Proclamation, between 19 January and 27 August 1841

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Proclamation, between 19 January and 27 August 1841
Source Note

JS, Proclamation,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL, between 19 Jan. and 27 Aug. 1841; handwriting of
Robert B. Thompson
1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...
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; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket and notation.

Bifolium measuring 11⅜ × 7½ inches (29 × 19 cm). Each page is ruled with thirty-five lines, which are now faded. The document was later folded for filing and docketed. On the top, right side of the first page, “1842” appears in type.
1
A Historian’s Office inventory includes the following under the entry for 1842: “A religious proclamation by the Prophet.” That entry likely refers to this document. (“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

The document was docketed by
Thomas Bullock
23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...
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, who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865.
2
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
By 1973 this document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The proclamation’s dockets and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
[1]
A Historian’s Office inventory includes the following under the entry for 1842: “A religious proclamation by the Prophet.” That entry likely refers to this document. (“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.)
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
[2]
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historical Introduction
Sometime between 19 January and 27 August 1841, JS dictated a religious proclamation inviting government leaders throughout the earth to gather with the
Latter-day Saints
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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and “become the elite of the kingdom” of God. JS produced the proclamation with his scribe
Robert B. Thompson
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in accordance with a 19 January 1841 revelation, which commanded JS to “make a solemn proclamation of my gospel . . . written in the spirit of meekness and by the power of the holy ghost” so that the authorities in all the world would know God’s will, “even what shall befall them in a time to come.”
1
Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:1–6].
The revelation also directed JS to warn the world’s people and authorities of the second coming and judgment of Jesus Christ so “that they may be left also without excuse . . . when I shall unveil the face of my covering, to appoint the portion of the oppressor, among hypocrites, where there is gnashing of teeth; if they reject my servants, and my testimony, which I have revealed unto them.”
2

The revelation instructed JS to have
Robert B. Thompson
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help him write the proclamation,
3
and the proclamation featured here is indeed in Thompson’s handwriting. Though the proclamation was not dated, it would have been created after 19 January, when JS dictated the revelation that called for the proclamation to be written, and before 27 August 1841, when Thompson died.
4
Thompson apparently died from a severe lung infection. (Letter to Oliver Granger, 30 Aug. 1841; see also Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
No other textual clues in the document suggest a more specific date.
5
When Thomas Bullock filed the proclamation featured here, he wrote on the document that it was created “about, 1842,” but that appears to be a mistake.

The proclamation was apparently not published or distributed, despite the 19 January revelation’s injunction that JS do so immediately. There is no extant evidence that the proclamation was ever completed. At the end of 1841, JS evidently spoke to
Willard Richards
24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...
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about the proclamation,
6
Richards wrote the title of the proclamation and a few sentences about it on the verso of a 22 December 1841 revelation appointing John Snider to raise funds for the construction of the Nauvoo temple and the Nauvoo House, which the 19 January 1841 revelation commanded to be built. (See Revelation, [Nauvoo, IL], ca. 22 Dec. 1841, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
though no evidence suggests any effort was made to publish it in JS’s lifetime.
7
In April 1845, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles published a sixteen-page proclamation that was far more expansive and wide-ranging than JS’s 1841 proclamation. (Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints [New York: Prophet Office, 1845].)
[Pratt, Parley P.] Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-Day Saints. New York: Samuel Brannan and Parley P. Pratt, 1845.
Footnotes
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Thompson apparently died from a severe lung infection. (Letter to Oliver Granger, 30 Aug. 1841; see also Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
[5]
When Thomas Bullock filed the proclamation featured here, he wrote on the document that it was created “about, 1842,” but that appears to be a mistake.
[6]
Richards wrote the title of the proclamation and a few sentences about it on the verso of a 22 December 1841 revelation appointing John Snider to raise funds for the construction of the Nauvoo temple and the Nauvoo House, which the 19 January 1841 revelation commanded to be built. (See Revelation, [Nauvoo, IL], ca. 22 Dec. 1841, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
[7]
In April 1845, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles published a sixteen-page proclamation that was far more expansive and wide-ranging than JS’s 1841 proclamation. (Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints [New York: Prophet Office, 1845].)
[Pratt, Parley P.] Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-Day Saints. New York: Samuel Brannan and Parley P. Pratt, 1845.
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Document Information
Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Proclamation, between 19 January and 27 August 1841
ID #
2192
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:240–243
Handwriting on This Page