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Recommendation from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark for Lorenzo Snow, circa 5 January 1843

Source Note

and , Recommendation, for , [, Lancashire, England?], to the (including JS), , Hancock Co., IL, [ca. 5 Jan. 1843]. Featured version copied [between ca. Jan. and Apr. 1843] in Lorenzo Snow, Letterbook, pp. [214]–[215]; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter from Lorenzo Snow, 10 Oct. 1842.

Historical Introduction

By early or mid-January 1843, presumably writing from , England, and of the presidency of the in Europe wrote a recommendation for , who was leading a company of 250 emigrants embarking for , Illinois. The company was to present the document to the when it arrived. Although Snow had been serving his mission in since late 1840, evidently declined his petitions to return home in September or October 1842. Pratt went on to name Snow as a counselor to Ward in the church’s European presidency. Snow wrote to JS in October 1842 to inform him that he intended to leave for Nauvoo in January. It is unclear, however, whether JS ever received the letter or approved his return to Nauvoo. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that any response from JS would have arrived in by January 1843. Nevertheless, by January, Snow’s return had apparently been approved, perhaps so he could lead the large group of converts who were immigrating to Nauvoo at that time. In the recommendation, Ward and Clark specifically praised Snow as “a most faithful brother and laborer in the work of the Lord.”
It is unclear exactly when and wrote the recommendation. Although the company of emigrants led by was set to depart on the Swanton on 5 January 1843, a “fear of storms” and dangerous seas delayed the ship’s departure until 16 January. Ward and Clark presumably wrote the recommendation by 5 January, the date the company anticipated leaving. However, they may have written it earlier or even as late as 16 January, the actual date of departure.
The Swanton arrived in on 15 March 1843, and booked passage for the company to travel to on a steamboat. On 12 April 1843, Snow and the company arrived in Nauvoo, where JS and and “a large Company of the brethren & sister[s]” greeted them. Snow presumably presented the original recommendation to JS or another member of the First Presidency at that time. The original recommendation is apparently not extant. At some point between receiving it in and presenting it in Nauvoo, Snow copied the recommendation into his letterbook, and that version is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Parley P. Pratt, “To the Saints in Europe,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:110. Snow had been contemplating returning to Nauvoo since at least August 1842, when he wrote to Levi Richards that he was “perfectly relieved from any further responsibility and a free man, ready to go to Zion as soon as I can get the means.” Snow hoped that he would be able to leave for Nauvoo in the “latter part of Sept. or fore part of Oct.,” provided that Pratt did not object. (Lorenzo Snow, Bedford, England, to Levi Richards, Liverpool, England, 12 Aug. 1842, Levi Richards, Papers, CHL, underlining in original.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Richards, Levi. Papers, 1837–1867. CHL.

  2. [2]

    See Letter from Lorenzo Snow, 10 Oct. 1842.

  3. [3]

    News Item, Millennial Star, Jan. 1843, 3:160; Lorenzo Snow, Journal and Letterbook, 65–68.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Snow, Lorenzo. Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1845. Lorenzo Snow, Journals, 1836–1845, 1872. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Snow’s company evidently traveled to St. Louis on the Goddess of Liberty and then journeyed from St. Louis to Nauvoo on the steamboat Amaranth. (“Emigration,” Millennial Star, May 1843, 4:14–15; News Item, Wasp, 12 Apr. 1843, [2]; JS, Journal, 12 Apr. 1843.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 12 Apr. 1843.

Page [214]

To the of the at
Our beloved brother and in Charge of a Company of Saints sailling from in the ship “Swanton” we most cordially recommend to your attention and love as a most faithful brother and laborer in the work of the Lord together with those of the company under his superentendency [p. [214]]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [214]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Recommendation from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark for Lorenzo Snow, circa 5 January 1843
ID #
13304
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:315–317
Handwriting on This Page
  • Lorenzo Snow

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Snow was baptized in 1836. (Lorenzo Snow, Journal and Letterbook, 32–33.)

    Snow, Lorenzo. Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1845. Lorenzo Snow, Journals, 1836–1845, 1872. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Snow was ordained a high priest in Nauvoo in 1840. The title “Elder” was likely being used to designate his role as a missionary rather than referring to his 1836 ordination as an elder. (Lorenzo Snow, Journal and Letterbook, 33, 39; JS, License for Lorenzo Snow, 1 May 1837, in Lorenzo Snow, Letterbook, [59]–[60]; Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, 40.)

    Snow, Lorenzo. Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1845. Lorenzo Snow, Journals, 1836–1845, 1872. CHL.

    Snow, Eliza R. Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884.

  3. [3]

    The Swanton was built in 1838 by Benjamin Pattee at Bath, Maine. The January 1843 voyage from England was captained by Stephen Davenport. (Sonne, Ships, Saints, and Mariners, 185.)

    Sonne, Conway B. Ships, Saints, and Mariners: A Maritime Encyclopedia of Mormon Migration, 1830–1890. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987.

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