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27466
Journal, 1832–1834
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November 30th 1830 [1832] this day
returned home to Kirtla nd found all
well to the Joy and satisfaction of my soul on my return home
stopped at Mr Kings5
bore testmony to him and Family &c—
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More InfoPossibly David King,
who owned property in Chester
Township, which bordered Kirtland on the south.
(Geauga Co.,
OH, Duplicate Tax Records: 1816–1850, Tax Record for 1831, p. 31, microfilm 506,576; Tax Record for 1832, p. 35; Tax Record for 1833, p. 32,
microfilm 506,577, U.S. and Canada Record Collection,
FHL.)
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U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
December 1th
<bore testimony to mr
Gilmore> wrote and cor rected revelations
&c6
In preparation for the publication of the
Book of Commandments (a compilation of JS’s revelations), a church
conference in November 1831 charged
JS to “correct those errors or mistakes which he m[a]y discover by
the holy Spirit while reviewing the revelations & commandments
& also the fulness of the scriptures.”
(Minute Book
2, 8 Nov. 1831; see
also
30 Apr.
1832; and
JS, Hyrum
[Hiram, OH], to William W. Phelps, Zion [Independence], MO,
31 July 1832, JS Collection,
CHL.)
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A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
December 2th the sabath
went to went to meeting &c
December 3d
ordaind
Brothe[r]
Packherd [Noah
Packard] with my own hands7
also Brother umpry [Solomon Humphrey Jr.] came
to see me from the East & braught news from Brother
Lyman Johnson and Orson
Pratt8
&c. also held a
conference in the Evening Br Jese and Mogan and William Mclelen [William E. McLellin] was
excommunicated from the church &c—9
[p. 3]
The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...
View Glossary7 May 1796–17 Feb. 1860. Farmer, surveyor, miner. Born at Plainfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Noah Packard and Molly Hamblin. Moved to Parkman, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1817. Married Sophia Bundy, 29 June 1820, at Parkman. Baptized into LDS church by...
View Full BioA practice in which individuals place their hands upon a person to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost; ordain to an office or calling; or confer other power, authority, or blessings, often as part of an ordinance. The Book of Mormon explained that ecclesiastical...
View GlossaryJS ordained Packard a priest at a conference of elders.
(Minute Book
1, 3 Dec.
1832.)
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Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
23 Sept. 1775–Sept. 1834. Born in Simsbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Solomon Humphrey and Lucy Case. Moved to Burlington, Hartford Co., ca. 1785. Married Ursula Andrews, at Hartford Co. Moved to Irasburg, Orleans Co., Vermont, by 1800; to Glover,...
View Full Bio24 Oct. 1811–20 Dec. 1859. Merchant, lawyer, hotelier. Born at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of John Johnson and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs. Moved to Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, Mar. 1818. Baptized into LDS church by Sidney Rigdon, Feb. 1831. Ordained an elder...
View Full Bio19 Sept. 1811–3 Oct. 1881. Farmer, writer, teacher, merchant, surveyor, editor, publisher. Born at Hartford, Washington Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Moved to New Lebanon, Columbia Co., New York, 1814; to Canaan, Columbia Co., fall...
View Full BioEarlier
revelations assigned Humphrey, Johnson, and Pratt to proselytizing missions, with Johnson and Pratt
as partners. (Revelation, 6 June 1831, in Book of Commandments 54:35 [D&C 52:35]; Revelation, 25 Jan. 1832, in Doctrine and Covenants 87:3, 1835 ed. [D&C 75:14].)
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A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...
View Glossary18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into LDS church by Hyrum Smith...
View Full Bio“Jese” is
probably Jesse Gause, JS’s counselor in the church
presidency, who “denied the faith” sometime earlier in 1832.a JS became
increasingly frustrated with McLellin throughout
1832. After McLellin failed to
carry out a mission in the eastern states with JS’s brother Samuel, a January 1832 revelation rebuked him
for the “murmurings of his heart” and instructed him to serve a
mission in the southern states,b which he abandoned as well.c
Soon thereafter, JS rebuked the Missouri
Latter-day Saints for accepting McLellin into their “fellowship
& communion.”d
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aMinute Book 2, 30 Apr. 1832; see also Quinn, “Jesse Gause,” 492.
bRevelation, 25 Jan. 1832, in Doctrine and Covenants 87:2, 1835 ed. [D&C 75:6–8].
cJS, Greenville, IN, to Emma Smith, Kirtland, OH, 6 June 1832, Manuscripts about Mormons at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, Chicago Historical Society.
dJS, Hyrum [Hiram, OH], to William W. Phelps, Zion [Independence], MO, 31 July 1832, JS Collection, CHL.
