Review

Title: Documents Volume 8: February-November 1841
Editors: Brent Rogers, Brett Dowdle, Mason Allred, Gerrit Dirkmaat
Publisher: Church Historians Press
Genre: Documentary History
Year Published: 2019
Number of Pages: 656
Binding: Cloth
ISBN: 13: 978-1629725703
Price: $54.99

Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton for the Association for Mormon Letters

Over the last several years, I have had the opportunity to review most of the volumes in the Joseph Smith Papers Documents series and several other volumes as well. I have enjoyed this opportunity immensely, but with each volume, it becomes increasingly difficult to write these reviews. The problem is, I am running out of ways to say that the latest volume is “Excellent!” or “Fantastic!” without sounding really repetitive. It has become difficult enough that I broke down and bought a thesaurus to help me write this review. Okay, that’s a lie, I broke down and did a synonym search on Google. Using Google worked this time, but at this rate, if the scholars at the Joseph Smith Papers Project keep up their superb level of scholarship and their superior level of fine book craftsmanship, and if I keep reviewing these books, by the time they get to “Documents Volume 15” I will probably be writing, “The most recent volume of the Joseph Smith Papers Project is SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!” All silliness aside, “Joseph Smith Papers Documents Volume 8” is an outstanding book that is filled with excellent scholarship, fun and exciting documents and it was produced of the highest craftsmanship.

“Documents Volume Eight” contains 99 documents that were created between the months of February and November 1841. These documents include: discourses, letters, minutes, revelations, land deeds, and various business documents. As with past volumes of the Papers, “Volume 8” is filled with numerous maps, geographical and biographical directories, and various organizational charts that detail the leaders of the various church and civic organizations of the time, enhancing the reader’s understanding of the documents and time and culture in which they were created.

A person casually interested in Joseph Smith and Restoration History might be tempted to ask, “Is there really going to be anything that special in ‘Volume 8’? 1841 was kind of slow in Restoration history after all.” And, at first, it might seem like they have a point. Compared to the rest of Joseph Smith’s life, 1841 may seem relatively slow, even a little boring. During the months covered in this volume, Joseph Smith does not go anywhere, there are no persecutions or driving’s, no major apostasies or defections occur; at first it seems like no new doctrines or practices are announced, the revelations that are received (only two of which are added to the Doctrine and Covenants) are fairly minor, and the only “major” events that occur are the dedication of the cornerstones of the Nauvoo temple and the dedication of the cornerstones of the Nauvoo House. But even though there may have been a lack of “adventure” and minimal “breaking news” in 1841, “Documents Volume 8: February-November 1841” contains many fascinating documents which have been expertly contextualized and footnoted, as well as stories and documents that help to humanize and add depth to Joseph Smith. Without giving away the store, I will tell you about a few of the documents and scholarly aids that I loved in this volume.

One thing that I really enjoy about the Joseph Smith Papers is how much information and detail is included in the introductory essays and footnotes. The JSPP editors do their homework and they do it well. If you are not a footnote-reading person, these volumes should turn you into one. I learn many interesting things when I peruse the essays and footnotes of the JSPP volumes. I will list a small sampling of useful historical information that might be new to many readers that is included in this volume. Who were the Aitkenites and what was their impact on Restoration history? You will learn this in a footnote in “Volume 8.” Why is The First Opium War important to Mormon historical studies of the Nauvoo period? Tune in to find out! Those who study Mormon history often hear about the importance of the Nauvoo Charter, but do you know WHY it was important and what was unusual about its plenary powers? “Volume 8” will tell you. That is just the beginning! Here are a few more facts that are in notes and essays in “Volume 8”: What is a “wing dam” is and why are they important to the Mississippi River and to Nauvoo? What was the definition of “courts martial” in the 1840s? It turns out that ALL business meetings of commissioned military officers were “courts martial”, not just the ones where officers were on trial for bad behavior! Readers will find information on the importance of town plats and why they were considered legal documents. One note discusses what “half-breed tracts” were and how this was important in Nauvoo. Other interesting items included: descriptions of sharecropping in the 1840’s, how the Nauvoo Legion worked and how it was different from other militias, and what a simoom is. And that’s just a sampling of fun and unusual facts from Part 1!

