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Editorial Note

Top: The east front and south side of the Kirtland Temple, as it appeared in 1971. Library of Congress, Washington, DC, HABS OHIO,43-KIRT, 1-17. Bottom: The east front and north side of the Kirtland Temple, as it appeared in 1934. Library of Congress, Washington, DC, HABS OHIO,43-KIRT, 1-4.

The same evening that Brigham Young penned his last entry (26 September 1835), he and the other apostles met with the church presidency in Kirtland, Ohio, to discuss a reproving letter that had been sent to the apostles the previous month. After the Twelve departed Freedom, New York, Warren Cowdery, a church leader there, wrote a letter to his brother Oliver in late July 1835 complaining that the apostles had neglected to instruct the branch’s members on the necessity of gathering donations for the construction on the House of the Lord in Kirtland. According to Warren, this dereliction of duty by the Twelve prevented the church members in Freedom from making more substantial donations.[1] Cowdery’s letter, coupled with other issues, contributed to misunderstandings between members of the Twelve and church leaders in Kirtland. Though confessions were made and contrition expressed at the 26 September meeting, disagreements and faultfinding continued to drive a wedge between the apostles and the church presidency until January 1836, when each group aired grievances and satisfactorily reconciled their differences.[2]

Although Brigham Young returned to his journal to make a final entry summarizing miles traveled on his 1835 mission, he did not write about the 26 September meeting with the presidency in either his insert or his main diary, nor did he write in his diary again until he was once more on the road, in the spring and summer of 1836. In the intervening nearly eight months, Young remained in Kirtland studying Hebrew and overseeing the “painting and finishing of the Temple.”[3] He and his fellow members of the Quorum of the Twelve were among the thousand Saints who witnessed Joseph Smith dedicate the completed Kirtland temple on 27 March 1836.[4]

A few days later, on 30 March, church officers and men ordained to the priesthood met Joseph Smith inside the temple to participate in a solemn assembly that included washing of feet, the sacrament, and instruction. In the afternoon, church leaders, including Joseph Smith, “commenced prophesying,” and “the Spirit of prophecy was poured out upon the congregation.” Following his instruction, Joseph Smith stated that he “had now completed the organization of the church” and that the church leaders and ordained men “had passed through all the necessary ceremonies” and had, therefore, received the long-awaited endowment of power from on high.[5] The solemn assembly was to empower participants to better preach the gospel. Many men departed Kirtland shortly thereafter with renewed missionary zeal.

Brigham Young was one of those men. “I attended the solemn assembly,” Young’s history states, “and, with my brethren of the Twelve, received my washings and anointings, and was privileged to listen to the teachings and administrations of the Prophet of God. We also attended to the washing of feet, which ordinance was administered to me by the Prophet Joseph.”[6] After receiving a new elder’s license and “agreeably to the Prophet’s instructions,” Brigham Young and his brother Joseph left Kirtland in the spring of 1836 and headed east to preach the gospel “amongst [their] relatives and friends.”[7] Brigham and Joseph were gone for several months proselytizing throughout New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Youngs baptized many people, including friends and family.[8] Another brother, Lorenzo Young, also heeded Joseph Smith’s call to preach and went to parts of western Ohio and then western New York, where he “raised up and organized a branch in the town of Hector, where he lived when he first heard of the Gospel.”[9]

The record of Brigham Young’s 1836 mission is inscribed on the second of two paper gatherings that he sewed into the middle of his first journal. Though the entries are presented in chronological order here, they are out of chronological order in the physical journal, where the entries for July 28–9 September 1836 precede the entries for circa 21 May–23 July 1836.

Interior first floor of the Kirtland Temple, as it appeared in 1934. Library of Congress, Washington, DC, HABS OHIO,43-KIRT, 1-11.

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ca. 21 May 1836 • Saturday

about 11 A.M. wee ware in Buffalow in <the> evning at 7 P.M. took the Boat - Robert Fulton for Albany Capt Mirese Master, their was a young man on bard Whoi whoe had a pistle whoe carleesley snapt it and not noing that it was loded, it being loded hit a man in the lage Jest below the kney - the mans name was John Freeman he lives in middle burry [Middlebury] Jensee [Genesee] Couny [New York]

23–29 May 1836 • Monday–Sunday

23 this marning Brother J. Young E.[lijah] Reed left ous at Whits town[10] Brother [William] Baker and my self proseded [proceeded] to the Junction of the northern canal we then took a boat for Fort Ann[11] we arived their thursday the 26 a bout sundown we then weent to granville[12] a bout 10 miles that night to his Brothers on frida the 28 [27 May] we w visited som of our fr[ie]nds in Pawlet[13] on satterday 28 I Preched in granville sunday we went to the fr[i]ends meting[14] I herd a woeman s[p]eak to the People a fue words, to the P noething has accurd worthey of note

30 May 1836 • Monday

monday the 30 I Preached in Pawlet

31 May 1836 • Tuesday

31 went to Fort ann and Preached to People

1 June 1836 • Wednesday

on the first day of June Brother W^m Baker and my self went on to the mountin cold [called] the hay stak[15] on this day I am 35 years old this day Brother Barkir [Baker] and I cold on a methides priest by the name of Poore we bore testmoney of the book of Morman he and a young man that was then uterly rejected our testmony we wee then shook of the dust of our feet[16] as a testamoney a ganst them and when wee cam to Pure watter we whashed our feet and bore witness unto the Father[17] - we then went up the mounten to Copt Ephram Roberson, and staed that night and found one sister

2–8 June 1836 • Thursday–Wednesday

June 2 we s viseted a famely that was frendly to the work we returned that night to Father Markes[18] and staid that the next day I preachd at the brick S[c]hoole house in Pal Pawlet the next day; ◊◊ we went to RuPort[19] and spent the Sabeth [5 June], an Stusday the 7 I went from Granville to Pawlet and Baptized Sary Marks [Sarah Goodrich Marks] and Debria Wooster and returned to Granville that night wensday we went down to white Crick[20]

9–10 June 1836 • Thursday–Friday

thursday the 9 we went to Shafsbury[21] to visit the Brothering I found them verry low in religon I staid at Brother Daniel Booins [Bowen] this day 10 I am at Brother Tays

10–13 June 1836 • Friday–Monday

monday the 13[22] of June last friday and satday we eveng,^s I Preached near Daniel Booin sunday [12 June] at 10 A.M. I Preached at the C Choolhouse at maple hill in Shafbury then went to white Crick meting house and Preached at 4 P.M. then returned to Shafbury East holler and Preached at Brother Sadams

13–15 June 1836 • Monday–Wednesday

thursday 16[23] last manday [Monday, 13 June] I came down to white Crick met W. Barker we went to Brother Wolfs[24] I Preached that night the next day to Isac Brownnels had som conversation with him he rejected our test money and a bused ous and turned me out a dore and I washed my feet aganst him I Preached that night in the naborhood the next day [15 June] we went and viseted som of W. B. friends I Preached in the vilige nere the factory[25] had a larg congragation this day I am going to the crik [creek] agan

