, “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.
<Secret society formed. Presidency upheld. Former revelations refered to. Organization. . Intentions. Perversions. Object of gathering. Tyrany exercised. New constitution. Names of society. And numbers.>
<Some time in June> last, a few individuals began to form a society that should be agreed in all things. In order to this, they bound themselves under very close restrictions. As this society began to increase, they <secretly> entered into solem covenants before God, and bound themselves under oath to keep the secrets of the society, and covenanted to stand by one another in difficulty, whethr right or wrong; but said they would correct each other’s wrongs among themselves. As the presidency stood next to God, or between God and the church, and was the oracle through which the word and will of God was communicated to the church, they esteemed it a very essential thing to have their word or the word of God through them strictly adhered to. They therefore entered into a covenant that the words of the presidency should be obeyed, and no one should be suffered to raise his hand or voice against it; for as they stood at the head of the church, it was considered no more than reasonable that they knew more about the will of God than any others did. Consequently all things must be in submission to them, and moreover, all tattling, lying & backbiting must be put down, and he that would not submit willingly should be forced to it or leave the . Now this secret combination was directly opposed to the former revelations, and especially to [p. [55[a]]]