There are documents to interest everyone in “Volume 8” starting at the first one. This first document is Joseph Smith’s “Appointment as Trustee” for the Church on 2 February 1841 (pp. 4-6) is sure to interest those who study the business interests and history of the Restoration. In fact, if church business involvement is your interest, then this may be the volume for you. Joseph Smith and the church made many land purchases as Nauvoo was being formed and settled. Those from whom the land was purchased wanted their money. “Volume 8” has many receipts, deeds, authorizations, and letters connected to Smith’s attempts to make good on these debts.

Another very important historical document is nestled away near the very end of the volume. The document is short; almost a blink and you miss it, which is interesting because of how important it is. Modern Latter-day Saints are used to the Quorum of the 12 Apostles being the second most important body in the church, ranking only behind the First Presidency. On the death of the prophet in the LDS Church the Twelve become the presidency and run the church until the senior apostle becomes the new church president. Many modern church members may not realize this was not always the case. Early on in the Church, the apostles were a “traveling high council” and held no “general authority”. The document named “Discourse, 16 August 1841” (pp. 227-228) gives us a single paragraph of when Joseph Smith changed the Twelve from a traveling high council to the second leading body in the church when he simply said “the time had come when the twelve should be called upon to stand in their place next to the first presidency”. A very simple statement considering the important place it plays in the doctrinal development of the LDS church; luckily the JSPP editors have provided excellent materials to enhance study of this document. Other interesting events and history that make an appearance in this volume are the earlier mentioned dedication of the Nauvoo temple cornerstones and the placement by Smith of important documents, including the original Book of Mormon manuscript, into a time capsule that was placed with the Nauvoo House cornerstones.

Restoration history is full of epic and adventures, but the more I read and study the more that I find myself drawn to history that is the most personal. I love to read stories of the personal lives, loves, interactions, and emotions of the people who came before me. I love to see them at their most human. This is why “Volume 8” has been one of my favorite volumes in the Documents series. Of the 99 documents, 46 are letters from or to Joseph Smith. In these letters challenges are addressed, debts are discussed, personal problems are explored, advice is offered, and emotion is made bare. The letters in “Volume 8” are an excellent way to get to “know Brother Joseph again.” I’ll mention just one of these letters, a letter which also highlights the excellent scholarly and sleuthing work done by the editors of this volume. In 1841, Heber C. Kimball was in England on a mission. His wife Vilate was in Nauvoo. In early 1841, Vilate asked Joseph for some advice about an unnamed woman living in her home who had been involved in some controversy. Research by the JSPP editors allowed them to discover who the young woman was, what the controversy was, and what her connection to prominent leaders was. The three-page introduction that their amazing research allowed them to produce for this document is almost worth the price of the whole book all by itself. It’s fantastic. The letter itself is wonderful too. It shows Joseph’s character, his concern for Vilate, and his trust in her. It is a wonderful window into his life and thought process (see pp. 58-62). Other documents provide insights to Joesph’s character and personality, including several documents that provide a fun glimpse into the humor of Joseph Smith.

The scholarly detail in the essays and notes in “Volume 8” are amazing and even amusing at times. Let me give two examples. On pages 6 and 7 the editors spend a fair amount of space explaining what a Lyceum was and why they were so important in the 19th century. On page 160 postal rates and how they worked in the 1840’s get a full paragraph long footnote! There are several instances in this volume where I read a three or four page introductory essay, got all hyped up expecting a document of great length, only to find that the introduced document was a single paragraph or maybe even a single sentence. So when scholarly details seemed to me to be missing from the book, I found it a little jarring. Two instances of this really stuck out to me.

The introduction to Part Two is on pages 91-92. It introduces readers to the Lawrence family this way:

“JS’s financial and familial responsibilities expanded in early June, when he took on the guardianship of the estate and children of Edward Lawrence, a recent convert who lived in Lima, Illinois, but had passed away shortly after moving there in 1839. After Lawrence’s death, his eldest children, Maria and Sarah, chose JS to be their guardian, and Adams County probate judge Andrew Miller officially appointed JS as guardian for all seven of the Lawrence children.”

