Phelps, William Wines

Biography

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer.

Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, 224; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 446; Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:505; Van Orden, “W. W. Phelps,” 48; Cook, Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 87; Porter, “Study of the Origins,” 101; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 18, 25; Minutes, 11 Sept. 1833; “Phelps, William Wines,” in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:693–694, 696–697; Bowen, “Versatile W. W. Phelps,” 7, 83, 148, 151, 155, 159–160; JS, Journal, 9 Mar. 1843; “Phelps, William Wines,” in Black, Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848, 34:791–792.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Black, Susan Easton. Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997.

Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

Jessee, Dean C., ed. The Papers of Joseph Smith. 2 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989–1992.

Van Orden, Bruce A. “W. W. Phelps: His Ohio Contributions, 1835–36.” In Regional Studies in Latter-Day Saint Church History: Ohio, edited by Milton V. Backman Jr., 45–62. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, 1990.

Cook, Lyndon W. The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985.

Porter, Larry C. “A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1971. Also available as A Study of the Origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 1816–1831, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

Bowen, Walter Dean. “The Versatile W. W. Phelps—Mormon Writer, Educator and Pioneer.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1958.

Black, Susan Easton, comp. Membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848. 50 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, 1989. Also available as “Membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848,” LDS Family History Suite: LDS Vital Records Library, CD-ROM ([Provo], UT: Infobases, Inc., 1996).

Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey.

Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman, 28 Apr. 1815, in Smyrna, Chenango Co., New York. Editor of Western Courier. Moved to Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, by 3 July 1819. Returned to Homer, by Nov. 1821. Moved to Trumansburg, Tompkins Co., New York, 1823. Edited Anti-Masonic newspaper Lake Light. Moved to Canandaigua, Ontario Co., New York, Apr. 1828, and there published Anti-Masonic newspaper Ontario Phoenix.

Obtained copy of Book of Mormon, 1830. Met JS, 24 Dec. 1830. Migrated to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1831.

Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 16 June 1831, at Kirtland. Ordained an elder by JS, June 1831, at Kirtland. Appointed church printer, 20 July 1831. Ordained a high priest by JS, 1 Oct. 1831. Appointed member of what became the Literary Firm, Nov. 1831. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri, late 1831. Appointed member of United Firm, Apr. 1832. Became editor of The Evening and the Morning Star and Upper Missouri Advertiser, published 1832–1833 at Independence, Jackson Co. Published Book of Commandments, but most copies destroyed by mob when printing office was razed, 20 July 1833.

Expelled from Jackson Co. to Clay Co., Missouri, Nov. 1833. Appointed counselor/assistant president to David Whitmer, president of church in Missouri, 3 July 1834. Returned to Kirtland and served as JS’s scribe. Prolific writer of hymns. Helped compile Doctrine and Covenants and first Latter-day Saint hymnal, 1835, at Kirtland.

Appointed to draft rules and regulations for Kirtland temple, 13 Jan. 1836. Returned from Kirtland to Clay Co., where he resumed duties with Missouri presidency, 1836. Appointed postmaster, 27 May 1837, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Excommunicated, 10 Mar. 1838.

Reconciled with church, before Mar. 1839; excommunicated, Mar. 1839. Moved to Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio, before Mar. 1840. Reconciled with church; rebaptized, late June 1840.

Returned to Kirtland, by May 1841. Appointed to serve mission to eastern U.S., 23 May 1841.

Appointed recorder of church licenses, 2 Oct. 1841, in Kirtland. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, by Nov. 1842. Acted as clerk to JS and assisted John Taylor in editing Times and Seasons and Nauvoo Neighbor. Assisted Willard Richards in writing JS’s history, by Jan. 1843. Elected fire warden and mayor’s clerk, 11 Feb. 1843. Served as member pro tem of Nauvoo City Council. Admitted to Council of Fifty, 11 Mar. 1844. Migrated to Salt Lake Valley, 1848. Served as counselor to Parley P. Pratt on exploration mission to southern Utah Territory, Nov. 1849. Admitted to Utah territorial bar, 1851. Member of Utah territorial Legislative Assembly, 1851–1857. Died at Salt Lake City.

Phelps, William Wines

Biography

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