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Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 March 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 27 Mar. 1843; handwriting of ; signature of JS by ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 13 × 8½ inches (33 × 22 cm). After the letter was inscribed, it was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. The letter was later refolded for filing. It has undergone conservation.
apparently returned this letter to JS’s office, likely soon after he received it. The letter was docketed twice 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. After the letter was refolded for filing, a new docket was added by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. About the same time, Hawkins copied the missive into the manuscript history of the church, and he presumably added use marks at this time. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early dockets, its inclusion in the manuscript history, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate 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]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    JS History, vol. D-1, 1503; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 441.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

  4. [4]

    “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.

  5. [5]

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

Historical Introduction

On 27 March 1843 in , Illinois, JS dictated a letter for articulating past grievances between the two men and stating his intention, barring some kind of reconciliation, to have Rigdon disfellowshipped from the at its upcoming April . Rigdon joined the church in 1830, the year it was founded, and he was one of JS’s closest advisers and a counselor in the for the next decade. In the early 1840s, however, Rigdon’s health declined, limiting his ability to function as JS’s counselor. Moreover, in summer 1842, JS’s relationship with Rigdon was substantially damaged by a dispute between JS and the Rigdon family, stemming from allegations that JS had asked Rigdon’s nineteen-year-old daughter, , to be to him as a plural wife. If such a proposal took place, she evidently refused it. The friction between the two men was exacerbated when , who had been excommunicated a few months earlier, publicized the alleged proposal and published a letter that JS purportedly sent to Nancy, which seemed to contain a justification for plural marriage. In August 1842, in a gesture of reconciliation, Sidney Rigdon publicly reaffirmed his belief in JS’s prophetic calling.
However, through summer and fall 1842, rumors persisted that was secretly collaborating with to undermine JS and the church. JS accused Rigdon, who was postmaster, of tampering with JS’s mail at Bennett’s behest. In November 1842, JS and other Nauvoo citizens sent a petition—supported by affidavits that described irregularities in the post office—requesting that the postmaster general remove Rigdon and install JS in the position. Rigdon denied any connection with Bennett and dismissed the mail-tampering allegations as unfounded.
JS’s suspicions regarding seemed to have been confirmed in mid-January 1843, when sent a letter to Rigdon outlining a plan to have JS extradited to to stand trial for crimes allegedly committed during the 1838 conflict. Bennett instructed Rigdon to share the letter with former , who had become disaffected and was excommunicated in summer 1842 amid allegations that JS had asked Pratt’s wife, , to be sealed to JS as a plural wife. JS denied those allegations. Rigdon followed Bennett’s instructions and delivered the letter to Orson Pratt. By mid-January 1843, however, Pratt was seeking rebaptism, and he shared Bennett’s missive with JS. JS’s journal records that “Mr Rigdon did not want to have it known that he had any hand in shewing the letter”; apparently Rigdon’s reluctance to notify JS about the letter confirmed JS’s suspicion that Rigdon was conspiring with Bennett. JS and Rigdon, however, met on 11 February 1843 and reconciled.
By March 1843, JS was again suspicious of ’s possible cooperation with ’s efforts to have JS extradited. On 17 March, JS heard that Bennett’s efforts had resulted in new indictments in against JS and others. This report may have prompted new questions regarding Rigdon’s involvement. JS and Rigdon evidently met at the Rigdon home on 26 March. The specific content of their discussion is not known, but JS apparently remained deeply concerned. The following morning, JS dictated a letter for Rigdon, with acting as scribe. Expressing his “sensations of deep regret and poignant grief,” JS reviewed his past wariness toward Rigdon in regard to Bennett and the post office. JS also stated his intention to “withdraw fellowship” and “bring him [Rigdon] before conference” on 6 April, “unless satisfa[c]tion was made.”
The letter was addressed to at the post office, which was in Rigdon’s home. JS sent the letter via , apparently before 11:00 a.m. Rigdon responded to JS’s letter the same day, denying any complicity with .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 12–13 May and 28–29 June 1842; John C. Bennett, Carthage, IL, 2 July 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 15 July 1842, [2]. Orson Hyde later claimed that Nancy invented the proposal to discredit JS after he reproved her for immoral behavior. (Speech of Elder Orson Hyde, 27–28.)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Speech of Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered before the High Priest’s Quorum in Nauvoo, April 27th, 1845, upon the Course and Conduct of Mr. Sidney Rigdon, and upon the Merits of His Claims to the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1845. Copy at CHL.

  3. [3]

    Appendix: Letter to Nancy Rigdon, ca. Mid-Apr. 1842.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 21 Aug. 1842; see also Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 1 July 1842.

  5. [5]

    See Sidney Rigdon, Notice, Wasp, 23 July 1842, [3]; and Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, 21 Sept. 1842, Letter to the Editor, Wasp, 24 Sept. 1842, [2].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  6. [6]

    Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 8 Sept. 1842; Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, 12 Sept. 1842, Emma Smith, Correspondence, CHL; Historical Introduction to Letter to George W. Robinson, 6 Nov. 1842; Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 26 Nov. 1842.

    Smith, Emma. Correspondence, 1842 and 1844. CHL.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 8 Nov. 1842; Letter to Richard M. Young, 9 Feb. 1843.

  8. [8]

    Sidney Rigdon, Notice, Wasp, 23 July 1842, [3]; Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, 21 Sept. 1842, Letter to the Editor, Wasp, 24 Sept. 1842, [2]; Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, to Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 12 Sept. 1842, Emma Smith, Correspondence, CHL.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

    Smith, Emma. Correspondence, 1842 and 1844. CHL.

  9. [9]

    John C. Bennett, Springfield, IL, to Sidney Rigdon and Orson Pratt, Nauvoo, IL, 10 Jan. [1843], Sidney Rigdon, Collection, CHL; Letter to Justin Butterfield, 16 Jan. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 10 Aug.–18 Sept. 1842; see also Minutes, 22 July 1842; and Discourse, 29 Aug. 1842.

    Rigdon, Sidney. Collection, 1831–1858. CHL. MS 713.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  10. [10]

    Minutes, 20 Jan. 1843; see also JS, Journal, 20 Jan. 1843.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 18 Jan. 1843.

  12. [12]

    JS, Journal, 11 Feb. 1843.

  13. [13]

    JS, Journal, 17 Mar. 1843.

  14. [14]

    Rigdon’s 27 March 1843 response to JS implied that JS was with Rigdon on 26 March. (Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.)

  15. [15]

    JS, Journal, 27 Mar. 1843.

  16. [16]

    JS, Journal, 27 Mar. 1843.

  17. [17]

    Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 March 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [4]

demand your . I could say much more but let the above suffice for the pre[se]nt,
yours in haste,
Joseph Smith.—
Esqr.
Post Office
[p. [4]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 March 1843
ID #
1021
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:112–116
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

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