so three witnesses have solved that question. Again: lived there ever such a man as Moses in Egypt? The same witnesses reply, certainly. And was he a prophet? The same witnesses <​or a part,​> have left an record, that Moses predicted in Leviticus, that if Israel broke the covenant they had made, the Lord would scatter thence among the nations till the land enjoyed her sabbaths: and subsequently <​these witnesses​> have testified of their captivity in Babylon and other places in fulfilment. But to make assurance doubly sure, Moses prayes that the ground might open and swallow up Korah and his company for transgression, and it was so: And he endorses the prophecy of Balaam, which said, Out of Jacob shall come, he that shall have dominion and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city; And Jude the Apostle of Jesus Christ fifteen hundred years after, as “as him that had dominion,” came about fifteen hundred years after, in accordance of <​with this and​> the prediction of Moses, David, Isaiah and many others, came, saying Moses wrote of <​me;​> declaring the dispersion of the Jews and the utter destruction of “the city” and the Apostles were his witness <​unimpeached​> especially Jude, who not only endorses the facts of Moses “divinity,” but <​also the​> events of Balaam and Korah with many others, as true!* <​*Besides these tangible facts so easible proven and demonstrated by simple rules and testimony unimpeached, the art <​(now lost)​> of embalming (now lost) human bodies and preserving them in the catacombs of Egypt, whereby men, women, and children, or mummies, after a lapse of near 3500 years, came forth among the living and although Dead the papyrus which has lived unharmed in their bosoms, speaks for them in language like the sound of an earthquake—— Ecce veritas! Ecce cadaveros! Behold the truth! Behold mummies!​> Oh my dear sir, the sunken Tyre and Sidon, the melancholly dust of <​where​> <​“the City” of​> Jerusalem, <​on[c]e was​> and the mourn[i]ng of the Jews among the nations, together with such a “cloud of witness”, if you had been as well acquainted with your god and bible as with your purse and pence table, the “divinity” of Moses would have dispelled the fog of five thousand years and filled you with light: for facts, like diamonds, not [p. [3b]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843
ID #
1202
Total Pages
10
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:258–270
Handwriting on This Page
  • William W. Phelps

Footnotes

  1. [46]

    In the version of the letter printed in the Nauvoo Neighbor, the editor elected to use the word “them” rather than “thence.” (“For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 6 Dec. 1843, [3].)

  2. [47]

    See Leviticus 26:33–34.

  3. [48]

    See Numbers 16:30–32.

  4. [49]

    See Numbers 24:19.

  5. [50]

    This may refer to a passage in the apocryphal book The Assumption of Moses, hinted at in the New Testament book of Jude, which states that after his death, the biblical prophet Moses was taken into heaven by assumption—the ascent or reception into heaven. (Charles, Assumption of Moses, xiii–xiv, 105–111; Jude 1:9; see also “Assumption,” in Oxford English Dictionary, 1:517; and Luke 9:28–30.)

    Charles, Robert Henry, ed. The Assumption of Moses: Translated from the Latin Sixth Century Ms., the Unemended Text of Which Is Published Herewith, Together with the Text in Its Restored and Critically Emended Form. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1897.

    Oxford English Dictionary. Compact ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

  6. [51]

    TEXT: This symbol indicates that the following passage, which was inscribed vertically along the left margin and contains a corresponding symbol, should be inserted at this point.

  7. [52]

    In 1835, traveling exhibitor Michael Chandler arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, with a collection of Egyptian mummies and assorted papyri inscribed with hieroglyphic and hieratic characters. After JS identified some of the writings as accounts of biblical patriarchs Abraham and Joseph, JS and other investors purchased the antiquities. JS began translating some of the characters and later produced a manuscript referred to as the Book of Abraham. (See Historical Introduction to Book of Abraham Manuscript, ca. Early July–ca. Nov. 1835–A [Abraham 1:4–2:6].)

  8. [53]

    TEXT: Insertion written vertically in left margin.

  9. [54]

    In the sixth century BC, the neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II partially destroyed the city of Jerusalem. He later attacked the prosperous and economically powerful city-states Tyre and Sidon, maritime centers located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Before the fall of Tyre, the biblical prophet Ezekiel prophesied the coming up of many nations “against thee [Tyre], as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers . . . it shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea.” During the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre for seven months before finally conquering the city. (Ezekiel 26:3–5; see also 2 Kings 25:1–21; Lamentations 1:1–3; Ezekiel chaps. 27–28; and Quinn, In Search of the Phoenicians, 120–121.)

    Quinn, Josephine Crawley. In Search of the Phoenicians. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017.

  10. [55]

    See Hebrews 12:1. In the version of the letter printed in the Nauvoo Neighbor, the word “witness” was printed as plural “witnesses.” (“For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 6 Dec. 1843, [3].)

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