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Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 January 1839

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Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 January 1839

Source Note

, JS, and , Letter, , Clay Co., MO, to and , , Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Jan. 1839. Featured version copied [between ca. May 1839 and ca. 27 Aug. 1841]; handwriting of , , and ; two pages; Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL. Includes docket and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 12 × 7¾ inches (30 × 20 cm), with thirty-nine printed lines per page. The document contains needle holes in the center fold and browning along the outer edges, suggesting that the pages were originally bound in a blank book. Before the bifolium was removed, two texts were inscribed on the first leaf: a portion of ’s autobiography was inscribed on the recto, which is paginated “23”, and a copy of governor ’s expulsion order of 27 October 1838 was inscribed on the verso. After the leaves were extracted from the blank book, the bifolium was folded, apparently for storage, and the 16 January 1839 letter was copied on the recto and verso of the second leaf. One of the resulting folds was used as a left margin on the recto of the second leaf. At some point, the two leaves were separated. Pinholes near the center fold may indicate the leaves were refastened with pins. The leaves were later inscribed with graphite use marks, refolded for filing, and docketed by : “Jan 16. 39 | Joseph, Sidney & Hyrum | to | Heber and Brigham | copd”.
This copy of the letter apparently remained in ’s possession, except for when copied it into an expanded version of Kimball’s autobiography, likely in the late 1850s or in the 1860s. After Kimball’s death in 1868, the letter was passed down to his descendants, who evidently maintained possession of the letter until 1973, when Spencer W. Kimball donated it to the Historical Department of the LDS church.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 30.

    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.

  2. [2]

    Kimball, Autobiography, 64a.

    Kimball, Heber C. Autobiography, ca. 1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL.

  3. [3]

    Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, “Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Jan. 1882, 114; Instrument of Gift, 11 July 1973, in Case File for Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

    Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

Historical Introduction

On 16 January 1839, JS, , and wrote from the in , Missouri, to and —the two senior in , Missouri—directing them to manage church affairs temporarily while the remained imprisoned. In early January 1839, Kimball and Young had sent a letter, apparently no longer extant, to the First Presidency, requesting guidance on when the apostles should begin moving their families out of . Some had left Missouri in November and December 1838 to comply with the expulsion order that Governor issued on 27 October 1838; however, the majority of church members, including Kimball, Young, and their families, remained in , waiting for spring.
In this 16 January letter, the First Presidency directed and to remain with their families in until the presidency was released from jail, because the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was temporarily responsible for managing church affairs and proselytizing efforts. When the was established in 1835, it presided over the church outside of and its stakes, under the direction of the First Presidency. In early 1838, the senior apostles—Thomas B. Marsh, David W. Patten, and Brigham Young—were appointed to a pro tempore presidency over the church in Missouri. After disaffected and died in October, Young was the only remaining member of the Missouri . The impending migration of church members out of Missouri signaled the necessary suspension of regular church organization in the state, and the Zion , over which Young presided, met for the last time on 16 January, the date of this letter. As indicated in the letter, with the First Presidency imprisoned and unable to direct day-to-day affairs, senior apostles Kimball and Young were to assume leadership of the church.
In the letter, the First Presidency instructed and to ordain individuals previously called as apostles, thereby rebuilding the quorum, which had been depleted during the crises of 1837 and 1838. By late spring 1838, four apostles had been excommunicated or otherwise removed from office for disaffection, reducing the quorum to eight members. The October 1838 conflict in further diminished the council’s ranks, with and withdrawing from church fellowship and with dying in a military engagement at . Around the same time, fell out of favor after criticizing JS. Brothers and remained in good standing in the quorum, but the former was imprisoned and the latter was in . In mid-December 1838, Young and Kimball and to the apostleship in . The 16 January letter instructed Young and Kimball to ordain others who had been appointed to the apostleship but not yet ordained, to fill the remaining vacancies, and to appoint the oldest remaining member of the original quorum as president of the quorum.
In addition, the presidency addressed the twelve apostles’ responsibility “to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same, in all nations.” In prior years, new converts were encouraged to to , Ohio, or to church settlements in . However, in early 1838 a revelation encouraged the Saints in Kirtland to immigrate to Missouri, and conflicts later that year in Missouri meant it was no longer an option for gathering. In the absence of a central gathering place, the presidency indicated that new converts should remain in their homes for the time being, except for English converts who chose to “take their chance with the saints here”; these converts were encouraged to “send wise men before them and buy out” the Kirtland area for settlement. The presidency also reminded and that they and the other apostles were to depart from the site on 26 April 1839 for a mission to Great Britain.
Like some of JS’s other letters written in the , this missive invokes scriptural language and was apparently patterned after New Testament epistles, with a greeting, counsel on specific items, and a concluding blessing. It is unknown who inscribed the original letter, which is apparently not extant; , who was the first signatory, may have written it. JS may have inscribed the postscript, which he was the first to initial. How the letter was transmitted from to is unknown, although it is possible that the First Presidency entrusted the letter to , who visited the jail on 16–17 January 1839. A copy of the letter was made as early as May 1839. The first ten lines were copied by , who began performing scribal work for in May 1839. For unknown reasons, Kimball copied the next four lines and one word of the fifth line. Kimball’s wife, , copied the remainder of the letter. Thompson died on 27 August 1841; therefore, at least his portion of the copy was inscribed by that date.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Hartley, “Winter Exodus from Missouri,” 6–40.

