JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. E-1, created 20 Aug. 1855–5 Apr. 1856; handwriting of Robert L. Campbell, , and Jonathan Grimshaw; 392 pages, plus 11 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the fifth volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This fifth volume covers the period from 1 July 1843 to 30 Apr. 1844; the remaining five volumes, labeled A-1, B-1, C-1, D-1, and F-1, continue through 8 Aug. 1844.
Historical Introduction
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1, constitutes the fifth 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 July 1843 to 30 April 1844, and it was compiled in Utah Territory in the mid-1850s.
The material recorded in volume E-1 was initially compiled under the direction of church historian , who was JS’s cousin. Smith collaborated with in collecting material for the history and creating a set of draft notes that Smith dictated to Bullock and other clerks.
Robert L. Campbell, a recently returned missionary and member of the Historian’s Office staff, transcribed ’s notes into the volume along with the text of designated documents (such as letters and meeting minutes). The Church Historian’s Office journal entry for 2 May 1855 pinpoints the beginning of his work: “R. L. C. on Book D forenoon, afternoon began book E.” Campbell’s work on the volume apparently concluded on 5 April 1856; entries in the Historian’s Office journal indicate that he then moved on to other assignments while another clerk, Jonathan Grimshaw, began work on volume F-1, the last manuscript in the series. (Historian’s Office, Journal, 2 May 1855; 5 and 9 Apr. 1856.)
Volume E-1 contains 391 pages of primary text and 11 pages of addenda. The initial entry on page 1637 is a continuation of the 1 July 1843 entry that closed volume D-1. The final entry in volume E-1 is for 30 April 1844.
The 391 pages of volume E-1 document a crucial period of JS’s life and the history of the church. Important events recorded here include
• An account of JS’s 2 July 1843 meeting with several Pottawatamie chiefs.
• JS’s 4 July 1843 address regarding his recent arrest, the Legion, and Mormon voting practices.
• JS’s 12 July 1843 dictation of a revelation regarding eternal marriage, including the plurality of wives, in the presence of and .
• The 13 August 1843 disfellowshipment of and revocation of his priesthood license.
• Dispatch of the first missionaries to the Pacific Islands on 20 September 1843, led by .
• JS’s 1 October 1843 announcement of ’s appointment to a mission to Russia.
• Minutes of a 6–9 October 1843 general conference inserted under the date of 9 October at which pled his case in regard to his 13 August 1843 disfellowshipment and was permitted to continue as counselor in the First Presidency.
• Text of JS’s appeal to the Green Mountain Boys of , inserted under the date of 29 November 1843.
• A 20 January 1844 entry that includes a poem by commemorating the presentation of two copies of the Book of Mormon to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by .
• JS’s nomination on 29 January 1844 as an independent candidate for the presidency of the .
<April 7.> authority added the word; he thought it too bad to begin to talk about the head. It read first “The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods’; that is the true meaning of the words, Baurau, signifies to bring forth. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the learned man of God. Learned men can learn you no more than what I have told you. Thus, the head God brought forth the Gods in the grand council. I will transpose and simplify it in the English language. Oh ye lawyers! ye doctors! and ye Priests! who have persecuted me; I want to let you know that the Holy Ghost knows something as well as you do. The head God called together the Gods, and sat in grand council to bring forth the world. The Grand Counselors sat at the head in yonder heavens, and contemplated the creation of the worlds which were created at that time. When I say doctors and lawyers, I mean the doctors and lawyers of the Scriptures. I have done so hitherto without explanation to let the lawyers flutter, and every body laugh at them. Some learned doctor might take a notion to say, the Scriptures say thus and so, and we must believe the Scriptures— they are not to be altered; but I am going to show you an error in them. I have an old edition of the New Testament in the Hebrew, Latin, German, and Greek languages. I have been reading the German and find it to be the most correct translation, and to correspond nearest to the revelations which God has given to me for the last fourteen years. It tells about Jachoboy, the son of Zebedee; it means Jacob; in the English New Testament it is translated James. Now if Jacob had the keys you might talk about James through all eternity, and never get the keys. In the 21st. verse of the fourth chapter of Matthew, my old German edition gives the word Jacob instead of James. The doctors (I mean doctors of law, not of physic) say ‘If you preach [HC 6:307] any thing not according to the Bible, we will cry treason’. How can we escape the damnation of hell except God be with us, and reveal to us? Men bind us with chains. The Latin says Jachabod, which means Jacob; the Hebrew says Jacob, the Greek says Jacob; and the German says Jacob; here we have the testimony of four against one. I thank God I have got this old book, but I thank him more for the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have got the oldest book in the world, but I have got the oldest book in my heart, even the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have all the four testaments; come here ye learned men, and read if you can. I should not have introduced this testimony were it not to back up the word Rosh, the head, the Father of the Gods. I should not have brought it up only to show that I am right. In the beginning the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods, and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it. When we begin to learn in this way, we begin to learn the only true God, and what kind of a being we have got to worship. Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and know how [p. 1972]