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 .
<January 22> I care not for man, I speak boldly, and faithfully, and with authority. How is it with the kingdom of God, where did the kingdom of God begin? Where there is no kingdom of God there is no salvation. What constitutes the kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest, or a righteous man, unto whom God gives his oracles, there is the kingdom of God; and where the oracles of God are not, <there> the kingdom of God is not. In these remarks I have no allusion to the kingdoms of the earth; we will keep the laws of the land, we do not speak against them, we never have; and we can hardly <make> mention <of> the State of , of our persecutions there &c; but what the cry goes forth that we are guilty of larceny, burglary, arson, treason, murder &c. &c., which is false; we speak of the kingdom of God on the earth, not the kingdoms of men. The plea of many in this day is, that we have no right to receive revelations, but if we do not get revelations, we do not have the oracles of God; and if they have not the oracles of God, they are not the people of God. But say you, what will become of the world or of the various professors of religion who do not believe in revelation and the oracles of God, as continued to his church in all ages of the world when he has a people on earth. I tell you, in the name of Jesus Christ, they will be damned, and when you get into the eternal world, you will find it will be so, they cannot escape the damnation of hell.
As touching the gospel and baptism that John preached; I would say that John came preaching the gospel for the remission of sins, he had his authority from God, and the oracles of God were with him, and the kingdom of God for a season seemed to rest with John alone. The Lord promised Zacharias that he should have a son, which was a descendant of Aaron, and the Lord promised that the priesthood should continue with Aaron, and his seed, throughout their generations. “Let no man take this honor upon himself, except he be called of God as was Aaron,” and Aaron received his call by revelation. An angel of God also appeared unto Zacharias while in the Temple, that he should have a son whose name should be John, and he should be filled with the Holy Ghost: Zacharias was a priest of God, and officiating in the Temple, and John was a priest after his father, and held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, and was called of God to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, the Jews, as a nation having departed from the Law of God, and the gospel of the Lord prepared the way for transferring it to the gentiles. But, says one, the kingdom of God could not be set up in the days of John, for John said the kingdom was at hand; but I would ask if it could be any nearer to them than to be in the hands of John; the people need not wait for the days of Pentecost to find the kingdom of God, for John had it with him, and he came forth from the wilderness crying out “Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand,” as much as to say, “Out here I have got the kingdom of God, and I am coming after you; I have got the kingdom of God, and you can get it, and I am coming after you, and if you don’t receive it you will be damned;” and the scriptures represent that all Jerusalem went <+ There> out unto John’s baptism. Here was a legal administrator, and those that were baptized were subjects for a king, and also the laws and oracles of God were there, therefore the kingdom of God was there, for no man could have better authority to administer than John, and our Savior submitted to that authority himself by being baptized by John, therefore the kingdom of God was set up on the earth even in the days of John. There is a difference between the kingdom of God, and the fruits [p. 5 [addenda]]