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Letter from Hannah Root and James M. Adams, 10 March 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Ashtabula Co., OH, to , , Hancock Co., IL, with postscript to JS by , 10 Mar. 1843; handwriting presumably of ; signatures of and presumably by , three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, notation, and redactions.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The paper is ruled with approximately twenty-six horizontal blue lines, now faded. The letter was written in blue ink on both sides of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf. The verso of the second leaf is blank except for the addressing and later dockets and notation. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. When the letter was opened, a hole was torn in the first leaf, which resulted in the loss of some text.
, who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, docketed the letter. The notation “Copied by A. J” was added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. An unidentified clerk in the Church Historian’s Office also docketed the letter. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. The postscript in the letter contains asterisks written in graphite, which appear to have designated a portion of the letter that Jenson included in the Journal History of the Church in the early twentieth century. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, its inclusion in the Journal History, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    Bergera, “Commencement of Great Things,” 30; Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 10 Mar. 1843.

    Bergera, Gary James. “The Commencement of Great Things: The Origins, Scope, and Achievement of the Journal History of the Church.” Mormon Historical Studies 4, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 23–39.

    Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.

  5. [5]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 10 March 1843, wrote a letter from , Ohio, to in , Illinois, enclosing four hymn texts Adams had composed. , Hannah’s husband, then dictated to Hannah a postscript addressed to JS. Hannah was in December 1836, and James had been a member of the since at least 1837. Little information exists about the couple and their family. Hannah was apparently an aspiring hymnist and included the hymn texts in response to a notice that appeared in the 1 February 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons requesting that “persons having Hymns adapted to the worship of the Church” should send them to Emma Smith. Hannah acknowledged that she was not personally acquainted with Emma Smith and expressed hope that she would at some point be able to gather with the Saints in Nauvoo.
, meanwhile, presided over the in 1841, represented both the Andover and Gustavus, Ohio, branches at a May 1841 , and served as an agent for the Times and Seasons in Andover. The 1 July 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons published a letter from James to in which James reported on his preaching in Trumbull County, Ohio, and in November 1842, James wrote another missive to JS about the work in Andover. James’s postscript to JS in the letter featured here explained the progress and growth of the church in the Andover region.
The lack of postal markings on the letter suggests that a courier carried it to the Smiths, who likely received the letter sometime in late March. ’s appraisal of the hymns sent is unknown; a new hymnal was not published, and no response from JS or Emma has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Obituary for Hannah Root Adams, Saints’ Herald, 28 Dec. 1889, 851; License Record, Messenger and Advocate, June 1837, 3:528. James M. Adams received an elder’s license in Kirtland in 1837.

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  2. [2]

    “Sacred Hymns,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1843, 4:95.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, Kirtland, OH, 22–24 May 1841, in Times and Seasons, 1 July 1841, 2:459; “List of Agents,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    James M. Adams, Andover, OH, 1841, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 July 1841, 2:468; Letter from James M. Adams, 16 Nov. 1842.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  5. [5]

    Letters from Ohio apparently took two to three weeks to reach Nauvoo. (Historical Introduction to Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840.)

Page [1]

Ashtabula Co Ohio March 10th, 1843
To Mrs . Dear Sister in the Lord
With pleasure I spend a portion of the time which the Lord in his goodness has alloted unto us in addressing you through the medium of my pen. altho strangers to each other in the flesh yet I trust we have been made near to each other by being into one spirit by embracing the fullness of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ which has been brought to light inc this age of the world. & hope the time is not far distant when I shall be permited to with the saints & have an inheritance in which is to be a Joy & prais in the whole earth, I saw a Notice in the Times & Seasons for those having hymns suitable for the Worship of the Latter day saints to forward them to you. I have selected some lines & will send them & if you [sho]uld think proper you can give them a place in your Book subject to [s]uch alterations as you should choose to make.
 
1 O God this sinful heart of mine
Is ever prone to go astray
The powers of sin and darkness join
To tempt and lead my soul from the[e]
 
2 Sin doth my troubled soul oppress
And doubts and darkness me surround
Lord cloth[e] me with thy righteousness
O may thy grace to me abound
 
3 Turn not my troubled soul away
Bestow on me true heavenly light
Bring me thy precepts to obey
Of gospel grace give me a sight
 
4 Thy spirit send and purge my soul
From evry lust and vain desire
May sinful ways no more controule
My heart but all from me retire
 
5 O may my sins be all forgiven
My soul be cleansed by love divine
And brought by sovereign grace to heaven
And all the glory Lord be thine
 
Praise & prayer
1 Arise my soul and streach the thought
To the bright realms of bliss above
Where happy souls by grace are brought
To drink pure streams of life and love
 
2 How feeble are those views of mine
When they attempt above to soar
They like the dazling planets shine
When the bright sun-beams do retire [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Hannah Root and James M. Adams, 10 March 1843
ID #
1008
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:24–31
Handwriting on This Page
  • Hannah Root Adams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See 1 Corinthians 12:13.

  2. [2]

    See Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:30].

  3. [3]

    See Jeremiah 33:9.

  4. [4]

    “Sacred Hymns,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1843, 4:95.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  5. [5]

    TEXT: “[page torn]uld”. Text missing because of damage here and in the rest of the document has been supplied from context.

  6. [6]

    TEXT: “[page torn]uch”.

  7. [7]

    An 1830 revelation instructed Emma Smith “to make a selection of Sacred Hymns” for the church, and she was responsible for compiling the church’s first hymnal in 1835. In 1839, the Nauvoo high council directed Emma Smith to select hymns for a new hymnal, which was published in 1841. Apparently, church leaders at this time were considering publishing another hymnal in Nauvoo, though none was published. (Revelation, July 1830–C [D&C 25:11]; Collection of Sacred Hymns [1835], title page; Minutes, 27 Oct. 1839; “Hymns!! Hymns!!,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1840, 2:204; Collection of Sacred Hymns [1841], title page.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Edited by Emma Smith. Nauvoo, IL: E. Robinson, 1841.

  8. [8]

    TEXT: Beginning here, Hannah Root Adams divided each page into two columns.

  9. [9]

    See Psalm 132:9.

  10. [10]

    See Romans 5:20.

  11. [11]

    TEXT: The second column on this page begins here.

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