Minute Book 2 / “The Conference Minutes and Record Book of Christ’s Church of Latter Day Saints,” 1838, 1842, 1844. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
Quinn, D. Michael. “Jesse Gause: Joseph Smith’s Little-Known Counselor.” BYU Studies 23 (Fall 1983): 487–493.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Manuscripts about Mormons at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, ca. 1832–1954. Microfilm. Chicago Historical Society.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
By
late November 1832, when this
record began, JS had resided in Ohio for nearly two years. Most
members of the fledgling church in New York had
migrated to Ohio in spring
1831; many had subsequently moved on to Jackson County,
Missouri, where they sought to establish a latter-day Zion. As
headquarters for the church, Kirtland, Ohio, served as a base for proselytizing
missions ranging as far afield as Upper
Canada (now Ontario) and the
eastern United States. Meanwhile,
attempts to create historical records had failed to keep pace with
the development of the church. JS had recently prepared a six-page
personal history. Now he began keeping a personal journal,
documenting his experiences as they occurred and thereby paving the
way for writing a more extensive history. Journal writing was a new
genre for JS, and in this record, he employed a personal tone quite
different from the prophetic voice of his scriptural translations
and revelations.
French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoLocated in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
More InfoSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoLocated ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More InfoJS’s first journal begins 27 November 1832 and ends 5 December 1834, with entries
spread unevenly over this period of just over two years. After
titling this journal “Joseph Smith Jrs Book for Record,” JS recorded
his ambitious intention “to keep a minute acount of all things that
come under my obsevation &c.” However, reality failed to match
his expectations. From the outset, the level of detail JS preserved
in this record was limited. His pattern of journalizing varied
widely. After recording only nine more entries, JS abandoned journal
keeping for ten months. Yet his original aspiration to keep a
journal occasionally yielded significant information. Sporadic
notations followed, with three instances of sustained writing
covering a consecutive week or more in the remainder of the journal.
The events described in these passages are a proselytizing mission
to Canada in October
1833, a fund-raising and recruitment mission to
Pennsylvania and New York in March 1834 to prepare for an
expedition to help the Mormons in Missouri, and
activities in Ohio in April 1834 just before the expedition departed. The
journal’s most consistent daily entries cover the period from late February to late
April 1834. The entire two-year record contains fewer
than one hundred entries. It skips over many key developments but
provides rare glimpses into the lives of JS and the other leaders of
the church during these formative years.
Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
More InfoArea acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoFrench explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoDespite its brevity, this first
journal contains more of JS’s handwriting than
do any of his other journals. Almost half of the entries in the
journal were written either entirely or primarily by JS himself;
some of the remainder were apparently dictated. His openly expressed
hopes and concerns, prayers and blessings, and observations on his
own state of mind are a rich source of insight into spiritual and
emotional dimensions of JS’s personality.
This journal illustrates how
closely leadership in the early church was intertwined with record
keeping. Trusted associates who served as scribes for JS for key projects in the earliest
years soon found themselves called to join JS in church leadership,
with continued scribal responsibilities. Oliver Cowdery, primary scribe for JS’s Book of Mormon
translation, served as second elder beginning in April 1830 and wrote some of the
entries for this first journal. Sidney Rigdon, scribe for
JS’s “translation,” or revision, of the Bible beginning in December 1830, served as a counselor
to JS beginning in March 1832 and
also wrote entries in this journal. Frederick G. Williams, a scribe
for JS beginning 20 July
18321
and a
counselor to JS by January
1833,2
recorded JS’s
concluding revisions to the Bible from July 1832 to July 1833 as well as some
entries beginning in November 1833
in this journal. Some of the journal’s most revealing moments are
JS’s candid evaluations of associates Cowdery, Rigdon, and Williams
in connection with blessings he pronounced upon them in November and December 1833.
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
View Full Bio19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
View Full Bio28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
View Full BioFrederick
G. Williams, Statement, no date, Frederick G. Williams,
Papers,
CHL.
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Williams, Frederick G. Papers, 1834–1842. CHL.
Minute
Book 1, 22 Jan.
1833.
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Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
The journal’s first ten
entries, covering 27
November to 6 December 1832 and all written in JS’s handwriting, describe a trip to
visit family, a happy return, receipt of a new revelation, and
translation work. JS’s state of mind is apparent in phrases such as
“my mind is calm and serene,” “found all well to the Joy and
satisfaction of my soul on my return,” and “Oh Lord deliver thy
servent out of temtations.”3
Yet the
seemingly unhurried introspection of these first entries gives way
to ten months of silence, a period during which JS became
increasingly caught up in church leadership activities.
