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Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 September 1833

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to , , Jackson Co., MO, 4 Sept. 1833; sent copy; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal markings, dockets, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 8⅛ × 6⅛ inches (21 × 16 cm). The letter was trifolded twice, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. On the verso of the second leaf, a docket in the handwriting of Leo Hawkins reads: “Sept 4. 1833 | Joseph Smith | to | ”. A piece measuring 4⅝ × 4⅜ inches (12 × 11 cm) that contained JS’s signature was cut from the second leaf. When the page was cut, the descenders of the last line of text on the recto were cut off, as well as part of the address and postage on the verso. The recto of the second leaf has a docket in the handwriting of John L. Smith written presumably at the time the signature was cut out: “This letter was sighned | by Joseph Smith own | Hand— which autograph | was cut off by Pres. B | Young March 4th 1859 | The letter was also | written by Joseph Smith’s | own hand.” An equation in unidentified handwriting appears on the verso of the second leaf: “553 | 279 | 274”. The letter has undergone conservation.
The letter bears notations that match the excerpted copy of the letter found in the addenda of JS’s manuscript history. If the markings were made to prepare the letter to be copied into the manuscript history, the letter would have been in the possession of the Church Historian’s Office by the end of May 1845. The docket inscribed by John L. Smith indicates that the letter was certainly in the custody of the Historian’s Office by March 1859.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Though many others spelled her name “Jacques,” as well as a variety of other spellings, extant evidence indicates that Vienna consistently spelled her last name “Jaques.” (Photograph of Vienna Jaques, ca. 1867, George Albert Smith, Miscellaneous Portraits, ca. 1862–1873, CHL; Vienna Jaques, Salt Lake City, to Brigham Young, 2 July 1870, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833, in Doctrine and Covenants 84:7, 1835 ed. [D&C 90:28].)

    Smith, George Albert. Miscellaneous Portraits, ca. 1862–1873. CHL. PH 5962. The original portrait of Vienna Jaques within this collection is in private possession.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  2. [2]

    Under the date of 4 March 1859, the Historian’s Office journal records that “Pres. Young sent over to the Historian Office after the autograph of Joseph Smith. which was furnished him from a letter that Joseph wrote himself & sent to Vienna Jaques.” (Historian’s Office, Journal, 4 Mar. 1859.)

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

  3. [3]

    JS History, vol. A-1, addenda, 1–2.

  4. [4]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 28 May 1845.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

  5. [5]

    The Historian’s Office journal includes a transcript of this letter after an entry dated 15 February 1859. (Historian’s Office, Journal, 15 Feb. 1859.)

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

Historical Introduction

In 1831, , an unmarried woman in her forties, converted to the . In the early 1830s, Jaques resided in , where she, “by patient toil and strict economy, had accumlated considerable means for those times.” While in Boston, Jaques had affiliated with a Methodist Episcopal church, but when she heard of JS and of the Book of Mormon, she traveled to , Ohio, met JS, and was . She returned to Boston, and in the summer of 1832, she assisted and in raising a small branch of the Church of Christ in Boston and the surrounding area. That same summer Jaques decided to collect her means and again travel to Kirtland to gather with the Mormons. She arrived in Kirtland by November 1832 and remained there until the spring of 1833.
By 8 March 1833, the day a JS revelation directed to relocate to , Missouri, Jaques had a substantial sum of money to the church. The precise amount of money that Jaques donated is uncertain. In the summer of 1832, an article published in the newspaper American Traveller stated that several members of the Church of Christ branch in Boston contemplated “going to the west” for the “promised land.” The article reported that two women had left and that they had taken with them all their wealth. These two women “had acquired by industry, one 1500 and the other 800 dollars, which they have given up to go into the general stock.” The article did not name these women, but one of them was likely Jaques, as she immigrated to in the summer or fall of 1832, around the same time the women in the article departed. No other contemporary accounts mention Jaques or the financial situation of women immigrating to Kirtland at this time. Whatever the amount, Jaques’s consecration came at a propitious time. Church leaders were in the midst of contracting to purchase several parcels of land in Kirtland and needed additional funds to carry out such agreements. Jaques’s contribution, as JS wrote in this letter, “proved a Savior of life as pertaining to [JS’s] pecunary concern.”
By 30 April 1833, had not yet left for , Missouri, as she had been directed to do by the 8 March 1833 revelation. A of convened that day and “decided that Sister Vean Jaqush [Vienna Jaques] should not immediately procede on her Journy to but to wait untill gets ready and go in company with him.” Jaques and Hobert probably left sometime before mid-May and arrived in , Missouri, by 7 June. Jaques experienced considerable hardship on the journey when Hobert “was afflicted with a delirium, which for a short time entirely deprived him of his natural intellect.” What is more, in July, just weeks after Jaques arrived in Jackson County, anti-Mormon violence erupted as county residents intended to force members of the Church of Christ to leave their lands. Jaques was an eyewitness to the tarring and feathering of and other violent actions in Jackson County later that month, including the razing of the church’s . According to Jaques’s later statement, during the attack on the print shop, she was attempting to gather pages from the partially printed Book of Commandments that “were thrown into the streets” when a “mobber came a long and remarked to her, ‘Madam this is only a prelude to what you have to suffer.’”
wrote to JS sometime after her arrival in , but her letter, which included “a history of [her] Journey and [her] safe arival,” has not been located. JS stated that both Jaques’s earlier letter and his own spiritual promptings led him to write the letter featured here. In the letter, JS expressed his gratitude for her safe arrival in Independence, reflected on the contemporary plight and future destiny of , shared news of church growth and construction in and reports of missionary success in the East, provided instructions for , and gave comments about or intended for mutual acquaintances. This document is the earliest surviving letter that JS addressed specifically to a woman other than his own wife . The letter was postmarked on 11 September 1833, and though no extant record mentions its reception, it would have likely arrived in in early October, just weeks before violence there resumed.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    George Hamlin, “In Memoriam,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Mar. 1884, 12:152.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

