Letter to Moses Daley, circa 8 October 1834
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Source Note
JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to , , Huron Co., OH, ca. 8 Oct. 1834. Featured version copied [before 26 Oct. 1834] in William E. McLellin, Journal, p. 17; handwriting of ; William E. McLellin Papers, CHL.William E. McLellin, Journal, 1834, [9 July 1834–17 Apr. 1835]; handwriting of ; twenty-four pages; William McLellin, Papers, CHL.This journal is inscribed on pages measuring 6⅛ × 3⅝ inches (16 × 9 cm). Any original binding or boards are no longer extant, and modern conservators have fully encapsulated the leaves in Mylar sleeves and sewn them into a plastic cover. This current binding suggests a single journal, but the text from page 1 ends midsentence and is not continued on its verso or later pages. This indicates at least one missing leaf, and possibly that it was originally part of a different journal. The remainder of the journal appears to have been fashioned from two gatherings: the first, pages 1–16, totaling eight leaves; and the second, pages 17–24, a six-leaf gathering with the final two leaves missing and presumably blank.Emeline Miller McLellin, the widow of , gave this journal and other McLellin papers to John L. Traughber Jr. in November 1884. Traughber offered to sell ’s papers to the LDS church in January 1908. Central States Mission president Samuel O. Bennion, under the direction of the First Presidency, acquired the material from Traughber the following month. McLellin’s papers remained in the possession of the First Presidency from 1908 to 1986, when they were loaned to the Church Historical Department. They were transferred to the Church History Library in 2012.
Footnotes
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1
John L. Traughber, Doucette, TX, to the Librarian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT, 13 Jan. 1908; Joseph F. Smith et al., Salt Lake City, UT, to Samuel O. Bennion, Independence, MO, 18 Jan. 1908; Samuel O. Bennion, Independence, MO, to Joseph F. Smith et al., Salt Lake City, UT, 12 Feb. 1908, Correspondence concerning the William E. McLellin Papers, CHL.
Correspondence concerning the William E. McLellin Papers, CHL. MS 13539.
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2
See the full bibliographic entry for the William E. McLellin Papers in the CHL catalog.
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Historical Introduction
On 8 October 1834, JS assigned to visit church members in , Ohio—about seventy miles southwest of , Ohio—“and fill a promise that he had made for to go himself.” To inform the Florence church that McLellin was traveling there at JS’s request, JS composed a letter to , who was presumably presiding over the of about fifty members. The letter indicates that McLellin was to teach the Florence Saints their duties pertaining to the redemption of . A June 1834 revelation that led to the disbandment of the declared that one reason the camp had been unsuccessful in restoring church members to their property was because the “church abroad” had not been willing to contribute money or provide other support to the effort. The revelation instructed JS and the of the church to continue to try “to gather up the strength of my house”—that is, young and middle-aged male church members. The revelation also told the Saints that it was still necessary for them to purchase land in Jackson County and the vicinity and to gather there. McLellin left on 8 October, reaching Florence on 14 October and spending nearly three weeks in the area.While in , visited and other church members; preached on faith, hope, and charity to revive the Saints, whom he described as “low in spirits”; and conducted church meetings. He also visited the branches in Brownhelm and , Ohio, and settled some difficulties resulting from petty but divisive squabbles among them. McLellin recorded that he spoke about the gathering of Israel, “the Covenants of Abraham and Joseph and of the two places of deliverance in the last Days,” but he did not specifically mention preaching about the redemption of Zion. Before McLellin departed for , members of the Florence branch provided him with over four dollars in donations; those in Amherst gave him more than four dollars as well. It is not clear whether this money was for McLellin’s personal use or for the cause of Zion.The original of JS’s letter to has not been located. Although may have carried the original letter with him to , the heading to the excerpt suggests that JS mailed the letter to the Florence Saints and provided McLellin with only this excerpt. Since JS did not assign McLellin to go to Florence until 8 October, the same day that McLellin departed, it is likely that the letter was composed on that day, though it is possible that JS wrote it before talking to McLellin. Sometime later, McLellin copied the excerpt into his journal.
Footnotes
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1
McLellin, Journal, 8 Oct. 1834. JS traveled to Michigan Territory later in October, which was likely why he could not go to Florence himself. (Oliver Cowdery, Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:3.)
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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2
McLellin noted in his journal that “the Church in Florence consisted of 50 members 2 of whom were High-Priests 4 Elders 1 Priest 1 Teacher and 1 Deacon.” (McLellin, Journal, 15 Oct. 1834.)
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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3
Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:8–9, 16, 27–29].
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4
McLellin, Journal, 14, 21, 22, and 30 Oct. 1834; 4 Nov. 1834.
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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5
Several of the individuals McLellin encountered on his journey, including Almon Babbitt, Edson Barney, Royal Barney Jr., and Milo Andrus, had gone with JS on the Camp of Israel expedition. (Bradley, Zion’s Camp 1834, 269.)
Bradley, James L. Zion’s Camp 1834: Prelude to the Civil War. Logan, UT: By the author, 1990.
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6
McLellin, Journal, 9 Oct.–4 Nov. 1834.
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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7
The excerpt begins at the top of a page, interrupting a sentence in McLellin’s 26 October 1834 journal entry, which begins on the previous page. It is likely that McLellin copied the excerpt before making the journal entry.
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