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Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 12–13 October 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , New York Co., NY, 12–[13] Oct. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 13 Oct. 1843]; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket.
Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The letter was written on the first page only. It was trifolded twice in letter style for filing and docketed.
The copy of 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. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s bearing of an early docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest 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]

    “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.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 12 and 13 October 1843, JS worked with in , Illinois, to write a letter to in regarding the recently published “Carthage Resolutions.” The letter was in reply to a 27 September missive from Hotchkiss, who had inquired concerning rumors of “several severe resolutions . . . condemning the conduct of the mormons.” In his reply, JS explained that an assembly had met in , Illinois, and passed resolutions against JS and the , and he expressed hope that more principled citizens would ignore the resolutions and that God would reward the Saints for their “virtue and goodness.”
On 12 October, JS gave , one of his clerks, the 27 September letter and asked him to answer it. Although the letter featured here is clearly dated 12 October, JS’s journal indicates that JS “anserd letter to ” on 13 October. The extant version of the letter is in Phelps’s handwriting, so it is likely that Phelps drafted the response letter on 12 October at JS’s direction before working with JS to revise or complete the letter on 13 October. Hotchkiss received the letter by 30 October, when he penned a response to JS.
The original letter that was sent to is apparently no longer extant. Likely before the original was sent, made a copy of the letter, which was docketed as such by JS’s private secretary, , and was kept with JS’s papers. That retained copy is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 Sept. 1843.

  2. [2]

    For more information on the passage of these resolutions, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 Sept. 1843; and Letter to Thomas Ford, ca. 20 Sept. 1843.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 12 Oct. 1843.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 13 Oct. 1843.

  5. [5]

    See Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Oct. 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 12–13 October 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 12–13 October 1843
ID #
1180
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:177–179
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