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.
For more information on the March 1839 escape attempt, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
Samuel Hadley was the Clay County sheriff and jailer, while Samuel Tillery was the deputy jailer. (See Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.)
The cost of repairing the breach may have been included in the $480 that Clay County later charged Daviess County for interning the Mormon prisoners since Daviess County lacked a jail. (History of Daviess County, Missouri, 205, 247, 249.)
The History of Daviess County, Missouri. An Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. . . . Kansas City, MO: Birdsall and Dean, 1882.
For more information on the expulsion order that Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued on 27 October 1838, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
The History of Daviess County, Missouri. An Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. . . . Kansas City, MO: Birdsall and Dean, 1882.
The prisoners’ frustration with the Missouri legislature stemmed from its decision to table the Latter-day Saints’ 10 December 1838 petition for relief, as well as from its failure to appoint a committee of state representatives and senators to investigate the causes of the recent conflict. The bill to create the committee was tabled in the House of Representatives on 4 February 1839 because of opposition from representatives of counties that contained significant numbers of anti-Mormon vigilantes. Atchison, the Clay County representative who introduced the original legislation, did not speak against the motion to table the bill, believing the motion would pass regardless of his opposition. His subsequent failure to revive the bill was criticized in the press as being “a complete surrender of the position he has maintained during the whole session on this subject.” Although Atchison told the press that his actions had been misconstrued, the prisoners apparently based their assessment on negative newspaper reports or suspected he had an ulterior motive. (Edward Partridge et al., Petition, Far West, MO, to the Missouri State Legislature, 10 Dec. 1838, copy, Edward Partridge, Papers, CHL; Journal, of the House of Representatives, of the State of Missouri, 19 Dec. 1838 and 4 Feb. 1839, 128, 367; “Letter from the Editor,” Daily Missouri Republican [St. Louis], 8 Feb. 1839, [2]; David R. Atchison, Jefferson City, MO, 10 Feb. 1839, Letter to the Editor, Daily Missouri Republican, 20 Feb. 1839, [2]; Gentry and Compton, Fire and Sword, 457–462, 485–496.)
Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892.
Journal, of the House of Representatives, of the State of Missouri, at the First Session of the Tenth General Assembly, Begun and Held at the City of Jefferson, on Monday, the Nineteenth Day of November, in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Eight. Jefferson City, MO: Calvin Gunn, 1839.
Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.
Gentry, Leland Homer, and Todd M. Compton. Fire and Sword: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 1836–39. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2011.
Hyrum Smith kept notes on the Missouri habeas corpus statute in the back of his diary. (See Hyrum Smith, Diary, CHL; and An Act to Regulate Proceedings on Writs of Habeas Corpus [6 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1835], pp. 297–298, art. 1.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly, During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. Together with the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841.