, Letter, , Hamilton Co., OH, to JS, , and , , Hancock Co., IL, 30 June 1839. Featured version copied [between ca. Dec. 1839 and ca. Apr. 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 75–76; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
Historical Introduction
On 30 June 1839, wrote the following letter from , Ohio, to the , describing his recent public presentations on the ’s difficulties in . He conducted the presentations as part of an assignment he received the previous month to preside over the church in and surrounding regions and to collect donations for the Saints migrating from Missouri to and . In preparation for his assignment, Greene acquired a letter of introduction on 8 May 1839 from Illinois governor , senator from Illinois, and other prominent Illinois citizens; in the letter, these individuals attested to Greene’s upright character. On 5 June, Greene left , Illinois, for Cincinnati, where he used the letter of introduction to set up a series of public meetings to request assistance for impoverished Saints. In his presentations, Greene described his and other church members’ sufferings in Missouri. Prominent Cincinnati residents spoke in support of Greene’s claims, and committees passed resolutions condemning Missouri state officials, expressing support for the Saints, and encouraging Greene to publish his documentation, which he did later that month. At the end of June, Greene wrote this letter to the First Presidency to report on the positive results of the June meetings. Greene’s original letter is apparently not extant, but JS’s clerk copied it into JS Letterbook 2 sometime between December 1839 and April 1840.
Samuel Holmes et al., Letter of Introduction for John P. Greene, 8 May 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 41–42; Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, iii.
Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.
Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.
Thompson was hired to be JS’s clerk after previous clerk James Mulholland died on 3 November 1839. Emma Smith complained that as of 6 December, Thompson had “not done any thing at all in the business,” which suggests he did not copy Greene’s letter until later in December, at the earliest. Thompson probably copied Greene’s 30 June 1839 letter into the book by April 1840, when scribe Howard Coray began “copying a huge pile of letters into a book,” presumably where Thompson left off in JS Letterbook 2. (Obituary for James Mulholland, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:32; Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Washington DC, 6 Dec. 1839, Charles Aldrich Autograph Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines; Coray, Autobiographical Sketch, 17.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Coray, Howard. Autobiographical Sketch, after 1883. Howard Coray, Papers, ca. 1840–1941. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2043, fd. 1.
administration of & also a very pathetic invitation for the Mormon representative to soon appear on the Sea Board that the Citizens of the East might have an oppertunity to sympathize with them in their afflictions. At the same time the “Mo Republican[”] complains very bitterly of the Editors of for their sympathies expressed for the Mormons & also accuse them of that wicked & notorious crime (which deserved all the abuse that had given them) their leader Jo Smith pretended to hold converse with the Deity So we see that the people are stirred up for some reason— But Dear Sirs this course of things will have the desired Effect— it awakens up the attention of the people to hear and read and know for themselves & when ever these things are laid before them every honest man must believe them from the very nature of things & the former reffuse of lies are swept away the Missourians appear in her own garb of Mobocracy while the Mormons are strip[p]ed of that dark sable mantle of all manner crime & wickedness which has come from th[e] pulpit and the press; & the credulity of the people allows them to believe the truth: and the does appear in its own native plain[n]ess with<out> partiality and without hypocracy but I must bid you adieu for the present, but I will write you again & I wish you to write to me at or and express your mind and feelings on this subject.
I am Yours in the of the Gospel of Christ
Joseph Smith Jr)
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N B Excuse all the imperfections of this scrawl & ever pray for me as I do for you
It is unknown which newspaper requested that Greene visit New York City in June 1839. On 16 September 1839, Greene attended a public meeting in that city, presenting an overview of the Saints’ sufferings in Missouri. After various New York citizens gave speeches, the meeting’s attendees approved resolutions that condemned the treatment of the Saints in Missouri and called for donations, which were subsequently collected by a committee. (“Meeting on Behalf of the Mormons,” New-York Spectator, 19 Sept. 1839, [3].)
No extant evidence suggests that the Missouri Republican published such a response to Greene in June 1839. It is possible that the paper’s editor was in Cincinnati and made these comments verbally.