16–18 June 1836 • Thursday–Saturday

18[26] thirsday [16 June] I Preached in the meting house at the crick friday [17 June] I went to Sh[a]ftsbury Priched in the evning Satteday went to woodford[27] to Bro[t]hers Hollister satterday the 18

19 June–8 July 1836 • Sunday–Friday two weeks later

on sunday I Preached in the Corthouse at Benington [28] went that day to Hoosack [Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York] staed the next day, on tusday Brother Barker and my self started for Utica[29] Went to troy [Troy, Rensselaer County, New York] took the steam Boat for Albana took the rail rode for Chenectada then the canal we ware stoped at Schohary Crick,[30] I then left Brother Barker went on foot to Utica found Brothers Joseph [and] Eliger [Elijah] Reed at Whites Borough we then returned down the canal as far as A.H. Reeds tavern we left Brother Reed and we went on down the canal som of the way by boat som by awagon and rail Rode a Satterday evening [25 June] 10 miles east of Alboney sunday morning [26 June] we had a chance to ride to New lebnon springs[31] we went and attended a metin among the Shakers[32] and then went [to] Unkel [Joseph] Richards whare I am now I have traveled about 985 miles I preached in whits borough - we arived at Unkles June 26 and left July the 6 [Wednesday] we went up north to Pitsfield[33] I Preached there I Preched once nere Unkel,^s we had a blesed viset a time of rejoiceing the 6 day [of July] we went to Connecticut to Brothers Gibson Smith I am now at Julin Moses[34] Fathers found the Brothern well July 8 I have traveled about 48 miles

11 July 1836 • Monday

July 11 I have preached four times here in Canaan, this day I have Baptized 2 Frances S. Benideck and his wife Pheba Benideck monda[y]

12–13 July 1836 • Tuesday–Wednesday

Tusday, Went to B Frenches I Preached in the evening Brother Joseph [Young] Baptized 2 in the after no[o]n. wensday we went to Norfork to Brothers Foots and held a meting in the evening we met Brothers L. Robens [Lewis Robbins] Julan Moses whoe had jest returned from amision. Brothers helped ous som

15–20 July 1836 • Friday–Wednesday

fridia the 15 we went Started for Providence Brother Food [Foot?] went and cared ous three miles we then we walked a fue miles and then we got into a wagon and rode to hafferd [Hartford?][35] we then walked to Providence we arived at Brother Volintines Young and found them well they ware very glad to see ous we then Preached in the evening on monday [18 July] we went to Brother Millers and Preached in the evening tusday evening I Preached in the Washington hall[36] good attension was Paid wensday the 20 We went to Pawtucket to Brother Remingtons, [where] we are now

21–23 July 1836 • Thursday–Saturday

thursday returned to V. Young and tared all night, and frida we went to Boston on the rale rode we found the Sisters [in] pirty good helth and spirts satterday we spent the day in visiting the Citty and frends and recivd a visit from Preast Talor we bore testmoney of the book of Mormon and drowned him in his own words and let him goe

[end of second insert][37]

28 July–2 August 1836 • Thursday–Tuesday

* * Jyly July 28 1836

next day aunt Morse[38] took here horse and wagon and car[ri]ed ous to Unkel N. Howe^s this was thuns thursday 28 I Preached at 5 P.M.[39] Coson Lucas [Lucius] Parker[40] Came in the evning and Tarred all night on frida 29 we went to unkel Perkens with Aunt Mors on satterday the 30 Brother Joseph [Young] and my self viseted coson Mathew Belnap returned in the evening to aunt Morse and coson Appleton Morse tared all night on sunday the 31 went [with] coson Appleton to Southborough[41] and hered him Preach returned to Unkels N[ehemiah] Howes Brother Preached at 6 P.M. tared till Tusday mor[ning] the 2 of Aggust August we are now abo[u]t to S start for Holston[42]

2–5 August 1836 • Tuesday–Friday

2 August [to] <the 5>[43] 1836 went to Holeston and found the frends well wen spent the night with M^r [Albert P.] Rockwo[o]d found them to be verry agreable they rased no objecton to the Book of mormon the next day we went [to] Unkel Havens [John Haven][44] cauled on the wider [Widow] Bolard[45] and took dinner with her we spent the after noon at unkles had a plesent viset thursday we took the cars for Boston arived there about 1/2 past 8 frida[y] Unkel N. Howe came to Boston we found Brother Sameul Smith and Brother [Stephen] Burnet at Sisters [Fanny] Brewers[46]

5–14 August 1836 • Friday–Sunday of the following week

the 5 of August - we tar[ri]ed here Frida[y] and held a meting in the eveng [e]vening we tar[ri]ed the next day on sunday [7 August] we held ◊ a meting in the fore noon and f after noon and Baptized Hulday Wilcox and Nabby Abig[a]il Bucanon then returned to Sister Brewers[47] and confirmes [confirmed] them in the evening held a meting on monday[48] the 8 Brothers Hyram Smith and Oliver Cowdry came to Sisters Brewers it rejoicd our harts[49] monday started for Newry [Oxford County, Maine] confren[ce] we I went on bord of the steam boat Endependance at 7 P.M. we [were] about about half way to Portland[50] and the wind and storm beat ous back to cape Ann there we lay till Tusday 4 P.M. then we went to Portland then I went to the Confrence Brother Milacan [Nathaniel Milliken] let me have a horse to go - our confrence set on the 12 of August we had a good time in Confrence on satterday [13 August] we held of our publick meting in the Baptis[t] meting house Brother [James] Sn Snow[51] Preachd in the fore noon and Brother [Sylvester B.] Stodard [Stoddard] in after noon on Sunday [14 August] I Preached in fore noon Elder E L. E. Johnson [Lyman E. Johnson] in after noon[52] I then returned to Boston[53] I Baptized 2 Frances Smith and Ruth Vose[54]

15 August–9 September 1836 • Monday–Friday three weeks later

on monday Brother J. Y. [Joseph Young] and I started for Providence whare we held a confrence[55] and ordaine one Brother Remington an Elder Brother Evlet [Addison Everett] helped ous to som monney to get home Brother Miller broth [brought] ous on our Jurney as far as Canaan Cn Conn [Canaan, Litchfield County, Connecticut] whare we tarr[i]ed over the sabath Preached and Baptized one then Brother Frances Benideck [Francis Benedict] Braugh[t] ous on our way as farr as Richmon[d] Mass to Unkle [Joseph] Richards,^s on fridia the 2 of Sept Coson wWillard Richards Levi Richards braut ous as far as Al[b]any there we took the cars to Chenecade [Schenectady] we then took a bout for Bufulow we had agood Jorny we arived home the 9 day of Sept 1836

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Editorial Note

Brigham Young’s 1837 journal begins in late July 1837 when he set out again for the eastern United States. It was at least his second journey that year. Though not recorded in this journal, Young and Willard Richards departed Kirtland in mid-March at Joseph Smith’s behest. Smith tasked Young and Richards to go on a “special business mission to the East” to contact New York merchants about debts that Smith and church businesses had accumulated in order to build the temple and print the scriptures. While Young and Richards attended to that business, they also preached along the way.[56] When Young returned to Kirtland in May 1837, he found Kirtland in turmoil. Earlier in the year, Young and Heber C. Kimball instructed the Seventies Quorums that “a day of choosing was coming.”[57] Perhaps this teaching foreshadowed the unrest that year. For much of the spring and summer of 1837, Joseph Smith had been the target of disenchanted church members and vocal opponents in Kirtland. Many called Smith a fallen or false prophet. Many called into question the role and authority of Smith and other church leaders. Some of those disenchanted were in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[58] Young found his quorum divided.

