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Letter to William Smith, circa 18 December 1835

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to , [, Geauga Co., OH], [ca. 18 Dec. 1835]. Featured version copied [ca. 19 Dec. 1835] in JS, Journal, 1835–1836, pp. 80–87; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, 1835–1836.

Historical Introduction

Shortly after his dramatic confrontation with his younger brother on 16 December, JS responded to a contrite letter he had received from William. According to his journal, JS had spent the day after the fight at home feeling “quite unwell.” On the following morning, 18 December, visited JS’s , Ohio, home. Hyrum had also received an apologetic letter from William, which he read aloud to JS. Hyrum and JS apparently spent the remainder of the morning discussing their younger brother’s troubling behavior and his future welfare.
The fight deeply wounded the Smith family. When and called on JS the evening of 17 December, they were “sorely afflicted in mind on the account of that occurrence.” felt that JS was justified in rebuking their younger brother, and he felt “wounded to the verry soul, with the conduct of .” Despite the physical injuries that William had inflicted on him, JS expressed concern for his brother’s spiritual welfare and optimism about his capacity to change. After writing to his brother, JS recorded in his journal: “I have had many solemn feelings this day Concerning my Brothe[r] William and have prayed in my heart to fervently that the Lord will not cast him off but he may return to the God of Jacob and magnify his apostleship and calling.”
The following letter to offers the most detailed account of the 16 December fight and provides a glimpse of JS’s feelings, personality, and demeanor. The letter also articulates some of JS’s nascent ideas about the duty of leaders to reprove and counsel those under their stewardship, a teaching he would develop more fully in succeeding years.
The dating of JS’s letter to is unclear. The letter, as it was copied in JS’s journal by , was originally inscribed with an incorrect date of 17 December; Parrish later changed the “7” to an “8” so the date read “Friday Dec. 18th 1835.” The first line of the 19 December journal entry, in Parrish’s handwriting, indicates that JS spent that day at home, where he “wrote the above letter to Br. Wm. Smith.” The corresponding 19 December entry in JS’s history, also penned by Parrish, is slightly different. It reads, “He was at home and wrote the above letter, or rather indited it, to his brother William.” In another, later JS history, copied William’s 18 December letter and JS’s response. Before recording the latter, Richards wrote that JS “gave the following answer the same day” he received William’s letter of 18 December. Given the aforementioned cancellation, insertion, and subsequent recording in JS’s journal and histories, the letter is dated here as circa 18 December to reflect both the ambiguity of the dating and the date given by Parrish when he inscribed the letter into the journal.
JS’s letter to is no longer extant, but JS’s scribes recorded three versions of the letter in various church records. Significant differences between the featured text and the copy in JS’s 1834–1836 history are noted; the copy in JS’s later history has no significant differences.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from William Smith, 18 Dec. 1835.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 17 Dec. 1835. The adaptation of JS’s journal for his history confirms that his poor health was a result of the injuries he had sustained at William’s hands. The exact nature of the injuries is not recorded. (JS History, 1834–1836, 150, 159.)

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1835; this letter from William to Hyrum Smith is not extant.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1835.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 17 Dec. 1835.

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1835.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 19 Dec. 1835.

  8. [8]

    Fifteen months after writing this letter, JS explained these responsibilities to a group of church members gathered in the Kirtland temple. He told them, “It is also the privilege of the Melchisedec priesthood, to reprove, rebuke and admonish, as well as to receive revelations.” He himself “rebuked and admonished his brethren frequently, and that because he loved them.” “These rebukes and admonitions,” he continued, were “for their temporal as well as spiritual welfare. They actually constituted a part of the duties of his station and calling.” (Discourse, 6 Apr. 1837.)

  9. [9]

    JS, Journal, 19 Dec. 1835; JS History, 1834–1836, 162.

  10. [10]

    JS History, vol. B-1, 668–672.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 19 Dec. 1835; JS History, 1834–1836, 157–162; JS History, vol. B-1, 668–672.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to William Smith, circa 18 December 1835 Journal, 1835–1836 History, 1834–1836 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 84

I have received your letter and purused it with care, I have not entertained a feeling of malice, against you, I am, older than your and have endured, more suffering, having been mar[r]ed by mobs, the labours of my calling, a series of persecution, and inguries, continually heaped upon me, all serve to debilitate, my body, and it may <​be​> that I cannot boast of being stronger, than you, if I could, or could not, would this be an honor, or dishonor to me,— if I could boast like David of slaying a Goliath, who defied the armies of the living God, or like Paul, of contending with Peter face to face, with sound arguments, it might be an honor, But to mangle the flesh or seek revenge upon one who never done you any wrong, can not be a source of sweet reflection, to you, nor to me, neither to an honorable father & mother, brothers, and sisters, and when we reflect, with what care our parents and with what unremiting diligence our parents, have strove to watch over us, and how many hours, of sorrow, and anxiety, they have spent over our cradles and bedsides, in times of sickness, how careful we ought to be of their feelings in their old age, it cannot be a source of sweet reflection to us to say or do any thing that will bring their grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave,
In your letter you asked my forgivness, which I readily grant, but it seems to me, that you still retain an idea, that I have given you reasons to be angry or disaffected with me,
Grant me the privilege of saying then, [p. 84]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to William Smith, circa 18 December 1835
ID #
300
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:115–121
Handwriting on This Page
  • Warren Parrish

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