The Lawrences come up again with the document “Receipt to Executors of Edward Lawrence Estate, 4 June 1841” (pp. 164-166). The introduction to the document gives a five-paragraph history of the Lawrence family, Edward’s death, his wife Margaret’s remarriage to Josiah Butterfield, and Joseph Smith’s being appointed legal guardian of the Lawrence children. In relation to this last point the introduction states, “For unknown reasons, the eldest Lawrence children chose JS to be their guardian” (p. 165). I have no idea why the Lawrence sisters chose Joseph Smith to be their guardian, and despite their having been able to solve the Vilate Kimball mystery I alluded to earlier, apparently the JSPP editors apparently are also unaware as to why the Lawrence sisters made this choice. Even if we do not know why the Lawrence children asked for Smith to be appointed their guardian, I do think that one important detail is missing from the story of the Lawrence children. The eldest two sisters who made this decision, Maria, age 15, and Sarah, age 13, at the time of their father’s death, would in 1843 become secret plural wives of Joseph Smith. There is probably no way to know if the sisters had been told about polygamy in 1841 or if teachings about it influenced their decision to become Smith’s wards, but the fact that they eventually did become Smith’s wives seems important enough to mention, especially given all of the vital and important information provided in the book. No further details are given in the 41 page “Biographical Directory” where none of the Lawrences, including Maria and Sarah, are mentioned, despite there being 101 individuals named in the directory. This seems to me an oversight.

The other such choice that I find oddly lacking in some information is in the notes to the document called “Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 October 1841” (pp. 284-294). The document is a record of a general conference of the church held on those dates. In his discourse at this conference, Joseph Smith discusses baptism for the dead and the Nauvoo Temple and then the account states:

“The speaker then announced, ‘There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the ordinance can be attended to in the font of the Lord’s House; and the church shall not hold another general conference, until they can meet in said house. For thus saith the Lord!’” (pp. 289-290).

The only footnote with this quotation connects it to LDS D&C 124 as found in “JSPP Documents Volume 7” page 517. I was surprised that the otherwise detailed document notes fail to mention that despite Smith’s revelation/prophecy/instruction that there would be no more baptisms outside of the temple, and that there would be no more general conferences until the temple was completed, there were in fact more baptisms performed outside of the temple and there were more “conferences”[1] held before the temple was completed. It is true that baptisms for the dead in the Mississippi River were halted at that point and did not occur again until the wooden temple font was completed and dedicated. But, due to the demand on the font, baptisms for the dead in the Mississippi were allowed once again starting on 30 May 1842 and continued (with a short interruption when Joseph Smith was murdered) until the Saints left Nauvoo for the West.[2] Also, despite Joseph’s clear statement that there would be no more general conference until they could be held in the temple, a “conference” was held on April 6-8 1842 and two more each year in 1843 and 1844, all before the temple was completed. The editors of the volume sort of try to explain this point at the end of the document. The document states: “Conference adjourned sine die.”[3] (p. 294). The text has a footnote there, numbered 68, which says, “The conference was adjourned for an indefinite period in accordance with JS’s instruction that another general meeting would not occur until the baptismal font in the temple was completed and the meeting could be held inside the temple” (p. 294). I am sure that there are explanations as to why “Conferences” and baptisms for the dead continued to occur despite Joseph Smith saying that they would not, but the JSPP editors provide no information on these reasons.

Despite these two minor complaints, “Documents Volume 8” is a fantastic book, filled with fascinating documents and superb scholarship. It is excellent addition to the Joseph Smith Paper’s series and a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious addition to Mormon historical studies scholarship.

[1] It was pointed out to me that Joseph Smith avoided referring to these conferences after 1841 as “General Conferences” even though in essence and practice that is what they were and even though that is what the modern LDS website refers to them as. None of this information was in the book, I found it all on my own.

[2] For more information see Black, Susan Easton. “‘A Voice of Gladness for the Living and the Dead’ (D&C 128:19).” The Religious Educator 3:2, Religious Studies Center, pp. 144-145

[3] Sine die means “without any future date being designated (as for resumption): indefinitely” see https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sine%20die