The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter to John Smith, 12 December 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to
John Smith

16 July 1781–23 May 1854. Farmer. Born at Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Member of Congregational church. Appointed overseer of highways at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, 1810. Married...

View Full Bio
, [
Macedonia

Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL], 12 Dec. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 12 Dec. 1843]; handwriting of
Thomas Bullock

23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...

View Full Bio
; signature of JS in the handwriting of
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket, redactions, and archival marking.
Single leaf measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The upper left corner is embossed with a decorative star and “D & J. Ames Springfield”, the insignia of a Springfield, Massachusetts, paper mill firm established by brothers David and John Ames in 1828.
1

Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.

The letter is inscribed on the recto, and the verso is blank except for a later docket. The document was folded in half twice horizontally and trifolded vertically; it was later refolded for filing. The letter has undergone conservation to strengthen the paper along the folds.
The featured copy was presumably retained among church records. The docket is in unidentified handwriting.
Thomas Bullock

23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...

View Full Bio
edited the document in graphite, probably during preparation to include the letter in JS’s history in Utah Territory between 1855 and 1856.
2

Bullock’s insertions were included in the text of the letter as it appeared in JS’s history. (JS History, vol. E-1, 1801.)


By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
3

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


The document’s early docket and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.

    Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

    Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.

  2. [2]

    Bullock’s insertions were included in the text of the letter as it appeared in JS’s history. (JS History, vol. E-1, 1801.)

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 12 December 1843, JS directed his clerk
Thomas Bullock

23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...

View Full Bio
to write to JS’s uncle
John Smith

16 July 1781–23 May 1854. Farmer. Born at Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Member of Congregational church. Appointed overseer of highways at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, 1810. Married...

View Full Bio
, who was serving as president of the
Macedonia

Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...

More Info
, Illinois,
branch

An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...

View Glossary
of the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
. The letter granted a petition from the members of the Macedonia branch requesting that JS
ordain

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

View Glossary
John Smith a branch
patriarch

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office with the authority to give inspired blessings, similar to the practice of Old Testament patriarchs. JS occasionally referred to patriarchs as “evangelical ministers” or “evangelists.” Joseph Smith Sr. was ordained as...

View Glossary
.
The
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
office of patriarch was established in December 1834 with the ordination of
Joseph Smith Sr.

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

View Full Bio
His duties included giving blessings to church members, particularly those whose fathers did not belong to the church or had died.
1

Account of Meetings, Revelation, and Blessing, 5–6 Dec. 1834; Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.


An early 1835 instruction on priesthood expanded upon Joseph Smith Sr.’s ordination and authorized the
Quorum of the Twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
to ordain evangelical ministers, also called patriarchs, in “all large branches of the church.”
2

Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:39].


The earliest known branch patriarch was ordained in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
in 1837.
3

Minute Book 2, 7 Nov. 1837, 85.


Branch patriarchs were initially ordained only in locations distant from Joseph Smith Sr.’s residence, such as
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, Missouri, or
Manchester

City in northwest England, located on River Irwell. Noted for manufacture of cotton, linen, and silk goods. Population in 1831 about 187,000. Some early church publications for British Saints, including a hymnal and Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, published...

More Info
, England.
4

Isaac Morley was ordained a patriarch in the branch at Far West, Missouri; Peter Melling and later John Albiston were ordained patriarchs in England. By the time Hyrum Smith succeeded Joseph Smith Sr. as patriarch in January 1841, there was a clearer distinction between branch patriarchs and the patriarch at church headquarters. A 19 January 1841 revelation stated that Hyrum Smith held “the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all my people.” Later that year, Hyrum Smith signed a published letter as “Patriarch for the whole church.” (Minute Book 2, 7 Nov. 1837, 85; “Communications,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1841, 2:484; “Conference Minutes,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1841, 1:302–304; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:91–96, 124]; Hyrum Smith, Extract of a Letter, Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:589; see also “Death of the Patriarch John Albiston,” Millennial Star, July 1849, 11:196.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

This trend shifted as a large number of Latter-day Saints gathered to live near
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois.
5

A few existing branch patriarchs, such as Isaac Morley and Peter Melling, also moved to the area around Nauvoo. (“Church Record of the Lima Branch,” 1; Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 24 Oct. 1841.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

“The Church Record of the Lima Branch.” In James C. Snow, Record Book, 1840–1851. CHL.

On 18 July 1841, JS ordained
James Adams

24 Jan. 1783–11 Aug. 1843. Lawyer, judge, insurance agent, land speculator. Born at Simsbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Parmenio Adams and Chloe. In New York militia, served as ensign, 1805; as lieutenant; as captain, 1807; and as major, 1811–1815...

View Full Bio
, president of the
Springfield

Settled by 1819. Incorporated as town, 1832. Became capital of Illinois, 1837. Incorporated as city, 1840. Sangamon Co. seat. Population in 1840 about 2,600. Stake of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in Springfield, Nov. 1840; discontinued...

More Info
, Illinois, branch, a branch patriarch.
6

General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 85.


John Smith’s appointment in
Macedonia

Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...

More Info
followed this precedent of calling patriarchs in branches located closer to church headquarters.
By 1843, around five hundred Latter-day Saints lived in
Macedonia

Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...

More Info
, which was located about twenty-five miles east of
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
.
7

See Rugh, “Conflict in the Countryside: The Mormon Settlement at Macedonia, Illinois,” 154.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rugh, Susan Sessions. “Conflict in the Countryside: The Mormon Settlement at Macedonia, Illinois.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 149–174.

