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Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 23 May 1837

Source Note

, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to JS, , Geauga Co., OH, 23 May 1837. Featured version published in “Parley P. Pratt’s Letter,” Naked Truths about Mormonism, Apr. 1888, p. 4.
The newspaper Naked Truths about Mormonism was published in Oakland, California, by Arthur B. Deming & Co. The featured text comes from vol. 1, no. 2, which is four pages on two conjoined leaves measuring 23½ × 18 inches (60 × 46 cm). Each leaf contains seven columns, with each column measuring 17¼ × 2¼ inches (44 × 6 cm). The featured letter begins in the second column of page 4 and ends in the third column.

Historical Introduction

wrote the letter featured here to JS in desperation over financial matters in , Ohio. Pratt even stood to lose his house. JS had purchased a large amount of land in Kirtland for the use of church members in 1836 and early 1837, a period when land costs increased significantly in Kirtland due to both population growth and inflation. At some point, likely in late 1836 or early 1837, Pratt arranged to purchase three lots of land for $2,000 from JS, and he provided JS with a financial instrument, probably a promissory note, for that amount. In May 1837, when Pratt found himself unable to fulfill this financial obligation, the demanded he forfeit his property.
In April, a month after the death of his first wife, Thankful Halsey Pratt, traveled to and began making plans for a mission to . When this news reached Pratt’s fellow apostles and in , Missouri, they wrote Pratt and insisted that the must be united under Marsh’s leadership. They asked that he delay plans for a foreign mission and requested that he travel to for a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve in late July. Pratt followed their direction and returned to Kirtland in early May, bringing with him Canadian convert , whom he married in Kirtland on 14 May.
Like , JS was absent from for much of April and returned in May 1837. After returning, JS gathered money and other assets in order to pay debts. Around 22 May he apparently transferred Pratt’s promissory note for $2,000 to the Kirtland Safety Society, which thus became responsible for collecting on Pratt’s debt. Pratt noted in his letter that although he had offered to return the land, , secretary for the Safety Society, required Pratt’s home as well as the lot on which it was located. This was not the situation Pratt expected. In his letter, Pratt reminded JS that he had promised Pratt that he “should not be ingured” by the transaction, and Pratt likely saw the financial losses as a betrayal by men he considered his spiritual leaders. According to the letter, other individuals were bound with Pratt for the debt, presumably because they had acted as co-financers in purchasing the land or as sureties on a promissory note.
Fearing the financial ruin of losing his house and land, wrote this letter to JS, threatening to bring charges against him for extortion, covetousness, and taking advantage through religious influence. Pratt never formally made these charges; however, his brother and fellow apostle brought similar charges against JS six days later, on 29 May. On that same day, Parley P. Pratt and four other prominent men in the church were called before the for actions “injurious to the church of God.” Pratt’s discontent with JS over financial matters continued into June 1837, when he gave a discourse criticizing JS and the church before leaving for . While traveling, he met , , and , who were heading to . Marsh persuaded Pratt to return with them. Once he arrived in Kirtland, Pratt reconciled himself with JS. According to Pratt’s autobiography, “I went to brother Joseph Smith in tears, and, with a broken heart and contrite spirit, confessed wherein I had erred in spirit, murmured, or done or said amiss. He frankly forgave me, prayed for me and blessed me.” Pratt also made an acknowledgment of his faults in a Sunday meeting in Kirtland on 9 July, before setting off with his family to proselytize in .
In early 1838, , a leader of the dissenters opposed to JS’s leadership, sent ’s 23 May 1837 letter along with one of his own to Zion’s Watchman, a publication of the New York Wesleyan Society edited by LaRoy Sunderland and Timothy Merritt. Parrish’s letter strongly condemned both JS and , and the editors of Zion’s Watchman printed Pratt’s and Parrish’s letters in the 24 March 1838 issue. Pratt responded to the Zion’s Watchman publication in a letter printed in the August 1838 issue of the Mormon newspaper Elders’ Journal. Pratt acknowledged he was the author of the letter, which he said he wrote intending to injure the feelings of JS and Rigdon. Pratt noted that he wrote it “in great severity and harshness” as a “private admonition,” not intended for public distribution. He further wrote that JS, like other men, was still “liable to errors, and nistakes [mistakes],” and he said he regretted writing the letter and had asked JS and Rigdon for their forgiveness. Pratt concluded his letter in the Elders’ Journal stating, “From 1830 until now, I have had full confidence in the book of Mormon, the Revelations of God to Joseph Smith Jr., and I still esteem both him and President Rigdon, as men of the highest integrity, the most exalted principles of virtue and honor.”
Later that year, Richard Livesey, a Methodist Episcopal minister in , included both ’s and ’s letters from Zion’s Watchman in his pamphlet An Exposure of Mormonism. Pratt learned of this reprinting while in England proselytizing, and he responded with a pamphlet of his own defending himself and the . Another version of the letter exists independent of the Zion’s Watchman publication; it was printed in the 1888 publication Naked Truths about Mormonism, edited by Arthur Deming. This appears to be more complete than the earlier printing, as Deming wrote that the copy of the letter he printed in Naked Truths about Mormonism was “an exact copy of the original” found in the holdings of the Lake County Historical Society.
’s original letter has not been located. Pratt claimed that the letter as published in Zion’s Watchman was “not a true copy” but had been “altered, so as to convey a different idea from the original.” The version printed in Zion’s Watchman appears to have been edited for spelling and punctuation, and it also contained some alterations to the text, most notably the omission of a postscript in which Pratt confirmed his belief in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Deming’s version includes the omitted postscript and what may be original spelling and punctuation errors. It appears to be the most complete extant version of the letter and is therefore the version featured here, but in the absence of the original, there is no way to be certain it is an exact copy as Deming affirmed. Substantive differences between Deming’s 1888 copy and the 1838 Zion’s Watchman version are annotated below.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historical Introduction to Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836.

