Footnotes
Coray, Autobiographical Sketch, 2, 4–5, 17, 19. The letter immediately preceding this one in JS Letterbook 2 is dated 28 August 1840. (Letter from Thomas Burdick, 28 Aug. 1840.)
Coray, Howard. Autobiographical Sketch, after 1883. Howard Coray, Papers, ca. 1840–1941. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2043, fd. 1.
See Proverbs 10:22.
In Bennett's 15 August 1840 letter to JS and Rigdon, which he wrote before receiving this letter from JS, Bennett described having been confused about the relationship between Commerce and Nauvoo. The Commerce area had become more officially known as Nauvoo in April 1840 with the changing of the name of the post office. (Robert Johnstone to Richard M. Young, 21 Apr. 1840, in JS History, vol. C-1, 1053; Notice, Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:106.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
The “flats” along the Mississippi River in the Nauvoo area were vulnerable to malaria, particularly during the first years the Saints settled there, before they could make improvements on the land and drain much of the swampy area. Willard Richards wrote in the draft notes for JS’s history, “Commerce was so unhea[l]thy very few could live there.” (Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 11 June 1839, 59.)
The 26 August 1840 issue of the Cincinnati Daily Chronicle reported that the population of Nauvoo was approximately 2,800. (“The Mormons,” Daily Chronicle [Cincinnati], 26 Aug. 1840, [2].)
Daily Chronicle. Cincinnati. 1839–1850.
One of the public buildings to which JS referred was likely the temple, the construction of which church leaders had begun discussing by spring 1840. JS may also have been referring to the Nauvoo House—an anticipated boardinghouse, hotel, and intended home for JS and his family—which was first mentioned by name in a 19 January 1841 revelation. (“A Glance at the Mormons,” Alexandria [VA] Gazette, 11 July 1840, [2]; Dunham, Journal, 10 May 1840; Discourse, ca. 19 July 1840; Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, Sept. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22–24, 56–82].)
Alexandria Gazette. Alexandria, VA. 1834–1877.
Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.
Groups of Saints settled in various communities (mostly in the Montrose area) on the nearly eighteen thousand acres of Half-Breed Tract land in Lee County, Iowa Territory, that church agents Oliver Granger and Vinson Knight purchased from Isaac Galland in May and June 1839. The 26 August 1840 issue of the Cincinnati Daily Chronicle reported that about two thousand church members were living in Lee County. (Lee Co., IA, Land Records, 1836–1961, Deeds [South, Keokuk], vol. 1, pp. 507–509, microfilm 959,238; vol. 2, pp. 3–6, 13–16, microfilm 959,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Cook, “Isaac Galland,” 270–275; “The Mormons,” Daily Chronicle [Cincinnati], 26 Aug. 1840, [2].)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Cook, Lyndon W. “Isaac Galland—Mormon Benefactor.” BYU Studies 19 (Spring 1979): 261–284.
Daily Chronicle. Cincinnati. 1839–1850.
In his 27 July 1840 letter to JS and Rigdon, Bennett wrote, “It would be my deliberate advice to you to concentrate all of your church at one point— If Hancock County with Commerce for its commercial Emporium is to be that point, well,— fix upon it.” Church leaders had designated the Commerce area as the new gathering place for the Saints the previous year, at a meeting held in Quincy, Illinois, on 24 April 1839. (Letter from John C. Bennett, 27 July 1840; Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839.)
See Revelation 22:17; see also Discourse, ca. 19 July 1840.
Bennett wrote to JS and Rigdon on 27 July 1840, “I am with you in Spirit, and will be in person as soon as circumstances permit, and immediately if it is your desire.” (Letter from John C. Bennett, 27 July 1840, underlining in original.)
See Hebrews 11:25.