With dissent and division in the church in Kirtland simmering, Brigham Young set out on a proselytizing mission in late July. He left Ohio with Joseph Smith and others, traveling across Lake Erie and landing in Buffalo, New York, before Smith and Young separated. Smith went into Canada while Young and Albert Rockwood went deeper into New York.[59] Young recorded the details of his monthlong travels in his journal.

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27 July–6 August 1837 • Thursday–Sunday of the following week

July 27 1837

Journal of B Young I started from Kirtland this evening to goe down the Lake in compiney with Joes Joseph Smith S[idney] Rigdon T[homas] B. Marsh and others:[60] we went in a wagon to Ashtbuley [Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio] took about [a boat] the nex[t] day[61] at 3.oclock. P.M. arived at Buffalow [Buffalo, Erie County, New York] at 6.o.c. A.M. the 29 had a ple[asa]nt tim[e]: took cars for the Falls there Mr Rockwood [Albert Rockwood] and my self parted with the Brotherin that was going to Toronto.[62] we haf to tarry till ½ past 3 P. M we vued the Falls[63] wted wanted the Large house that Ruth Bond commenced one hundred and forty feet long Brother Rockwood & my self took the rail road for Lockport[64] then went abord of the line Boat Wales Brother [Albert] Rockwood went to Auburn[65] I went to Utica [Oneida County, New York] took the Cars for Albania [Albany][66] at 10 P. M. took the stage for west Stockbrige [West Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts] arive[d] at Unkel [Joseph] Richards 1/2 past 6 frida morning the firs [fourth] day of Augest found them well and in good spirts returned to Ayte Albany the same day on Satterdy [5 August] went to troy [Troy, Rensselaer County, New York] returned and found Coson [Albert] Rockwood we went abord Steam Boat Swallow arived in N. York sunda[y] morning [6 August] at 5 o o clok we Gorge Fodhames [George Fordham][67] found that Elder B P. P. Pratt was in the Citty Brother Eliger [Elijah] Fordham had gon with him to meting[68] we found them at the foot of Canal St[69] Elder P. P. P. was Preching on Bord a [s]chooner we held three in meting^s in the citty that day

10 August 1837 • Thursday

August 10 1837 from Chanaslade to Port Byron [Cayuga County, New York][70]

18 August 1837 • Friday

August 18 1837 took the Steam Boat Da[n]iel Webster[71] when about 3/4 of mile from the end of Pear [pier] a ladia fel from the Stirn of the Vesel the mate <M^r Clark- > and 2 others took <Fredrick> small Boat returned of and took her up Jest as shey was sinking but alive [72] Jane Groves[73]

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Editorial Note

By the end of August 1837, both Brigham Young and Joseph Smith had returned to Kirtland to face the growing division in the church there. Young’s journal closed with his return. He did not write again for fifteen more months, months filled with momentous events. To address the fracturing church and in hopes of strengthening it, Joseph Smith held a church conference on 3 September. The church voted and reaffirmed Joseph Smith’s prophetic role as head of the church. Brigham Young also received a vote of confidence that he should retain his apostleship even as three other apostles—Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson, and John F. Boynton—were disfellowshipped.[74] While this meeting momentarily quelled some of the discontent, the fury of apostates and dissenters grew into rage by the middle of December 1837. At this time Young was threatened because he proclaimed that he “knew, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High God, and had not transgressed and fallen as apostates declared.”[75]

Young’s bold defense of Joseph Smith attracted such threats of violence that on 22 December he left Kirtland to preserve his life, this despite the delicate health of his wife Mary Ann, who was nursing one-year-old twins and caring for three other children. Exactly three weeks later Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon also left Kirtland for new homes in Missouri. Young joined them on the road and together they entered Far West, Missouri, in March 1838. Once in Missouri, Brigham Young was sustained as an assistant president in the Zion presidency and thus helped oversee the excommunication of several prominent church members, including Oliver Cowdery.[76] On 17 April 1838 Joseph Smith dictated a revelation for Brigham Young in Far West that directed him to care for and support his family.[77] When Mary Ann and the children arrived (they had traveled by water), Young established a home for them on a farm some miles away from Far West. At the new homestead, the family regrouped and Mary Ann recuperated from the arduous move.

Fall 1838 saw the prosecution of the Mormon War in Missouri and the state governor’s accompanying extermination order. For the better part of the previous decade, Joseph Smith and other church leaders dealt with challenges originating in Missouri. In 1833, after the Saints began to build a large community in Jackson County, Missouri, other residents gave church members notice that they were no longer welcomed and that “the mormons must leave the county” or they “must die.” By the end of that year, church members were forcibly evicted from their lands in the county and migrated to Clay County, Missouri. [78] All the while church leaders sought to obtain redress from the Missouri state government. Redress was not forthcoming, and before long Clay County residents drafted resolutions calling for the removal of the Saints from that county too.[79] On the move again, the Saints landed in Far West, Caldwell County, and the surrounding region. Conflict followed them again, and by October 1838 it became violent with armed fighting between the Saints and Missouri militia and vigilantes. Injuries and deaths on both sides ensued. Responding to the bloodshed, Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs considered the Saints enemies of the state and ordered that they be “exterminated or driven from the state.”[80] State militia disarmed the Saints and saw to their removal.

Describing this time known as the Mormon-Missouri War, Brigham Young’s later history relates: “So soon as they obtained possession of the arms, they commenced their ravages by plundering the citizens of their bedding, clothing, money, wearing apparel, and every thing of value they could lay their hands upon, and also attempting to violate the chastity of the women in sight of their husbands and friends, under the pretence of hunting for prisoners and arms. The soldiers shot down our oxen, cows, hogs and fowls, at our own doors, taking part away and leaving the rest to rot in the streets.”[81] The execution of the Mormon War saw Joseph Smith and other church leaders imprisoned in Liberty Jail. In the absence of the First Presidency, Young and his quorum—with the apostasy of Thomas B. Marsh and the death of David Patten, Young was now the senior apostle and therefore acting president of the Twelve—took the reins and helped the Saints regroup and remove to Illinois, ensuring that nobody was left behind. The winter of 1838–1839 found the Saints as refugees traveling east across the Mississippi River into Quincy, Illinois. From Quincy church members moved north along the river before settling in Nauvoo on the east side of the river in Illinois, while many others, including Young and his family, settled near Montrose, Iowa Territory, directly west across the river. Young’s journal is silent on these momentous events.

