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Discourse, 4 July 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 4 July 1843]. Featured version inscribed [4 July 1843]; handwriting of ; eight pages; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, CHL. Includes docket, notation, and archival markings.
Single gathering of six leaves measuring 3 × 7½ inches (8 × 19 cm) when folded. There are nine horizontal gray lines per page, now faded; the lines run parallel to the gathering fold. On the recto of the first leaf, JS’s scribe inscribed his notes describing JS’s entrance into on 30 June; these notes were later erased. On 4 July, Richards began inscribing JS’s discourse of that date on the recto of the third leaf of the gathering and continued inscribing on both sides of the second leaf and the verso of the first leaf. He then inscribed the recto of the fourth leaf and the verso of the third, after which he inscribed the recto of the fifth leaf and verso of the fourth. After inscribing his notes of the discourse, Richards used two additional lines on the verso of the fourth leaf to describe other aspects of the 4 July celebration. The verso of the fifth leaf and both sides of the sixth leaf are blank. At some point, the gathering was pinned together; the pin was later removed. Bracketed archival notations identifying the date of the minutes and pagination were added likely at the time of cataloging.
The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. Bullock also added a notation. In the mid-twentieth century, the document was included in a miscellaneous minutes collection that was a vestige of the genre-based filing method used by the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) in the first half of the twentieth century. This document genre collection contained many documents that subsequently formed the basis for the General Church Minutes collection that was cataloged in 1994. The document’s dockets and its inclusion within the General Church Minutes collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865. Bullock’s docket on the verso of the first leaf states “June 1843 | Minutes of a meeting.” The notation on the recto of the first leaf, “23 to 30 [blank] 43,” presumably referred to the date span between JS’s arrest on 23 June 1843 and his return to Nauvoo on 30 June.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 1839–1877, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 4 July 1843, at the ’s Independence Day celebration in , Illinois, JS delivered a discourse recounting the Latter-day Saints’ difficulties with the state of over the previous five years. JS gave the discourse three days after the Nauvoo Municipal Court discharged him on a writ of from an arrest warrant issued by governor as part of the effort by Missouri state officials to have JS extradited to stand trial on a charge of treason. On 23 June 1843, Constable of , Illinois, had arrested JS near , Illinois, on Ford’s warrant and transferred custody of JS to Sheriff of , Missouri, the agent authorized to transport JS to Missouri. In Dixon, JS secured legal counsel—, , and —who helped him obtain a writ of habeas corpus, which would allow him to appear before an Illinois judge who could review the legality of JS’s detention. On 26 June, JS, his attorneys, Reynolds, Wilson, and a few others departed Dixon. Their stated destination was , Illinois, to appear before such a judge. However, JS and his attorneys decided to go instead to Nauvoo, where JS appeared before the Nauvoo Municipal Court on a writ of habeas corpus. On 27 June, small groups of the began intercepting the traveling party, with the intent of ensuring that Reynolds did not abscond with JS to Missouri without due process. After JS arrived in Nauvoo, the municipal court discharged him on 1 July 1843, citing the merits of the case and deficiencies in Ford’s warrant.
Following the 1 July 1843 discharge, and went to —the seat of , Illinois—where they made two public allegations against JS. According to , the lawmen claimed that JS “had resisted the law and the Mormons had rescued him.” In addition to making these allegations, Reynolds and Wilson “made some excitement” and “petitioned the to send on an armed force to take” JS. In response, church members sent a petition and other documents to the governor asking him not to take this action. In addition, JS’s attorney sought to counter Reynolds’s claims in Carthage and . On 3 July, a special was held to call missionaries to spread throughout the state to explain what happened during the arrest, the trip from to , and the municipal court proceedings.
Continuing these efforts to influence popular opinion, JS spoke in front of thousands of people on 4 July 1843 at the church’s Independence Day celebration. The event was advertised in the Nauvoo Neighbor, and according to contemporary estimates, as many as fifteen thousand people attended, including nearly a thousand visitors from , Iowa Territory; , Missouri; and , Illinois. Various speakers addressed the crowd throughout the day. JS spoke twice, once briefly in the morning and then again for about a half hour in the evening. According to Latter-day Saint , JS “gave them a history of his sufferings in Missouri how this people has suffered without the shadow of a cause and for no other reason than their desire to do good, to support the law and good order.” JS then described his arrest. believed that JS’s discourse “clearly vindicated his innocence & showed the corruption of his pursueers in a tru light.”
captured rough notes of JS’s discourse in a small booklet, evidently intending to transfer his account into JS’s journal at a later time, likely clarifying rough patches in the process. Although this two-step process was apparently Richards’s usual method of record keeping, the transfer did not occur for this discourse. also made an account of the discourse, which he termed a “synopsis,” likely working from memory or expanding notes into a polished account; any original notes are apparently no longer extant. Both the Richards and Woodruff accounts are featured here. Annotation that appears in Richards’s version of the discourse is not repeated in corresponding locations in Woodruff’s version.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), JS Collection, CHL; Docket Entry, ca. 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55–56; see also Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS for Treason. The warrant is featured with JS’s petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1581–1582; see also Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 24 June 1843. The power of attorney designating Reynolds as the agent responsible to convey JS to Missouri is featured with JS’s petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  3. [3]

    Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

  4. [4]

    “Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1587; Woodruff, Journal, 25 June 1843; Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2]; see also “Part 4: June–July 1843.”

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.

  5. [5]

    Edward Southwick, St. Louis, MO, 12 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 12 July 1843, [2]; Minutes, 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), JS Collection, CHL; Docket Entry, ca. 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55–56.

    Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.

  6. [6]

    Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; see also Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.

  7. [7]

    Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; see also Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.

  8. [8]

    JS, Journal, 3 July 1843.

  9. [9]

    “4th of July Celebration, at Nauvoo,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 28 June 1843, [2].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  10. [10]

    Woodruff, Journal, 4 July 1843; JS, Journal, 4 July 1843; Levi Richards, Journal, 4 July 1843; Clayton, Journal, 4 July 1843; “Trip to Nauvoo on the 4th,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 12 July 1843, [3].

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Richards, Levi. Journals, 1840–1853. Levi Richards, Papers, 1837–1867. CHL. MS 1284, box 1.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  11. [11]

    George Alley, Nauvoo, IL, to Joseph Alley, Lynn, MA, 4 July 1843, George Alley, Letters, microfilm, CHL.

    Alley, George. Letters, 1842–1859. Microfilm. CHL.

  12. [12]

    Woodruff, Journal, 4 July 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  13. [13]

    See Willard Richards, Draft Notes of JS’s Activities, 1842, 1844; and JS, Journal, 4 July 1843.

  14. [14]

    Woodruff, Journal, 4 July 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, 4 July 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards *Discourse, 4 July 1843, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [2]

over 6 mo— 5 6. years ago to from .— prisonr of war as I said but I never was a worriuor [warrior]— buldg home and our farms disburtances [disturbances] by Mob Mormons greatly distressed eastern peoples.— purhsying [purchasing?] land. war murder war. bloodshed no sword pistol. musket I defy the man or woman to testify to my faces Sought opportunities before the highest tribunal.— later arresst could not commit treason. had no comamed [command]— ministers of Ch[r]ist bear & suffer long.— [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 4 July 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards
ID #
2685
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:433–438
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [3]

    In January 1838, JS departed from Ohio, arriving in Far West, Missouri, on 14 March. He maintained a residence in Far West until 31 October, when he was arrested in connection with the conflict between the Latter-day Saints and their opponents. (JS History, vol. B-1, 780; JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 16; Historical Introduction to Receipt from Samuel Musick, 14 July 1838; “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839.”)

  2. [4]

    Wilford Woodruff’s account of this discourse clarifies that JS said he spent most of his brief time in Missouri providing for his family and overseeing the spiritual needs of the church, not commanding troops in the field or engaging in other activities that could be seen as treasonous. JS had defended himself before the Missouri Supreme Court in a petition for habeas corpus. (Petition to George Tompkins, between 9 and 15 Mar. 1839; see also Historical Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason.)

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