As Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer Jr., and Ziba Peterson journeyed to the west on their mission to the American Indians, they passed through the Kirtland, Ohio, area. At Mentor, a small town north of Kirtland, Cowdery and Pratt called on the latter’s friend and former associate, Sidney Rigdon. As this letter reports, Pratt and his fellow missionaries found Rigdon and his parishioners ripe for the harvest. In just two weeks, Rigdon and over fifty of his followers embraced Mormonism.

This letter is recorded in a copy of Newel Knight’s autobiography dated ca. 1870-1871. The scribe is unknown. JS and John Whitmer originally incorporated this letter into an epistle-like communication they sent to church members at Colesville, New York, on 2 December 1830, addressed as “Beloved in the Lord.”

Oliver Cowdery, letter, Kirtland, OH, to “Our Beloved Brethren,” [JS and others], [Fayette, NY], 12 Nov. 1830; unknown handwriting; in Newel Knight, Autobiography, pp. 207–210; private possession.