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History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843]
Source Note
Source Note
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
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 .
Footnotes
<March 10> of physicians.
From a close and rigid cross examination of all the witnesses, (save , who was not cross examined,) nothing was elicited to vary the main points of the evidence,—
That , the defendant, was called to administer to , in a case of fever or diarrhea, and not for parturition:
That his doses of ergot, or something else, to hasten delivery, were not expected but was an imposition; as he was informed that her time had not come:
That he declared the child was dead without justifiable evidence, and practiced violence upon supposition, to bring on a speedy delivery; thus endangering the health and constitution if not the life of the ;
That he practiced a fraud upon a sick woman, declaring things wrong that were right.
That he pronounced the amnion fluids discharged, before they were gathered:
That he gave hot injections, himself, which, (aside from the over heat, which caused great pain,) was beneath the dignity of a gentleman:
That he gave ergot and mixtures, which in connection with the force and violence which he used, (leaving out the dangerous idea of using such poisonous potions, even “in extreme cases,”) produced great pain:
That he introduced his hand, per vagina, without any necessity therefor, and by so doing made three ruptures in the tincæ Os, thereby endangering life:
That all his efforts seemed to have directed, both by medicine and force, to bring on a premature birth, even at the risk of tampering with life:
And, that the whole treatment has resulted in weakness, and other impediments to health and comfort.
The only witness examined on the part of the defence, was
Dr. Boswick,— said he had practiced medicine twenty four years, and had attended as accoucher about 2,300 cases. If the testimony against was true, he had done an injury. Gave some explanations and illustrations of obstetrics, and defined the use and nature of ergot; had found some cases without labor pains, but said nothing that tended to invalidate the testimony of the witnesses, who attended ; or to counteract the opinions of the physicians who had previously been examined.
The filed an account, (with leave if ’s counsel,) for services rendered ’s on the 22nd and 23rd of October 1842, of $10.00.
The court refuses to allow this account as a set off, for this reason, that “the law implies an undertaking on the part of apothecaries and surgeons, that they will use a reasonable degree of care and skill in the treatment of the patients. This is the duty of the medical practitioner, and he is responsible to his patient for a breach of it, as for a tort, although the patient was not the party who retained, or was to remunerate him. And for gross carelessness or unskillfulness <an action lies, although no reward was to be given. And if the patient is rather injured than benefited in his health in consequence> or <of any gross unskillfulness or> carelessness, on the part of the medical attendant, an action for fees cannot be maintained.” Chitty on Contracts p. 435. 8 East: 348.
,— called as witness for the , was rejected for the legal reason [p. 1494]
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Source Note
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Footnotes
Footnotes
Insertion in handwriting of Thomas Bullock.
Insertion in handwriting of Thomas Bullock.