Footnotes
The embossment may be that of D. & J. Ames, a paper mill. (Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.)
Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.
Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Best, “Register of the Revelations Collection,” 20.
Best, Christy. “Register of the Revelations Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” July 1983. CHL.
Footnotes
On 3 September 1842, Adams County, Illinois, constable James Pitman, Missouri state agent Edward Ford, and Adams County undersheriff Thomas King came to Nauvoo, Illinois, to arrest JS and extradite him to Missouri. Learning of the effort, JS hid in the home of Newel K. Whitney and from there went to Hunter’s house, where he remained in hiding until the evening of 10 September. (JS, Journal, 3 and 10 Sept. 1842; Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 4 Sept. 1842; Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842; “Part 1: 1 September–31 October 1842.”)
Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.
Early revelations referred frequently to records and record keeping. The Book of Mormon frequently described keeping “a record,” and an early revelation described the book as “the record of a fallen people.” The language of record keeping subsequently became integral to the organization of the church, with a revelation instructing, “Behold there Shall a Record be kept among you.” Additional revelations further instructed the Saints to keep “a general church reccord of all things that transpire in Zion.” In February 1835, JS highlighted the importance of record keeping by encouraging the newly organized Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to ensure that “one or more be appointed to keep a record of [their] proceedings,” noting that problems had arisen because accurate records had not been kept in earlier days. In accordance with these instructions, early members produced a variety of records, including revelation books, minute books, diaries, and letterbooks. (Title Page of Book of Mormon, ca. Early June 1829; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 7, 317, 318, 451, 517, 572 [1 Nephi 1:1–3; Alma 37:1–2, 8–9; 3 Nephi 5:9–11; Mormon 8:1]; Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829; Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:9, 82]; Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1]; Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 Nov. 1832 [D&C 85:1]; Minutes and Discourses, 27 Feb. 1835.)
For example, the record book of the church branch in Quincy, Illinois, includes records of thirteen baptisms for the dead between 9 November 1840 and 27 February 1841. In addition to recording the names of those who were baptized, the names of the deceased, and the relationship between the person baptized and the deceased, the book noted the exact dates of the baptisms. However, the earliest records are generally less detailed than the Quincy record book, often including only the year rather than a specific date. An inserted page in book B of the Nauvoo proxy baptism records includes some additional details, but a notation on the reverse side of the page indicates that the page had been found among the Nauvoo high council papers, suggesting that it was added to the book later and was not created at the same time as the other records contained in that book. (Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book, 9 Nov. 1840 and 17 Nov. 1840–27 Feb. 1841, 20, 22; Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. A; bk. B, 2–3.)
Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book / “Record of the Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Quincy, (Ill),” 1840–1846. CHL. LR 5361 21, fd. 1.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
Nineteenth-century Christians frequently referred to dispensations, such as the Mosaic dispensation, defining them as periods of divine involvement with humanity. During the previous years in Nauvoo, JS had addressed the topics of priesthood and gospel dispensations on several occasions. Like other nineteenth-century Christians, he taught that there had been gospel dispensations prior to Christ, although JS held that people during these dispensations were aware of and taught about Christ. JS’s comments on these earlier dispensations also emphasized that Adam, Noah, and others “held the Keys” of the priesthood “from genration to Generation.” Teaching that the church and its priesthood were linked to those earlier prophets, JS urged the Latter-day Saints to “seek for the Glory of Abraham. Noah. Adam.” (“Dispensation,” in Buck, Theological Dictionary, 127–128; Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A, underlining in original; see also Instruction on Priesthood, ca. 5 Oct. 1840; and Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.
Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. C, 1. Loose slips of paper inserted throughout the book indicate that the general church record was compiled from loose records that were subsequently given to the general church recorder.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
While it is possible that Clayton inadvertently misdated the letter in JS’s journal, his description of 6 September 1842 in JS’s journal seems to indicate otherwise. Describing the events of that day, Clayton noted, “The evening was spent cheerfully but nothing of special importance transpired.” (JS, Journal, 6 Sept. 1842.)
“Extracts from J. Smith’s Letter of Septr. 6th 1842,” Revelations Collection, CHL.
