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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 359

gentlemen, that while you reflect upon the fact, that the citizens of are urgent for our friends to leave you, that you will also bear in mind, that by their complying with your request to leave, is surrendering some of the dearest rights and first, among those inherent principles, guaranteed in the constitution of our ; and that human nature can be driven to a certain extent, when it will yield no farther. Therefore, while our friends suffer so much, and forego so many sacred rights, we sincerely hope, and we have every reason to expect it, that a suitable forbearance may be shown by the people of , which if done, the cloud that has been obscuring your horizon, will disperse, and you be left to enjoy peace, harmony and prosperity.
With sentiments of esteem and profound respect, we are, gentlemen, your obedient servants.
,
JOSEPH SMITH, Jr.
,
,
. [p. 359]
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Page 359

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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
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