, “Brief History,” Manuscript, ca. 6 April 1838– ca. 26 January 1839; handwriting of and an unidentified scribe; seventy pages numbered 20–90, plus three unnumbered pages; John Fletcher Darby Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
, a careful observer, had enjoyed a close association with Mormon leaders, and consequently his account provides valuable insights into the development and structure of the early church. He summarized many of the doctrines taught by JS and provided a detailed description of the conflict between the Latter-day Saints and other settlers. But his chronicle also related the story of a personal spiritual journey into and then out of the church as came to disapprove of the church’s course in 1838 in Missouri. Yet despite his estrangement from the church and his excommunication in 1839, he retained a degree of sympathy for the Saints and maintained some contact.
apparently began compiling portions of his account while serving as an officially appointed church historian in . He probably completed his narrative by 11 February 1839, when he secured a copyright with the district federal copyright office. He arranged for Thomas Watson & Son of to print A Brief History. The entire print run may have included up to twelve hundred copies.
The document presented here, ’s circa 1838–1839 rough draft of his history, is incomplete. It includes the title page, copyright notice, and preface but is missing twenty-one pages, including the nineteen pages that constitute chapters 1 through 6. The manuscript is almost entirely in Corrill’s handwriting, though some of the chapter summaries (added after he drafted the narrative) were written in a different hand, possibly that of the printer.
’s published version of A Brief History receives comprehensive treatment in volume 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers and is available on this website as part of the history series.
Page 89
remarks to the church I will close
I have left thechurch <you> not because I disbelieve the Bible, for I believe in God, and relig the Saviour and religion the same as ever, but when I retrace our track and viewing the doings of the church for six years past I can see nothing that convinces me that God had has been our leader; calculation after calculation has failed, and plan after plan has been overthrown, and our prophet seemed not to know the event till too late. If he said go up and prosper, still we did not propser, but have labored and toiled and waded through trials, difficulties and temptations of various kinds in hopes of deliverance. untill we are finally broken down and measurably destroyed, and that too through the foolishness and miscalculations of the church and leaders But no deliverance came. The promises failed, and time after time we have been disappointed; and still were commanded in the most rigid manner to follow him, which the church did untill many were led into the commission of crime, have been apprehended and broken down by their opponents and many have been obliged to abandon their country, their families and all they possessed, and great afflictions be has been brought upon the whole church. What shall we say to these things? Did not Your prophet proclaim in your ears that the day was your own and you should overcome, when in less that a week you were all made prisoners of war, and [p. 89]