    Hartley, William G. “‘Almost Too Intolerable a Burthen’: The Winter Exodus from Missouri, 1838–39.” Journal of Mormon History 18 (Fall 1992): 6–40.

  2. [2]

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:23, 33]; Minutes, 6 Apr. 1838; see also Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” chap. 7.

    Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).

  3. [3]

    Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, Affidavit, Richmond, MO, 24 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 35–36.

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

  4. [4]

    Minute Book 2, 16 Jan. 1839.

  5. [5]

    The Kirtland, Ohio, high council identified apostles John F. Boynton and Luke Johnson as leading dissenters in December 1837, and the council probably excommunicated the two men at that time. The Far West high council excommunicated Lyman Johnson for apostasy in April 1838. Apostle William E. McLellin was tried a month later by a bishop’s council in Missouri and may have been removed from his office around that time. (John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; JS, Journal, 11 May 1838.)

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

  6. [6]

    See Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.

  7. [7]

    Woodruff, Journal, 13 Feb. 1859; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  8. [8]

    “History of Orson Pratt,” 22, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  9. [9]

    Minute Book 2, 19 Dec. 1838. A July 1838 revelation appointed Taylor and Page to fill vacancies in the quorum, but the outbreak of conflict delayed their ordinations. (Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118:6].)

  10. [10]

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:33].

  11. [11]

    Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C.

  12. [12]

    See Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity, 27–47.

    Doty, William G. Letters in Primitive Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.

  13. [13]

    On previous occasions when Rigdon acted as scribe, he signed the document first. (See, for example, License for Edward Partridge, ca. 4 Aug. 1831–ca. 5 Jan. 1832; Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76]; and Charges against Missouri Conference Preferred to Joseph Smith, ca. Mar. 1832.)

  14. [14]

    History of the Reorganized Church, 2:315.

    The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.

  15. [15]

    Kimball, “History,” 51; Robert B. Thompson, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, London, 5 Nov. 1840, Heber C. Kimball, Collection, CHL; Thompson, Journal of Heber C. Kimball; Kimball, Heber C. Kimball, 67–78.

    Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.

    Kimball, Heber C. Collection, 1837–1898. CHL. MS 12476.

    Thompson, Robert B. Journal of Heber C. Kimball an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Nauvoo, IL: Robinson and Smith, 1840.

    Kimball, Stanley B. Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986.

  16. [16]

    “Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519. Heber C. Kimball was away from Nauvoo, Illinois, from late 1839 through July 1841 on a mission to England, returning to Illinois on 1 July, approximately two months prior to Thompson’s death. While in England, Kimball continued working on his autobiography, a portion of which was copied in unidentified handwriting on the first leaf of the bifolium that the 16 January 1839 letter was copied on. These circumstances suggest that the letter may have been copied after Kimball’s July 1841 return to Illinois. (Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 30; Clayton, Diary, 3 Sept. and 24 Nov. 1840; Heber C. Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Aug. 1841, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 16 Aug. 1841, 2:511.)

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

    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.

    Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.

Page [1]

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Jany 16th 1839
Bros and
Joseph Smith Jr and prisoners for Jesus sake sends greeting.
In obedience to your request in your letter we say to you as follows. It is not wisdom for you to go out of with your Families yet for a little season untill we are out of after which time you may act your pleasure. but though you take your Families out of the yet it will be necessary for you to Return and leave as before designed on the 26 of April.— In as much as we are in and for a litt[l]e season if need be the managment of the affairs of the devolves on you that is the <​the​> . the gathering of necessity stopt.— but the convertion of the world need not stop. but under wise management can go on more rapidly than ever. wher[e] churches are built let them continue where they are until a door is open to do other wise. and let every ocupy his own ground. and when he builds a church let him preside over it. and let not others run in to trouble him. and thus let every man prove himself unto God that he is worthy. If we live we live, and if we die for the testimony of Jesus we die. but whether we live or die let the work of God go on. Let the churches in continue there, till further orders. till a door cac [can] be opened for them. except they choose to come to . and take their chance with the saints here. if they do that, let them come, and if they choose to come the[y] would do well to send wise men before them and buy out , and the regions round about. or they may settle whare they can till things may alter. It will be necessary for you to get the twelve togather such as have not ben ordained, or at least such of them as you can get. and proceed to regulate the Elders as the Lord may give you wisdom. We nominate and to take the place of and Brethren fear not, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 January 1839
ID #
3888
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:310–316
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert B. Thompson
  • Heber C. Kimball
  • Vilate Murray Kimball

Footnotes

  1. new scribe logo

    Robert B. Thompson handwriting begins.

