Footnotes
The embossment may be that of D. & J. Ames, a paper mill. (Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.)
Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.
Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Best, “Register of the Revelations Collection,” 20.
Best, Christy. “Register of the Revelations Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” July 1983. CHL.
Footnotes
On 3 September 1842, Adams County, Illinois, constable James Pitman, Missouri state agent Edward Ford, and Adams County undersheriff Thomas King came to Nauvoo, Illinois, to arrest JS and extradite him to Missouri. Learning of the effort, JS hid in the home of Newel K. Whitney and from there went to Hunter’s house, where he remained in hiding until the evening of 10 September. (JS, Journal, 3 and 10 Sept. 1842; Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 4 Sept. 1842; Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842; “Part 1: 1 September–31 October 1842.”)
Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.
Early revelations referred frequently to records and record keeping. The Book of Mormon frequently described keeping “a record,” and an early revelation described the book as “the record of a fallen people.” The language of record keeping subsequently became integral to the organization of the church, with a revelation instructing, “Behold there Shall a Record be kept among you.” Additional revelations further instructed the Saints to keep “a general church reccord of all things that transpire in Zion.” In February 1835, JS highlighted the importance of record keeping by encouraging the newly organized Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to ensure that “one or more be appointed to keep a record of [their] proceedings,” noting that problems had arisen because accurate records had not been kept in earlier days. In accordance with these instructions, early members produced a variety of records, including revelation books, minute books, diaries, and letterbooks. (Title Page of Book of Mormon, ca. Early June 1829; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 7, 317, 318, 451, 517, 572 [1 Nephi 1:1–3; Alma 37:1–2, 8–9; 3 Nephi 5:9–11; Mormon 8:1]; Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829; Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:9, 82]; Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1]; Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832 [D&C 85:1]; Minutes and Discourses, 27 Feb. 1835.)
For example, the record book of the church branch in Quincy, Illinois, includes records of thirteen baptisms for the dead between 9 November 1840 and 27 February 1841. In addition to recording the names of those who were baptized, the names of the deceased, and the relationship between the person baptized and the deceased, the book noted the exact dates of the baptisms. However, the earliest records are generally less detailed than the Quincy record book, often including only the year rather than a specific date. An inserted page in book B of the Nauvoo proxy baptism records includes some additional details, but a notation on the reverse side of the page indicates that the page had been found among the Nauvoo high council papers, suggesting that it was added to the book later and was not created at the same time as the other records contained in that book. (Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book, 9 Nov. 1840 and 17 Nov. 1840–27 Feb. 1841, 20, 22; Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. A; bk. B, 2–3.)
Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book / “Record of the Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Quincy, (Ill),” 1840–1846. CHL. LR 5361 21, fd. 1.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
Nineteenth-century Christians frequently referred to dispensations, such as the Mosaic dispensation, defining them as periods of divine involvement with humanity. During the previous years in Nauvoo, JS had addressed the topics of priesthood and gospel dispensations on several occasions. Like other nineteenth-century Christians, he taught that there had been gospel dispensations prior to Christ, although JS held that people during these dispensations were aware of and taught about Christ. JS’s comments on these earlier dispensations also emphasized that Adam, Noah, and others “held the Keys” of the priesthood “from genration to Generation.” Teaching that the church and its priesthood were linked to those earlier prophets, JS urged the Latter-day Saints to “seek for the Glory of Abraham. Noah. Adam.” (“Dispensation,” in Buck, Theological Dictionary, 127–128; Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A, underlining in original; see also Instruction on Priesthood, ca. 5 Oct. 1840; and Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.
Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. C, 1. Loose slips of paper inserted throughout the book indicate that the general church record was compiled from loose records that were subsequently given to the general church recorder.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
While it is possible that Clayton inadvertently misdated the letter in JS’s journal, his description of 6 September 1842 in JS’s journal seems to indicate otherwise. Describing the events of that day, Clayton noted, “The evening was spent cheerfully but nothing of special importance transpired.” (JS, Journal, 6 Sept. 1842.)
“Extracts from J. Smith’s Letter of Septr. 6th 1842,” Revelations Collection, CHL.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
JS’s revelations and sermons frequently revised biblical passages. As a part of these efforts and in his later sermons, JS utilized Malachi 4:5–6 at various times and in different ways prior to the writing of this letter. Most often JS used the wording of the King James Version of the Bible, but on some occasions, he rendered the words differently. The Book of Mormon quoted the passages as they appear in the King James Version. During his revision of the Bible, JS made no changes in Malachi, writing simply “Malicah Correct” on the manuscript on 2 July 1833. In his 1838–1856 history, however, JS noted that when Moroni first visited him in 1823, Moroni quoted Malachi’s prophecy differently: “Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. . . . And he shall plant in the hearts of the Children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers, if it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” JS published Moroni’s different reading of the verse as a part of his history in the Times and Seasons in April 1842. In a later sermon, JS suggested another change to the wording, stating that “the word turn here should be translated [bind or seal].” (Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 491 [3 Nephi 25:5–6]; Old Testament Revision 2, p. 119; JS History, vol. A-1, 5–6 [D&C 2]; “History of Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1842, 3:753; Woodruff, Journal, 21 Jan. 1844, brackets in original.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
See Ephesians 1:10. Paul referred to “the dispensation of the fulness of times” as a moment in which God would “gather together in one all things in Christ.” Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote that the phrase might refer to a “Gospel dispensation, which is the consummation of all preceding dispensations, and the last that shall be afforded to man.” JS’s revelations applied the term to his time, stating that it was the final dispensation spoken of by Paul. (Clarke, New Testament, 2:415, italics in original; see also Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:13]; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:30–31]; Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839 [D&C 121:31]; and Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:41].)
Clarke, Adam. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Version, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts. . . . Vol. 1. New York: J. Emory and B. Waugh, 1831.
JS taught that “the Priesthood was. first given To Adam,” who “held the Keys of it.” In October 1840, JS further explained that not only was Adam “the first and father of all . . . but he was the first to hold the spiritual blessings, to whom was made known the plan of ordinances for the Salvation of his posterity unto the end,” and the truths of heaven would “continue to be revealed” through him until the end of the world. He further explained, “Adam holds the keys of the dispensation of the fulness of times, i.e. the dispensation of all the times have been and will be revealed through him from the beginning to Christ and from Christ to the end of all the dispensations that have to be reveald.” During the October 1841 conference, JS stated, “There has been a chain of authority and power from Adam down to the present time.” (Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A, underlining in original; Instruction on Priesthood, ca. 5 Oct. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
See Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839 [D&C 121:26–32].
See Psalm 85:11; and Old Testament Revision 1, p. 19 [Moses 7:62].
See Isaiah 52:7; and Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 178, 484 [Mosiah 12:21; 3 Nephi 20:40].
Carmel was the mountain or hill in ancient Israel where Elijah called down fire from heaven. The phrase was likely intended to refer to the Old Testament passage about “the dew of Hermon, and . . . the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.” JS’s contemporaries made similar references to Carmel, including “‘the excellency of Carmel,’ and the mountain-dews of Hermon.” (See 1 Kings 18:17–40; 2 Kings 4:25; Psalm 133:3; Isaiah 35:2; Amos 1:2; Micah 7:14; and “The Treasures of the Deep,” Congregational Magazine, Aug. 1832, 475.)
“The Treasures of the Deep.” Congregational Magazine, n.s., 15, no. 92 (Aug. 1832): 474–477.