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Letter to Emma Smith and the Relief Society, 31 March 1842

Source Note

JS and , Letter, [, Hancock Co., IL], to [and the ], [, Hancock Co., IL, 31 Mar. 1842]; handwriting of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on all four pages and then trifolded. The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865; the docket reads “Female Relief Society”. A second docket, in unidentified handwriting, incorporates the first, reading: “To [Female Relief Society] from President Jos Smith.” A third docket, “supposed 1842 or 3”, was likely written by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was likely the 1842 letter addressed to the Relief Society listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office in 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

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

  3. [3]

    “Index to Papers in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, 7, 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 JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 31 March 1842 JS directed a letter to and the newly established . The letter warned the society’s members to be wary of nefarious men claiming that JS or other leaders sanctioned sexual intimacy outside of marriage, and it encouraged them to denounce and shun any man engaging in such behavior. During the society’s inaugural meeting on 17 March 1842, JS suggested that the members “provoke the brethren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor” and assist church leaders by “correcting the morals and strengthening the virtues of the female community.” Leaders of the Relief Society promptly made efforts to regulate the morality of ’s women. At the group’s second meeting, Emma Smith read aloud a complaint about Clarissa Marvel, a young woman who allegedly spread “scandalous falsehoods on the character of Joseph Smith.” Authorized by JS, the complaint evidently related to rumors then circulating in Nauvoo about JS’s relationship with , the widow of JS’s deceased brother . JS had likely married Agnes as a plural wife in early January 1842. After reading the complaint about Marvel, Emma Smith urged the women to “adopt some plan to bring her to repentance.”
JS began practicing plural marriage in around April 1841. Aside from a select group of individuals, however, members of the church were not privy to the doctrine or to the fact that JS was married, or , to several women. One man who may have had some knowledge of the practice was , a member of the and the mayor of Nauvoo. While living in Nauvoo, Bennett reportedly used his influence and the perception that he was a confidant of JS to solicit sex from several women. According to an account JS wrote in June 1842, Bennett taught the women that “promiscuous intercourse between the sexes, was a doctrine believed in by the Latter-Day Saints, and that there was no harm in it.” When this approach failed, JS recounted, Bennett began to “persuade them that myself and others of the authorities of the church not only sanctioned, but practiced the same wicked acts.” Bennett’s ruse was apparently adopted by other men during the winter and early spring of 1842; several women later reported that they had sexual relationships with male church members after being convinced that church leaders approved of such behavior.
The letter to and the Relief Society appears to be an early response to the actions of and others who were seducing women in by misrepresenting the not yet publicly announced doctrine of plural marriage. Although the letter, which brought to light the actions and justifications of these men, is undated, JS’s journal indicates that it was written in Nauvoo on 31 March 1842. The confidential correspondence was dictated to , who signed the message on behalf of JS and , president of the . The letter was apparently delivered to Emma Smith the same day. In the afternoon, JS spoke to the Relief Society about limiting prospective members to a “select Society of the virtuous.” He then withdrew from the meeting so that the society could conduct their business. Emma Smith then told those gathered that she “had an Article to read which would test the ability of the members in keeping secrets; as it was for the benefit of the Society, and that alone.” She then read the letter aloud and “gave strictures on female propriety and dignity.”
The featured text is the earliest extant version of the letter and may have been either an early draft of the letter or the actual correspondence delivered to and the Relief Society. Sometime after September 1842, Relief Society secretary copied the letter into the organization’s minute book, including minor changes in punctuation and grammar as well as one significant omission; noteworthy differences in the text are highlighted in the footnotes below.
Less than two weeks after read the letter to the Relief Society, JS preached a sermon in which he condemned those who used his name to commit adultery and fornication. A few women later testified that they resisted the sexual advances of and others after learning that church leaders did not, in fact, sanction their behavior.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes and Discourses, 17 Mar. 1842.

  2. [2]

    See Relief Society Minute Book, [89], in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 99; Young, Journal, 6 Jan. 1842; Bennett, History of the Saints, 256; and “Nauvoo Female Society,” Oliver H. Olney, Papers, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

    Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland and Whiting, 1842.