Young recorded just one short entry between the end of August 1837 and September 1839: the baptism of two people, including Asa Works, the father of Brigham’s first wife, Miriam Works Young.

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17 December 1838 • Monday

Decembor 17 - 1838 this day Baptized Elicksander [Alexander] Williams and Asa Works[82]

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Editorial Note

On 19 December 1838, two days after he wrote of the momentous baptism of his father-in-law, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball ordained John Taylor and John E. Page as apostles.[83] Young also spent time administering to and instructing others. For example, on 28 December 1838 he addressed the “seventies and the necessity of their going immediately into the vineyard of the Lord to labour therein in righteousness for him.”[84] Proceeding into 1839, Young himself also prepared to go on another very important mission.

Brigham Young, now senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve, did not resume writing in his journal until he and Heber C. Kimball, next in seniority, headed east from their homes in Montrose, Iowa Territory, on 14 September 1839 to begin a transatlantic mission to England. Kimball and fellow apostle Orson Hyde had opened the work in that country in 1837, and now the apostles would return in force to build on the foundation they laid.

Even while incarcerated in Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith had reminded Young of the obligation to go overseas to preach the gospel. On 16 January 1839 Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith wrote to Young and Heber C. Kimball imploring them to lead the church in their absence and to fulfill the transatlantic mission.[85] An 8 July 1838 revelation had commanded the Twelve to “go over the great waters and there promulgate” the gospel. The Twelve were directed to leave Far West on 26 April 1839.[86] Despite the dangers of returning to Missouri, Young led members of his quorum back to fulfill the revelation. On the stipulated date they symbolically laid the cornerstone for the Far West temple, as the revelation directed, and ordained Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith apostles (Joseph Smith had earlier called them to the quorum) before making their way back to Illinois to regroup before their effective departure for England. There, after Joseph Smith escaped Missouri custody, he instructed the apostles even as they, with other Saints, endured a season of severe sickness, especially malaria, in the mosquito-infested swamplands along the Mississippi.

John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, the first of the apostles to head east for their quorum mission, left the Mississippi River in August; Brigham Young and Heber Kimball followed in September. Young was still ill at the time and so was his wife Mary Ann, who was also ailing after having given birth ten days earlier. Brigham left his sick wife, newborn child, and other children in difficult temporal circumstances in the run-down ruins of a fort in Montrose, Iowa Territory. On 16 September he and Kimball set out from their homes near the Mississippi River and headed east, preaching along the way.

The men met up in Kirtland, Ohio, in November 1839, where they visited old friends and preached to church members still residing there. Young also oversaw the washing and anointing in the Kirtland Temple of John Taylor, who had not been in Kirtland when the other apostles received their anointings in spring 1836. Taylor and Woodruff traveled ahead, arriving in England in January 1840. Meanwhile, Young traveled in the eastern United States preaching and visiting with some family members along the way. He arrived in New York City in February 1840 and spent about a month there. He spent much of his time preaching alongside Parley P. Pratt and others. On 9 March, Young and Pratt boarded the ship Patrick Henry, setting sail for a nearly monthlong passage to England.

The journal that Young had with him, his second journal book, was a small (about 5½ x 3¾ inches) red leather pocket-size book. He wrote in it regularly, documenting his activities from the time he left home until he boarded the ship, but did not record any entries during the crossing. The next entry summarized the voyage and noted his landing in Liverpool, England, on 6 April 1840, the ten-year anniversary of the founding of the church.

As documented in his journals, Young spent the next twelve months traveling and proselytizing throughout that country. His journal notes many occasions (including the mid-April conference when Willard Richards was ordained a member of the Twelve), places, and exchanges with people that he experienced while in England. From late May through September, when he changed journals, Young was absorbed with the work of printing church materials for the British Saints. By the end of September 1840, he had seen two ships leave for America carrying scores of British Latter-day Saints bound for Nauvoo.[87] Even though his small red book had blank pages to fill, Young’s writing therein ended in late September 1840. He purchased another journal, and after a short gap in record keeping he began writing in it in mid-October 1840. This new journal, a black leather book even smaller (just over 4½ x 2¾ inches) than his red journal, contains the record of the rest of his experiences in the British Isles.[88]

Young’s missionary journals from fall 1839 to spring 1841 are among the most consistent in terms of daily entries. Though often not deeply detailed, the daily entries provide valuable glimpses of Young’s missionary labors at a time that saw many hundreds of British citizens join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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14–19 September 1839 • Saturday–Thursday

[89] life of B. Young 1839

[90] left hom at Montrose[91] Satard [Saturday] morning the 14 of sept at Brohers H C. K. [Heber C. Kimball] till 18 wen[t] Quincy[92] 19 evening)

25 September 1839 • Wednesday

25 we[n]t to Burton[93] C[harles] Rich[94]

26 September 1839 • Thursday

26 at Bro Wilbers [Benjamin S. Wilber][95]

27 September 1839 • Friday

fridia 27 went to Pitsfield [Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois] [96] B. S. Wilbor caried ous. found the Brothern jenarley [generally] well and in good spirits;

Heber C. Kimball, circa 1850s. Courtesy of the Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

30 September 1839 • Monday

monday the 30 went to winchester [Winchester, Scott County, Illinois] to Brothers deckers [Isaac Decker] and M^r Murry^s found them all well.[97]

1 October 1839 • Tuesday

Tusday October the 1 went to Brother L[orenzo] Young they well we rceruted [recruited][98] while here;

4 October 1839 • Friday

frida the 4 L. Y. car[ri]ed ous to Jackenvill [Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois]

5 October 1839 • Saturday

the 5 P the frends and Brothern convaid ous to Springfield,[99] whare we ware kindley treated and nurst up[100] and helped to pursue our jorney m[a]y the Lord bles them and all the rest of our Brothren wtlyith with all things they have ben kind to ous

11–12 October 1839 • Friday–Saturday

fridia the 11 evening Brother H. C. K. and my self in compny with Brotheres Hadlock [Reuben Hedlock] Turley [Theodore Turley] G[eorge] A. Smith and M^r Murry Started on our jurney went 8 miles[101] stade with Father [William] Draper started on our <jorney the> n[e]xt morning arived[102] at Terry Hute [Terre Haute][103]

17–22 October 1839 • Thursday–Tuesday

thursday the 17 Brother H. C. K. was verry sick Brother H. C. and my self staed [with] Doct Modesitt[104] till tusday the 22 Brothers Hadlock Turley G. A Smith M^r Murry left ous here; an monday Brother A. Babbet [Almon Babbitt] and Doct Knight came to Terry Hute to see ous the next day Brother James Modesitte braught ous in a caredge twenty miles we went from their to Plesent Garden [Washington Township, Indiana] and put up with B^r Jonathan Crosbay found them well Brother Babbet was Preching through the contry prospect good he had Baptized 5

24 October 1839 • Thursday

[105] thursday evening 24 herd a methodas [Methodist] preach[106]

