JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, created 1 Oct. 1843–24 Feb. 1845; handwriting of and ; 297 pages, plus 10 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the second volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This second volume covers the period from 1 Sept. 1834 to 2 Nov. 1838; the subsequent four volumes, labeled C-1 through F-1, continue through 8 Aug. 1844.
Historical Introduction
This document, volume B-1, is the second of the six volumes of the “Manuscript History of the Church.” The collection was compiled over the span of seventeen years, 1838 to 1856. The narrative in volume B-1 begins with the entry for 1 September 1834, just after the conclusion of the Camp of Israel (later called Zion’s Camp), and continues to 2 November 1838, when JS was interned as a prisoner of war at , Missouri. For a fuller discussion of the entire six-volume work, see the general introduction to the history.
, serving as JS’s “private secretary and historian,” completed the account of JS’s history contained in volume A-1 in August 1843. It covered the period from JS’s birth in 1805 through the aftermath of the Camp of Israel in August 1834. When work resumed on the history on 1 October 1843, Richards started a new volume, eventually designated B-1.
At the time of JS’s death in June 1844, the account had been advanced to 5 August 1838, on page 812 of volume B-1. ’s poor health led to the curtailment of work on B-1 for several months, until 11 December 1844. On that date, Richards and , assisted by , resumed gathering the records and reports needed to draft the history. Richards then composed and drafted roughed-out notes while Thomas Bullock compiled the text of the history and inscribed it in B-1. They completed their work on the volume on or about 24 February 1845. Richards, , and Jonathan Grimshaw later added ten pages of “Addenda,” which provided notes, extensive revisions, or additional text to be inserted in the original manuscript where indicated.
Though JS did not dictate or revise any of the text recorded in B-1, and chose to maintain the first-person, chronological narrative format established in A-1 as if JS were the author. They drew from a variety of primary and secondary sources including JS’s diaries and letters, minutes of meetings, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, church and other periodicals, reports of JS’s discourses, and the reminiscences and recollections of church members. As was the case with A-1, after JS’s death, , , , and others modified and corrected the manuscript as they reviewed material before its eventual publication.
Beginning in March 1842 the church’s Nauvoo periodical, the Times and Seasons, began publishing the narrative as the “History of Joseph Smith.” It was also published in England in the church periodical the Millennial Star beginning in June 1842. Once a press was established in Utah and the Deseret News began publication, the “History of Joseph Smith” once more appeared in print in serialized form. Beginning with the November 1851 issue, the narrative picked up where the Times and Seasons had left off over five years earlier.
The narrative recorded in B-1 continued the story of JS’s life as the prophet and president of the church he labored to establish. The account encompasses significant developments in the church’s two centers at that time—, Ohio, and northwest —during a four-year-span. Critical events included the organization of the Quorums of the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy, the dedication of the House of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio, the establishment of the Kirtland Safety Society, dissension and apostasy in Kirtland and Missouri, the first mission to England, JS’s flight from Kirtland to Missouri in the winter of 1838, the Saints’ exodus from Kirtland later that year, the disciplining of the Missouri presidency, and the outbreak of the Missouri War and arrest of JS. Thus, B-1 provides substantial detail regarding a significant period of church expansion and transition as well as travail.
<October 29> States of the Republic of North America, where the Constitution declares that “every man shall have the privilege of worshipping Godaccording to the dictates of his own conscience”, and this was all the offence the Saints had been guilty of.
And here I would state that while the evil Spirits were raging up and down in the to raise Mobs against the “Mormons” Satan himself was no less busy in striving to stir up mischief in the Camp of the Saints; and among the most < and his Danites> conspicuous of his willing devotees was one Doctor , who had [HC 3:178] been in the Church but a short time, and who, although he had generally behaved with a tolerable degree of external decorum, was secretly aspiring to be the greatest of the great, and become the leader of the people. This was his pride, and his folly, but as he had no hopes of accomplishing it, by gaining the hearts of the people in open strife, he watched his opportunity with the brethren, at a time when mobs had oppressed, robbed, whipped, burned, plundered and slain till— forbearance seemed no longer a virtue; and nothing but the grace of God without measure could support men under such trials, To form a secret combination by which he might rise a mighty conqueror, at the expenceof theoverthrowof the Church. And this he tried to accomplish by his smooth, flattering, and winning speeches, which he frequently made, to his associates, while his Lodge room was well guarded by some of his pupils, ready to give him the wink on the approach of any one, who would not approve of his measures. In this situation, he stated that he had the sanction of the heads of the Church for what he was about to do, and by his smiles and flattery persuaded them to believe it, and— proceeded to administer to the few under his control an Oath binding them to everlasting Secrecy to every thing which should be communicated to them, by himself. Thus
initiated members into his Lodge <band> firmly binding them by all that was sacred, in the protecting each other in all things that was lawful: and was careful to picture out a great glory that was then hovring over the Church and would soon burst upon the Saints as a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, and would soon unveil the slumbering mysteries of Heaven, which would gladden the hearts and arouse the stupid Spirits of the Saints of the latter day, and fill their hearts with that love which is unspeakable and full of glory.
And arm them with power that the gates of hell could not prevail against them, and would often affirm to his Company that the principle men of the Church had put him [HC 3:179] forward as a spokesman and a leader of this band which he named Danites; Thus he duped many which gave him the opportunity to figuring largely. He held his Meetings daily and carried on his work of Craft in great haste to prevent a mature reflection upon the matter, and had them bound under the penalties of death to keep the secrets and certain signs which they had to know each other by, by day and night. After those performances he held meetings to organize his men into companies of tens and fifties, appointing a captain over each Company. After this organization he went on to teach them their duty in compliance to the orders of their Captains— he then called his captains together and taught them in a secluded place as follows.
“My brethren, as you have been chosen to be our leading men, our Captains to rule over this last Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who have been organized after the ancient Order— I have called upon you here to day to teach you, and instruct you, in the things that pertain to your duty, and to shew you what your privileges are, and what they soon will be. Know ye not Brethren, that it soon will be your privileges to take your respective Companies, and go out on a scout on the borders of the Settlements and take to yourselves spoils of the goods of the ungodly Gentiles; for it is written the riches of the Gentiles shall be consecrated to my people the house of Israel:— and thus waste away the Gentiles by robbing and plundering them of their property, and in this way we will build up the Kingdom of God, and roll forth the little stone that Daniel saw cut out off the Mountain without hands until it shall fill the whole Earth. For this is the very way that God destines to build up His [p. 843]