Footnotes
The apocalyptic content of the letter raises the possibility that it may also have been intended to prepare the Colesville branch for the forthcoming exodus of church members from New York to Ohio, declaring as it did that the “time is soon at hand that we shall have to flee whithersoever the Lord will, for safety.” The inclusion of Cowdery’s letter, with its encouraging commentary on the work in Kirtland, may have helped prepare members in Colesville to respond positively to the call to leave New York and remove to that distant location. However, no other evidence indicates that JS was contemplating a move to Ohio prior to the 30 December revelation. (See Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:2–3].)
See Jude 1:14. At the time this letter was composed JS was in the midst of dictating an expanded account of the biblical Enoch. Shortly after writing this letter, JS dictated a lengthy prophecy of Enoch, a portion of which dealt with the “last days” and the second coming of Christ. (See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 19 [Moses 7:65].)
TEXT: Possibly “appeard ” or “appears ”.