,the ,wentworth ,letter by ,joseph      
,smith1 ,jun4  as published in the      
,times and ,seasons ,vol4 #c ,no4 #i1 #a
 ,march #ahdb available in the ,united  
,states ,library ,of ,congress          
,,bx#hfje4a4,t#dh ,vol4 #c pp #gjf-gaj  
,,church ,,history  ,at the request of  
,mr4 ,john ,wentworth1 ,editor1 and     
,proprietor of the ,chicago ,democrat1  
,i have written the following sketch of 
the rise1 progress1 persecution1 and    
faith of the ,latter-,day ,saints1 of   
which ,i have the honor1 under ,god1 of 
being the founder4 ,mr4 ,wentworth says1
 that he wishes to furnish ,mr4 ,bastow1
 a friend of his1 who is writing the    
history of ,new ,hampshire1 with this   
document4 ,as ,mr4 ,bastow has taken the
 proper steps to obtain correct         
information1 all that ,i shall ask at   
his hands is that he publish the account
 entire1 ungarnished1 and without       
misrepresentation4  ,i was born in the  
town of ,sharon1 ,windsor co41 ,vermont1
 on the #bc;d of ,december1 ,a4,d4      

#ahje4 ,when ten years old my parents   
removed to ,palmyra1 ,new ,york1 where  
we resided about four years1 and from   
thence we removed to the town of        
,manchester4  ,my father was a farmer   
and taught me the art of husbandry4     
,when about fourteen years of age ,i    
began to reflect upon the importance of 
being prepared for a future state1 and  
upon enquiring of the plan of salvation 
,i found that there was a great clash in
 religious sentiment2 if ,i went to one 
society they referred me to one plan1   
and another to another1 each one        
pointing to his own particular creed as 
the summum bonum of perfection3         
considering that all could not be right1
 and that ,god could not be the author  
of so much confusion ,i determined to   
investigate the subject more fully1     
believing that if ,god had a church it  
would not be split up into factions1 and
 that if he taught one society to       
worship one way1 and administer in one  
set of ordinances1 ,he would not teach  

another1 principles which were          
diametrically opposed4 ,believing the   
word of ,god ,i had confidence in the   
declaration of ,james2 ,if any man lack 
wisdom let him ask of ,god who giveth to
 all men liberally and upbraideth not   
and it shall be given him1 ,i retired to
 a secret place in a grove and began to 
call upon the ,lord1 while fervently    
engaged in supplication my mind was     
taken away from the objects with which  
,i was surrounded1 and ,i was enwrapped 
in a heavenly vision and saw two        
glorious personages who exactly         
resembled each other in features and    
likeness1 surrounded with a brilliant   
light which eclipsed the sun at         
noon-day4 ,they told me that all        
religious denominations were believing  
in incorrect doctrines and that none of 
them was acknowledged of ,god as ,his   
,church and kingdom4 ,and ,i was        
expressly commanded to go not after     
them1 at the same time receiving a      
promise that the fullness of the gospel 

should at some future time be made known
 unto me4  ,on the evening of the #bast 
of ,september1 ,a4,d4 #ahbc1 while ,i   
was praying unto ,god1 and endeavoring  
to exercise faith in the precious       
promises of scripture on a sudden a     
light like that of day1 only of a far   
purer and more glorious appearance1 and 
brightness burst into the room1 indeed  
the first sight was as though the house 
was filled with consuming fire2 the     
appearance produced a shock that        
affected the whole body2 in a moment a  
personage stood before me surrounded    
with a glory yet greater than that with 
which ,i was already surrounded4 ,this  
messenger proclaimed himself to be an   
angel of ,god sent to bring the joyful  
tidings1 that the covenant which ,god   
made with ancient ,israel was at hand to
 be fulfilled1 that the preparatory work
 for the second coming of the ,messiah  
was speedily to commence2 that the time 
was at hand for the gospel1 in all its  
fulness to be preached in power1 unto   

