Footnotes
The apocalyptic content of the letter raises the possibility that it may also have been intended to prepare the Colesville branch for the forthcoming exodus of church members from New York to Ohio, declaring as it did that the “time is soon at hand that we shall have to flee whithersoever the Lord will, for safety.” The inclusion of Cowdery’s letter, with its encouraging commentary on the work in Kirtland, may have helped prepare members in Colesville to respond positively to the call to leave New York and remove to that distant location. However, no other evidence indicates that JS was contemplating a move to Ohio prior to the 30 December revelation. (See Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:2–3].)
See 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11.
See 2 Timothy 3:1.
New York newspapers reported that several European states experienced revolutions in 1830–1831. One newspaper reflected the fears of political instability when reporting on these events: “It will be seen that the storm of war is gathering with fearful blackness in Europe. Great events are almost hourly transpiring. Revolution succeeds revolution more rapidly than we can publish the accounts. It seems as though the whole frame of society, law, government, every thing was speedily to be revolved into its original elements. All is chaos and terror.” (“Still Later and Important,” Commercial Advertiser (New York City), 1 Nov. 1830, [2]; see also “Still Later and Important,” New-York Spectator, [3] Nov. 1830; and “Important Foreign News,” Rochester [NY] Republican, 9 Nov. 1830, [2].)
Commercial Advertiser. New York City. 1820–1863.
New-York Spectator. New York City. 1804–1867.
Rochester Republican. Rochester, NY. 1829–1838.