  2. [1]

    See Philemon 1:1; and 2 Corinthians 4:5.

  3. new scribe logo

    Robert B. Thompson handwriting ends; Heber C. Kimball begins.

  4. [2]

    On 8 July 1838, JS dictated a revelation directing the twelve apostles to undertake a mission “over the great waters,” where they were to promulgate “my gospel the fulness thereof and to bear record of my name.” The apostles were to “take leave of my saints in the City Far West on the 26th. day of April next on the building spot of my house.” (Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118:4–5].)

  5. new scribe logo

    Insertion in the handwriting of Vilate Murray Kimball.

  6. new scribe logo

    Heber C. Kimball handwriting ends; Vilate Murray Kimball begins.

  7. [3]

    Early revelations commanded Latter-day Saints to gather in church communities to seek protection from the calamities expected before the Second Coming and to build the ideal Christian society. At various times during the 1830s, Missouri and Ohio functioned as the church’s primary gathering places, although opposition forced church members to abandon both locations by the end of the decade. At the time of this letter, Quincy, Illinois, the largest settlement on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, was becoming a de facto refuge for Latter-day Saints migrating from Missouri. (Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:8]; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57]; Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834; Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C; Albert P. Rockwood, Quincy, IL, to Luther Rockwood, Holliston, MA, 30 Jan. 1839, Albert Perry Rockwood, Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Bennett, “Study of the Mormons in Quincy,” 83–105.)

    Rockwood, Albert Perry. Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Bennett, Richard E. “‘Quincy the Home of Our Adoption’: A Study of the Mormons in Quincy, Illinois, 1838–1840.” In A City of Refuge: Quincy, Illinois, edited by Susan Easton Black and Richard E. Bennett, 83–105. Salt Lake City: Millennial Press, 2000.

  8. [4]

    In the 1830s, temporary branches were established for church members who resided outside of the Saints’ main gathering places in Ohio and Missouri. Traveling elders often presided over new branches, although as the congregations grew and became more established, local elders and high priests were frequently appointed as presiding authorities. In 1835 JS stated that “no Elder has a right to go into any branch of the church and appoint meetings or regulate the Church without the consent or advic[e] of the presiding Elder of said branch.” (Minute Book 2, 3 Dec. 1832; Letter to the Church in Thompson, OH, 6 Feb. 1833; Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835; Plewe et al., Mapping Mormonism, 40–43.)

    Plewe, Brandon S., S. Kent Brown, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2012.

  9. [5]

    See Romans 14:8.

  10. [6]

    In 1837, Kimball and Hyde were called as the church’s first missionaries to England. By the time they left England in April 1838, more than fifteen hundred new converts were organized into at least twenty branches. (Allen et al., Men with a Mission, 23–53.)

    Allen, James B., Ronald K. Esplin, and David J. Whittaker. Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.

  11. [7]

    Although persecution forced the majority of Latter-day Saints to abandon Kirtland for Missouri in 1838, a few church members stayed in the area after the mass departure. Given Kirtland’s former prominence, it remained a logical destination for Saints gathering during 1839 and thereafter. (Bitton, “Waning of Mormon Kirtland,” 455–464.)

    Bitton, Davis. “The Waning of Mormon Kirtland.” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 455–464.

  12. [8]

    On 8 July 1838, JS dictated a revelation that appointed Taylor, Page, Wilford Woodruff, and Willard Richards to fill vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Taylor and Page were not ordained until 19 December 1838 because of the outbreak of conflict in Missouri. The ordinations of Woodruff and Richards were delayed even further because the men were away on missions. (Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118:6]; Historical Introduction to Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838; Willard Richards, History, [1], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Minute Book 2, 19 Dec. 1838.)

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  13. [9]

    The 1835 instruction on priesthood designated the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as a “travelling, presiding high council” with authority “to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same” outside of Zion and its stakes. The quorum’s responsibilities included inquiring about the conduct and teachings of traveling elders and verifying their good standing in the church. (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:33]; Record of the Twelve, 4–9 May 1835.)

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