Footnotes
See “Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:99–104.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
See JS History, vol. C-1, 900–906; and 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.
See “Index to Papers. in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, p. 3; “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, p. 1, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; and the full bibliographic entry for the Revelations Collection in the CHL catalog.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Footnotes
Near the conclusion of this 20 March letter, JS and his fellow prisoners wrote, “We shall continue to offer further reflections in our next epistle.” A short time later, the men wrote another general epistle, stating: “We continue to offer further reflections to Bishop Partridge and to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints.” The prisoners concluded this letter with a note that “we shall continue our reflections in our next.” However, the prisoners apparently did not write another letter prior to their departure from the Clay County jail on 6 April 1839. (Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; Hyrum Smith, Diary, 6 Apr. 1839.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 19 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
It is unknown which “documents and papers” the leaders in Quincy sent, but in JS’s March 1839 general epistles, he indicated awareness of discussions documented in two sets of minutes, one dated 9 March 1839 and the other undated, which Rogers may have delivered to the jail. (See Rogers, Statement, [1], CHL; see also Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; Minutes, 9 Mar. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 49; Far West Committee, Minutes, 17 Mar. 1839; and Minutes, no date, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 48.)
Rogers, David W. Statement, [not before 1846]. CHL.
Far West Committee. Minutes, Jan.–Apr. 1839. CHL. MS 2564.
See, for example, 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; and Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity, chap. 2; see also Letter to the Church in Caldwell Co., MO, 16 Dec. 1838; and Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839.
Doty, William G. Letters in Primitive Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.
For example, Hyrum Smith wrote about a major theme in the general epistle—persecution and its significance—in March 1839 letters to his wife, Mary Fielding Smith. The brothers may have discussed the subject in the jail. On the evening of 20 March, Lyman Wight noted in his journal that while JS was “writing an epistle to the church,” Wight and Caleb Baldwin were writing letters to their families, which suggests the two men had minimal or no involvement in preparing the epistle, at least at that time. (Hyrum Smith, [Liberty, MO], to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, [ca. Mar. 1839], Hyrum Smith Collection, CHL; Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 16 Mar. 1839; Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, [Quincy, IL], 20 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:323.)
Smith, Hyrum. Collection, ca. 1839–1911. CHL.
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
The first draft was apparently discarded after it was copied, as was common practice.
Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, [Quincy, IL], 20 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL. Wight reported that Ripley returned to the jail on 22 March 1839 and took the prisoners’ “package of letters for Quincy.” It is unclear whether Ripley went to Far West on 20 March and then returned to Liberty two days later or whether he remained in Liberty during that period. (Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:323.)
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
Mary Fielding Smith, [Quincy, IL], to Hyrum Smith, 11 Apr. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839, copy, CHL; JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, copy, Albert Perry Rockwood, Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; “Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:99–104. Portions of the 20 March 1839 letter were canonized in the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. (Doctrine and Covenants 121, 1876 ed. [D&C 121].)
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
Smith, Joseph. Letter, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839. Copy. CHL.
Rockwood, Albert Perry. Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839. Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
The Doctrine and Covenants, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Containing the Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, Jun., the Prophet, for the Building Up of the Kingdom of God in the Last Days. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Office, 1876.
See Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30; and Mark 14:62.
See Psalms 2:4; 59:8.
See Proverbs 1:26.
On 22 January 1839, JS and his fellow prisoners appeared before Justice Joel Turnham of the Clay County court on a writ of habeas corpus. On 30 January, after reviewing the evidence, Turnham released Rigdon on bail but remanded the remaining prisoners to jail. (See Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839; Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.)
On 23 March 1839, Hyrum Smith noted that “the Lawyers came in to see us today for the first time for many weeks they appear to be more friendly than usual.” (Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 23 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.
Hyrum Smith wrote on 16 March 1839 that “the people here seem to be friendly. . . . the Spirit of the people seems to be in our favour.” (Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 16 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.