JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. C-1, created 24 Feb. 1845–3 July 1845; handwriting of , , Jonathan Grimshaw, and ; 512 pages, plus 24 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the third volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This third volume covers the period from 2 Nov. 1838 to 31 July 1842; the remaining five volumes, labeled A-1, B-1, D-1, E-1 and F-1, continue through 8 Aug. 1844.
Historical Introduction
This document, “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” is the third of six volumes of the “Manuscript History of the Church” (in The Joseph Smith Papers the “Manuscript History” bears the editorial title “History, 1838–1856”). The completed six-volume collection covers the period from 23 December 1805 to 8 August 1844. The narrative in this volume commences on 2 November 1838 with JS and other church leaders being held prisoner by the “’s forces” at , Missouri, and concludes with the death of Bishop at , Illinois, on 31 July 1842. For a more complete discussion of the entire six-volume work, see the general introduction to this history.
Volume C-1 was created beginning on or just after 24 February 1845 and its narrative was completed by 3 May 1845, although some additional work continued on the volume through 3 July of that year (Richards, Journal, 24 and 28 Feb. 1845; Historian’s Office, Journal, 3 May 1845; 3 and 4 July 1845). It is in the handwriting of and contains 512 pages of primary text, plus 24 pages of addenda. Additional addenda for this volume were created at a later date as a supplementary document and appear in this collection as “History, 1838-1856, volume C-1 Addenda.” Compilers and Thomas Bullock drew heavily from JS’s letters, discourses, and diary entries; meeting minutes; church and other periodicals and journals; and reminiscences, recollections, and letters of church members and other contacts. At JS’s behest, Richards maintained the first-person, chronological-narrative format established in previous volumes, as if JS were the author. , , , and others reviewed and modified the manuscript prior to its eventual publication in the Salt Lake City newspaper Deseret News.
The historical narrative recorded in volume C-1 continued the account of JS’s life as prophet and president of the church. Critical events occurring within the forty-five-month period covered by this text include the Mormon War; subsequent legal trials of church leaders; expulsion of the Saints from Missouri; missionary efforts in by the and others; attempts by JS to obtain federal redress for the Missouri depredations; publication of the LDS Millennial Star in England; the migration of English converts to ; missionary efforts in other nations; the death of church patriarch ; the establishment of the city charter; the commencement of construction of the Nauvoo ; the expedition that facilitated temple construction; the introduction of the doctrine of proxy baptism for deceased persons; the dedicatory prayer by on the Mount of Olives in Palestine; publication of the “Book of Abraham” in the Nauvoo Times and Seasons; publication of the JS history often referred to as the “Wentworth letter;” the organization of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo; and the inception of Nauvoo-era temple endowment ceremonies.
<July 4> who partook with us in prison with merry hearts, as we intended to gain our liberties or be in Paradise before the close of that eventful day. While we were thus employed in prison, the town was alive with troops parading, guns firing, music sounding, and shouts of joy resounding, on every side. In the mean time we wrote the following toast, which was read at their public dinner, with many and long cheers: “The Patriotic and hospitable Citizens of : opposed to tyranny and oppression, and firm to the original principles of Republican Liberty— may they in common with every part of our wide spreading country, long enjoy the blessings which flow from the fountain of American Independence.” Our dinner being ended, our two brethren took leave or us and started for (leaving Mrs. Phelps to still visit with ) they had proceeded a mile or two on the road and then took into the woods, and finally placed their three horses in a thicket within one third of a mile of the prison, and there they waited in anxious suspense till sun down. In the mean time we put on our Coats and Hats and waited for the setting sun. With prayer and supplication for deliverance from this long and tedious bondage, and for a restoration to the Society of our friends and families, we then sung the following lines:
Lord cause their foolish plans to fail,
And let them faint or die,
Our souls would quit this loathsome jail,
And fly to .
——
To join with the embodied Saints,
Who are with freedom blessed,
That only bliss for which we pant,
With them awhile to rest.
——
Give joy for grief— give ease for pain,
Take all our foes away;
But let us find our friends again,
In this eventful day.
This ended the celebration of our National Liberty, but the gaining of our own was the grand achievement now before us. In the mean time, the Sun was setting; the moment arrived, the footsteps of the jailor were heard on the Stairs, every man flew to his feet, and stood near the door— the great door was opened, and our supper handed in through a small hole in the inner door, which still remained locked, but at length the key was turned in order to hand in the pot of Coffee. No [HC 3:400] sooner was the key turned, than the door was jerked open, and in a moment all three of us were out and rushing down the Stairs, through the entry and enter out into the door yard, when [Morris] Phelps cleared himself without injuring the jailor, and all of us leaped several fences, ran through the fields towards the thicket, where we expected to find our friends and horses. In the mean time the town was alarmed, and many [p. 962]