  2. [2]

    Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, June 1837, 3:521; Backman, Heavens Resound, 139–140; see also Historical Introduction to Minutes, 22 Dec. 1836; Historical Introduction to Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837; and Historical Introduction to Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.

  3. [3]

    No deeds confirm JS’s or Pratt’s involvement in the transaction, probably because Pratt never acquired a deed for the lots, being unable to pay for the land.

  4. [4]

    Pratt, Autobiography, 181–183.

    Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

  5. [5]

    Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten, Far West, MO, to Parley P. Pratt, Toronto, Upper Canada, 10 May 1837, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 62–63.

  6. [6]

    Geauga Co., OH, Probate Court, Marriage Records, 1806–1920, vol. C, p. 220, 14 May 1837, microfilm 873,464, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    By May 1837, JS faced lawsuits on debts relating to land purchased from Timothy Martindale, money borrowed from the Bank of Geauga, goods purchased from the New York firm of Patterson & Patterson, and promissory notes given to Ezra Holmes and Hezekiah Kelley. (Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Martindale v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837]; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Bank of Geauga v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837]; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Holmes v. Dayton et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837]; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Record Book U, pp. 67–69, 86–87, 97–101, 106–108, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH. For information on JS’s absence from Kirtland in April, see Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 20 Apr. 1837; and Notes Receivable from Rigdon, Smith & Co., 22 May 1837.)

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  8. [8]

    The return of land that had been mortgaged or paid through promissory notes was a common settlement when the purchaser could not pay the promised amount. However, in such a case the Kirtland Safety Society would have lost money on the transaction. By requiring Pratt’s home—his improvement on the land—the society would make a small profit. For his part, Pratt requested the seventy-five dollars he had paid on the land transaction. Previous payments would not generally be returned but considered the loss of the purchaser. For similar resolutions of failed transactions, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 20 Apr. 1837; and Ames, Autobiography and Journal, [11]–[12].

    Ames, Ira. Autobiography and Journal, 1858. CHL. MS 6055.

  9. [9]

    Charges against JS Preferred to Bishop’s Council, 29 May 1837.

  10. [10]

    Letter from Abel Lamb and Others, ca. 28 May 1837.

  11. [11]

    Mary Fielding, Kirtland, OH, to Mercy Fielding, [Upper Canada], ca. June 1837, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.

    Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

  12. [12]

    John Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, West Township, Columbiana Co., OH, 28 July 1837, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Mary Fielding, Kirtland, OH, to Mercy Fielding, [Upper Canada], ca. June 1837, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.

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

    Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

  13. [13]

    Pratt, Autobiography, 183–184.

    Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

  14. [14]

    Mary Fielding, Kirtland, OH, to Mercy Fielding Thompson, [Upper Canada], 8 July 1837, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; Pratt, Autobiography, 184.

    Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

    Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

  15. [15]

    It is not clear how Parrish acquired a copy of Pratt’s letter. Even though Pratt later stated it was not intended for publication, he may have circulated it among those individuals in Kirtland who shared his frustrations with JS and Rigdon in the summer of 1837. The letter Parrish sent to Zion’s Watchman first appeared as a letter to the editor of the Painesville (Ohio) Republican, an original copy of which has not been located. (Parley P. Pratt, Kirtland, OH, to JS, 23 May 1837, in Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46; “To the Public,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 50–51.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

    Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.

