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Letter to John Thornton and Others, 25 July 1836

Source Note

, JS, , , and , Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to , Peter Rogers, Andrew Robertson, James Thompson, , Woodson Moss, James Hughs, , and , , MO, 25 July 1836. Featured version published in “Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:355–359. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Oliver Cowdery, Dec. 1834.

Historical Introduction

After disbanding the in , Missouri, in 1834, JS encouraged to emigrate there. The revelation calling for the discontinuance of the camp directed the Saints “to gather up the strength of my house” into the county, and a letter JS wrote the following August instructed church leaders in to “prevail on the churches to gather to those regions and situate themselves to be in readiness” to return to by the fall of 1836.
By summer 1836, more than 100 Latter-day Saint families joined the 250 families already residing in , many of whom had been forced out of in 1833. With this immigration, unrest grew among the non-Mormon citizens of the county. The factors that gave rise to the tension in Clay County had marked similarities to the causes of earlier violence in Jackson County. In late 1833 and early 1834, Clay County residents who were sympathetic to the Mormon exiles had agreed to give them temporary asylum after their troubles in Jackson County. By mid-1836, however, because of the rapid and increasing immigration of church members to the county and their extensive land purchases, non-Mormon Clay County residents feared that their county was becoming the new , or permanent church center. They also accused Mormons of opposing slavery and causing problems for slaveholders, as well as having unauthorized communications with American Indians in the area to turn them against non-Mormon whites.
By late June 1836, violence broke out between the communities. Anderson Wilson, a citizen who organized forces against the Saints, wrote, “There were Several outrages Committed on the night of the 28 [June 1836]. Six of our party went to a mormon town. Several mormons Cocked their guns & Swore they would Shoot them. After Some Scrimiging two white men took a mormon out of Company & give him 100 lashes & it is thought he will Die of this Beating.” Latter-day Saint remembered that in late spring 1836, “it appeared that war was even at our doors.” Believing that the Mormons’ increased immigration, efforts to redeem Zion, and apparent sympathy for slaves and Indians would lead to bloodshed and “civil war” in Clay County, local citizens and community leaders met in to devise a resolution to the impending conflict.
At the meeting, held 29 June 1836 at the courthouse, citizens organized a “Committee of nine.” This body was composed of community leaders and included , a Democrat and former judge in who served as the committee chair, and three attorneys previously employed by the Saints during their efforts to obtain redress and justice for their expulsion from —, , and . The committee wrote a preamble and resolutions to present to the Saints. The preamble expressed residents’ belief that a crisis had arrived and that if it was not resolved, harmony, good order, and peace would no longer exist in the county. The committee listed what they believed were the county residents’ collective complaints against the Saints and requested as a solution that church members stop immigrating to the county and completely withdraw from it. The resolutions detailed how they would negotiate the departure of the Latter-day Saints from the county.
While the committee did not intend to include JS as part of these negotiations, , assistant church president in , forwarded to him the committee’s preamble and resolutions, which had been published in a local newspaper. The letter featured here is the response JS and other members of the church in wrote directly to the committee led by . The letter from the Kirtland leaders countered rumors about the Missouri Saints and explained their defensive actions, addressing issues that had spurred tensions leading to the request for them to vacate the county. This letter was sent along with another letter JS and the other church leaders wrote to Phelps and the Missouri church leaders on the same date. Wording in the Phelps letter indicates that it was written after the letter featured here. Both letters were apparently sent to Phelps, with the intent that he pass on the letter addressed to Thornton and the rest of the committee. Both letters were printed in the August issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate; the printed copies are the only known extant versions.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See “Joseph Smith Documents from April 1834 through September 1835.”

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836; Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:24, 27–31]; Letter to Lyman Wight and Others, 16 Aug. 1834; Minutes, 2 Apr. 1836.

  3. [3]

    Murdock, Journal, 27 July 1836; Parkin, “History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County,” 269, 318–319.

    Murdock, John. Journal, ca. 1830–1859. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 2.

    Parkin, Max H. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County, Missouri, from 1833 to 1837.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1976.

  4. [4]

    Lewis, “Mormon Land Ownership,” 25–28; Parkin, “History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County,” 318–319; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:162–190.

