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Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Montgomery Co., OH], 22 July 1840. Featured version copied [ca. 22 July 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 157–158; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction

On 22 July 1840, JS wrote a letter to , who was then living in , Ohio. Phelps had been a prominent leader in the but was excommunicated in March 1839 after he testified against JS and other church leaders in a November 1838 hearing in . In June 1840, Phelps sent a letter to JS requesting forgiveness for his past actions and asking to be readmitted into the church. Phelps’s letter was accompanied by a letter from and , two members of the , who were preaching in Dayton. Hyde and Page supported Phelps’s attempt to regain fellowship within the church, stating that Phelps was “willing to make any sacrifice” to become a member of the church again. Phelps’s letter was read before the Saints on Sunday, 19 July 1840, and the congregation voted “with one voice and uplifted hands” to restore him to fellowship. JS wrote this letter three days later to inform Phelps of the decision and to express his personal joy at Phelps’s repentance.
The original letter is not extant. copied it into JS Letterbook 2 before the letter was sent.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Phelps was also excommunicated in March 1838 but apparently was reinstated later that year. (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838; Revelation, 8 July 1838–B.)

  2. [2]

    Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.

  3. [3]

    Editorial, Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:304.

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

  4. [4]

    Thompson recorded this letter and Phelps’s June 1840 letter to JS immediately following a note dated 4 July 1840. (Note, 4 July 1840, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 154.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840
Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 157

Hancock Co Ills
July 22nd. 1840
Dear
I must say that it is with no ordinary feelings I endeavour to write a few lines to you in answer to yours of the 29th. Ultimo, at the same time I am rejoiced at the priveledge granted me. You may in some measure realise what my feelings, as well as ’s & ’s were when we read your letter, truly our hearts were melted into tenderness and compassion when we assertained your resolves &c
I can assure you I feel a disposition to act on your case in a manner that will meet the approbation of Jehovah (whose servant I am) and agreeably to the principles of truth and righteousness which have been revealed and inasmuch as long-suffering patience and mercy have ever characterized the dealings of our heavenly Father towards the humble and penitent, I feel disposed, to copy the example and cherish the same principles, by so doing be a savior of my fellow men
It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us: One with whom we had oft taken sweet council together, and enjoyed many refreshing seasons from the Lord “Had it been an enemy we could have borne it” [“]In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day when Strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots upon even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldst not have looked on [p. 157]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 157

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840
ID #
555
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:345–348
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert B. Thompson

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.

  2. [2]

    Although Phelps’s letter was addressed only to JS, the appended letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page was addressed to the whole First Presidency. In his letter to JS, Phelps related a dream that had given him the courage to ask for forgiveness. In that dream, he saw JS and Hyrum Smith preparing a meal to which Phelps was invited. JS told him there was plenty for him to eat and smiled at him. Phelps then took Sidney Rigdon by the hand “and cried for Joy.” (Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.)

  3. [3]

    Phelps had written, “I want to be saved if my friends will help me,” and Hyde and Page had added that the First Presidency were “workmen in the art of saving souls.” (Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840.)

  4. [4]

    Among other things, Phelps testified before Missouri’s fifth judicial circuit court that JS and Rigdon had declared any sheriff approaching them with writs should be killed and that Rigdon had stated the church should set up its own independent government. Based on Phelps’s testimony and the testimony of others, JS, Rigdon, and other church leaders were incarcerated in the Clay County jailhouse at Liberty, Missouri, in December 1838 to await trial. (William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [84], [88], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; “A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Sept. 1840, 1:164.)

    Missouri, State of. “Evidence.” Hearing Record, Richmond, MO, 12–29 Nov. 1838, State of Missouri v. Joseph Smith et al. for Treason and Other Crimes (Mo. 5th Cir. Ct. 1838). Eugene Morrow Violette Collection, 1806–1921, Western Historical Manuscript Collection. University of Missouri and State Historical Society of Missouri, Ellis Library, University of Missouri, Columbia.

  5. [5]

    See Psalm 55:14.

  6. [6]

    In July 1834, Phelps was appointed as a member of the church presidency in Missouri. In 1835 and 1836, he spent nearly a year in Kirtland, Ohio, where he frequently participated in councils with JS. He also helped prepare for the solemn assembly that occurred in the Kirtland House of the Lord, during which participants washed each other’s feet and partook of the sacrament. (Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834; Minutes, 10 Aug. 1835; Minutes, 26 Sept. 1835; JS, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836.)

  7. [7]

    See Psalm 55:12–13.

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