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 .
<October 20> The following is an Extract of Mr.Spencer’s opinion upon the case.
“The Constitutional provision under which requisitions may be made by the Governor of one State upon the Governor of another, was a substitute for the principle—— recognized by the law of nations, by which one Sovereign is bound to deliver to another, fugitives who have committed certain offences. These offences are of the deepest grade of criminality, and robbers, murderers and incendiaries, are those enumerated, as proper to be surrendered. Following the analogy thus suggested, the provision in our Constitution, it would seem, should be construed to embrace similar cases only, except, perhaps, those offences which arise from an abuse of the same Constitutional provision— that pro[HC 5:177]vision must be guarded with the utmost care, or it will become intolerable. I do not think the circumstances of the case before me are of such grave import, or the offence itself of such high grade as to justify the requisition desired. The power given by the Constitution ought not to be cheapened, nor applied to trifling offences, nor indeed to any that was not originally contemplated.”
For the reason’s stated in Mr.Spencer’s opinion the Governor of refused to make the requisition upon the Governor of . The case—— certainly came within the letter of the law; but not within its spirit and meaning— so with the affidavit of , when he swears that—— Smith had fled from justice, it may come within the letter of the Constitution, but does it come within its spirit and meaning? does it show that Smith was in at the time of the Commission of the crime, and that he fled from that to evade being brought to justice for that crime ? or does it refer to the flight of Smith and the Mormons from some years since?
I will refer to one more case of a similar nature. Lord Campbell, formerly—— Attorney General of , in a recent debate in Parliament upon the subject of the Creole, made the following remarks: “To show how cautious States should be in making such concessions, one to the other reciprocally, he would mention a case that occurred when he was Attorney General. A treaty had been agreed upon between the State of and the province of , by which the—— Government of each agreed reciprocally to deliver up the Citizens or subjects of the other against whom Grand Juries had found a bill, and who had sought refuge within the territories of the other. It happened that a slave had escaped from his master at , and had got to . To facilitate his escape, he rode a horse of his master’s for a part of the way; but turned him back, on reaching the frontier. The authorities of well knew that would not give up a runaway slave, and that as they could not claim him under the treaty; they therefore had a bill of indictment against him before a Grand Jury for stealing the horse, though it was clear the animusfurandi was wanting. The Grand Jury, however, found a against him for the felony, and he was claimed under the treaty. The Governor, under such circumstances, refused to give him up, until he had consulted the Government in . He (Lord Campbell) was consulted, and gave it as his opinion that the man ought not to be given up, as the true bill, where no felony had been—— committed, did not bring the case within the treaty. The man was not given [p. 1412]