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Authorization for John P. Greene, circa 6 May 1839

Source Note

JS, Authorization, for , , Adams Co., IL, [ca. 6 May 1839]. Featured version copied [between 29 May and 30 Oct. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, p. 45; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction

Following a meeting held in , Illinois, on 6 May 1839, JS signed an authorization for , reflecting the conference’s resolution that he travel to “and preside over the there, and in the regions round about.” A was organized in the city in early 1838 by missionary , and subsequent growth in the area required experienced leadership. Greene’s previous appointments in the church prepared him to oversee the church in the eastern . After being in April 1832, Greene presided over branches in and ; served on the , Ohio, ; and proselytized in New York, Ohio, and . He later moved to , Missouri, where he served on the high council. Following the 1838 conflict between church members and other Missourians, he migrated to , where he became a principal liaison between the Saints and the Democratic Association of Quincy, an organization composed of influential non-Mormons who raised money for the indigent Saints.
’s authorization was inscribed by , who also recorded the minutes for the 6 May meeting at which Greene received his appointment. Mulholland began the authorization with a slightly altered version of the resolution inscribed in the meeting minutes. The authorization also includes more information on Greene’s appointment and a description of his character. Additionally, the authorization directs Greene to collect donations to assist Latter-day Saint refugees who recently migrated from . JS, who presided at the 6 May meeting, signed the original authorization, which is apparently not extant. Mulholland inscribed a copy in JS Letterbook 2 sometime between 29 May and 30 October 1839.
In summer and fall 1839, gave public presentations in and on the Saints’ sufferings and raised money for Mormon refugees. Upon his arrival in in August 1839, he met with church members and presented his “letter from the Presidency of the church . . . recommending Elder Green[e] as a man of God, and worthy of all confidence.” The New York Saints sustained Greene as their . At a conference held later that month in , New Jersey, Greene met with representatives of church branches in , New Hampshire, , and . Greene presented to them his authorization from the , and the representatives sustained him as their president.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 6 May 1839.

  2. [2]

    New York City Branch History, [1]; see also Givens and Grow, Parley P. Pratt, 120–129.

    New York City Branch History, no date. In High Priests Quorum Record, 1844–1845. CHL.

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

  3. [3]

    Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1–2; Minutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838; Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, iii–iv, 8–9; Bennett, “Study of the Mormons in Quincy,” 87–91. By November 1839, there were about two hundred Latter-day Saints in New York City and surrounding areas in the state. (New York City Branch History, [6].)

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

    Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

    Bennett, Richard E. “‘Quincy the Home of Our Adoption’: A Study of the Mormons in Quincy, Illinois, 1838–1840.” In A City of Refuge: Quincy, Illinois, edited by Susan Easton Black and Richard E. Bennett, 83–105. Salt Lake City: Millennial Press, 2000.

    New York City Branch History, no date. In High Priests Quorum Record, 1844–1845. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Mulholland copied his own 29 May 1839 letter to Edward Partridge on page 15 of JS Letterbook 2, making that the earliest likely copying date for documents he subsequently copied but that had dates preceding 29 May.

  5. [5]

    Letter from John P. Greene, 30 June 1839; Pratt, Late Persecution of the Church, 159–163.

  6. [6]

    New York City Branch History, [5]; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, Jan. 1840, 1:44; John P. Greene, Monmouth Co., NJ, to Don Carlos Smith and Ebenezer Robinson, Nauvoo, IL, 10 Sept. 1839, in Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:28–29; Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 4.

    New York City Branch History, no date. In High Priests Quorum Record, 1844–1845. CHL.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Authorization for John P. Greene, circa 6 May 1839
Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 45

At a Meeting held by the in the Town of Adams County Ill, on Monday the 6th day of May 1839.
Joseph Smith Jr Presiding
It was unanimously Resolved—
That be appointed to go to the City of and preside among the Saints in that place, and in the regions round about, and regulate the affairs of the Church according to the laws and doctrines of said Church, and he is fully authorized to receive donation moneys, by the liberality of the Saints, for the assistance of the poor among us who have been persecuted and driven from their homes in the State of , And from our long acquaintance with , and with his experience and knowledge of the laws of God the kingdom of God, we do not hesitate to recommend him to the Saints as one in whom they may place the fullest confidence, both as to their Spiritual welfare as well as to the strictest integrity in all temporal concerns, with which he may be intrusted
And we beseech the Brethren in the name of the Lord Jesus to receive this Brother in behalf of the poor with readiness, and to abound unto him in a liberal manner, for “in as much as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me”.
Yours in the bonds of the everlasting gospel though no longer a prisoner in the hands of the Missourians;
And still faithful with the Saints
Joseph Smith Jr
Chairman— &c— [p. 45]
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Source Note

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Page 45

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Authorization for John P. Greene, circa 6 May 1839
ID #
445
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:454–456
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Mulholland

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    This meeting was held in conjunction with a general conference of the church on 4–5 May 1839. (Minutes, 6 May 1839.)

  2. [2]

    For information on Latter-day Saint refugees, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.

  3. [3]

    Matthew 25:40.

  4. [4]

    See Philemon 1:13; and Revelation 14:6.

  5. [5]

    JS was appointed chairman of the general conference held 4–5 May 1839. (Minutes, 4–5 May 1839.)

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