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Letter to Lyman Wight and Others, 16 August 1834

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to , , , , and others, [, Clay Co.], MO, 16 Aug. 1834. Retained copy, [ca. 16 Aug. 1834], in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 84–87; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.

Historical Introduction

On 16 August 1834, JS wrote this letter to church leaders in , discussing how the Saints could redeem , or regain their lands. The expedition, led by JS a few months earlier, had been unable to restore the Saints to their property, and negotiations between Jackson County residents and church members had also come to naught. explained in a 1 August 1834 letter to Missouri governor that tensions remained high in western Missouri. Phelps related that sometime in summer 1834, one church member had crossed into Jackson County to collect a debt and had been brutally attacked. According to Phelps, the attackers had sworn “to kill every Mormon that came into Jackson County.” Therefore the prospect for the Saints reentering the county remained dim.
JS’s letter, however, instructed church leaders to continue to take measures to regain their land. He directed them to correspond with and president Andrew Jackson to try to obtain military protection from the mobs. Some church leaders in Missouri—designated as “first elders” in the letter—had been assigned by JS and a council of to travel to , Ohio, to receive an of power, but they were also instructed to try to generate sympathy for the Saints’ plight by preaching on their way to Kirtland. In addition, JS instructed to be prepared to take a “little army” into Jackson County if the need arose. On 25 June 1834, JS pledged that the Camp of Israel would be disbanded, but he left open the possibility that it could be reassembled if negotiations between church members and Jackson County citizens were not successful. Since negotiations seemed to be going nowhere, JS counseled Wight to be ready to call up his army, especially if residents of started to turn against the Saints. Finally, JS set the date for the redemption of Zion as 11 September 1836, a little more than two years away. This date was almost certainly derived from an 11 September 1831 revelation that stated that God would “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland for the space of five years,” after which he would “not hold any guilty that shall go with open hearts up to the Land of Zion.”
In addition to giving instructions about redeeming Zion, JS mentioned the trouble he had encountered when and others accused him of committing improprieties as the leader of the Camp of Israel. An 11 August 1834 council cleared JS of any wrongdoing, and he expressed his hope that this incident was behind him so he could focus on other matters. JS also discussed the cholera epidemic that continued to rage in the and which had affected some church members, including members of the Camp of Israel. He concluded by lamenting the “languid cold disconsolate state” of the church.
The original of JS’s letter—which was addressed to , , , , and the —has not been located. copied it into JS’s letterbook, probably shortly before the letter was sent. At a 10 September 1834 meeting of the Missouri high council, read this letter aloud, along with a petition he had composed in accordance with JS’s instructions in the letter.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historical Introduction to Declaration, 21 June 1834; Historical Introduction to Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105]; Historical Introduction to Letter to John Thornton et al., 25 June 1834.)

  2. [2]

    William W. Phelps, Liberty, MO, to Daniel Dunklin, Jefferson City, MO, 1 Aug. 1834, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL, underlining in original.

    Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.

  3. [3]

    A June 1834 revelation stated that the elders must be “endowed with power from on high” before Zion could be redeemed. Those assigned to go to Kirtland included David Whitmer, William W. Phelps, and John Whitmer, who were the three presidents of the high council. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:11]; Minutes, 23 June 1834; Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)

  4. [4]

    Letter to John Thornton et al., 25 June 1834.

  5. [5]

    JS apparently gave this assignment to Wight before he left Missouri. A 12 July 1834 meeting of the Missouri high council referred to the “mission appointed” to Wight “by the seer” and assigned Amasa Lyman to go with Wight “to ascertain the strength of the Lord’s house.” According to Amasa Lyman’s journal, this meant visiting those who had been driven from Jackson County and determining how many Saints lived in “this land”—probably meaning either Clay County specifically or Missouri generally. (Minute Book 2, 12 July 1834; Lyman, Journal, 12 July 1834.)

    Lyman, Amasa. Journals, 1832–1877. Amasa Lyman Collection, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 829, boxes 1–3.

  6. [6]

    Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21–22].

  7. [7]

    Minutes, 11 Aug. 1834.

  8. [8]

    Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 16–18; Parkin, “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication,” 4–5.