all nations that a people might be      
prepared for the millennial reign4  ,i  
was informed that ,i was chosen to be an
 instrument in the hands of ,god to     
bring about some of ,his purposes in    
this glorious dispensation4  ,i was also
 informed concerning the aboriginal     
inhabitants of this country ,america1   
and shown who they were1 and from whence
 they came2 a brief sketch of their     
origin1 progress1 civilization1 laws1   
governments1 of their righteousness and 
iniquity1 and the blessings of ,god     
being finally withdrawn from them as a  
people was made known unto me3 ,i was   
also told where there was deposited some
 plates on which were engraven an       
abridgment of the records of the ancient
 prophets that had existed on this      
continent4 ,the angel appeared to me    
three times the same night and unfolded 
the same things4 ,after having received 
many visits from the angels of ,god     
unfolding the majesty and glory of the  
events that should transpire in the last

 days1 on the morning of the #bb;d of   
,september1 ,a4,d4 #ahbg1 the angel of  
the ,lord delivered the records into my 
hands4  ,these records were engraven on 
plates which had the appearance of gold1
 each plate was six inches wide and     
eight inches long and not quite so thick
 as common tin4 ,they were filled with  
engravings1 in ,egyptian characters and 
bound together in a volume1 as the      
leaves of a book with three rings       
running through the whole4 ,the volume  
was something near six inches in        
thickness1 a part of which was sealed4  
,the characters on the unsealed part    
were small1 and beautifully engraved4   
,the whole book exhibited many marks of 
antiquity in its construction and much  
skill in the art of engraving4 ,with the
 records was found a curious instrument 
which the ancients called ,urim and     
,thummim1 which consisted of two        
transparent stones set in the rim of a  
bow fastened to a breastplate4  ,through
 the medium of the ,urim and ,thummim ,i

 translated the record by the gift1 and 
power of ,god4  ,in this important and  
interesting book the history of ancient 
,america is unfolded1 from its first    
settlement by a colony that came from   
the ,tower of ,babel1 at the confusion  
of languages to the beginning of the    
fifth century of the ,christian era4 ,we
 are informed by these records that     
,america in ancient times has been      
inhabited by two distinct races of      
people4 ,the first were called          
,jaredites and came directly from the   
,tower of ,babel4 ,the second race came 
directly from the city of ,jerusalem1   
about six hundred years before ,christ4 
,they were principally ,israelites1 of  
the descendants of ,joseph4 ,the        
,jaredites were destroyed about the time
 that the ,israelites came from         
,jerusalem1 who succeeded them in the   
inheritance of the country4 ,the        
principal nation of the second race fell
 in battle towards the close of the     
fourth century4 ,the remnant are the    

,indians that now inhabit this country4 
,this book also tells us that our       
,savior made his appearance upon this   
continent after his resurrection1 that  
he planted the gospel here in all its   
fulness1 and richness1 and power1 and   
blessing2 that they had apostles1       
prophets1 pastors1 teachers1 and        
evangelists2 the same order1 the same   
priesthood1 the same ordinances1 gifts1 
powers1 and blessings1 as was enjoyed on
 the eastern continent1 that the people 
were cut off in consequence of their    
transgressions1 that the last of their  
prophets who existed among them was     
commanded to write an abridgment of     
their prophecies1 history1 c41 and to   
hide it up in the earth1 and that it    
should come forth and be united with the
 bible for the accomplishment of the    
purposes of ,god in the last days4 ,for 
a more particular account ,i would refer
 to the ,book of ,mormon1 which can be  
purchased at ,nauvoo1 or from any of our
 travelling elders4  ,as soon as the    

news of this discovery was made known1  
false reports1 misrepresentation1 and   
slander flew as on the wings of the wind
 in every direction1 the house was      
frequently beset by mobs1 and evil      
designing people1 several times ,i was  
shot at1 and very narrowly escaped1 and 
every device was made use of to get the 
plates away from me1 but the power and  
blessing of ,god attended me1 and       
several began to believe my testimony4  
,on the #fth of ,april1 #ahcj1 the      
,church of ,jesus ,christ of            
,latter-,day ,saints1 was first         
organized in the town of ,manchester1   
,ontario co41 state of ,new ,york4 ,some
 few were called and ordained by the    
spirit of revelation1 and prophecy1 and 
began to preach as the spirit gave them 
utterance1 and though weak1 yet were    
they strengthened by the power of ,god1 
and many were brought to repentance1    
were immersed in the water1 and were    
filled with the ,holy ,ghost by the     
laying on of hands4 ,they saw visions   