Entries
for 28 and 30 Nov. 1832; 4 Dec.
1832.
Comprehensive Works Cited
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Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL.
Revelation persistently nudged
JS and his fellow believers toward
building communities with a central focus on education and spiritual
empowerment. In late
December 1832, less than four weeks after this journal
lapsed into silence, a new revelation called for a “solemn assembly”
of the lay ministry, amplifying a promise in a revelation of January 1831 that in Ohio the Latter-day Saints would
be “endowed with power from on high.” In preparation for this
experience, they were to receive training in spiritual and temporal
affairs and a ritual “washing of feet” in a “house of God.”4
A “School of the
Prophets” began in January 1833, and
in April land was purchased on which
to build a structure that would be called the House of the Lord. A subsequent revelation called for the
Saints to use this temple as the central reference point around
which to develop a substantial community to be known as “the city of
the stake of Zion.”5
As for Zion itself, on 25 June 1833 JS and his associates sent plans to church
leaders in Jackson County,
Missouri, envisioning the purchase of new lands and the expansion of
Mormon settlement there, building outward from a cluster of
centrally located temples.6
French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoRevelation, 2 Jan. 1831, in Book of Commandments 40:28 [D&C 38:32]; Revelation, 27 and 28 Dec. 1832 and 3 Jan. 1833, in Doctrine and Covenants 7:19–23, 36–46, 1835 ed. [D&C 88:70–84, 117–141].
Comprehensive Works Cited
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A Book of Commandments, for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized according to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion [Independence], MO: W. W. Phelps, 1833. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
JS revelation of Jan. 1831 directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” JS Revelation of Dec. 1832 directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS Revelation of 1 June 1833 chastened Saints...
More InfoRevelation, 2 Aug. 1833–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 83:1, 1835 ed. [D&C 94:1].
Comprehensive Works Cited
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Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoPlat of
City of Zion, 1833,
CHL.
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Plat of City of Zion, 1833. CHL.
But by the time the plans
arrived in Jackson County,
Zion’s future looked bleak. Negotiations in mid-July
between Mormon settlers and their unwilling neighbors broke down,
and violence erupted. With the 9 August
1833 arrival of Oliver Cowdery in Ohio from Missouri, JS learned for the first time that
twelve hundred Jackson County Saints would be forced from their
homes by spring
1834. JS dispatched Orson Hyde and John Gould to Missouri to advise the Saints.7
Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More Info3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
View Full BioFrench explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...
More InfoArea acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More Info8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...
View Full Bio21 Dec. 1784–25 June 1855. Pastor, farmer. Born in New Hampshire. Married first Oliva Swanson of Massachusetts. Resided at Portsmouth, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire, 1808. Lived in Vermont. Moved to northern Pennsylvania, 1817. Served as minister in Freewill...
View Full BioJohn
Whitmer, Independence, MO, to JS and Oliver Cowdery,
[Kirtland, OH], 29 July 1833, in JS Letterbook 2, pp.
52–55;
Oliver
Cowdery with JS postscript, Kirtland Mills, OH, to
[William W. Phelps] et al., [Independence, MO], 10 Aug.
1833, CHL;
Knight,
Autobiography,
39.
Comprehensive Works Cited
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JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection. CHL.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letter with Joseph Smith postscript, Kirtland Mills, OH, to [William W. Phelps, John Whitmer, Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley, John Corrill, and Sidney Gilbert], [Independence, MO], 10 Aug. 1833. CHL.
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL.
When journal keeping resumed on
4 October 1833, much had
changed for JS and his followers. The impending
eviction of the Jackson County
Latter-day Saints and construction of the House of the Lord in Kirtland loom in the background of subsequent journal
entries. In October 1833, JS and
Sidney Rigdon responded to a request
from Freeman Nickerson, a Mormon
visiting from New York, to join him in
proselytizing family members in Canada. JS
and Rigdon recorded in this journal their monthlong trip. Three
weeks after their return, the journal first mentions explicitly the
Saints’ Missouri difficulties: JS
learned on 25 November 1833 of
the vigilante expulsion of the Mormons in Jackson County that
month—earlier than the agreed-upon departure—following a series of
violent confrontations. Many crossed the Missouri River and found temporary refuge in nearby Clay County.
Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoJS revelation of Jan. 1831 directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” JS Revelation of Dec. 1832 directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS Revelation of 1 June 1833 chastened Saints...
More InfoLocated ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More Info19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
View Full Bio5 Feb. 1779–22 Jan. 1847. Seaman. Born at South Dennis, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts. Son of Eleazer Nickerson and Thankful Chase. Moved to Cavendish, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1800. Married Huldah Chapman, 19 Jan. 1801, at Cavendish. Served as officer in Vermont...
