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Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 October 1843

Source Note

and , Letter, , Lancashire, England, to (including JS) and , , Hancock Co., IL, 3 Oct. 1843; handwriting of ; signatures of and ; three pages; Brigham Young Office Files, CHL. Includes address, wafer seal, postal stamps, postal notations, dockets, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9¼ × 7⅜ inches (23 × 19 cm). The letter was inscribed on the recto and verso of the first leaf and on the recto of the second leaf. It was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The recto and verso of the second leaf contain wafer residue, which obscures some text. A tear on the second leaf likely occurred when the letter was opened. It was later refolded for filing.
The letter 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. Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856, docketed it a second time. The document was listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory circa 1904. By 1994 the document had been cataloged in the Brigham Young Office Files at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its inclusion in the Brigham Young Office Files indicate continuous institutional custody.

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]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 3 October 1843 in , and , counselors in the British mission presidency, wrote to the and the in , Illinois, to inform them about the ’s publishing endeavors in the British Isles. In May 1843, Ward and Clark were appointed counselors to in the presidency after years of church service in Great Britain. Ward, a British convert from Burnley, moved to Liverpool in spring 1842 to assist apostle and president of the British mission in the church’s publishing department, later becoming coeditor with Pratt of the church newspaper Millennial Star. Clark, an American, proselytized in alongside members of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1839 to 1841 and in mid-1842 was appointed to return to that country to replace as manager of the church’s immigration program for British converts and to “collect means for building the .” Clark departed Nauvoo in June and arrived in Liverpool in September. In the October 1842 issue of the Millennial Star, Pratt announced that he was returning to the and that Ward would serve as the acting president of the church in Europe with and Clark as his counselors. In the same issue, Pratt named Ward sole editor of the Millennial Star.
Anticipating that would return to in fall 1842, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles determined in November that “the Millenial Star & all other publications in . . . be suspended until further instruction from the Quorum.” The apostles informed church leaders in England of their decision in a January 1843 letter that arrived in in February. In March, and replied, acknowledging the Twelve’s directive to cease all publications and informing them that some items, including another edition of the hymnbook and the March and April issues of the Millennial Star, had already gone to the printers by the time they received the order to stop publication. Ward and Clark also expressed concern that was “acting contrary to counsel given him by you, in being again engaged in the Emigration business” instead of returning to Nauvoo as he was instructed to do in mid-1842. Ward discontinued production of the Millennial Star for a few months while awaiting additional instructions from Nauvoo.
In a May 1843 meeting, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles voted that immediately return to or face being cut off from the church. In the same meeting, the Twelve selected to preside over the church in the British Isles with and as his counselors. Quorum members were familiar with Hedlock from serving with him during a mission to from 1840 to 1841. Hedlock departed Nauvoo sometime within the next few months and arrived in England on 30 September 1843.
Three days after and other missionaries landed in , wrote the featured letter on behalf of himself and . In the letter, Ward and Clark informed the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that Hedlock had arrived in the city, explained their actions after receiving the quorum’s directive to cease all publications, suggested publishing material from the Times and Seasons for the benefit of members of the church in , and conveyed their thoughts on . At the conclusion of the letter, Clark added his signature to Ward’s. They mailed the letter to , who was JS’s private secretary and the clerk for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The letter was postmarked in Liverpool and conveyed to via steamship. Though dockets indicate that it was eventually received in , there is no known response.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Notice,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1842, 2:155; Nameplate, Millennial Star, June 1842, 3:17; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 May 1843.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Hiram Clark, “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:145–147; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 14 June 1842; Parley P. Pratt and Thomas Ward, “Tithings for the Temple,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:112.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  3. [3]

    Hiram Clark, “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:147–148.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  4. [4]

    Snow served as a counselor only until he departed England with a group of British emigrants aboard the steamship Swanton on 17 January 1843. (“Emigration,” Millennial Star, May 1843, 4:14–15; see also Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  5. [5]

    Parley P. Pratt, “Farewell Address to Our Readers and Patrons,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:110.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  6. [6]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Nov. 1842.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  7. [7]

    The 3 January 1843 letter from the Quorum of the Twelve, in which they instructed leaders in England to cease all publications, is not extant, but Ward and Clark’s 1 March reply acknowledged “the propriety of the measure you have taken, inasmuch as the Editorial department is one that might be much abused, and might in a measure be the means of injuring greatly if not separating from the Church, all the Branches in the British Isles.” The featured text suggests that church leaders preferred that all publications originate in Nauvoo, where JS could vet them prior to their distribution. (Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843.)

  8. [8]

    Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 14 June 1842; and Woodruff, Journal, 14 June 1842.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

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

  9. [9]

    It appears that Ward resumed publication of the Millennial Star in July, when he printed the “May” and “June” 1843 issues of the paper. (“Editorial,” Millennial Star, May 1843, 4:13.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  10. [10]

    Historical Introduction to Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 21 Dec. 1842; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 7 Nov. 1843.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

Page [1]

, Oct. 3rd. 1843.
To the of the , and to the , greeting,
Beloved Brethren,
We hasten with pleasure to communicate a few things by the packet which is to sail to-morrow; and in the first place would mention that , , , Jarmine [William Jarman], and arrived here last saturday afternoon in the Ship “Columbus.” We have to acknowledge our remissness in not writing more frequently to relative to the state of things in the British Isles, for which we sincerely beg pardon, though our communications have been more frequent that than what we have received, not having received one article, save the letter, detailing the minutes of the Council of the Twelve relative to the stoppage of the publication of the Star. We complied with the request for about four months, waiting anxiously for further orders, when being certain that there was some rascality in the stoppage of our correspondence, we supposed it possible that the suppressed publications might have contain [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 October 1843
ID #
14451
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:140–145
Handwriting on This Page
  • Thomas Ward

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Sloan, Cairns, Jarman, and Houston were called to proselytize in various parts of the British Isles. Though Sloan and Cairns were appointed to go to Ireland and Scotland respectively, Cairns labored initially in London and Sloan in the Bradford area. Houston’s and Jarman’s areas of service were not specified in meeting minutes, but Houston ended up in Paisley, Scotland. (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 May and 28 June 1843; “Extract from Elder Hedlock’s Journal,” Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:130; Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, [Nauvoo, IL], 10–21 Jan. 1844, p. 3, JS Collection, CHL; “General Conference,” Millennial Star, Apr. 1844, 4:195–197, 200.)

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  2. [2]

    This refers to a packet ship operated by the Black Ball Line, a transatlantic ship company that transported passengers, freight, and mail between New York City and Liverpool. (Clark, Clipper Ship Era, 38, 41, 45; Albion, Square-Riggers on Schedule, 27–28, 276.)

    Clark, Arthur H. The Clipper Ship Era: An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843–1869. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1911.

    Albion, Robert Greenhalgh. Square-Riggers on Schedule: The New York Sailing Packets to England, France, and the Cotton Ports. [Hamden, CT]: Archon Books, 1965.

  3. [3]

    Extant communication between Ward or Clark and the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve includes letters written on 21 October 1842, 1 March 1843, and 16 March 1843. The Twelve reportedly wrote a letter to church leaders in England on 3 January 1843, but this letter is apparently not extant. (Letter from Hiram Clark and Others, 21 Oct. 1842; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 16 Mar. 1843.)

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