    Olney, Oliver H. Papers, 1842–1843. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

  3. [3]

    Relief Society Minute Book, 24 Mar. 1842, 17, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 38–39. In a 2 April certificate copied into the minute book, Marvel asserted that she had not “at any time or place, seen or heard any thing improper or unvirtuous in the conduct or conversation of either President Smith or Mrs. Agnes Smith.” (Relief Society Minute Book, [89], in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 99–100.)

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

  4. [4]

    Louisa Beman was reportedly sealed to JS as a plural wife in Nauvoo on 5 April 1841. Previous to his marriage to Beman, JS was likely married to Fanny Alger in Kirtland sometime in the mid-1830s. (“Nauvoo Female Society,” Oliver H. Olney, Papers, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Young, Journal, 19 Sept. 1844; see also George A. Smith, Louisa, Utah Territory, to Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 28 Jan. 1851, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 21 Jan. 1838; Historical Introduction to Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838.)

    Olney, Oliver H. Papers, 1842–1843. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  5. [5]

    It appears that JS taught Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and a few other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about the doctrine of plural marriage shortly after they returned from England in July 1841. Young, Willard Richards, and church member Dimick Huntington married JS to several women in late 1841 and early 1842 and therefore had firsthand knowledge of the practice of plural marriage. However, some of those closest to JS, such as Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon, may not have been aware by March 1842 that JS had been sealed to other women. It is unclear when Emma Smith learned of the plural wives JS married in Nauvoo, though she knew of some of them by spring 1843. (John Taylor, Sermon, 27 June 1854, 7–8, Church History Department, Publications Division, Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, CHL; Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:5, 7; Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Affidavit, 23 Mar. 1877, Collected Material concerning JS and Plural Marriage, ca. 1870–1912, CHL; Sessions, Diary, 16 June 1860; Richards, Diary, 14 May 1843; Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 28 Jan. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 23 and 26 May 1843; 12 July 1843; JS, Journal, 12 and 13 May 1842; Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1842, JS Collection, CHL; Young, “Incidents,” 186; Emily Dow Partridge Young, Testimony, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 19 Mar. 1892, pp. 350–351, question 24, pp. 365–366, questions 338–358, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al. [C.C.W.D. Mo. 1894], typescript, United States Testimony, CHL.)

    Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, 1998–2013. CHL.

    Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.

    Collected Material concerning Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage, ca. 1870–1912. CHL.

    Sessions, Patty Bartlett. Diaries, 1846–1867. Patty Bartlett Sessions, Diaries and Account Books, 1846–1866, 1880. CHL. MS 1462.

    Richards, George F. Diaries, 1883–1950. George F. Richards, Papers, 1883–1950. CHL.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Young, Emily Dow Partridge. “Incidents in the Life of a Mormon Girl,” ca. 1884. CHL.

    United States Circuit Court (8th Circuit). Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri, et al., Testimonies and Depositions, 1892. Typescript. CHL.

  6. [6]

    While Bennett likely had some knowledge of JS’s plural marriages, it is unclear how deep his understanding of the doctrine of plural marriage was or what he knew of the intimate details of JS’s life before Bennett’s excommunication in May 1842. (See Bennett, History of the Saints, 256; John C. Bennett, “Letter from General Bennett,” Hawk-Eye [Burlington, IA], 7 Dec. 1843, [1]; Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 1, 239; Bergera, “John C. Bennett, Joseph Smith, and the Beginnings of Mormon Plural Marriage in Nauvoo,” 52, 58; Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy, 65–73; and Hales, “John C. Bennett and Joseph Smith’s Polygamy,” 131–181.

    Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland and Whiting, 1842.

    Burlington Hawk-Eye. Burlington, IA. 1845–1851?.

    Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001.

    Bergera, Gary James. “John C. Bennett, Joseph Smith, and the Beginnings of Mormon Plural Marriage in Nauvoo.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 25 (2005): 52–92.

    Smith, George D. Nauvoo Polygamy: “. . . But We Called It Celestial Marriage.” Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2008.