    Lewis, Wayne J. “Mormon Land Ownership as a Factor in Evaluating the Extent of Mormon Settlements and Influence in Missouri, 1831–1841.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1981.

    Parkin, Max H. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County, Missouri, from 1833 to 1837.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1976.

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

  5. [5]

    “Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:359–360; “Another Mormon Invasion,” Daily Missouri Republican, 17 May 1836, [2]; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1833 through March 1834.”

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

  6. [6]

    Anderson Wilson and Emelia Wilson, Clay Co., MO, to Samuel Turrentine, Orange Co., NC, 4 July 1836, Wilson Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; see also Parkin, “History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County,” 242–279.

    Wilson Family Papers, 1835–1849. Southern Historical Collection, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

    Parkin, Max H. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County, Missouri, from 1833 to 1837.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1976.

  7. [7]

    Holbrook, Reminiscences, 41.

    Holbrook, Joseph. Reminiscences, not before 1871. Photocopy. CHL. MS 5004. Original in private possession.

  8. [8]

    “Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 353–355; “Public Meeting,” Far West (Liberty, MO), 30 June 1836; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to John Thornton and Others, 25 June 1834.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    The Far West. Liberty, MO. 1836.

  9. [9]

    “Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:353–355.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  10. [10]

    For the response of the Saints in Clay County, see Historical Introduction to Letter to William W. Phelps and Others, 25 July 1836.

  11. [11]

    Letter to William W. Phelps and Others, 25 July 1836.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to John Thornton and Others, 25 July 1836 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 357

time which has transpired since its publication, you can easily see, that it was put forth for no other reason than to correct the public mind generally, without a reference or expectation of an excitement of the nature of the one now in your country. Why we refer you to this publication, particularly, is because many of our friends who are now at the west, were in this place when this paper made its appearance, and from personal observation gave it their decided approbation, and expressed those sentiments to be their own, in the fullest particular.
Another charge of great magnitude is brought against our friends in the west—of “keeping up a constant communication with the Indian tribes on our frontier, with declaring, even from the pulpit, that the Indians are a part of God’s chosen people, and are destined, by heaven, to inherit this land, in common with themselves.” We know of nothing, under the present aspect of our Indian relations, calculated to rouse the fears of the people of the Upper , more than a combination or influence of this nature; and we cannot look upon it other than one of the most subtle purposes of those whose feelings are embittered against our friends, to turn the eye of suspicion upon them from every man who is acquainted with the barbarous cruelty of rude savages. Since a rumor was afloat that the Western Indians were showing signs of war, we have received frequent private letters from our friends, who have not only expressed fears for their own safety, in case the Indians should break out, but a decided determination to be among the first to repel any invasion, and defend the frontier from all hostilities. We mention the last fact, because it was wholly uncalled for on our part, and came previous to any excitement on the part of the people of , against our friends, and must definitively show, that this charge is also untrue.
Another charge against our friends, and one that is urged as a reason why they must immediately leave the county of , is, that they are making or are like to, the same “their permanent home, the center and general rendezvous of their people.” We have never understood such to be the purpose, wish or design of this society; but on the contrary, have ever supposed, that those who resided in , only designed it as a temporary residence, until the law and authority of our should put them in the quiet possession of their homes in . And such as had not possessions there, could purchase to the entire satisfaction and interest of the people of .
Having partially mentioned the leading objections urged against our friends, we would here add, that it has not been done with a view on our part, to dissuade you from acting in strict conformity with your preamble and resolutions, offered to the people of , on the 29th ult. but from a sense of duty to a people embarrassed, persecuted and afflicted. For you are aware, gentlemen, that in times of excitement, virtues are transformed into vices, acts, which in other cases, and under other circumstances, would be considered upright and honorable, interpreted contrary from their real intent, and made objectional and criminal; and from whom could we look for forbearance and compassion with confidence and assurance, more than from those whose bosoms are warmed with those pure principles of patriotism with which you have been guided in the present instance, to secure the peace of your , and save a persecuted people from further violence, and destruction?
It is said that our friends are poor; that they have but little or nothing to bind their feelings or wishes to , and that in consequence, have a less claim upon that . We do not deny the fact, that our friends are poor; but their persecutions have helped to render them so. While other men were peacefully following their avocations, and extending their interest, they have been deprived of the right of citizenship, prevented from enjoying their own, charged with violating the sacred principles of our constitution and laws; made to feel the keenest aspersions of the tongue of slander, waded through all but death, and, are now suffering under calumnies calculated to excite the indignation and hatred of every people among whom they may dwell, thereby exposing them to destruction and inevitable ruin!
If a people, a community, or a society, can accumulate wealth, increase [p. 357]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to John Thornton and Others, 25 July 1836
ID #
326
Total Pages
5
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:258–268
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [9]