  16. [16]

    “Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46.

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

  17. [17]

    “To the Public,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 50–51.

    Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.

  18. [18]

    Richard Livesey, Exposure of Mormonism (Preston: J. Livesey, 1838).

    Livesey, Richard. An Exposure of Mormonism, Being a Statement of Facts relating to the Self- Styled “Latter Day Saints,” and the Origin of the Book of Mormon. Preston, England: J. Livesey, 1838.

  19. [19]

    Pratt, Reply, 7.

    Pratt, Parley P. A Reply to Mr. Thomas Taylor’s “Complete Failure,” &c., and Mr. Richard Livesey’s “Mormonism Exposed.” Manchester: R. Thomas, 1840.

  20. [20]

    “Parley P. Pratt’s Letter,” Naked Truths about Mormonism (Oakland, CA), Apr. 1888, 4.

    Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.

  21. [21]

    Arthur Deming, Preface to “Parley P. Pratt’s Letter,” Naked Truths about Mormonism (Oakland, CA), Apr. 1888, 4. A “Lake County Library and Historical Society” was founded in June 1876, but that organization, long discontinued, has no relation to the present-day Lake County Historical Society, which was started in 1936 and has no record of the letter being in their collection. (History of Geauga and Lake Counties, 43.)

    Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.

    History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Williams Brothers, 1878.

  22. [22]

    “To the Public,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 50.

    Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.

  23. [23]

    It is not clear who was involved in making these changes. Parrish may have altered the letter before sending it, or the editors of Zion’s Watchman may have imposed changes to conform with standardized spelling in their publication. Sunderland and Merritt may also have decided to omit the postscript because of its affirmation of the Book of Mormon.

Page 4

, May 23, 1837.
Pres’t J Smith Jr Deare Brother as it is dificult to obtain a personal interview with you at all times By reason of the multitude of Buisiness in which you are engaged you will Excuse my saying In writing what I would otherwise say By word of mouth.
Haveing Long Pondered the Path in which we as a people have been led in regard to our temporal management, I have at Length Become fully convinced that the whole scene of Speculation in which we have Been Engaged is of the Devel; I allude to the covetous Extortionary Speculating Spirit which has reigned in this place for the Last season; which Has given rise to Lying deceiveing and takeing the advantage of ones Nabour [neighbor] and In Short to Every Eavle [evil] work:
And Being as fully convinced that you and ; Both By presept and Example have Been the principle means In Leading this people astray in these particulars and haveing myself Been Led astray and Caught in the same snare By your Example and By false Prophesying and preaching from your mouths; yea haveing done many things Rong [wrong] and plunged myself and family and others well nigh in to distruction, I have awoke to an awful sense of my situation and now resolve to retrace my steps, and to get out of the snare and make restitution as far as I can And now Dear Brother If you are still determined to persue this wicked course untill your self and the shall sink down to hell; I Beseach you at least to have mercy on me and my family and others who are Bound with me for those certain 3 lots which you sold to me at the Extortionary price of $2;000 which never cost you $1:00; for if It stands against me it will rewin [ruin] Myself and a helpless family as well as those Bound with me for yesterday came to me and Informed me that you had drawn the money from the Bank on the obligation you hold against me and that you had Left it to the mercy of the Bank and could not help what ever course they might take to collect it: notwithstanding the most sacred promise on your part that I should not Be ingured [injured] By giveing these writings; I offered him the 3 lots for the writings But he wanted my house and home also; now deare Brother will you take those Lots and give me up the writings and pay me the seventy-five dollars which I paid you on the same or will you taake the advantage of your Nabour Because he is in your Power if you will receive this admonition from one who Loves your Soul and repent of your Extortion and covetiousness in this thing, and make restitution you have my fellowship and Esteem as far as it respects our dealings Between ourselves; But if not I Shall Be under the painful necessity of prefering charges against you, for Extortion, covetousness, and takeing advantage of your Brother By an undue religious influence for it is this kind of influence which Led us to make such kind of trades, in this society, such as saying it was the will of God that Lands Should Bear such a price and many other Prophesyings Preachings and Statements of a like nature.
Yours with respect,
.
P. S. Do not suppose for a moment that I Lack any Confidence in the Book of Mormons or Doctrine and Covenants Nay It is my firm belief in those Records that hinders my Belief In the course we have Been Led of Late. [p. 4]
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Page 4