26 October 1839 • Saturday

on saterday 26 Br- Babbet caried ous ten miles to Br. Scotts we found them well. verry glad to see ous

27 October–3 November 1839 • Sunday–Sunday

27 his son John car[ri]ed ous fifteene miles we had then traveled som miles in the rane we put up at a tavern <in belvile> [Bellville, Richland County, Ohio] staed til the Stage came along. we then took it and rode day [and] night till we arived at wilebe [Willoughby].[107]

3 November 1839 • Sunday

we arived at Kirtland Sunday November the 3 where we found frends and the Church in a striving to serve the Lord[108]

4 November 1839 • Monday

on monday the 4 John Young[109] and my self visited Brother Kent[110] and family found them well in good faith found a som devision of centiment among the brothern[111]

10 November 1839 • Sunday

Su[n]day the 10 Brother [John] Taylor Preached in the fore noon and H. C. Kimball in the after noon[112]

17 November 1839 • Sunday

Sunday the 17 I Preached in the fore noon; Brother Taylor in the after noon in the Evening I anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord the Proses [process] was as follars. after Brother Taylor had washed in pure water and castel [castile] soap then we all went to [the] House of the Lord H. C. K. opened the meeting by prayr I then an[o]inted J. Taylor with pure seet sweet oil and pronounced such blesings as the spirit gave utrence. J. T. then arose and praid for him self Brother [Theodore] Turley was anointed by D[aniel] S. Miles then it was se[a]led by Hozanna then their feet was washed the meeting closed.[113]

18–19 November 1839 • Monday–Tuesday

monday 18 went to new bury [Newbury, Geauga County, Ohio] to Brother R. Potters returned on tusday to Kirtland

22–26 November 1839 • Friday–Tuesday

on fridia the 22 went to Fare Port [Fairport, Lake County, Ohio] here we are wating for a boat; on tusday 26 went on board the steam boat Columbus at one oc clock P.M arived in Bufaloo the next morning; we had an exelent time on the lakae, the wind arose about one o’ clock in the morning I went up on deck and I felt impres[sed] in spirit to pray to the Father in [the] name of Jesus for a forgiveness of all my sins and then I fe[l]t to command the winds to sees and let ous goe safe on our Jorney the winds abated and gl[o]ry & ouner [honor] & prase be to that God that rules all things.

27–29 November 1839 • Wednesday–Friday

wensday 27 took the Stage went to Batav[i]a.[114] Thursday evening ◊ Took the cars went to Rochester[115] took the stage rode all night

29 November–7 December 1839 • Friday–Saturday

frida morning at 10 A.M. arived in Auburn stayed ◊◊◊◊ till Satarday 30 went to Morava [Moravia, Cayuga County, New York] found Brother Isac Hate [Isaac Haight] staed till the next frida the 6 of Decem[ber]. Br. I. Hate took his team Braught ous to Br. Joseph Murdock in Hamelton [Hamilton] Madison County [New York] we arived here Saterday evening 7 Dec Preached at Br. Murdock

8–12 December 1839 • Sunday–Thursday

Sunday the 8 Preach in the evening, the weak following visited the Brothering they ware verry kind to ous I think I shall never forget them in time nor in Eternity[116] had a meting tusday evening thursday evening

15–16 December 1839 • Sunday–Monday

Sunday the 15 Preached in Watterville [Waterville, Oneida County, New York] at Brother [James] Gifford,^s returned an monday to Hamilton [Hamilton, Madison County, New York]

20 December 1839 • Friday

on fridia went to Eaton [Madison County, New York] saw coson Fitze [Fitch Brigham] & Salmon Brigham[117]

21 December 1839 • Saturday

on Satterday returned to Hamilton[118] Cauled on Phineas Brigham

22–23 December 1839 • Sunday–Monday

on Sunday the 22 Preached at Brother Murdock went to waterville[119] on monday 23 with Brother Gifford

25–27 December 1839 • Wednesday–Friday

wensday <25> Star[t]ed to see Br- Blackslee [James Blakeslee] went six miles beyend rome met with Brothers Blackslee & Br- roberson [Joseph Lee Robinson] staed at Br- Spining,^s [Daniel Spinning] and [120] returned 27 to watervill

28 December 1839 • Saturday

28 went to Hamilton Sunday Br- Blakslee Preached,[121]

1 January 1840 • Wednesday

on wensday the 1 day of Janury 1840 Brother G. A. Smith & miself <left> Hamilton after Staying with the Brotherin three weaks and letter we had a good visit with the Brotherin they helped ous on our jorney

2–3 January 1840 • Thursday–Friday

on thursday the 2 came to Utica Brother James Gifford braught;

fridia the 3 came [to] Albona [Albany] <put up> at the Railrode House

4 January 1840 • Saturday

4 found the Brothern in Albana [Albany] went to Troy & then to Lancenburge[122] heard Brother P[hineas] Richards Preach

5 January 1840 • Sunday

on sunday the 5 I Preached in Lancenbu[rg] returened to Troy held a meeting with the Brotherin

6–12 January 1840 • Monday–Sunday

monday returned to Albany Albana [Albany] tusday took the stage came to Richmond [Berkshire County, Massachusetts] found the frends well spent the time with the our cosons had a good visit I Preached on wensday evening G. A. Smith[123] on thirsday evening [9 January] Sunday the 12 we had a meting at W^m Persons [William Parsons] Brother Burnon was with ous Brother <Jon. O>[124] Duke [Jonathan Oldham Duke] from Albana [Albany] Preached.

17 January 1840 • Friday

on frida the 17 Edwin Persons [Pearson] braut ous to Canon [Canaan, Litchfield County] Connectticut Prached

19–26 January 1840 • Sunday–Sunday

sunda the 19 at Sheffield mills[125] found the Brotherin well. staed till sunday the 26 G. A. S. & myself held a meting at Brothers Frenchs

27–31 January 1840 • Monday–Friday

monday 27 Brothers Smith & French convaed ous to New Haven we had to stay till friday <31> we took the steam Boat New Haven went within 18 miles of New York took caredge arived in New York about 10 in the evening found P. P. Pratt^s house in a fue [few] minits.[126]

1 February 1840 • Saturday

Satard[ay] the 1 day of Feb spent the day at P. P. P. [Parley P. Pratt]

2–15 February 1840 • Sunday–Saturday

sunday 2 G. A. S. & my self Preached in the Colomban Hall[127] I attended meeting every night till sat [8 February] Sunday 9 I Preached 3 times in the hall attended metings through the week till satterday,[128] [15 February] this day I fel & hirt my self verry much so I was not able to dress my self for 4 or 5 days[129]

16 February 1840 • Sunday

Sunday 16 stayed at P. P. P. Sunday morning B. Kimball arived a[t] P. P. P.[130]

23 February 1840 • Sunday

the next Sunday the 3 23 I attended meeting in the [Columbian] Hall heard P. P. P. Preach[131]

25 February–8 March 1840 • Tuesday–Sunday

tusday 25 [February] R. Hadlock [Reuben Hedlock] & my self went to Hemsted[132] [133] Preached in Rockway and in the naborhoods[134] about till wensday the 4 of march there was 9 Baptized we returned to N. York held a counsel with the church severl ordaned to the office [of] Elders we staed till sunday [8 March] Preached in the Columban Hall[135]

―――――――― ◊ ――――――――

Editorial Note

Nearly six months after leaving the Nauvoo area, battling illness and teaching and preaching along the way, Brigham Young readied himself to set sail for Britain. Young spent the next month on the ship before reaching Liverpool, England, to begin his missionary labors in the United Kingdom. It does not appear that he recorded any entries during this period of sea travel. His journal entry that follows appears to be a summative note about the overseas passage and first few days in England written on or around 12 April 1840.

