, “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.
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covenants and discipline of the church. This had been done, presented to and adopted by the church, and published to the world. As a preparation also to the solem assembly, all the constituted authorities or quorums were filled out in point of numbers, and presented to the church, each one in it proper place, and acknowldged of the church as the proper authorities by which the church should be governed according to the articles and convenants. These authorities, or different quorums, had been organized and established one after another by Smith himself, as the church increased, and their different powers plainly set forth in the book of Doctrine and covenants. But for the satisfaction of those who have not access to that book, I will here give a general account of them.
The priesthood described. Zion and her stakes. Manner of dealing with transgressors. Ordinations. Reflections on the subject.
There are in the church two preisthoods. First the Melchesideck or high priesthood, also called the greater priesthood. Second, the Aaraonic or lesser priesthood. In the first, or Melchesideck preisthood, were ordained High preists and elders; in the second, were ordained preists, teachers, and deacons. Each different grade chose one of its number to preside over the rest [p. 39]