    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.

    Parkin, Max H. “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication.” Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation Newsletter 15 (Fall 1997): 4–5.

  9. [9]

    Partridge, Corrill, and Morley constituted the bishopric in Missouri, but it is unclear why Wight, who was a member of the high council, was specifically mentioned. It may have been because Wight had served as the general of the Camp of Israel, or perhaps it was because JS gave him specific instructions in the letter. (Minutes, 3 July 1834; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 12.)

    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.

  10. [10]

    Minute Book 2, 10 Sept. 1834.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Lyman Wight and Others, 16 August 1834 Letterbook 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 86

whithe [whether] we have friends or not in these ,
This petition to be sent to the of to solicit him to call on the President of the for a guard to protect our brethren in upon their own Lands from the insults and abuses of the Mob
And I would reccomend to to enter complaints to the as of ten as he receves any insults or injury, and in case that they procede to endeaver to take life or tear down homes, and if the citizens of , do not befriend us to gather up the little army and be set over Immediately into and trust in God and do the worst <​best​> he can in defending maintaining the ground, but in case the excitement continues to be allayed and peace prevails use every effort to prevail on the to to those regions and situate themselves to be in readiness to move into in two years from the Eleventh of September next which is the appointed time for the redemption of Zion, If Verely If I say unto you If the church with one united effort perform their duties If they do this the work shall be complete If they do not this in all humility making preperation from this time forth like Joseph in Egypt laying up store against the time of famine every man having his tent, his horses, his charrots [chariots] his armory his cattle his family and his whole substance in readiness against the time <​when​> it shall be said To your tents O Isreal!! and let not this be noised abroad let every heart beat in silence and every mouth be shut
Now my beloved brethren you will learn by this we have a great work to do, and but little time to do it in and if we dont exert ourselves to the utmost in gathering up the strength of the Lords house that this thing may be accomplished behold their remaineth a scorge* <​*for the Church even that they shall be driven from City to City and but few shall remain to receive an if these things are not kept there remaineth a scorge​> [p. 86]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 86

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Lyman Wight and Others, 16 August 1834
ID #
233
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:102–108
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [12]

    Through the rest of 1834 and 1835, the petition circulated for signatures. On 31 December 1835, the Saints sent it to Governor Daniel Dunklin with several hundred signatures, although it is not clear how many of those were church members’ signatures and how many were non-Mormons’. (William W. Phelps et al., Kirtland, OH, to Daniel Dunklin, 30 Dec. 1835, copy; Daniel Dunklin, Jefferson City, MO, to William W. Phelps et al., Kirtland, OH, 22 Jan. 1836, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.)

    Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.

  2. [13]

    For more information on the Saints’ previous efforts to get Governor Daniel Dunklin and President Andrew Jackson to provide military protection, see Historical Introduction to Declaration, 21 June 1834.

  3. [14]

    A June 1834 revelation stated that “were it not for the transgression” of the church generally, Zion “might have been redeemed even now.” The revelation went on to state that “the church abroad” had not been willing to provide financial support and manpower for the Camp of Israel and was therefore under “condemnation.” (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:2, 7–8].)

  4. [15]

    See Genesis 41:47–49.

  5. [16]

    See 1 Kings 12:16; and 2 Chronicles 10:16.

  6. [17]

    In August 1833, Oliver Cowdery blamed some of the trouble that the Saints had in Jackson County on “those whose mouths are continually open, & whose tongues cannot be stayed from tatling!” A June 1834 revelation also told church members to “reveal not the things which” God had “revealed unto them” pertaining to Zion’s redemption. (Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 10 Aug. 1833; Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:23].)

  7. [18]

    Revelations in December 1833 and February 1834 instructed JS and others to gather up the strength of the Lord’s house, or God’s “wariors my young men and they that are of middle age,” so that Zion could be redeemed. The 22 June revelation informed the Camp of Israel that the redemption of Zion was postponed but instructed JS and the elders of the church to continue gathering the strength of the Lord’s house. (Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:55]; Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:22]; Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:27].)

  8. [19]

    TEXT: This insertion is written at the end of page 87. (See Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:58]; and Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:31].)

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