Footnotes
See Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840. Pratt’s and Hyde’s writings were the first published accounts of JS’s first vision of Deity and were among the earliest works to systematically outline church doctrine for foreign audiences.
In an earlier letter to JS from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, the two missionaries mentioned a “great work to be done in Germany” and asked for permission to write and publish a book on the church to be spread throughout the German-speaking lands. JS responded to their request with “no objections whatever.” (Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 1 May 1840; Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840.)
“Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:375–377; see also Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde and daughters Laura, age four, and Emily, age one. (Hyde, Orson Hyde, 496.)
Hyde, Myrtle Stevens. Orson Hyde: The Olive Branch of Israel. Salt Lake City: Agreka Books, 2000.
Page had been appointed to accompany Hyde on his mission at an April 1840 general conference of the church. Hyde was most likely referring to the Times and Seasons editorial directed to both Page and himself, but to “Elder John E. Page in particular,” chastising them for delaying their mission. (Notice, Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1841, 2:287.)
This book was eventually published in Frankfurt, Germany, as Ein Ruf aus der Wüste in 1842. In an 1840 letter to JS, Hyde mentioned that the Spirit had manifested to him that “there is a great work to be done in Germany.” When he wrote the book and informed JS of his plans, no one had published any material from the church in a language other than English. While Hyde was writing his book in German, he published the first church work in a foreign language—a tract written in Dutch, which was addressed to the “Hebrews” in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Additionally, Hyde reportedly published information about the church in French in “the various countries of the East,” in a publication which is no longer extant. (Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 1 May 1840; JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda Book, 49; “Highly Interesting from Jerusalem,” Millennial Star, Mar. 1842, 2:167.)
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
In September 1840, Orson Pratt published a pamphlet in Edinburgh titled A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, which included an account of JS’s first vision of Deity, his visions of the angel Moroni and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the investiture of priesthood authority from John the Baptist, and an outline of basic Latter-day Saint beliefs.
Hyde translated an excerpt from Oliver Cowdery’s 7 September 1834 letter to William W. Phelps, as published in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. In that letter Cowdery recounted an angelic visitation from John the Baptist, who delivered “the keys of the gospel of repentance” to himself and JS. (Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, in Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15; see also JS History, vol. A-1, 17.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
“Book of covenants” here refers to the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of JS revelations that were compiled and printed as a book in 1835.
Hyde’s wording echoes the opening line of the United States Declaration of Independence, though Hyde used the term “divine providence” instead of “human events.”