and prophesied1 devils were cast out and
 the sick healed by the laying on of    
hands4 ,from that time the work rolled  
forth with astonishing rapidity1 and    
churches were formed in the states of   
,new ,york1 ,pennsylvania1 ,ohio1       
,indiana1 ,illinois1 and ,missouri2 in  
the last named state a considerable     
settlement was formed in ,jackson co42  
numbers joined the ,church and we were  
increasing rapidly2 we made large       
purchases of land1 our farms teemed with
 plenty1 and peace and happiness were   
enjoyed in our domestic circle and      
throughout our neighborhood2 but as we  
could not associate with our neighbors  
who were1 many of them of the basest of 
men1 and had fled from the face of      
civilized society1 to the frontier      
country to escape the hand of justice in
 their midnight revels1 their ,sabbath  
breaking1 horse racing1 and gambling1   
they commenced at first to ridicule1    
then to persecute1 and finally an       
organized mob assembled and burned our  

houses1 tarred and feathered1 and       
whipped many of our brethren and finally
 drove them from their habitations2 who1
 houseless1 and homeless1  contrary to  
law1 justice1 and humanity1 had to      
wander on the bleak prairies till the   
children left the tracks of their blood 
on the prairie1 this took place in the  
month of ,november1 and they had no     
other covering but the canopy of heaven1
 in this inclement season of the year2  
this proceeding was winked at by the    
government and although we had warrantee
 deeds for our land1 and had violated no
 law we could obtain no redress4  ,there
 were many sick1 who were thus inhumanly
 driven from their houses1 and had to   
endure all this abuse and to seek homes 
where they could be found4 ,the result  
was1 that a great many of them being    
deprived of the comforts of life1 and   
the necessary attendances1 died2 many   
children were left orphans1 wives       
widows1 and husbands widowers4--,our    
farms were taken possession of by the   

mob1 many thousands of cattle1 sheep1   
horses1 and hogs were taken and our     
household goods1 store goods1 and       
printing press1 and type were broken1   
taken1 or otherwise destroyed4  ,many of
 our brethren removed to ,clay where    
they continued until #ahcf1 three years2
 there was no violence offered but there
 were threatnings of violence4 ,but in  
the summer of #ahcf1 these threatnings  
began to assume a more serious form2    
from threats1 public meetings were      
called1 resolutions were passed1        
vengeance and destruction were          
threatened1 and affairs again assumed a 
fearful attitude1 ,jackson county was a 
sufficient precedent1 and as the        
authorities in that county did not      
interfere1 they boasted that they would 
not in this1 which on application to the
 authorities we found to be too true1   
and after much violence1 privation and  
loss of property we were again driven   
from our homes4  ,we next settled in    
,caldwell1 and ,davies counties1 where  

we made large and extensive settlements1
 thinking to free ourselves from the    
power of oppression1 by settling in new 
counties with very few inhabitants in   
them2 but here we were not allowed to   
live in peace1 but in #ahch we were     
again attacked by mobs1 an exterminating
 order was issued by ,gov4 ,boggs1 and  
under the sanction of law an organized  
banditti ranged through the country1    
robbed us of our cattle1 sheep1 horses1 
hogs1 c41 many of our people were       
murdered in cold blood1 the chastity of 
our women was violated1 and we were     
forced to sign away our property at the 
point of the sword1 and after enduring  
every indignity that could be heaped    
upon us by an inhuman1 ungodly band of  
marauders1 from twelve to fifteen       
thousand souls men1 women1 and children 
were driven from their own fire sides1  
and from lands that they had warrantee  
deeds of1 houseless1 friendless1 and    
homeless 7in the depth of winter17 to   
wander as exiles on the earth or to seek

 an asylum in a more genial clime1 and  
among a less barbarous people4  ,many   
sickened and died1 in consequence of the
 cold1 and hardships they had to endure2
 many wives were left widows1 and       
children orphans1 and destitute4 ,it    
would take more time than is allotted me
 here to describe the injustice1 the    
wrongs1 the murders1 the bloodshed1 the 
theft1 misery1 and woe that have been   
caused by the barbarous1 inhuman1 and   
lawless1 proceedings of the state of    
,missouri4  ,in the situation before    
alluded to we arrived in the state of   
,illinois in #ahci1 where we found a    
hospitable people and a friendly home2 a
 people who were willing to be governed 
by the principles of law and humanity4  
,we have commenced to build a city      
called ,nauvoo in ,hancock co41 we      
number from six to eight thousand here  
besides vast numbers in the county      
around and in almost every county of the
 state4 ,we have a city charter granted 
us and a charter for a legion the troops