View Full BioLocated in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
More InfoArea acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoOne of longest rivers in North America, in excess of 3,000 miles. From headwaters in Montana to confluence with Mississippi near Saint Louis, Missouri river drains 580,000 square miles (about one-sixth of continental U.S.). Explored by Lewis and Clark, 1804...
More InfoSettled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...
More InfoMost of the subsequent entries
of this journal involve either direct or indirect responses to the
Missouri problems. By December 1833, the Latter-day
Saints had set up a printing press in Kirtland to resume
publication efforts that had been halted by the destruction of their
print shop in Missouri. A February
1834 revelation instructed the Saints to undertake a
paramilitary expedition intended to help the Mormon refugees from
Jackson County
return to their homes. JS and Parley P. Pratt were one of four pairs
of men directed to travel from Kirtland to various locations to
solicit volunteers and donations in support of the effort.8
Journal
entries cover the monthlong trip of JS and Pratt through
northeastern Pennsylvania and western New York. JS returned from this
mission at the end of March, just in
time for the opening of a term of the Geauga County Court
of Common Pleas. There he testified in a trial against Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, an
excommunicant who had threatened his life. Following the trial, JS
spent the rest of April preparing
for the march to Missouri, which commenced in early May.
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoLocated ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More InfoSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More Info12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother to acquire land, 1823. Affiliated...
View Full BioRevelation, 24 Feb. 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 101, 1844 ed. [D&C 103].
Comprehensive Works Cited
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The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith. 2nd ed. Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1844. Selections also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
More InfoLocated in northeastern Ohio, south of Lake Erie. Rivers in area include Grand, Chagrin, and Cuyahoga. Settled mostly by New Englanders, beginning 1798. Formed from Trumbull Co., 1 Mar. 1806. Chardon established as county seat, 1808. Population in 1830 about...
More Info3 Feb. 1809–16 June 1883. Clergyman, farmer. Born at Chittenden Co., Vermont. “Doctor” was his given name. Preacher for Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamestown, Chautauque Co., New York. Baptized into LDS church, 1832/1833, at Jamestown. Ordained an elder...
View Full BioJS made no journal entries during the
expedition to Missouri. The episode is
manifest in the journal as a half page of blank space, almost as if
he intended to reserve the space for an entry later on. Although
Missouri governor Daniel Dunklin acknowledged the legal
right of the Mormons to their Jackson
County property, he would not intervene. Based on
statements by Dunklin’s attorney general, Robert
Wells, the Mormons mistakenly assumed that Dunklin
was willing to commit state militia to escort them back to Jackson
County, and the expedition—known as the “Camp of Israel” and later as “Zion’s Camp” Comment: After this volume was published, the Smith Papers staff decided to use “Camp of Israel”, a contemporaneous term, instead of “Zion’s Camp” to refer to the expedition to Missouri. The change will be reflected in future volumes.—marched with
that expectation. As the little army of Mormons neared Missouri,
tensions mounted, and Dunklin sought a compromise. But negotiations
between the Mormons and their former neighbors in Jackson County
failed to resolve major issues that prevented the Mormons’ return to
their Zion.
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More Info14 Jan. 1790–25 July 1844. Farmer, tavern owner, businessman, investor, lawyer, politician. Born near Greenville, Greenville District, South Carolina. Son of Joseph Dunklin Jr. and Sarah Margaret Sullivan. Moved to what became Caldwell Co., Kentucky, 1806...
View Full BioSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoThe volunteers thus halted near
the border of Jackson County,
short of their intended destination. A revelation dated 22 June 1834 counseled the
Latter-day Saints to prepare themselves more thoroughly and declared
that the redemption of Zion must await their empowerment in the House of the Lord at Kirtland. The revelation also directed them to continue
to purchase lands in the vicinity of Jackson County.9
Members of the expedition distributed food and
supplies to the refugee Mormons living in nearby Clay County, and
JS strengthened local church
leadership by appointing a presidency and a “high council”
consisting of twelve men. Meanwhile, about sixty-eight of the
volunteers, including JS, contracted cholera; thirteen died. After
the cholera abated at the end of June, the surviving members were discharged and the
expedition officially ended, having failed in its ostensible
mission.10
In early August,
JS returned to Kirtland amidst criticism about the expedition. There
he faced two heavy financial challenges: to purchase new lands in
Missouri and to finish
construction of the House of the Lord in Kirtland.
Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoJS revelation of Jan. 1831 directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” JS Revelation of Dec. 1832 directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS Revelation of 1 June 1833 chastened Saints...
