Single leaf measuring 13⅛ × 8½ inches (33 × 22 cm). The top, left, and bottom edges of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper, whereas the right edge is unevenly cut, suggesting the leaf was removed from a book or a larger sheet. The text is inscribed on the bottom half of the recto; the top half contains an earlier letter from JS to . The letter was trifolded twice in letter style. The document was refolded for filing.

The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. Another docket was inscribed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was inscribed on the same leaf as JS’s 17 January 1842 letter to , which is listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets as well as its inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.