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 23 May 1837
ID #
5061
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:386–391
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    TEXT: Between the date and the body of the letter is a paragraph by Deming: “The following letter is an exact copy of the original, which is in the possession of the Lake County Historical Society at Painesville, Ohio. P. P. Pratt was a brother of Orson, and was killed in the Indian Territory in 1857 by a man whose wife he had seduced.” For information on Pratt’s murder by Hector McLean, former husband of Eleanor Jane McComb McLean Pratt, one of Parley P. Pratt’s plural wives, see Givens and Grow, Apostle Paul of Mormonism, 361–383.

    Givens, Terryl L., and Matthew J. Grow. Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

  2. [2]

    The Zion’s Watchman instead has “scheme.” (“Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

  3. [3]

    Engaging in uncertain land investments in hopes of making a profit was a reality for most of the western frontier, including Ohio in the mid-1830s. Church members were involved in frequent land transactions, some of which were likely risky investments made to turn a profit. Warren A. Cowdery’s May 1837 editorial in the Messenger and Advocate detailed speculation and inflation in Kirtland: “Real estate rose from one to eight hundred per cent and in many cases more. Men who were not thought worth fifty or an hundred dollars became purchasers to the amount of thousands. Notes, (some cash,) deeds, and mortgages passed and repassed, till all, or nearly all, vainly supposed they had become wealthy.” In April 1837, JS, Hyrum Smith, and Sidney Rigdon each emphasized the need for church members outside of Kirtland to move there and buy the lands for which JS and other church members had gone into debt to acquire for the Saints. Since no records indicate the amounts for which this land was sold, it is impossible to know if the prices were significantly inflated. (Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, June 1837, 3:520–522; Historical Introduction to Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836; Discourse, 6 Apr. 1837. For accounts of speculation occurring among church members in this period, see JS History, vol. B-1, 761; Kimball, “History,” 77–78; Fielding, Journal, 12–13; and Cyrus Smalling, Letter, Kirtland, OH, 10 Mar. 1841, in “Banking and Financiering at Kirtland,” 669.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    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.

    Fielding, Joseph. Journals, 1837–1859. CHL. MS 1567.

    “Banking and Financiering at Kirtland.” Magazine of Western History 11, no. 6 (Apr. 1890): 668–670.

  4. [4]

    Referencing how the spirit of speculation had led members to exploit their neighbors, in a May 1837 editorial, Warren A. Cowdery warned new arrivals in Kirtland to beware of those who would take advantage of their inexperience to sell them land at much higher rates. (Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, May 1837, 3:505–506.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  5. [5]

    The word “hell” is italicized in Zion’s Watchman. (“Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

  6. [6]

    In Zion’s Watchman this amount is written as $100. Pratt considered JS’s treatment of him to be extortion because JS had originally paid much less for the land. The exact lots mentioned by Pratt are not known, but if these were lands for which JS had received the title from Frederick G. Williams or John Johnson, JS may have paid very little. However, if they were sections of land from more recent purchases, JS may have still been paying off the high costs of land and may not have inflated the price as significantly as Pratt claimed. During the height of land transactions in late 1836 and early 1837, the price of lots around the House of the Lord in Kirtland were driven up by demand, and JS may have asked $2,000 for the property due to the inflated land values. The deeds for the three lots mentioned here were not recorded in the deed books for Geauga County. The land transaction may have been voided when Pratt was unable to pay his obligations on the land. (“Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46; Historical Introduction to Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104]; Balance of Account, 23 Apr. 1834; Hyrum Smith, Kirtland, OH, to Charles C. Rich, [Pleasant Grove, IL], 5 Feb. 1837, Charles C. Rich, Collection, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

    Rich, Charles C. Collection, 1832–1908. CHL. MS 889.

  7. [7]

    The Kirtland Safety Society.

  8. [8]

    This likely refers to a promissory note or something similar Pratt gave JS for the debt on the land.

  9. [9]

    In Zion’s Watchman, this is rendered as “SACRED PROMISES.” (“Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

  10. [10]

    “These writings” refer to promissory notes or other financial obligations held by JS.

  11. [11]

    Charges such as those Pratt refers to here against a member of the First Presidency would have been addressed not to the high council but to the bishop’s council for possible action.

  12. [12]

    This postscript was not printed in the Zion’s Watchman version of the letter. (“Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman, 24 Mar. 1838, 46.)

    Zion's Watchman. New York City. 1836–1838.

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