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Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 January 1833

Source Note

and , on behalf of “a of 12 ” (including JS), Letter, , Kirtland Township, OH, to “the his councel and the inhabitents of ,” [, MO], 14 Jan. 1833. Retained copy, [ca. 14 Jan. 1833] in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 20–25; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 1.

Historical Introduction

A “ of ,” including JS, met in , Ohio, on 13 January 1833, in part to assign and to write a letter to the leaders of the church in . Hyde and Smith composed the letter on 14 January, after which the conference reconvened so that participants could review and approve what they had written. The letter described Kirtland leaders’ objections to the tone and content of several letters from Missouri leaders. It also reaffirmed the conference’s desire to see church members living in repent, thereby forestalling calamities that awaited the disobedient.
This was the latest letter in a series of correspondence between and church leaders. JS and others had been attempting for some time to curb what they perceived as a spirit of rebellion in Missouri. Such perceptions arose from JS’s interactions with Missouri leaders during a trip to , Missouri, in the spring of 1832, as well as from several letters, none of which are extant, sent to JS between June 1832 and January 1833 from Missouri leaders such as , , and . In answer to these communications, JS sent letters to Phelps on 31 July 1832, 27 November 1832, and 11 January 1833, calling the Missouri leaders to repentance. Because and ’s letter addressing the discord came at the behest of this conference of twelve high priests, it may have served as an even stronger chastisement than JS’s letters. According to a later JS history, the transmission of Hyde and Smith’s letter, JS’s 11 January 1833 letter to Phelps, and a revelation of 27–28 December 1832, which JS described as “the Lords message of peace to us,” caused the Missouri leaders to evince a spirit of repentance. On 26 February 1833, a special council of high priests convened in Missouri and resolved that a committee “write an epistle to our brethren in Kirtland,” apparently in response to the letters from Hyde and Smith and JS. At that February conference, the high priests in attendance “all kneeled before the Lord & asked him to effect a perfect harmony between us & our brethren in Kirtland which was the desire of our hearts.” Such actions, according to the later JS history, were “satisfactory to the presidency and church at Kirtland.”
The original letter is no longer extant. copied the letter into JS’s letterbook, probably soon after its creation.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833; and Letter to Emma Smith, 6 June 1832.

  2. [2]

    See Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832; Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833. It is probable that JS sent additional letters, but only these three are known.

  3. [3]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 282; Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 Jan. 1833. The 27–28 December 1832 revelation was labeled an “Olieve leaf,” the olive leaf being a traditional symbol of peace. Even before receiving these communications, Edward Partridge had apparently called solemn assemblies among the different congregations of Saints in Missouri, exhorting them all to repentance. (Pettigrew, Journal, 15.)

    Pettegrew, David. Journal, 1840–1857. Pettigrew Collection, 1836–1883, 1926–1930. CHL. MS 22278, box 1, fd. 1.

  4. [4]

    Minute Book 2, 26 Feb. 1833.

  5. [5]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 282.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 January 1833 Letterbook 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 24

except she repent and serve God and obey the with this explanation the sanctions Bro Joseph letter— Brethren the conference meets again this evening to hear this Letter read and if it meets their minds we have all agreed to kneel down before the Lord and cry unto him with all our hearts that this epistle & Bro Js. and the revelations also may have there desired effect and accomplish the things whereunto they are sent and that they may stimulate you to cleans that she mourn not, Therefore when you get this know ye that a conference of 12 have cried unto the Lord for you and are still crying saying spare thy peopl[e] O! Lord and give not thy heritage to reproach, We now feel that our garments are clean from you, and all men, when we have washed our hand & our feet & hands according to the We have written plain at this time but we believe not harsh, Plainly Plainness is what the Lord requires and we should not feel ourselves clean unless we had done so, and if the things we have told you be not attended to you will not long have occasion to say or to think rather that we may be rong in what we have stated Your unworthy brethren are determined to pray unto the Lord for as so long as we can shed a tear the sympathising tear, or feel any spirit of to supplicate a throne of Grace in her behalf, will commence if the Lord will in 2 or 3 days, a general time of health with us the cause of God seems to be rapidly advancing in the eastern country countries, the gifts begining to break forth so as to astonish the world, and even believers marvel at the power and goodness of God, Thanks be rendered to his holy name for what he is doing, We are your unworthy brethren in the Lord & may the Lord help us all to do his will that we may at last be saved in his kingdom——
[p. 24]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 14 January 1833
ID #
6832
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:371–378
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [26]

    According to the minutes, three elders—William Smith, John F. Boynton, and John Reed—also attended. (Minutes, 13–14 Jan. 1833.)

  2. [27]

    See Joel 2:17.

  3. [28]

    Revelations of 27–28 December 1832 and 3 January 1833 instructed the Saints to establish a school for the “first elders” of the church. As Samuel Smith recorded in his journal, “The Lord commanded the first Elders to Establi[sh] a school & appoint a teacher among them & get l[e]arning by study & by faith get a knowledge of countries & languages & thus the School of the Prophets was established.” (Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:1–126]; Revelation, 3 Jan. 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]; Samuel Smith, Diary, 8 May 1833; see also Minutes, 22–23 Jan. 1833.)

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

  4. [29]

    Hyde and Samuel Smith had only recently returned from preaching in the eastern United States. According to a report in The Evening and the Morning Star, they baptized sixty individuals and “built up four churches” in Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Hyrum Smith and William Smith had also recently returned from a three-week mission to Pennsylvania, where they baptized twenty-three people. In addition, Lyman Johnson and Orson Pratt had baptized “nearly one hundred” in the East, and Simeon Carter and Jared Carter had baptized over one hundred in Vermont and other eastern states. (“Extracts of Letters from the Elders Abroad,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Feb. 1833, [5].)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

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