    Hales, Brian C. “John C. Bennett and Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Addressing the Question of Reliability.” Journal of Mormon History 41, no. 2 (April 2015): 131–181.

  7. [7]

    JS, “To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to All the Honorable Part of Community,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1842, 3:839–842; Catherine Fuller Warren, Testimony, 25 May 1842, Testimonies in Nauvoo High Council Cases, May 1842, CHL.

    Testimonies in Nauvoo High Council Cases, May 1842. CHL.

  8. [8]

    Aside from John C. Bennett, the accused men included Chauncey L. Higbee, Lyman O. Littlefield, Joel S. Miles, and Gustavus Hills; Catherine Fuller Warren also testified that William Smith, brother of JS, “proposed unlawful connexion but I refused him.” Some of these men may have twisted words from JS’s 7 November 1841 discourse, which reportedly stated that “if we did not accuse one another God would not accuse us & if we had no accuser we should enter heaven.” Some of the women who later testified before the Nauvoo high council indicated that these men told them that there was no sin in what they were doing if the relationship was kept secret, because there could be no accuser. The women who testified against these men were Warren, Sara Miller, Margaret Nyman, Matilda Nyman, and Mary Clift. (Margaret Nyman and Matilda Nyman, Testimonies, 21 May 1842; Sarah Miller, Testimony, 24 May 1842; Catherine Fuller Warren, Testimony, 25 May 1842, Testimonies in Nauvoo High Council Cases, May 1842, CHL; Mary Clift, Testimony, 4 Sept. 1842, Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, CHL; Discourse, 7 Nov. 1841; “Chauncy L. Higbee,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 29 May 1844, [3].)

    Testimonies in Nauvoo High Council Cases, May 1842. CHL.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, 1839–1844. CHL.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  9. [9]

    JS, Journal, 31 Mar. 1842. The journal also notes that JS met with “Elders [Brigham] Young. [John] Taylor, &c.” before composing the letter. It is possible that JS wrote the letter in collaboration with these men. The letter is variously referred to as an “Epistle” or “the Article” in contemporaneous sources. (Relief Society Minute Book, 31 Mar. 1842, 24, [86]–[88], in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 44, 97–99.)

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

  10. [10]

    Discourse, 31 Mar. 1842.

  11. [11]

    Relief Society Minute Book, 31 Mar. 1842, 24, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 44.

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

  12. [12]

    The text of the letter appears in the Relief Society Minute Book after the minutes of a 28 September 1842 meeting. In that version, scribe Eliza R. Snow included a brief introduction to the text that read, “The following Epistle was read before the Society, early after its organization— but was not forwarded to be recorded; the Secretary not being present at the time of its reading; else it would have appear’d in its proper place.” (Relief Society Minute Book, [86], in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 97.)

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

  13. [13]

    JS, Journal, 10 Apr. 1842.

  14. [14]

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 25 May 1842, Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, CHL.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter to Emma Smith and the Relief Society, 31 March 1842
Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book

Page [1]

To the President of the Greeting
Can the “Female Releif Society of ” be Trusted with some important matters that ought actually to belong to them to see to which men have been under the necessity of seeing to to their chagrin & Mortification in order to prevent iniquitous characters from carrying their iniquity into effect such as, for instance a man who may be aspiring after power & authority and yet without principle; regardles[s] of god, man or the Devil or the interest or welfare of men, or the virtue or innocence of women? Shall the credulity, good faith, & steadfast feelings of our Sisters for the cause of God or truth be imposed upon by believing such men because they say they have authority from Joseph or the or any other Presidency of the and thus with a lie in their mouth deceive & debauch the innocent under the assumption that they are authorized from these sources! May God forbid!
A knowledge of some such thing having come to our ears we imp[r]ove this [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Emma Smith and the Relief Society, 31 March 1842
ID #
7029
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:304–310
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    In the version copied into the minutes of the Relief Society, the salutation reads, “To the Hon., the President of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, Greeting.” (Relief Society Minute Book, [86], in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 97.)

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

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