    Similar charges of objectionable interaction between Latter-day Saints and American Indians had been made during the conflict in Jackson County. Shortly after the Mormons’ expulsion from Jackson County in 1833, Isaac McCoy, a Baptist missionary who preached among the American Indians in Independence and present-day eastern Kansas in the early 1830s, accused the Mormons of seeking aid from the Indians west of the Missouri River during the Jackson County struggles, of violating federal Indian law, and of possibly tampering with Indians and attempting to ally with them against non-Mormon whites. McCoy explained that he and his white neighbors “strongly suspected” that the Mormons were “secretly tampering with the neighboring Indians, to induce them to aid in the event of open hostility; for myself, I could not resist the belief that they had sought aid from the Indians though I have not ascertained that legal evidence of the fact could be obtained.” (Isaac McCoy, “The Disturbances in Jackson County,” Missouri Republican [St. Louis], 20 Dec. 1833, [2]–[3]; Jennings, “Isaac McCoy and the Mormons,” 62–82.)

    Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1919.

    Jennings, Warren A. “Isaac McCoy and the Mormons,” Missouri Historical Review 61, no. 1 (Oct. 1966): 62–82.

  2. [10]

    These letters have not been located.

  3. [11]

    William W. Phelps and a committee of Saints also responded to this accusation: “We deny holding any communications with the Indians, & mean to hold ourselves as ready to defend our country against their barbarous ravages as any other people.” (“Public Meeting,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:360.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  4. [12]

    Preliminary studies identify more than 3,600 acres purchased by the Saints in Clay County, usually in 40- or 80-acre parcels. Of the approximately 250 Latter-day Saint families that resided in the county through 1836, about a third of them owned land. The rest rented, squatted on government land, or lived on the land of other Saints. Most of the land owned by the Saints was located within three miles of the main east-west road that passed through the southern part of the county. Examples are Newel Knight’s forty acres, the holdings of the Colesville branch at the southwest corner of the county, Edward Partridge’s rented land two miles south of Liberty, Lyman Wight’s 130 acres near the Fishing River in the eastern part of the county, and John Cooper’s eighty acres on the eastern edge of the county. (Lewis, “Mormon Land Ownership,” 25–28; Parkin, “History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County,” 318–319; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:161–190; Clay Co., MO, Deed Records, 1822–1890, vol. D, pp. 197, 256, microfilm 955,264; vol. E, pp. 170, 399, microfilm 955,265, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Eliza Partridge Lyman, Journal, 10; Young, “What I Remember,” 13.)

    Lewis, Wayne J. “Mormon Land Ownership as a Factor in Evaluating the Extent of Mormon Settlements and Influence in Missouri, 1831–1841.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1981.

    Parkin, Max H. “A History of the Latter-day Saints in Clay County, Missouri, from 1833 to 1837.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1976.

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Lyman, Eliza Maria Partridge. Journal, 1846–1885. CHL. MS 1527.

    Young, Emily Dow Partridge. “What I Remember,” 1884. Typescript. CHL. MS 5718.

  5. [13]

    Church leaders continued to encourage Saints to gather to Missouri until their numbers were sufficient to reclaim their lands in Jackson County. Though considered a temporary home, Clay County had become the main Missouri gathering place for the Saints. Following the endowment in the Kirtland House of the Lord, church leaders set in motion greater proselytizing and fund-raising efforts to purchase lands in Missouri as part of their greater focus on redeeming Zion. (Minutes, 30 Mar. 1836; Minutes, 2 Apr. 1836; JS, Journal, 2 Apr. 1836.)

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