Footnotes
See John B. Clark, Richmond, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 10 Nov. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; and Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [9]–[10], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]; see also John B. Clark, Jefferson City, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 29 Nov. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA.
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Footnotes
Ebenezer Robinson, “‘Saints’ Herald,’ Again,” Return (Davis City, IA), Feb. 1890, 218–219.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838; Minutes, 12 Apr. 1838, in JSP, D6:93; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838, in JSP, D6:101, 103.
JSP, D6 / Ashurst-McGee, Mark, David W. Grua, Elizabeth Kuehn, Alexander L. Baugh, and Brenden W. Rensink, eds. Documents, Volume 6: February 1838–August 1839. Vol. 6 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Ronald K. Esplin, Matthew J. Grow, and Matthew C. Godfrey. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2017.
As early as January 1838, Cowdery and Johnson were arranging to leave the county because of their opposition to the actions of church leaders. In early June, Cowdery informed his brothers that he and Johnson were considering relocating to Springfield, Illinois, and starting a law practice there with Warren Parrish, another disaffected Latter-day Saint. In the meantime, however, Cowdery sought to alleviate his debts in Far West, pursuing debt suits and allegedly committing fraudulent activity. (Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 85; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland Mills, OH, 2 June 1838, Lyman Cowdery, Papers, CHL; JSP, D6:85n436; Indictment, July 1838, State of Missouri v. Walter and Cowdery for Forgery [Caldwell Co. Cir. Ct. 1838], in Oliver Cowdery, Petition, 30 Aug. 1838, CHL.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Cowdery, Lyman. Papers, 1834–1858. CHL. MS 3467.
JSP, D6 / Ashurst-McGee, Mark, David W. Grua, Elizabeth Kuehn, Alexander L. Baugh, and Brenden W. Rensink, eds. Documents, Volume 6: February 1838–August 1839. Vol. 6 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Ronald K. Esplin, Matthew J. Grow, and Matthew C. Godfrey. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2017.
Cowdery, Oliver. Petition, 30 Aug. 1838. CHL.
Peck’s narrative implies that the meeting was held sometime during the week prior to Sunday, 17 June 1838, when Rigdon gave a sermon regarding the actions of the excommunicants. (Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 22–23, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 22–23.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
John Corrill, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [29], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes].
JS, Journal, 4–5 June 1838.
JS’s uncle, John Smith, recorded in his journal that he had “met Joseph & Hyrum” at church services in Far West on 17 June. (John Smith, Journal, 17 June 1838.)
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.
See JS, Journal, 4 July 1838.
R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 24–25. Peck’s disaffection from the church was largely motivated by his opposition to the rising militancy among church members, which may have colored his recounting of the speech.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
See Herndon, Unwelcome Americans, 1–22.
Herndon, Ruth Wallis. Unwelcome Americans: Living on the Margin in Early New England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.
Historical Introduction to Warrant, 21 Oct. 1833.
Grimsted, “Rioting in Its Jacksonian Setting,” 361–397.
Grimsted, David. “Rioting in Its Jacksonian Setting.” American Historical Review 77, no. 2 (Apr. 1972): 361–397.
“To His Excellency, Daniel Dunklin,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 114; Grimsted, American Mobbing, 109; see also Historical Introduction to Letter from John Whitmer, 29 July 1833.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Grimsted, David. American Mobbing, 1828–1861: Toward Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, p. 25; Thompson, “Far West Dissenters and the Gamblers at Vicksburg,” 22–23; see also Rothman, Flush Times and Fever Dreams, chaps. 5–6.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Thompson, John E. “The Far West Dissenters and the Gamblers at Vicksburg: An Examination of the Documentary Evidence and Historical Context of Sidney Rigdon’s Salt Sermon.” Restoration 5 (Jan. 1986): 21–27.
Rothman, Joshua D. Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2012.
According to Peck, JS stated he did not “want the brethren to act unlawfully” but then brought up the suicide of Judas in the New Testament and claimed that Judas had actually been hung by the apostle Peter. Peck interpreted this as a “hint” that, combined with Rigdon’s remarks, “created a great excitement and prepared the people to execute anything that should be proposed.” (R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 25–26.)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
The letter also states: “We have solmnly warned you and that in the most determined manner, that if you did not cease that course of wanton abuse of the Citizens of this County that vengence would overtake you sooner or later” (emphasis added).