―――――――― ◊ ――――――――

9 March–12 April 1840 • Monday–Sunday

on monday 9 went on board the ship Patrick Henry had a long pasedge of 28 days 16 days head wind a numbor of days calm ◊◊◊◊ one savere storme storm 3 or 4 days som others stormes a grate deal of the time the ship <decks> would be washed from end to end - we landed in Leverpool[136] the 6 of Apriel the first day of the eleventh year of the church found B^r [John] Taylor[137] [T]usday 7 wensday went to Preston[138] W. Richards came home thursday, the next Sunday severl of the B^r Bore tesmona of the gospel

14 April 1840 • Tuesday

tusday the 14 the twelve held a councel ordained W. Richards in to the corom [quorum] of the twelve[139]

15 April 1840 • Wednesday

wensday 15 met in counced councel with the Church

Based on map research and cartography for the Joseph Smith Papers; used by permission. RESEARCH: Alex D. Smith, Brent M. Rogers, and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat. CARTOGRAPHY: Jonathan West. © By Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

16 April 1840 • Thursday

thursday the 12 met and finished the Bisness[140]

17 April 1840 • Friday

frida[141] spent at Father Moones [Thomas Moon][142] drank of wine that was made in the year eighteen hundred making it 40 years old[143]

18–20 April 1840 • Saturday–Monday

Satterdy the 18 B^r [Wilford] Woodruff and my self went to manchester[144] stoped 3 or 4 ours then went to Burslem[145] staed <19> over the sabath I preached[146]

mon 20 took Coach went to Wolver Hampton[147] s[t]aed all night

21 April 1840 • Tuesday

tusday 21 went to Worsester [Worcester, Worcester County, England] viseted the old Catheredel[148] then took Coach went to Ledbury [Herefordshire County, England][149] staed

22 April 1840 • Wednesday

wens[day] 22 went to frooms hill met with the Brⁱⁿ organized a branch of the Church at standly hill[150] [Stanley Hill, Herefordshire, England]

23 April 1840 • Thursday

thursdy 23 went [to] morons Cross [Moor Ends Cross]

24 April 1840 • Friday

fridia 24 went [to] molven hill [Malvern Hill] preach.

25 April 1840 • Saturday

Sat 25 returned to Br Benbowes[151] at frooms [Fromes Hill]

26–30 April 1840 • Sunday–Thursday

Sunday 26 preached to the Brⁱⁿ [Brethren] spent the time at Br Benbows in wrighting^s letters one to E. Roberson & D. C. Smith 1 to Joseph Young 1 to L. Young 1 to my wife 1 to John Young[152] y till thursday the ◊◊ 30 we went to Brother [Thomas] Kington^s found E^r Richards

1 May 1840 • Friday

May the 1 spent a part of day returned to frooms hill

2–6 May 1840 • Saturday–Wednesday

Saterdy 2 I returned to Ledbury preached till wensday 6 went [to] M^r Greene in Lugard Lugwardin [Lugwardine, Herefordshire County, England] preached in the evening

7 May 1840 • Thursday

thursday 7 went [to] B^r Tay in Marden [Marden, Herefordshire, England] Preached in the evening

8–10 May 1840 • Friday–Sunday

S<a>tterday frida 8 went to Shucknel hill Preached in the evening at B^r W^m Elles,^s [William Ellis] on Saterday 10 returned [to] Lugwardine Confirmed about 12 in marden som in Lugwardine ordained P. Greene an Elder[153]

11 May 1840 • Monday

Preached in the evening on monday 11 went to Shucknell hill

Mary Ann Angell Young, circa 1850s. Brigham missed his wife and children during his frequent travels away from home. He and Mary Ann wrote to each other often. Courtesy of the Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

12–13 May 1840 • Tuesday–Wednesday

Preached in the evening on tusday 12 went to Frume hill to B^r Benbows staed had a meeting wensday evening with B^r Woodruff[154]

14–17 May 1840 • Thursday–Sunday

thursday went to Ledbury Preached in the Evening[155] ordained B^r John Preast an Preast on frida went to B^r Kington met with the Brothern Bro^s Woodruff & Richards was Present we spent the time very agreable attended a meting on sunday the 15 17 in the Brick Chapel[156]

18 May 1840 • Monday

monday went to B^r Kington spent the day with the Brothering they had a tea Party we had Prayrs confirmed severel ordained anomber there was 20 Baptized that day[157]

19 May 1840 • Tuesday

St tusday Keysend <st> [Keysend Street] with Brother Richards & Woodruff I Preached in the evening,[158]

20–24 May 1840 • Wednesday –Sunday

on wensday the 20 we went an to Bacon [Beacon] hill we had Prayrs and a little counsel[159] Brother Kington came along and I started along with him came as far as Wolverhampton and Staed ove[r] night the next day I came to Burslem [Staffordshire, England] found Brother G. A Smith[160] and [Theodore] Turley stayed till saterday the 23 then Came to Manchester[161] found B^r P. P. Pratt well all well amongst the Church met with the Church on sunday <24> had a good meeting;[162]

25 May 1840 • Monday

an monday we viseted the Printers[163]

26 May 1840 • Tuesday

tusday 26 B^r Taylor came here.

Early view of Liverpool, England, near St. George's Hall; print crated circa 1890. Library of Congress, Washington, DC, LC-DIG-ppmsc-08555.