 of which now number #aejj4 ,we have    
also a charter for a university1 for an 
agricultural and manufacturing society1 
have our own laws and administrators1   
and possess all the privileges that     
other free and enlightened citizens     
enjoy4  ,persecution has not stopped the
 progress of truth1 but has only added  
fuel to the flame1 it has spread with   
increasing rapidity1 proud of the cause 
which they have espoused and conscious  
of our' innocence and of the truth of   
their system amidst calumny and reproach
 have the elders of this ,church gone   
forth1 and planted the gospel in almost 
every state in the ,union2 it has       
penetrated our cities1 it has spread    
over our villages and has caused        
thousands of our intelligent1 noble1 and
 patriotic citizens to obey its divine  
mandates1 and be governed by its sacred 
truths4 ,it has also spread into        
,england1 ,ireland1 ,scotland1 and      
,wales3 in the year #ahci where a few of
 our missionaries were sent over five   

thousand joined the standard of truth1  
there are numbers now joining in every  
land4  ,our missionaries are going forth
 to different nations1 and in ,germany1 
,palestine1 ,new ,holland1 the ,east    
,indies1 and other places1 the standard 
of truth has been erected3 no unhallowed
 hand can stop the work from            
progressing1 persecutions may rage1 mobs
 may combine1 armies may assemble1      
calumny may defame1 but the truth of    
,god will go forth boldly1 nobly1 and   
independent till it has penetrated every
 continent1 visited every clime1 swept  
every country1 and sounded in every ear1
 till the purposes of ,god shall be     
accomplished and the ,great ,jehovah    
shall say the work is done4  ,we believe
 in ,god the ,eternal ,father1 and in   
his son ,jesus ,christ1 and in the ,holy
 ,ghost4  ,we believe that men will be  
punished for their own sins and not for 
,adam's transgression4  ,we believe that
 through the atonement of ,christ all   
mankind may be saved by obedience to the

 laws and ordinances of the ,gospel4    
,we believe that these ordinances are   
#ast1 ,faith in the ,lord ,jesus        
,christ2 #b;d1 ,repentance2 #c;d1       
,baptism by immersion for the remission 
of sins2 #dth1 ,laying on of hands for  
the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4  ,we      
believe that a man must be called of    
,god by prophesy1 and by laying on of   
hands by those who are in authority to  
preach the gospel and administer in the 
ordinances thereof4  ,we believe in the 
same organization that existed in the   
primitive church1 viz1 apostles1        
prophets1 pastors1 teachers1 evangelists
 c4  ,we believe in the gift of tongues1
 prophesy1 revelation1 visions1 healing1
 interpretation of tongues c4  ,we      
believe the bible to be the word of ,god
 as far as it is translated correctly2  
we also believe the ,book of ,mormon to 
be the word of ,god4  ,we believe all   
that ,god has revealed1 all that ,he    
does now reveal1 and we believe that he 
will yet reveal many great and important

 things pertaining to the ,kingdom of   
,god4  ,we believe in the literal       
gathering of ,israel and in the         
restoration of the ,ten ,tribes4 ,that  
,zion will be built upon this the       
,american continent4 ,that ,christ will 
reign personally upon the earth1 and    
that the earth will be renewed and      
receive its paradisiac glory4  ,we claim
 the privilege of worshipping ,almighty 
,god according to the dictates of our   
conscience1 and allow all men the same  
privilege let them worship how1 where1  
or what they may4  ,we believe in being 
subject to kings1 presidents1 rulers1   
and magistrates1 in obeying1 honoring1  
and sustaining the law4  ,we believe in 
being honest1 true1 chaste1 benevolent1 
virtuous1 and in doing good to all men2 
indeed we may say that we follow the    
admonition of ,paul we believe all      
things we hope all things1 we have      
endured many things and hope to be able 
to endure all things4 ,if there is      
anything virtuous1 lovely1 or of good   

report or praise worthy we seek after   
these things4     ,respectfully c41     
,,joseph ,,smith