, “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 38
They were to purify their bodies by washing them entirely with pure water, after which they were to wash each others feet, and annoint each other with oil, pronouncing mutual blessings during the performance. The Sacrament was then administered in which they partook of the bread and wine freely, and a report went abroad that some of them got drunk. As to that every man must answer for himself. A simular report the reader will reccollect went out concerning the disciples at Jerusalem on the day of pentecost. This was followed by a marvelous spirit of prophecy. Every man’s mouth was ful of prophecyaying, and for a number of days or weeks, their time was spent in visiting from house to house, making feasts, prophecying, and pronouncing blessings on each other, to that degree, that from the external appearance, one would have supposed that the last days had <truly> come, in which the spirit of the Lord was poured out upon all flesh, as far as the church was concerned; for their sons and their daughters were full of prophecying. In this prophecying great blessings were pronouncd upon the faithful, and also great curses upon the ungodly. Long before this, a committe had been appointed to collect and compile the articles, [p. 38]