27–31 May 1840 • Wednesday–Sunday

on wensdy 27 B^r Kimball came.[164] we sele[ect]ed hymns[165] till saterday 30 B^r Taylor Kimball and my self went went to Liverpool I Preached on sunday 31 to the Church saw the Brotherin that was going to america Brother Kimball and my self laid our hands on them an blest them[166]

3–7 June 1840 • Wednesday–Sunday

on thirsday or wensday 3 Br Taylor and my self viseted the printers, on on sunday I preached agan

8 June 1840 • Monday

on mon 8 I went over the river to Chessher [Chester, Cheshire, England] in compny with J. Taylor Mi<t>chall[167] his wife and sister

9 June 1840 • Tuesday

tusday 9 took the morning trane of cars came to Manchester went to celecting hymns

11 June 1840 • Thursday

thursday <11> went to visit a garden it was raney and unplesent Came home I was rejoiced because I had acomfortble home - after B^r P. P. Pratt and myself talked som time about the nesesity of the Elders having the power of god with them I fell asleep & dremed a dreme I first dremed of being at home in the stat[e]s I first saw Elizabeth[168] I asked her whare her mother was she said she was about the house she soon came in I shook hands [with] her hartly [heartily] as I had don with Elizabeth I imbraced her in my arms and kised 2 or 3 times and asked hir whare my dear Children[169] was she & Elizabeth boath ansard and said they ware at [s]chool and they ware well and injoyed the [s]chool and loved there Books. my wife says we feele well but you must provide for your own familes for the Church are not able to doe for them. I next saw a small company on the north which I thaught ware saints and another company on the south. these both ware in west while the mane boddy of the inhabtence of the Kingdom ware East of the 2 small compnys. these 2 small one[s] was at ware [war] with each other the north company would over com the south from time to time. and as they <the south> deminishd they ware rplinished from the mane boddy from time to time who as a community took no notice of the contenchon be twene the small parties I saw the proces but not the End there off

11–20 June 1840 • Thursday–Saturday

Saterday June 20 I have ben here [Manchester] with B^r P. P. P. attending to the hym book sence the 11, last sunday <14> I preached in the morn to the Church

21 June 1840 • Sunday

on sunday 21 B^r P. P. P. and myself Preached in the Capenders [Carpenter’s] Hall for the first [time] after hiering it

22 June 1840 • Monday

Monday 22 I went to Liverpool to see a bout the printing of the book of Mormon[170]

26 June 1840 • Friday

I returned from Liverpool [to Manchester] on frida 26

28–30 June 1840 • Sunday–Tuesday

on sunday 28 preached in the hall agan.[171] finished the celection of hymnes[172] prepaird the endex for press Brothers Kimball and Richards came to Manchester tusday 30 -

1 July 1840 • Wednesday

July the first Brothers W. Woodruff G. A. Smith & T. Turley came[173] from the potries [Potteries][174] 2

―――――――― ◊ ――――――――

Editorial Note

During the two-month gap in journal keeping, from his previous entry on 1 July to the entry following on 5 September, Brigham Young spent his time in the city of Manchester, England. On 6 July 1840 he and other apostles met together with the Saints in a general conference there. The total number of Saints reported in England and Scotland reached 2,513, an increase of 842 members since April 1840.[175] The conference agreed that Brigham Young should remain in Manchester “for a season, to assist in printing the book of Mormon.” Young indeed stayed in Manchester and oversaw the church’s publishing efforts there, ensuring the printing of the hymnbook and the Book of Mormon and actively editing the Millennial Star.[176] From July until September, then, Young remained largely confined to the printing office, though he still found time to give counsel to the elders, to preach, and to baptize and confirm new members of the church. While he administered and managed operations in Manchester, other apostles entered new fields of labor, including Wilford Woodruff, who opened the city of London to Latter-day Saint proselytizing.[177]

―――――――― ◊ ――――――――

5–10 September 1840 • Saturday–Thursday

Sept the 5 - 1840 this day went to Liverpool to see the Brotheren of [the Church][178] staed till thirsday the 10 I preached sunday morning on saterday evening we held a meeting of the Brn that was going to america B[r]- T. Turley was chosen to take charge of the company. then we celected 6 more to be his councelores so the company was organised[179] Br Richards and my self staed on bord monday night on tusday morning the vesel went out about 9 a.m. We went out a bout <15 - or> 20 miles with left them all in good sperits Br Richards returned that night I returned on thursday 10

24 September 1840 • Thursday

24 as I was comming from Duckingfield [Dukinfield, Cheshire, England] in compa[n]y with Henry Royal [Royle] I descoverd the frost had kild the potatoetops[180] I had ben up there to preach had a good time the saints rejoiced I preached from Romans 9.[181] C-

12 October 1840 • Monday

[182] Manchester Oct 12 - 1840 at Brother Richards - No 1 Chman Street Sister Catherine told Br Richards that Br- Joseph Smith & councel was on their way to England and would be here soon Brothers H. C. Kimball & W. Woodruff present

Notes

[1] Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 4 August 1835, in JSP, ��4:374–75.

[2] Minutes, 26 September 1835, in JSP, D4:442; and Minutes, 16 January 1836, in JSP, D5:148–54.

[3] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 12.

[4] For more on the Kirtland temple dedication, see Historical Introduction to and text of Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836, in JSP, D5:188–209.

[5] Minutes, 30 March 1836, in JSP, D5:216–22.

[6] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 13.

[7] Young appears to have remained in Kirtland into April to attend the meeting celebrating the sixth anniversary of the church on 6 April 1836.

[8] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, xii.

[9] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, xxxiii.

[10] Whitestown, Oneida County, New York, had Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist churches that served the town’s population of approximately 1,800. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 725–26.)

[11] Fort Ann, Washington County, New York, was on the Champlain Canal. The town had Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches and a population of 3,200 in 1830 and 3,559 in 1840. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 167; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 217.)

[12] Granville, Washington County, New York, situated near the Vermont state line, had an Episcopal church, a Methodist church, and a Friends Church (Quaker) and a population of approximately 3,850. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 188; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 245.)

[13] Pawlet, Rutland County, Vermont, had a Congregational church and a Baptist church, along with a population near 2,000. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 397; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 514.)

[14] They attended a meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, sometimes known as Quakers.

[15] Haystack Mountain is one of the peaks in the Green Mountains of southwestern Vermont.

[16] TEXT: There are three illegible characters wipe-erased over which the letters “eet” in “feet” are written.

[17] Young’s statement here resembles the biblical injunction that “whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.” (Mark 6:11; see also Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5.)

[18] Probably Cornell “Cornwall” Marks, father of William Marks who had been baptized a Latter-day Saint in 1835.

[19] Rupert, Bennington County, Vermont, had a population of approximately 1,300 in 1830. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 482–83.)

[20] White Creek, Washington County, New York, had one Baptist church and one Friends Church. Its population was nearly 2,500 in 1830. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 602; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 724.)

[21] Shaftsbury, Bennington County, New York, had two Baptist churches and one Methodist church serving a population of approximately 2,100 in 1830. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 509.)

[22] TEXT: Brigham Young wrote this entry on Monday, 13 June 1836, briefly describing what had happened the previous Friday through Sunday.

[23] TEXT: Brigham Young wrote this entry on Thursday, 16 June 1836, briefly describing what had happened the previous Monday through Wednesday.

[24] Possibly John Anthony Woolf, who was born on 31 July 1805 in Westchester County, New York. (Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 133.)

[25] A history of Washington County, New York, notes that White Creek village was of “considerable business importance” to the area and had among its many mills, churches, and other businesses a cotton factory. (Johnson, History of Washington Co., New York, 460.)

[26] TEXT: Brigham Young wrote this entry on Saturday, 18 June 1836, briefly describing what had happened the previous Thursday and Friday.

[27] Woodford, Bennington County, Vermont, was located on the Green Mountain range and had Congregationalist and Methodist churches serving a population of about 3,400. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 612.)

[28] Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, had one Congregational church and a population of approximately 3,400. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 50; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 59.)

