JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, created 4 July 1845–4 Feb. 1846 and 1 July 1854–2 May 1855; handwriting of , Robert L. Campbell, and ; 275 pages, plus 6 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the fourth volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This fourth volume covers the period from 1 Aug. 1842 to 1 July 1843; the remaining five volumes, labeled A-1, B-1, C-1, E-1 and F-1, continue through 8 Aug. 1844.
Historical Introduction
History, 1838–1856, volume D-1, constitutes the fourth of six volumes documenting the life of Joseph Smith and the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The series is also known as the Manuscript History of the Church and was originally published serially from 1842 to 1846 and 1851 to 1858 as the “History of Joseph Smith” in the Times and Seasons and Deseret News. This volume contains JS’s history from 1 August 1842 to 1 July 1843, and it was compiled after JS’s death.
The material recorded in volume D-1 was initially compiled under the direction of church historian , with the assistance of . After Richards’s death in 1854, continued work on the volume as the new church historian with Bullock’s continued help. The process adopted by Richards and Bullock involved Richards creating a set of rough draft notes and Bullock transcribing the notes into the volume along with the text of designated documents (such as letters and meeting minutes). George A. Smith followed a similar pattern, though he dictated the draft notes to Bullock and other scribes.
According to the Church Historian’s Office journal, finished the third volume of the series, volume C-1, on Thursday, 3 July 1845, in , Illinois. He began work on the fourth volume, D-1, the next day, beginning on page 1362 with the entry for 1 August 1842. (The pages in volumes A-1–E-1 were numbered consecutively.) Bullock continued work on the record, drawing upon ’s draft notes, until 3 February 1846—the day before D-1 and the other volumes were packed up in preparation for the Latter-day Saints’ exodus from Nauvoo. At that point he had reached page 1485 with the entry for 28 February 1843. Subsequently, apparently after the collection had arrived in Utah, Bullock added a brief comment beneath that entry: “end of W. Richard’s compiling[.] the books packed Feby. 4— 1846 in Nauvoo[.] Miles Romney— present. The records carried by T Bullock from Winter Quarters to G S L [Great Salt Lake] City in 1848.”
A notation at the top of page 1486 reports that “the books were unpacked in G. S. L. City by and . June 7. 1853. J[onathan] Grimshaw & Miles Romney present.” Vertically, in the margin, is a poignant epitaph: “Decr. 1 1853 Dr. Willard Richards wrote one line of History—being sick at the time—and was never able to do any more.” With Richards’s death on 11 March 1854, JS’s cousin was called to the office of church historian. The notation on the top of page 1486 acknowledges this change in officers, noting, “commencement of George A. Smith’s compiling as Historian. April 13. 1854[.] [C]ommenced copying July 1. 1854.” From mid-April to the end of June 1854, George A. Smith, in collaboration with Thomas Bullock, worked on the draft notes for the history before a new scribe, , resumed writing in D-1 on 1 July 1854, beginning with the entry for 1 March 1843.
continued transcribing intermittently into the late fall of 1854, when he was assigned other duties in the Historian’s Office. He had reached page 1546 with the entry for 5 May 1843. Work resumed in February 1855 in the hand of Robert L. Campbell, recently returned from a mission. He concluded volume D-1 on the morning of 2 May 1855 and began writing in E-1 that afternoon.
The 274 pages of volume D-1 contain a record of much that is significant in the life of JS and the development of the church he founded. Among these events are
• JS’s 6 August 1842 prophecy that the Saints would become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.
•JS’s 8 August 1842 arrest on a warrant for being “an accessory before the fact” to an attack on former governor .
• ’s 17 August 1842 letter to governor , pleading for the humane treatment of her husband and family.
•JS’s 1 and 6 September 1842 instructions regarding the proper procedures for performing baptisms for the dead.
• JS’s 15 November 1842 “Valedictory” as he stepped down as editor of the Times and Seasons.
• The 26 December 1842 arrest of JS on a “proclamation” by former governor , and subsequent hearing in , Illinois.
• The 7 February 1843 recovery of a volume of patriarchal blessings given by , which had been stolen in , Missouri.
• JS’s 21 February 1843 remarks regarding the and .
• JS’s 2 April 1843 instruction at , Illinois, on the nature of God and other subjects.
• JS’s 16 May 1843 remarks at , Illinois, on the everlasting covenant and eternal marriage.
• The account of JS’s 23 June 1843 arrest and his hearing the following week at .
<February 21> with a man who had whipped his Wife: it was a hard contest, but I still remembered he had whipt his Wife; and this encouraged me, and I whipt him till he <said he> had enough. Brethren hurry on to the thus, and you will build it. You will then be on Pisgah’s top and the great men will come from the four quarters of the Earth, will pile their Gold and Silver into it, till you are weary of receiving them, and if you are not careful you will be lifted up and become full of pride, and will be ready to destroy yourselves, and they will cover up and cloke all your former sins, and according to the Scriptures will hide a multitude of sins, and you [HC 5:285] will shine forth fair as the Sun, clear as the Moon, and you will become terrible like an army with banners— I will say to those who have labored on the and cannot get their pay, be patient; and if any man take the means which are set apart for the building of that , and apply it to his own use, let him, for he will destroy himself. If any man is hungry let him come to me, and I will feed him at my table. If any are hungry or naked, dont take away the brick, timber, and materials that belong to that , but come and tell me, and I will divide with them to the last morsel, and then if the man is not satisfied I will kick his backside.
There is a great noise in the and many are saying there cannot be so much smoke without some fire. Well, be it so, if the Stories about Joe Smith are true, then the Stories of are true about the Ladies of , and he says that the Ladies Relief Society are all organized of those who are to be Wives of Joe Smith. Ladies you know whether this is true or not. It is of no use living among hogs without a snout— this biting and devouring each other I cannot <endure,> away with it. For God’s sake stop it.
There is one thing more I wish to speak about, and that is, political economy. It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is <un>sound. Tis right politically, for a man who has influence to use it as well as for a man who has no influence to use his: from henceforth I will maintain all the influence I can get. In relation to Politics I will speak as a Man; but in relation to religion I will speak in authority: if a man lifts a dagger to kill me I will lift my tongue— When I last preached, I heard such a groaning I thought of the Paddys Eel: when he tried to kill him he could not contrive any better way to do it, so he put it in the Water to drown him, and as he began to come to, “see” said he “what pain he is in, how he wiggles his tail.” So it is with the Nation, the banks are failing, and it is out privilege to say what a currency we want, we want Gold and Silver to build the and , we want your old nose rings and finger rings and brass kettles no longer; if you have old rags, watches, guns &c go and peddle them off and bring the hard metal, and if we will do this by popular opinion we shall have a sound currency. Send home all bank notes, and take no more paper money: let every man write <back to> his Neighbor before he starts, for him to exchange his property for Gold and Silver that he may fulfil the Scriptures and come up to Zion bringing his Gold and Silver with him. I have contemplated these things a long time; but the time had not come for me to speak of them till now. I would not do as the Committee have done; [HC 5:286] sell Stock for an old Store House where all the people who <tried to> live, <in it> died; and put that stock into a man’s hands to go East and purchase rags to come here and build up mammoth bones with.
As a political man in the name of Old Joe Smith, I command the Committee not to sell Stock in the without the Gold or Silver. We must excuse [p. 1475]