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Letter to Oliver Olney, 15 July 1842

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 15 July 1842; handwriting of ; one page; Oliver H. Olney Papers, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Includes address.
Single leaf measuring 9⅞ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The top, bottom, and right side of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper; tearing on the lower left edge of the recto suggests the leaf was cut from a bifolium. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with an adhesive wafer. The right edge of the recto was torn when the letter was opened.
The document was presumably received by . Upon his death in 1845, it may have been passed down to descendants along with his other papers. In 1949, Olney’s papers were acquired by Edward Eberstadt & Sons of . Sometime in the next three years, the document was purchased by William Robertson Coe. By 1952, Coe had donated the letter, as part of the William Robertson Coe Collection, to Yale University.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Withington, Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Collection of Western Americana, 200; Walker, Dale Morgan, 175–176.

    Withington, Mary C., comp. A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Collection of Western Americana Founded by William Robertson Coe, Yale University Library. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1952.

    Walker, John Phillip, ed. Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1986.

Historical Introduction

On 15 July 1842, JS, in , Illinois, replied to a letter from former member . JS’s response invited Olney to attend a meeting of the Nauvoo . Olney had joined the church in , Ohio, by January 1836 and relocated with the Latter-day Saints to and then . Beginning in April 1842, he claimed that he had been visited in 1839 by deceased and that in 1841 he had received additional visitations from heavenly beings. Olney stated that he had experienced visions and prophecies given by a council of twelve men he called the “Antient of days.” He also claimed that he had a duty to call JS and other church leaders to repentance and to establish the true kingdom of God on the earth.
’s claims led to church discipline, and in March 1842, preferred charges against him for “improper conduct—for setting himself up as a Prophet & Revelator in the Church.” The high council investigated these charges on 17 March and disfellowshipped Olney. An article in the 1 April 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, titled “Try the Spirits” and likely written by JS, noted that Olney had been disfellowshipped because “he would not have his writings tested by the word of God.” The article also stated that Olney “loves darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil.” According to Olney, the high council insisted that he give up his writings, which he said contained accounts of the misdeeds of church leaders. However, the minutes of that meeting suggest that the high council was concerned only with Olney’s prophecies, not his writings about church leaders. Olney later recounted that after a second meeting with the high council, he decided to withdraw from the church.
Although separated from the church, remained in and resolved to record and correct the errors he saw among the Latter-day Saints. He began writing privately about his visions and visitations, at the same time enumerating the sins of church leaders. In early June, claiming authority from an anointing by the council he called the Ancient of Days, Olney resolved to build a new kingdom of God. He further sought to counsel and reform church leaders he believed were unwilling to admit their faults. His objections to JS and other leaders included perceived elitism and greed among the leaders, alleged immoral activities, and his view that JS was a fallen prophet who coerced loyalty and required the wealth of his people. Olney also criticized church members for their involvement in Freemasonry. In his personal writings from 1842, Olney frequently expressed his desire to meet with the and in order to correct them. Having been unable to reform church leaders, Olney apparently considered his attempts to be sufficient. However, in mid-July he felt he received direction from the “Antient of days” instructing him to once again reach out to church leaders. He apparently wrote to JS on 15 July 1842, but either the letter is no longer extant or Olney misdated his retained copy 16 July 1842.
In his letter of reply, written by clerk , JS asked to attend a meeting on Sunday, 17 July, to address his concerns. Although Olney wished to speak to the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles, JS appears to have instead directed him to meet with the high council. The high council apparently met at least briefly on 17 July, but no minutes from that meeting are extant. JS may have intended to attend the high council meeting, but he became ill and spent most of the day at home. According to Olney, he had met with church leaders by 20 July.
presumably received JS’s letter between 15 and 17 July, in time to attend the meeting scheduled for the evening of 17 July. He retained the letter from JS in his papers; he used the verso of the letter to compose or copy a letter, dated 3 August 1842, to Phebe Wheeler, whom he would later marry.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Minutes, 15 Jan. 1836; and Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 17 Mar. 1842.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  2. [2]

    Oliver Olney, Notebook, June–July 1842, 12 July 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  3. [3]

    The misspelled “Antient of days” follows Olney’s spelling of the name of the council.

  4. [4]

    Oliver Olney, Note, Nauvoo, IL, 9 June 1842; Oliver Olney, Notebook, June–July 1842, 19 June 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  5. [5]

    John C. Bennett, Charges Preferred against Oliver Olney, 11 Mar. 1842, Nauvoo High Council Papers, CHL.

    Nauvoo High Council Papers, 1839–1844. CHL.

  6. [6]

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 17 Mar. 1842.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  7. [7]

    “Try the Spirits,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:748.

  8. [8]

    Olney wrote: “They soon demanded my writings / That they could not obttain / I too well knew their feelings / I too well knew their minds / To trust them with the record / That I had kept of the L.D.S. / As it spoke of their foibles / It spoke of their works / And the ungodly doings / That I have seen a mongst the L.D.S. / Because of not getting my writings / And because of my words / They from me withdrawed / The hand of fellowship / And set me a float.” Several of his writings follow the structure of blank verse and are therefore reproduced in that format. (Oliver Olney, Notebook, Apr.–Aug. 1842, 6 Apr. 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.)

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

  9. [9]

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 17 Mar. 1842.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  10. [10]

    Oliver Olney, Notebook, Apr.–Aug. 1842, 6 Apr. 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL. No record of a second meeting appears in the minutes of the Nauvoo high council.

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

  11. [11]

    See Oliver Olney, Notebook, June–July 1842, 9–11 June 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  12. [12]

    See Moore, “Writings of Oliver H. Olney,” 70.

    Moore, Richard G. “The Writings of Oliver H. Olney: Early Mormon Dissident; Would-be Reformer.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 33, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2013): 58–78.

  13. [13]

    See Oliver Olney, Notebook, May–July 1842, 13 May and 18 June 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  14. [14]

    See Oliver Olney, Notebook, May–July 1842, 7 July 1842; Oliver Olney, Notebook, June–July 1842, 16 July 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  15. [15]

    See Letter from Oliver Olney, 15 or 16 July 1842.

  16. [16]

    See Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 17 July 1842.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  17. [17]

    See JS, Journal, 17 July 1842.

  18. [18]

    See Oliver Olney, Notebook, May–July 1842, 20 July 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

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

  19. [19]

    Olney married Wheeler in October 1843. (Nauvoo, IL, Recorder, Marriage Record, 16; JS, Journal, 19 and 23 Oct. 1843.)

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Oliver Olney, 15 July 1842
ID #
3082
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:273–276
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

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