Early branches, including the Macedonia branch, often nominated and voted to elect their own leaders from among men who were previously ordained.
8

The practice of nominating and electing church leaders by vote at a conference, common within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the 1830s and 1840s, was similar to the election of bishops, conference presidents, and other officers within Methodist churches. (Form of Discipline, 6–8; see also, for example, JS, Journal, 15 Jan. 1836; Conference Minutes, 5 Oct. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 164–165; and Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

A Form of Discipline for the Ministers, Preachers, and Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Considered and Approved at a Conference Held at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, on Monday the 27th of December, 1784: In Which the Reverend Thomas Coke. L.L.D. and the Reverend Francis Asbury, Presided. New York: W. Ross, 1787. Reprint, Cleveland: W. A. Ingham, [1900].

The Macedonia branch elected
John Smith

16 July 1781–23 May 1854. Farmer. Born at Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Member of Congregational church. Appointed overseer of highways at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, 1810. Married...

View Full Bio
branch president the previous September.
9

Macedonia Branch, Record, 24 Sept. 1843, 35.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

The branch members apparently elected Smith in a special
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
in November and then petitioned JS to ordain him a patriarch. The petition is no longer extant, and the Macedonia branch minutes do not reference a special conference in November. In this letter, JS approved of the branch members’ choice, characterizing John Smith as a man of “dignity, sobriety, and grace.”
It is unclear how the 12 December 1843 letter was delivered to
Macedonia

Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...

More Info
, but
John Smith

16 July 1781–23 May 1854. Farmer. Born at Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Member of Congregational church. Appointed overseer of highways at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, 1810. Married...

View Full Bio
traveled to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
on 8 January 1844.
10

JS, Journal, 8 Jan. 1844.


On 10 January, JS ordained John Smith a patriarch, and later that day the two men rode partway back to Macedonia together.
11

JS, Journal, 10 Jan. 1844.


John Smith continued to function as a patriarch even after his appointment as president of the Nauvoo
stake

Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...

View Glossary
on 7 October 1844.
12

“Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:691–692; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1845, 6:870; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1845, 6:1008–1009, 1013. In 1847, John Smith was sustained as the church patriarch, succeeding JS’s brothers Hyrum Smith and William Smith. (Bates and Smith, Lost Legacy, 104–109.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Bates, Irene M., and E. Gary Smith. Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Account of Meetings, Revelation, and Blessing, 5–6 Dec. 1834; Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.

  2. [2]

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:39].

  3. [3]

    Minute Book 2, 7 Nov. 1837, 85.

  4. [4]

    Isaac Morley was ordained a patriarch in the branch at Far West, Missouri; Peter Melling and later John Albiston were ordained patriarchs in England. By the time Hyrum Smith succeeded Joseph Smith Sr. as patriarch in January 1841, there was a clearer distinction between branch patriarchs and the patriarch at church headquarters. A 19 January 1841 revelation stated that Hyrum Smith held “the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all my people.” Later that year, Hyrum Smith signed a published letter as “Patriarch for the whole church.” (Minute Book 2, 7 Nov. 1837, 85; “Communications,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1841, 2:484; “Conference Minutes,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1841, 1:302–304; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:91–96, 124]; Hyrum Smith, Extract of a Letter, Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:589; see also “Death of the Patriarch John Albiston,” Millennial Star, July 1849, 11:196.)

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

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  5. [5]

    A few existing branch patriarchs, such as Isaac Morley and Peter Melling, also moved to the area around Nauvoo. (“Church Record of the Lima Branch,” 1; Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 24 Oct. 1841.)

    “The Church Record of the Lima Branch.” In James C. Snow, Record Book, 1840–1851. CHL.

  6. [6]

    General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 85.

  7. [7]

    See Rugh, “Conflict in the Countryside: The Mormon Settlement at Macedonia, Illinois,” 154.

    Rugh, Susan Sessions. “Conflict in the Countryside: The Mormon Settlement at Macedonia, Illinois.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 149–174.

  8. [8]

    The practice of nominating and electing church leaders by vote at a conference, common within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the 1830s and 1840s, was similar to the election of bishops, conference presidents, and other officers within Methodist churches. (Form of Discipline, 6–8; see also, for example, JS, Journal, 15 Jan. 1836; Conference Minutes, 5 Oct. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 164–165; and Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)

    A Form of Discipline for the Ministers, Preachers, and Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Considered and Approved at a Conference Held at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, on Monday the 27th of December, 1784: In Which the Reverend Thomas Coke. L.L.D. and the Reverend Francis Asbury, Presided. New York: W. Ross, 1787. Reprint, Cleveland: W. A. Ingham, [1900].

  9. [9]

    Macedonia Branch, Record, 24 Sept. 1843, 35.

    Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 8 Jan. 1844.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 10 Jan. 1844.

  12. [12]

    “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:691–692; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1845, 6:870; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1845, 6:1008–1009, 1013. In 1847, John Smith was sustained as the church patriarch, succeeding JS’s brothers Hyrum Smith and William Smith. (Bates and Smith, Lost Legacy, 104–109.)

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

    Bates, Irene M., and E. Gary Smith. Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to John Smith, 12 December 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [2]

[page [2] blank] [p. [2]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to John Smith, 12 December 1843
ID #
1225
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:360–362
Handwriting on This Page

    © 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06