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
JS was in hiding at this time. “Journeying” was likely written to conceal his whereabouts from those seeking his arrest and extradition. (See JS, Journal, 3 Sept. 1842.)
JS left his home on 3 September 1842. (JS, Journal, 3 Sept. 1842.)
In his 1 September 1842 letter to the Saints, JS stated, “I will say to all the saints that I desired with exceeding great desire to have addressed them from the stand on the subject of Baptism for the dead on the following sabbath but inasmuch as it is out of my power to do so I will write the word of the Lord from time to time on that subject and send it you by mail as well as many other things.” (Letter to “All the Saints in Nauvoo,” 1 Sept. 1842 [D&C 127:10].)
JS’s 1 September letter instructed the Saints, “Verily thus saith the Lord unto you concerning your dead when any of you are baptised for your dead let there be a recorder, and let him be eyewitness of your baptisms; let him hear with his ears that he may testify of a truth, saith the Lord; that in all your recordings it may be recorded in Heaven. . . . And again let all the Records be had in order, that they may be put in the archives of my Holy Temple to be held in remembrance from generation to generation saith the Lord of Hosts.” (Letter to “All the Saints in Nauvoo,” 1 Sept. 1842 [D&C 127:6–7, 9].)
On 2 October 1841, the Saints sustained James Sloan to fill the role of “general church Clerk,” which included some duties that subsequently fell within the purview of the general church recorder. Later that year, on 13 December 1841, JS appointed Willard Richards as “Recorder for the Temple,” with the specific responsibility of recording tithing and other contributions to the temple construction. In order to keep pace with the increased business, Clayton was appointed to assist with the recorder’s office on 14 February 1842. Then, on the evening of 3 September 1842, JS appointed Clayton to be the temple recorder “on account of E[lde]r Richards having more work than he could attend to.” In May 1842, Sloan was signing documents as “General Church Clerk, & Recorder,” a position in which he continued to function at the time this letter was written. (Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 16, 18, 30–31; Richards, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841; Letter to James Sloan, 17 May 1842.)
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
In addition to its municipal wards created for tax and election purposes, Nauvoo maintained ecclesiastical wards. In August 1842, the Nauvoo high council resolved that Nauvoo’s three ecclesiastical wards would be reorganized into ten wards, with a bishop appointed over each ward. Additionally, three “districts,” each with a bishop, were designated immediately outside the city. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 22 Feb. 1841, 9–10; Minutes, 1 Mar. 1841; Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 20–21 Aug. 1842, 7–8.)
Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.
Extant records do not indicate the extent to which individual wards appointed recorders who documented baptisms for the dead. A few records, however, indicate that some of the wards and stakes adhered to this instruction. On 12 July 1841, for example, the Iowa stake high council appointed John Patten as “Recorder of Baptisms for the Dead in Iowa.” Additionally, in 1844 Joseph B. Noble functioned as a clerk and John P. Herr as a recorder for unspecified wards in Nauvoo. (Iowa Stake, Record, 12 July 1841, 100; see also the loose papers inside the front cover and between pp. 130–131 and 134–135 in Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. D.)
Iowa Stake, Record. / Iowa Stake. “Church Record,” 1840–1841. CHL. LR 7817 21.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
Although the Quincy branch record included the exact dates of baptisms for the dead, the first record book to consistently record the dates of the ordinances was book C of the Nauvoo proxy baptism records, which begins with entries dated 11 September 1842. (Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book, 9 Nov. 1840 and 17 Nov. 1840–27 Feb. 1841, 20, 22; Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. C, 1.)
Quincy, IL, Branch, Record Book / “Record of the Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Quincy, (Ill),” 1840–1846. CHL. LR 5361 21, fd. 1.
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.
See Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; and Revelation, Apr. 1829–A [D&C 6:28]. Extant records indicate that Latter-day Saints began keeping a record of the names of those witnessing baptisms for the dead beginning with entries dated 11 September 1842. (Nauvoo Temple, Record of Baptisms for the Dead, bk. C, 1.)
Nauvoo Temple. Record of Baptisms for the Dead, 1841, 1843–1845. CHL.