Minutes, 2 April 1836, Page 199
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Minutes, 2 April 1836

Source Note

F. G. Williams & Co., Minutes, , Geauga Co., OH, 2 Apr. 1836. Featured version copied [between ca. 4 Apr. and ca. 16 May 1836] in Minute Book 1, p. 199; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.

Historical Introduction

On 2 April 1836, JS met with other members of , the ’s printing firm. The company’s principals, and , had been in charge of the church’s printing operations in , Ohio, beginning with its organization on 11 September 1833. Since its inception, F. G. Williams & Co. had taken on several publishing endeavors, including the publication of church newspapers, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the church’s first hymnal. By fall 1835, monthly expenditures exceeded the company’s receipts, and F. G. Williams & Co. had to rely on donations and loans from church members to remain solvent.
In spring 1836, after the dedication of the in , church leaders turned their attention to temporal needs, including the church’s printing efforts and fund raising for the redemption of . On 29 March 1836, JS, , , , and met in the House of the Lord and “sought for a revelation from Him, to teach us concerning our going to Zion.” The next day, they resolved to “let the redemtion of Zion be our object, and strive to affect it by sending up all the strength of the Lords house whereever we find them.” Then, three days later, JS met with “many brethren” on temporal and spiritual business, and the next day, 2 April 1836, he and the other members of F. G. Williams & Co. met to transact temporal business that would “have a bearing upon the redemption of Zion.” At the 2 April meeting, the members of the firm designated JS and Cowdery to raise money to purchase land in Zion and contribute “all in [their] power” for its redemption. Although noted that JS and Oliver Cowdery had great success initially, which gave them “pleasing anticipations,” they appear to have encountered difficulties in finding members willing to give their money or land for the cause of Zion.
In the 2 April meeting, and , members of the who would soon leave to return to Missouri, were released from future responsibilities and debts of the firm. and were charged with collecting on the firm’s “outstanding claims” as a way to “discharge the company debts.” Collecting funds from those who were in arrears for their newspaper subscriptions would have likely helped keep the printing establishment afloat and alleviated the church’s poor financial circumstances as church leaders focused on diverting resources to the redemption of Zion.
F. G. Williams & Co. eventually dissolved on 7 June 1836, when “purchased the entire establishment.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 11 Sept. 1833; Note, 16 Sept. 1835.

  2. [2]

    Church newspapers included The Evening and the Morning Star, which was replaced by the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate in 1834, and the Northern Times, a periodical dedicated to political issues.

  3. [3]

    See Covenant, 29 Nov. 1834; F. G. Williams & Co., Account Book, 3 (second numbering); and JS, Journal, 6 Oct. 1835.

    F. G. Williams & Co. Account Book, 1833–1835. CHL. In Patience Cowdery, Diary, 1849–1851. CHL. MS 3493.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836.

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 1 and 2 Apr. 1836.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 2 Apr. 1836. Several unwilling individuals were brought before the Kirtland high council in summer 1836. (See Minutes, 16 June 1836.)

  8. [8]

    In the March 1836 issue of the Messenger and Advocate, which was likely published sometime after the meeting featured here, the editors published the following notice in an effort to collect on debts: “Those who are in arrears for the Messenger and Advocate, will please forward the amount to Oliver Cowdery; with the exception of those who reside in Missouri, they will please settle their arrears with John Whitmer. We hope that our friends will bear in mind, that paper, ink, and labor, cannot be obtained without the money; therefore, we are under the necessity to call on those who are indebted to us for assistance, which will be thankfully received.” (Notice, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1836, 2:288.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  9. [9]

    “Notice,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, June 1836, 2:329. After the purchase, Cowdery named the firm O. Cowdery & Co., which appears to have included JS and Rigdon by February 1837. The printing office changed hands twice more in the next year. (“Notice,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1837, 3:458; “Notice,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:496.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes, 2 April 1836
Minute Book 1 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 199

April 2d 1836
The following individuals comprising the firm of (viz.) Joseph Smith Junr. , , , and , met in the upper room in the to take into consideration, the situation of the firm in a pecuniary point of view, to devise ways & means to discharge the debts, to make a partial division of stock, and to release from the responsibility of the company Messrs. & .
First. We deem it wisdom, considering the importance of our contributing all in our power for the redemption of , that J. Smith Junr and , be a board or committee whose duty it shall be to raise all the money they can in Righteousness, for a season, to send by, or to certain wise men, appointed to purchase land in Zion, in obedience to a revelation or command of the Lord for the mutual benefit of the said company or firm aforesaid.
Second. It is mutually agreed that & exert themselves in devising ways & means with the stock on hand, the available outstanding claims of the firm and such other means as they may deem most proper to discharge the company debts.
Third. It is also mutually understood & agreed, that , & , have five hundred Books of Doctrine & Covenants, when bound and five hundred hymn books together with the subscription list for the Messenger & Advocate and Northern Times now due the firm in Missouri, and that Messrs. & be released from all <​the​> responsibility of all claims on them or either of them, as joint partners in the firm aforsaid.
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 2 April 1836
ID #
5776
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:222–224
Handwriting on This Page
  • Warren A. Cowdery

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    All of these men, except Frederick G. Williams, had been designated as original members of the Literary Firm, along with Martin Harris. (See Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832.)

  2. [2]

    Entries in the F. G. Williams & Co. cash book end in November 1835, so the extent of the firm’s debt at the time of this meeting is not known. (F. G. Williams & Co., Account Book.)

    F. G. Williams & Co. Account Book, 1833–1835. CHL. In Patience Cowdery, Diary, 1849–1851. CHL. MS 3493.

  3. [3]

    Previous revelations outlined the need for the church to send “wise men” to purchase land in Zion.a According to John Whitmer’s history, on 11 March 1836, JS appointed Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley, John Corrill, and William W. Phelps as “wise men” sent to Missouri “with some money [to] purchase land for the saints—to seek a place for them &c.”b In a letter sent the following day to his wife, Sally Waterman Phelps, William W. Phelps wrote that he “could not get ready to start for Missouri, on Monday—had to wait to raise Money to purchase land.”c

    (aSee, for example, Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:73]; Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:23]; and Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:28]. bWhitmer, History, 83. cWilliam W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, Apr. 1836, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

  4. [4]

    These men constituted the presidency of the Missouri high council. With the exception of David Whitmer, they were planning to depart Kirtland to return to Clay County, Missouri, immediately.

  5. [5]

    The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was published by F. G. Williams & Co. during the summer of 1835, and contemporary accounts suggest that at least one thousand copies were bound in Cleveland; it appears that at least five hundred, however, were left unbound by the time of the 2 April 1836 meeting featured here. A Collection of Sacred Hymns was published by F. G. Williams & Co. in 1835 and became available sometime in early 1836. ([William W. Phelps], “Doctrine and Covenants,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1835, 1:170; William W. Phelps, Kirtland Mills, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16–18 Sept. 1835, private possession, copy at CHL.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Phelps, William W. Letter, Kirtland Mills, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 16–18 Sept. 1835. Private possession. Copy at CHL. MS 4587.

  6. [6]

    John Whitmer served as the editor of the Messenger and Advocate through the March 1836 issue, after which time the duties of editor transferred to Oliver Cowdery, though the paper was still published under the F. G. Williams & Co. name. (Masthead, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1836, 2:288; Masthead, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1836, 2:304.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

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