  2. [2]

    According to one Boston area newspaper, “Mormonite preachers have recently visited this city, and made about 15 converts to their strange doctrines, who have been baptised and joined the Mormon church.” According to Orson Hyde’s and Samuel Smith’s journals, during that summer the two men also preached in areas surrounding Boston and once lodged at Jaques’s second home in Fox Point wharf, near Providence, Rhode Island. (See “Mormonism,” American Traveller [Boston], 28 Aug. 1832, [2]; Samuel Smith, Diary, 22 June–7 Aug. 1832; and Hyde, Journal, 25 June–7 Aug. 1832.)

    American Traveller. Boston. 1825–1844.

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

    Hyde, Orson. Journal, Feb. 1832–Mar. 1833. CHL. MS 1386.

  3. [3]

    George Hamlin, “In Memoriam,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Mar. 1884, 12:152.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

  4. [4]

    A copy of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon that apparently belonged to Vienna Jaques is held at the Church History Library. On the first page of the book is inscribed the following: “The Writeing above is Joseph Smith’ own handwriteing which he wrote, the day he gave the book me Vienna Jaques on the 22d of November 1832.” This note, apparently written by Jaques, follows a notation written by JS: “Vienna Jaque[s] Book Novem 22d. 1832.” A letter JS wrote to Missouri in late November 1832 indicates that Jaques was in Kirtland by that time. (Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832.)

  5. [5]

    Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90:28–31].

  6. [6]

    “Mormonism,” American Traveller (Boston), 28 Aug. 1832, [2]. Later histories stated the amount donated by Jaques was $1,400. However, neither the evidence cited in those histories nor extant contemporaneous evidence corroborates that figure. According to Edward Tullidge’s Women of Mormondom, published in 1877, Jaques “went to Kirtland in 1833, being a single lady and very wealthy. When she arrived in Kirtland she donated all of her property to the church.” It is not clear if Tullidge interviewed Jaques for this publication. One obituary for Jaques similarly states that she collected her “considerable means” and that “by her liberality rendered” much “pecuniary assistance to the Church in its infancy.” Another obituary simply stated, “She was well known and widely respected for her life-long integrity and many virtues of character.” (Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 441; George Hamlin, “In Memoriam,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Mar. 1884, 12:152; “Vienna Jacques Dead,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 13 Feb. 1884, 49.)

    American Traveller. Boston. 1825–1844.

    Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90:28–30]; Minutes, 30 Apr. 1833; Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 2 July 1833; “Obituary,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 117.

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  8. [8]

    See Letter from John Whitmer, 29 July 1833.

  9. [9]

    Vienna Jaques, Statement, 22 Feb. 1859, CHL; see also [Edward Partridge], “A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:18.

    Jaques, Vienna. Statement, 22 Feb. 1859. CHL. MS 3172.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  10. [10]

    JS earlier stated that letters to Missouri were meant to be available to all church members. (Letter to Edward Partridge, 2 May 1833.)

Page [2]

let thy saints come unto out of every nation let her be exalted to the third heavens and let thy Judgments be sent forth unto victory and after this great tribulation let thy blessings fall upon thy people and let thy handmaid live till her soul shall be satisfied in beholding the glory of Zion notwithstanding her present affliction she shall yet arise and put on her beautiful garments and be the Joy and praise <​glory​> of the whole earth therefore let your heart be comferted live in strict obedience to the of God and walk humble before him and he will exalt thee in his own due time the brethren in this place are gaining ground in spiritual things and are trying to overcome all things that is not well pleasing to their heavenly father we have common there has many brethren mooved to this place from different parts of the country so much so that one house is not sufficient to contain them for public worship and we have divided and hold meetings in two sepperete places namely at the and Uncle s who lives on s place we have commenced building the in this place and are making great progress in it so much so that I feel great hopes that by spring it will be finished so that we can have a place to worship where we shall not be molested a few days since Brothe[r] Ball and Siste[r] arived here <​from​> broth[er] ball has gone about three miles from this place to work at his trade and lives with me at present & Lives with ——
I will assure you that the Lord has respect unto the offering you made he is a God that changes not and and his word cannot fail remember what he has said in the book of mormon respecting those who should assist in bringing this work forth we frequently have inteligenc from our abroad that are proclaming the word that God is working with them for they have attained to great faith insomuch that signs do follow them that believe [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 September 1833
ID #
180
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:288–296
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [12]

    See Isaiah 2:2–3; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:69].