More InfoLocated ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More InfoRevelation, 22 June 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 102:3, 8, 1844 ed. [D&C 105:9–13,
27–28].
Comprehensive Works Cited
Hide Works Cited
The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith. 2nd ed. Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1844. Selections also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...
More InfoKimball,
“History,” 21–24;
Launius,
Zion’s Camp,
110–155.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Hide Works Cited
Kimball, Heber C . “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL.
Launius, Roger D. Zion’s Camp: Expedition to Missouri, 1834. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1984.
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoJS, “Joseph Smith Jrs
Book for Record,” Journal, Nov. 1832–Dec. 1834;
handwriting of Oliver
Cowdery, JS, Frederick G.
Williams, Parley P.
Pratt, Sidney
Rigdon, Freeman
Nickerson, and six unidentified scribes; 105
pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes redactions and
archival marking.
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
View Full Bio28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
View Full Bio12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother to acquire land, 1823. Affiliated...
View Full Bio19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...
View Full Bio2/12 Apr. 1806–16/14 Sept. 1862. Merchant, farmer. Born at Cavendish, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Freeman Nickerson and Huldah Chapman. Moved to Dayton, Cattaraugus Co., New York, mid 1820s. Moved to Mount Pleasant, Brantford Township, Wentworth Co. (later...
View Full BioPocket-size memorandum
book, 5⅞ x 3¾ x ¼ inches (15 x 10 x 1 cm). The text block
consists of fifty-four leaves measuring 5⅞ x 3⅝ inches (15 x
9 cm). There are four gatherings of six sheets each of
ledger paper. Each sheet is folded so that each gathering
has twelve leaves (twenty-four pages). These pages are ruled
with sixteen blue horizontal lines—now almost entirely
faded—as well as with red vertical lines for recording
financial information. The endpapers consist of pastedowns
on the inside covers and two free flyleaves in both the
front and back. The gatherings are sewn all along on sawn-in
cords. The front and back covers of the journal are
pasteboard. The ledger has a tight-back case binding with a
black calfskin quarter-leather binding. The outside covers
are adorned in schrottel marbled paper, with gray body and
veins of black and blue. The volume originally had three
leather loops—two in the back and one in the front—that were
tipped in between the inside covers and the pastedowns. The
former presence of the front cover loop, no longer extant,
is evident from creasing and staining on the pastedown,
which is now detached. The leather loops and their spacing
allowed for the book to be fastened by inserting a pencil
between all three loops. The vibrant blue veins and the
grain of the marbling, now greatly diminished by water
damage, are also visible under the now loose front
pastedown.
JS wrote “Joseph Smith 1832.<3–4>” on the front
cover in black ink that later turned brown. On the front
pastedown, “Joseph Smith” is written sideways, running
upward near the bottom of the outer edge. Also, “Joseph” is
written sideways, running downward near the top of the
inside of the same page. The handwriting of these
inscriptions has not been identified. The journal entries
begin on the recto of the second leaf (the first flyleaf)
and end on the recto of the back pastedown, making 105
numbered pages. Regular journal entries, inscribed in
various shades of brown (formerly black) ink, continue
through page 93. Pages 94 to 102 are blank except for page
98, which has JS’s name in graphite pencil at the top in
JS’s handwriting. Pages 103–105 record subscriptions, which
were evidently solicited during JS’s 26 February–28
March 1834
New York mission, as
well as a note apparently inscribed on 20 April 1834 in
preparation for the conference held 20–21 April
1834 at Norton, Ohio. The book has suffered from water and
mud damage, evidenced in part by some extremely faded ink on
page 2. Glue from tipping in a damaged leaf has also
obscured several characters in the gutter of page 2.
Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...
More InfoArea first settled, 1814. Formed from Wolf Creek Township, 1818. Reported location of “great Mormon excitement,” 1832–1838. Population in 1830 about 650. Primarily populated by immigrants from New England states. Increased German Pennsylvanian immigration...
More InfoThe journal’s
textual redactions and use marks, in graphite pencil,
were made by later scribes who used the journal to
produce the multivolume manuscript history of the
church. This occurred in Nauvoo, indicating the journal remained in
JS’s possession. The
journal is listed in Nauvoo and early Utah inventories
of church records, indicating continuous custody.1
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...
More InfoHistorian’s Office, “Schedule of Church
Records”;
Historian’s Office, “Historian’s Office
Catalogue,” [7], Catalogs and Inventories,
1846–1904,
CHL;
Johnson, Register of the Joseph
Smith Collection,
7.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Hide Works Cited
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL.
Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.
