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Letter from John E. Page, 1 September 1841

Source Note

, Letter, , Philadelphia Co., PA, to JS and “council,” , Hancock Co., IL, 1 Sept. 1841; handwriting of ; eight pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket and notation.
Two bifolia—each measuring 12¾ × 7⅞ inches (32 × 20 cm)—fastened together with thread. The document is inscribed with both blue ink and black ink. The document was folded for filing. Several staple holes appear on each page of the letter in the upper left corner. The document shows discoloration from an unknown substance.
A docket in the upper left corner of the first page was inscribed 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. A graphite notation in the same area was apparently added by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The letter is listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory from circa 1904. By 1973 this letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The docket, notation, and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate this letter has remained in continuous institutional custody since its receipt in 1841.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 48–55.

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

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 1 September 1841, , a member of the , wrote to JS and other leaders in , Illinois, to express his condolences for the death of JS’s brother and to provide them with an update of his travels and missionary efforts. At the April 1840 general , Page had been appointed to travel with fellow apostle to Europe and . Page and Hyde separated in sometime in late August 1840, with Hyde venturing on to before sailing to . Hyde had hoped to meet Page in in fall 1840, but these plans did not materialize, and Page did not accompany Hyde overseas.
Both and received a public rebuke for their inability to quickly reach the destination of their mission. In January 1841 the Times and Seasons printed a terse message to the men: “ Orson Hyde and John E. Page are informed, that the Lord is not well pleased with them in consequence of delaying their mission, (Elder John E. Page in particular,) and they are requested by the to hasten their journey towards their destination.” In addition, at the April 1841 general conference, attendees objected to Page’s membership in the Quorum of the Twelve; reasons for their objection are unknown, but after an investigation he was not removed from the by the conference.
After traveling and proselytizing through , , and other parts of the eastern , arrived in shortly before he penned this 1 September letter. It appears that Page wrote the following letter in part to justify his actions, explaining the missionary labors he undertook on his own and with others, including ; the difficulties he experienced with ; and the reasons he felt he was unable to travel to Europe and at the present. Page nevertheless expressed his hope and intent to go eventually to the Holy Land. He also reported on a variety of other matters, most notably his observations of the church in Philadelphia under the leadership of . Though extant evidence does not reveal any improprieties on Winchester’s part, Page recommended that the First Presidency remove Winchester as the of the Philadelphia .
The letter featured here is the original sent from and received by JS in , probably in mid-September 1841. Page requested that JS respond to his letter, though it is unclear if JS did so since no immediate reply has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    There are no extant letters from Page to the Nauvoo church leaders between September 1840 and September 1841. (Letter from John E. Page, 23 Sept. 1840.)

  2. [2]

    Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840; Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840; Letter from Orson Hyde, 17 Apr. 1841.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.

  4. [4]

    Notice, Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1841, 2:287.

  5. [5]

    Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841.

  6. [6]

    Winchester and Page appear to have had a mutual dislike for one another. Later in September, Winchester wrote a letter to JS in which he complained about Page’s conduct in the eastern branches. (Letter from Benjamin Winchester, 18 Sept. 1841.)

Page 4

as a preacher in order to stimulate the people to benevolence for our mishion and I must say he caried the matter through very effectually for he has left but very little behind him for me to glean— tho the in done the hansome thing by me <​yes​> more than I expected all things I considerd— experience has proved the correctness of my step in going back to <​to​> sell my “Appeals” for since I returned to and on the track of I have found but little sale for he had suplyed the market so I have some on hand yet
So it is has gon and that too on the strength of my money and I am here but not discouraged nor disheartened— I delight in the cause and the mishion it is a long road that has no turn my faith is I shall prehaps see as soon as if I should tarry till next Spring in If I can rais $100 more I mean to put right strait for and touch a<​t​> the European cities as I return seeing is there and will give the news as he goes and I will give the news as I return and that will make a vericty [veracity]—
There is one thing I am sure of and that is this— before I would left and took all the means with me and left behind as he has me; I would have suffered my head to have gon to the block or my body to the burning stake— Fair play or no play is the beauty of all plays— besides raising moneys for the mishion has raised money for some land purposes to some considerable extent besides sending some hansome suplyes to his family where as I have not sent one cent though I left the<​m​> as poor as poor can be— the fact <​is​> I am willing to serve the church but I do not like to be treated with contempt— Your in Christ—
[p. 4]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John E. Page, 1 September 1841
ID #
681
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:250–260
Handwriting on This Page
  • John E. Page

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