On 12 June 1844, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , Arkansas, responding to his request that a preacher be sent to instruct the people in his area. In a 4 May 1844 letter to JS, Tucker had explained that he had met a Latter-day Saint missionary in Mississippi during winter 1843–1844 and had also examined some of the church’s “sacred Books.” These experiences left him “very favorably impressed towards the new doctrin” and “extremely anxious to become better informed on this all important and truly vital matter.” He also stated that, in spring 1844, several individuals from Mississippi came to the El Dorado area in southern and spoke “in the highest terms of the Latter day Saints.” According to Tucker, this “greatly increased the enquiry and excitement previously going the rounds in this quarter.” In addition, Tucker emphasized that there were many others in the area who shared his interest in learning more about the church’s teachings and requested a minister to instruct them.

While it is unclear when JS received ’s letter, he responded to it on 12 June. In his reply, JS thanked Tucker for his letter, counseled him on how to be guided to the truth, and promised to send an to as soon as it could be arranged. There is no known response from Tucker to JS’s letter, and no known records indicate that missionaries ever visited Tucker or that he ever joined the church.

Presumably, JS’s original letter, which is not extant, was mailed to shortly after it was written. A retained copy of the letter inscribed by , who served as a clerk for JS, is featured here.