On 24 May 1839, JS dictated a letter for , encouraging him and his family to relocate to , Illinois. Whitney and his family had remained in , Ohio, after the majority of the departed for in July 1838. A revelation JS dictated on 8 July directed Whitney, who was previously the church’s in Kirtland, to assist in settling the church’s and the ’s financial matters in the area and then join the body of the church in Missouri. That fall, Whitney began moving his family to Missouri. En route, the Whitneys learned of the expulsion of church members from that state and, rather than continuing on, temporarily settled in Carrollton, Illinois.

It is uncertain how long the Whitneys remained in Carrollton. The few records indicating where the Whitneys were residing in 1839 do not provide a clear chronology of their movements. On 6 May 1839, JS held a meeting in , Illinois, during which church leaders resolved that should go to and his family should “be kept” in Quincy among church members. It is unlikely that Whitney had moved his family to Quincy by that time, though Whitney may have traveled there. Sometime in spring 1839, likely after the 6 May council meeting, Whitney and his eldest son traveled to Commerce, where JS instructed Whitney that “as quickly as practicable” he should “join the Saints” there. While Whitney and his son were absent from their family, an anti-Mormon in Carrollton recognized and the five children who remained with her. Learning that the man intended to incite a mob against the family, Elizabeth Ann and the children fled from the town. They headed for Quincy, meeting Newel K. Whitney and the eldest son on the way. Though it is not clear exactly when the family fled from Carrollton, they likely arrived in Quincy by summer.

On 24 May, the same day JS dictated the featured letter to , JS addressed similar letters to and, in partnership with his wife , to and , encouraging them to move to and informing them that he had selected land for them. Each of these letters was recorded in JS Letterbook 2 by Mulholland.

JS’s letter to was mailed to Carrollton, likely because JS was unaware of the Whitneys’ sudden departure, which may have occurred around the time the letter was sent. A docket on the back of the letter indicates it arrived at the post office in , Iowa Territory, on 29 May 1839. Whitney received the letter on 4 June 1839 at an unknown location. Soon after, on 16 June, Whitney arrived in .