The letter refers to JS and Rigdon as “two influential men of this place.” It also refers to JS individually in the third-person as “a principal man in this church.” The letter further states: “We wish to remind you that Oliver Cowdry and David Whitmier were among the principal of those who were the means of geathering us to this place by their testimony which they gave concerning the plates of the book of Mormon, that they were shown to them by an Angel which testimony we believe now as much as before you so scandalously disgraced it.” This expression of belief makes little sense coming from JS, who claimed to have had much more experience with the plates of the Book of Mormon than did the other witnesses.
Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [13], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]. Rigdon’s authorship cannot be verified as the original letter is not extant.
Ebenezer Robinson, “‘Saints’ Herald,’ Again,” Return (Davis City, IA), Feb. 1890, 218–219.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
The signatures were copied in the version featured here and reproduced in the Missouri legislature’s 1841 publication of the letter. Although the lists present the names in different orders, the copyist for the featured version evidently copied the first column and then the second column of the first page, followed by the first and the second columns of the second page. Rather than following the order of names in the columns, the typesetter for the legislature’s 1841 printed version apparently reproduced the order of the rows on each page. (Document Containing the Correspondence, 106.)
John Smith, Journal, 16 June 1838.
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.
Ebenezer Robinson, “‘Saints’ Herald,’ Again,” Return (Davis City, IA), Feb. 1890, 219.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Milo Andrus and Ralph Cox may have been interested individuals who were present with others of the early signers during or shortly after the body of the original document was written.
R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 50–51.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Whitmer, Daybook, 19 June 1838.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
Decades later, Ebenezer Robinson recounted that the letter was circulated to Cowdery and the other former church members. In the same reminiscence, Robinson—who had served as a church printer in Kirtland and Far West—recounted printing the Independence Day oration delivered by Sidney Rigdon. In contrast, while Robinson recounted signing the warning-out letter, he made no mention of printing it. (Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return [Davis City, IA], Oct. 1889, 147–148; Ebenezer Robinson, “‘Saints’ Herald,’ Again,” Return, Feb. 1890, 218–219.)
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
The letter was published twice in 1841, first by the Missouri legislature and then by the U.S. Senate. In December 1843, Cowdery referred to “a certain publication, appended to which are many names who are, are [or] were at the time [in 1838], members of the Church of Latter Day Saints, charging myself with being connected with out-laws. I cannot speak definitely of this instrument, as I know nothing of it except what has been related by those who say they have seen it.” (Document Containing the Correspondence, 103–106; Document Showing the Testimony, 1841, 6–9; Oliver Cowdery, Tiffin, OH, to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Nauvoo, IL, 25 Dec. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
JS, Journal, 4 July 1838.
In November 1838, Phelps testified that he “agreed to conform to the rules of the church in all things, knowing I had a good deal of property in the county, & if I went off I should have to leave it.” (William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [87], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes].)
See John B. Clark, Richmond, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 10 Nov. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [9]–[10], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]; and R. Peck to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 123–124.
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
In Clark’s 10 November 1838 letter to Boggs, he indicated that he was forwarding “a copy of a Constitution of one of their societies,” likely referring to the Daughter of Zion constitution. Although Clark did not explicitly refer to the June 1838 letter, a contemporary newspaper article reported that Clark had recovered a “constitution” that included signatures. The constitution was not signed, but the June 1838 letter was, suggesting that the newspaper article, and perhaps Clark, had conflated the two documents. The copies of the constitution and the June 1838 letter housed in the Missouri State Archives are in the same handwriting as other documents connected with Clark, indicating that the copyist was a member of Clark’s staff. (John B. Clark, Richmond, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 10 Nov. 1838, copy; John B. Clark, Jefferson City, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 29 Nov. 1838, copy; Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Letter to the Editor, Missouri Republican [St. Louis], 20 Nov. 1838, [2].)
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.
Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1919.
The copy is interspersed with the copy of Avard’s testimony contained in “Copies of Part of the Evidence Taken in the Examination of the Mormon Prisoners before Judge King,” in the Mormon War Papers.
Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [20], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]; Phelps, Reminiscences, 19. The reference to “some eighty four Mormons” was apparently a miscount, as only eighty-three signatures appear on the copy at the Missouri State Archives.
Phelps, Morris. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 271.
The copy in Avard’s testimony occasionally varies in diction and syntax from the copy in the Missouri State Archives, differences that seem to go beyond copying errors. This suggests one of the copyists took a liberal approach, occasionally revising the text, or that Avard may have had two versions of the letter in his possession when he was arrested in early November 1838.