  2. [13]

    See 2 Corinthians 12:2.

  3. [14]

    See Matthew 12:20; and Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52:11].

  4. [15]

    See Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:3–4]. JS referred to this passage in the 1 August 1831 revelation again several months later when attempting to comfort the church leaders in Missouri. He reminded them of “a certain clause in one [revelation] which says that after much tribulation cometh the blessing.” (Letter to Edward Partridge et al., 10 Dec. 1833, underlining in original.)

  5. [16]

    That is, Zion’s present affliction. The phrases “great tribulation” and “present affliction” may have been used to describe the general conditions in Missouri or perhaps were used in response to Jaques’s earlier letter, which may have described the violent encounters she witnessed in Missouri in July. (See Vienna Jaques, Statement, 22 Feb. 1859, CHL.)

    Jaques, Vienna. Statement, 22 Feb. 1859. CHL. MS 3172.

  6. [17]

    See Isaiah 52:1.

  7. [18]

    See Psalm 48:2.

  8. [19]

    See Colossians 2:2.

  9. [20]

    JS later wrote to Edward Partridge, “We know not what we shall be called to pass through before Zion is delivered and established therefore we have great need to live near to God and always be in strict obedience to all his commandments that we may have a concience void of offense towards God and man.” (Letter to Edward Partridge, 5 Dec. 1833.)

  10. [21]

    See 1 Peter 5:6.

  11. [22]

    See Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50:35].

  12. [23]

    Earlier that summer, the presidency of the high priesthood reported that “the number of disciples in K[irtland] is, about 150.” (Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833.)

  13. [24]

    The schoolhouse on the flats was located in the central part of Kirtland on the road east of Newel K. Whitney’s store and the tannery. It is unclear where John Smith lived. When he moved to Kirtland in May 1833, he wrote in his journal that he “hired a house & moved into it,” but he did not specify the location. Though Joseph Coe had purchased the Peter French farm on behalf of the Church of Christ in April, he apparently did not live on that land. “Brother Coes place” likely refers to his fifty-three-acre property located on lot 6, which was about a half mile northeast from central Kirtland. (“Portion of Kirtland Township, Ohio, 31 December 1833;” John Smith, Journal, 25 May 1833; see also Historical Introduction to Minutes, 23 Mar. 1833–A; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 16, pp. 176–177, 2 May 1832, microfilm 20,236, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; and illustration of church landholdings in Kirtland.)

    Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  14. [25]

    It actually took two more years beyond the following spring to complete the House of the Lord. Shortly after JS wrote this letter, construction on the House of the Lord in Kirtland, which had continued apace since its commencement in early June 1833, came to a halt. On 10 October 1833, Frederick G. Williams wrote, “We held a council this morning on the subject of building &c. it was decided by the council that we should discontinue the building of the temple for the winter for want of materials and to prepare and get all things ready to recommence it early in the spring.” By the following spring, however, most of the available men instead traveled to Missouri in the Camp of Israel to aid the dispossessed church members in Jackson County. (Frederick G. Williams, Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brethren,” 10 Oct. 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 57–58.)

  15. [26]

    “Brothe[r] Ball” may be Joseph Ball from the Boston area. By 1840, Ball was back in Boston, where he began a missionary tour through Massachusetts and Connecticut. Elizabeth Chase was baptized into the Church of Christ in Boston by Samuel Smith on 5 December 1832. (“Communications,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1840, 2:253–254; Samuel Smith, Diary, 5 Dec. 1832.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

  16. [27]

    Agnes Coolbrith and Mary Bailey were baptized in Boston after being taught by Samuel Smith and Orson Hyde during the men’s 1832 mission in that area. According to Bailey’s obituary, she left Boston sometime in 1833: “in company with Miss Coolbrith, . . . she bid farewell to friends and connexions, and every thing most dear, and traveled the distance of one thousand miles to Kirtland, Ohio, with no human protector but the one above named, to associate with the saints, in obedience to the commands of God, and the instructions of the inspired Prophets and Apostles.” Lucy Mack Smith’s history notes that in June 1833, “Mary Baily and Agnes colby was then boarding with me they devoted their whole time to making and mending clothes for the brethren who worked on the house There was but one main spring to all our thoughts and that was building the Lords house.” Coolbrith and Bailey later married JS’s brothers Don Carlos Smith and Samuel Smith, respectively. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 26 June and 30 July 1832; Obituary for Mary Bailey Smith, Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:324–225; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 14, [3].)

    Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  17. [28]

    See Genesis 4:4–5.

  18. [29]

    See Malachi 3:6; 1 Kings 8:56; and Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:31]; see also Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 536, 582 [Mormon 9:9; Moroni 8:18].

  19. [30]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 31 [1 Nephi 13:37].

  20. [31]

    See Mark 16:17; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:64–73]; see also Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 Jan. 1833.

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