Footnotes
John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Hepzibah Richards, Kirtland, OH, to Willard Richards, Bedford, England, 18–19 Jan. 1838, Willard Richards, Papers, CHL.
Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.
Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.
The letter references the enclosure of the motto, stating that the motto was transcribed in the Scriptory Book. This indicates that the Scriptory Book, which begins in and is almost entirely in Robinson’s handwriting, was started sometime between Robinson’s arrival in Far West on 28 March and JS’s composition of the letter on 29 March. Although Robinson began the book at this time, with an account of JS’s arrival in Far West and a copy of the motto, he apparently did not add anything further to the book until the middle of April, at the time of the excommunications of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer. The title page of the Scriptory Book is dated 12 April 1838, the date of Cowdery’s church trial, and editorial notes between the various documents that Robinson transcribed into the book explain how the events documented in the various transcripts led up to the excommunications of Cowdery and Whitmer. (JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, pp. 15–32.)
For an example of correspondence from dissidents, see Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Oliver Cowdery, Richmond, MO, 21 Aug. 1838, photocopy, CHL.
Cowdery, Lyman. Letter, Kirtland, OH, to Oliver Cowdery, Richmond, MO, 21 Aug. 1838. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Photocopy at CHL.
Young was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Miles was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Richards was a high priest. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Quorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 6 Apr. 1837, 18; Stevenson, Richards Family History, 1:13.)
Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.
Stevenson, Joseph Grant, ed. Richards Family History. 2 vols. Provo, UT: By the author, 1977–1981.
Young and others joined JS and his traveling party near Jacksonville, Illinois. (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 16.)
Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.
Young later recounted that he “purchased a small improvement on mill creek . . . and proceeded to fence in a farm.” Miles owned land in Caldwell County. (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 17; Hamer, Northeast of Eden, 75, 88; see also Revelation, 17 Apr. 1838.)
Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.
Hamer, John. Northeast of Eden: A Historical Atlas of Missouri’s Mormon County. [Mirabile, MO]: Far West Cultural Center, 2004.
The church motto JS had composed within the prior two weeks denounced “vexatious lawsuits.” (Motto, ca. 16 or 17 Mar. 1838.)
JS incurred several thousand dollars of debt while living in Kirtland, primarily as a result of building the Kirtland House of the Lord.a Prior to leaving for Missouri, he appointed William Marks and others to oversee efforts to pay church debts.b
(aSee, for example, Statement of Account from John Howden, 29 Mar. 1838; Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838; Agreement with Mead & Betts, 2 Aug. 1839; and “Schedule Setting Forth a List of Petitioner[’]s Creditors, Their Residence, and the Amount Due to Each,” ca. 15–16 Apr. 1842, CCLA. bSee Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 Feb. 1838.)“Schedule Setting Forth a List of Petitioner[’]s Creditors, Their Residence, and the Amount Due to Each,” ca. 15–16 Apr. 1842. CCLA.
Sarah Burt Beman was the widow of Alvah Beman, with whom the Smith family had been friends since before the organization of the church in 1830. (Noble and Noble, Reminiscences, [16]; Pratt, Autobiography, 117–118; “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly, Aug. 1859, 167.
Noble, Joseph B., and Mary Adeline Beman Noble. Reminiscences, ca. 1836. CHL. MS 1031, fd. 1.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
“Mormonism,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (May 1859): 46–51; (July 1859): 119–121; (Aug. 1859): 163–170. Tiffany's Monthly. New York City. 1856–1859.
Possibly Ezra Strong Sr. (1788–1877) or Harvey Strong (1803–1875). (Backman, Profile, 69; Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Northwest Illinois District, Church Records, 1866–1870, pp. 4–5, microfilm 1,927,666; Berrien Co., MI, Death Records, 1867–1929, 1934–1967, vol. A, p. 158, microfilm 945,406, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Granger, a member of the high council in Kirtland, was also a church agent working with Marks to help JS and Rigdon manage and settle debts. (See, for example, Power of Attorney to Oliver Granger, 27 Sept. 1837; and Grandison Newell, Assignment of Judgment to William Marks and Oliver Granger, Kirtland, OH, 1 Mar. 1838, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; see also “Memorandum O. Granger G Newell Assignment,” Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Possibly Vinson Knight, a counselor in the Kirtland bishopric. Knight, like Granger and Bishop Newel K. Whitney, was probably involved in resolving financial problems that JS left behind in Kirtland.
Newel K. Whitney was the bishop in Kirtland.
See Acts 14:3; 20:32.
See 2 Timothy 3:15.