Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838
Source Note
, JS, and , Letter, , Caldwell Co., MO, to and , [, Geauga Co., OH], 8 July 1838; copy, [ca. Aug. 1838]; handwriting of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes redaction and docket.
One leaf measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The top, right, and bottom edges of the leaf have the square cut of manufactured paper, whereas the left edge is uneven, suggesting it was cut from a blank book or a larger sheet. The letter includes a redaction in graphite. The letter was folded for filing and docketed in graphite. In various places, the paper has separated at the folds. The document has undergone conservation.
It is not known how or when ’s copy came into the possession of the LDS church. The church’s Historical Department processed the letter as part of the JS Collection in 1973.
Historical Introduction
On 8 July 1838, JS and his counselors in the wrote a letter to and , conveying a revelation JS dictated that morning. The revelation directed Marks and Whitney to relocate from , Ohio, to before winter and then preside over the Saints—with Marks as the of the church in and with Whitney as a in . To expedite their move, the revelation directed , who had recently traveled from Kirtland to , Missouri, to return to Kirtland and continue settling the debts of the First Presidency.
In addition to including the full text of the revelation in the letter, the First Presidency expressed confidence that and would follow the direction in the revelation. The presidency also encouraged all in to migrate to . The letter may have been written on behalf of the First Presidency by , the first signatory.
and apparently received the letter, as the extant copy is in Whitney’s handwriting. Marks and Whitney moved from later in the year but did not reach northwestern before Missouri governor called for the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from the state. As directed, continued his efforts in Kirtland to settle the debts of the First Presidency.
Whitney heard of the expulsion en route to Missouri and therefore waited for a time in St. Louis.aMarks left Kirtland in October, before he could have heard of the expulsion.b They eventually rejoined the Latter-day Saints in Commerce, Illinois, where Marks was appointed president of the stake and Whitney became bishop of the Middle Ward.c
(a[Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney], “A Leaf from an Autobiography,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Nov. 1878, 91. bGeauga Co., OH, Deed Record, 1795–1921, vol. 27, pp. 149–150, 1 Oct. 1838, microfilm 20,242, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Letter from William Perkins, 29 Oct. 1838. cMinutes, 6 May 1839; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30–31.)
Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
and when he falls he shall rise again, for his sacrafice shall be more sacred to me than his increase saith the Lord. Therefor let him come up hither speedily unto the land of & in due time he shall be made a merchant unto my name saith the Lord for the benifit of my people— Therefore let no man let no man despise my servt. but the blessings of my people be on him forever & ever— And again verily I say unto you let all my Servts. in the land of remember the Lord their god & mine also to preserve it holy & to overthrow the money changers in mine own due time saith the Lord
By this you will understand the will of the Lord concerning you & will doubtless act accordingly— It would be wisdom for all the Saints that Come this Summer to come & make an effort to do so as soon it will be better for them If they cannot sel their property let them turn it out on the debts & when the Lord lift us all up they will rise with the rest, but let none think to get property whenever they get <Come> here for there is none for them at present but there will be— There is a note in the hands of Eth◊◊ Spencer it was money borrowd from a man by the name of Colgrove, to put into the B[a]nk if it is possible turn out property to satisfy it, as Spencer is almost dead about it— There need be no fear in the saints coming up here there are provisions or will be in great abundance of all kinds indeed there is a plenty now neither has there been a scarcity at any time since we come
We leave you in the hands of the Lord asking the blessings of salvation to rest upon you
A revelation JS dictated in January 1838 directed faithful church members in Kirtland to “gather themselves together unto Zion.” This revelation was read in the worship services held the day this letter was written to Marks and Whitney. Another JS revelation, from April 1838, expressed the Lord’s will that “the City Far West should be built up spedily, by the gathering of my Saints, and also that other places should be appointed for stakes in the regions round about.” (Revelation, 12 Jan. 1838–C; JS, Journal, 8 July 1838; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:17–18].)
On 24 July 1838, BishopEdward Partridge wrote a letter to Bishop Newel K. Whitney, stating it was unclear when the land in Daviess County, Missouri, would be for sale. Like other settlers in America’s frontier states and territories, the Latter-day Saints in Daviess County intended to utilize the federal law protecting preemption rights when the land eventually came to market. (Edward Partridge, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 24 July 1838, in Reynolds Cahoon, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, 23 July 1838, CHL; Walker, “Mormon Land Rights,” 17–18, 28–34.)
Cahoon, Reynolds, and Edward Partridge. Letter, Far West, MO, to Newel K. Whitney, Kirtland Mills, OH, 23 and 24 July 1838. CHL.
TEXT: Possibly “Ether” or “Ethan”. An Ethan Spencer paid sixty dollars’ worth of Kirtland Safety Society notes to the institution in June 1837. The money may have been a payment for stock—although the stock ledger does not specify that Spencer held any stock—or Spencer may have been returning notes to the society, believing that JS might otherwise be required to redeem the notes. (Kirtland Safety Society, Stock Ledger, 227–228; Historical Introduction to Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837; Staker, “Raising Money in Righteousness,” 248n171.)
Staker, Mark L. “Raising Money in Righteousness.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander Baugh, 143–253. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.
TEXT: Possibly “Colgrave” or “Colgroves”. The reference is possibly to Nathaniel Colgrove of Claridon, Ohio, or Alanson Colgrove of Kingsville, Ohio. (1840 U.S. Census, Claridon, Geauga Co., OH, 180; Ashtabula Co., OH, Census Records, 1811–1835, microfilm 960,607, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
Probably a reference to the Kirtland Safety Society. This direction may have been part of an effort to financially bolster the institution. (See Notice, ca. Late Aug. 1837; and Staker, “Raising Money in Righteousness,” 248n171.)
Staker, Mark L. “Raising Money in Righteousness.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander Baugh, 143–253. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.