[29] Utica, Oneida County, New York, had eighteen churches, including a Friends Church and Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Universalist, and African churches. The city boasted a population of 8,300 in 1830 and 12,782 in 1840. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 565; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 675.)

[30] Schoharie Creek, which borders Schoharie, New York. There was a lock and a crossing for the Erie Canal at Schoharie Creek.

[31] New Lebanon Springs, Columbia County, New York, had one Baptist church and approximately 200 inhabitants. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 457.)

[32] Church members had a fraught relationship with Shakers, or members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. In the spring of 1831, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation invalidating some of the Shakers’ core beliefs. That same year, after preaching to and being rebuffed by the Shakers, Parley P. Pratt “commenced shakeing his coattail; he said he shook the dust from his garments as a testimony” against the Shakers because they “had rejected the word of the Lord Jesus.” (See Revelation, 7 May 1831, in JSP, D1:297–303 [D&C 49]; and Ashbel Kitchell, “Mormon Interview,” in Flake, “Shaker View of a Mormon Mission,” 98.)

[33] Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, had Congregational, Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist churches for its population of about 3,500. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 419–21.)

[34] Julian Moses was born on 11 April 1810 in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Jesse Moses and Esther Brown. Julian eventually was baptized into the Latter-day Saint faith in Canaan, Connecticut, and later served missions to the eastern and southern United States. He was among the first missionaries to Tahiti. (Whitney, History of Utah, 325–26.)

[35] Possibly a phonetic spelling of Hartford, Connecticut. Given the route Young appears to have taken to Providence, Rhode Island, and his penchant for phonetic spelling, Hartford is a good possibility.

[36] Likely a building on Washington Street, which ran through downtown Providence, Rhode Island.

[37] The second insert of paper gathering that Brigham Young sewed into his journal ends here. However, the entries were inscribed out of chronological order. The entries that follow (28 July–9 September 1836) are written in the pages of the second insert but before the entries that start his 1836 missionary endeavors (entries dated circa 21 May–23 July 1836).

[38] Patty Martha Howe Morse, the sister of Brigham Young’s mother, Abigail Howe Young.

[39] TEXT: At this place there is a squiggled line demarcating the text of 28 July from that of Friday, 29 July.

[40] Son of Jereboam Parker and Ann “Nancy” Howe, born 3 September 1807.

[41] Southborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts, had Congregational, Baptist, and Unitarian churches and a population of about 1,100. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 518; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 620.)

[42] Holliston, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, had a population of 1,304 in 1830 and 1,728 in 1840. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 212; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 281.)

[43] TEXT: This insertion identifies the day Brigham Young wrote this entry with details covering the previous three days beginning 2 August 1836.

[44] John Haven was born on 9 March 1794 in Holliston, Massachusetts. He was married to Brigham Young’s aunt Elizabeth Howe. Haven was later baptized and endowed in the Nauvoo Temple. (Black, Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 21:719–22; and Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 63.)

[45] Lucretia Morton Bullard, a relative of Brigham Young’s through his maternal grandmother’s sister, Esther Goddard Morton.

[46] A Boston newspaper printed the following notice about Fanny Brewer’s connection with the Latter-day Saints at this time: “We understand the Mormon disciples congregate at the house of one Fanny Brewer, who keeps a large tailoress establishment in the western part of the city, and where the impostors daily gull the deluded votaries of their creed out of their money and wits. It has been well remarked that there is no lie so big it will find fools big enough to believe it.” (Untitled, Boston Daily Times, 25 August 1836; for more on Fanny Brewer, see XXXnXX herein.)

[47] It is unclear where Young traveled to after leaving Fanny Brewer’s in Boston and then returning to the same place. Brigham Young’s manuscript history records him going to Salem with Lyman Johnson and then back to Boston. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 14.)

[48] TEXT: “Monday” is written over an illegible word that appears to be “Staterday,” which is likely a variation of “Saturday.”

[49] Hyrum Smith and Oliver Cowdery had left Kirtland on 25 July 1836 in company with Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. These men headed east preaching and raising funds to help the church’s financial situation; many in the church, including these men, were saddled with debts from building the Kirtland Temple, not to mention the loss of a significant amount of land in Jackson County, Missouri. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were in Salem, Massachusetts, while Hyrum Smith and Oliver Cowdery visited Boston. Joseph Smith dictated a revelation on 6 August regarding their visit to Salem. Though Young’s journal records this encounter with Hyrum Smith and Oliver Cowdery, it does not record meeting Joseph Smith at this time. Nevertheless, Young’s manuscript history claims he met with “the Prophet Joseph” and tarried “with the Prophet a few days.” (Revelation, 6 August 1836, in JSP, D5:271–78; Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, in JSP, D5:280–83; and Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 14.)

[50] Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, was the most populous town of the state with an excellent harbor and a burgeoning population of 15,218 in 1840. (Darby and Dwight, New Gazetteer, 427–28; and Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 544–45.)

[51] This was James Snow of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. According to the published minutes of the Newry conference, Snow received an assignment to travel to the Canadian province of New Brunswick. (“A Conference of Elders,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, September 1836, 2:382.)

[52] Young’s brief description of the Newry conference agrees with the minutes published in the Messenger and Advocate. According to the published minutes, the “elders present were then called on to express their faith and manner of teaching the principles of the gospel, which was done to the satisfaction of the council.” The conference also discussed the “Book of Doctrine and Covenants”; all present “received and acknowledged unanimously” that book of scripture. (“A Conference of Elders,” Messenger and Advocate, September 1836, 2:381–82.) A letter Brigham Young sent to the editor of the Messenger and Advocate summarized the conference even more briefly: “Attended a conference in company with elder Lyman F. Johnson, there we baptized two; the Spirit of the Lord attended our conference; at our public preachings we had large and very attentive congregations.” (Brigham Young to Oliver Cowdery, 15 September 1836, Messenger and Advocate, November 1836, 3:408.)

[53] It is unclear where Young traveled after leaving Fanny Brewer’s in Boston and then returning to the same place. Brigham Young’s manuscript history records him going to Salem with Lyman Johnson and then back to Boston. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 14.)

[54] Ruth Vose, or possibly her aunt Mary “Polly,” had previously donated $150 to the church in the spring of 1834. (Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 10 January 1858, 7:101.)

[55] Brigham Young mentions this conference at Providence concisely in a letter he wrote to Oliver Cowdery in September 1836. Young stated, “Brother J.Y. and I then started for home, via, Providence where we called a conference and ordained brother Bennington to be an elder.” (Brigham Young to Oliver Cowdery, 15 September 1836, Messenger and Advocate, November 1836, 3:408.)

[56] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, 762, CHL; and Willard Richards, Journal, March–July 1837, [13], [14], CHL.

[57] Seventies Quorum, Minutes, 21 February 1837, in Seventies Book A, CHL.

[58] For more on this period of dissent in church history, see Introduction to Part 6 in JSP, D5:363–66. For more on dissent within the Quorum of the Twelve, see Esplin, Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 103–5, 107–12.

[59] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, 767–70, CHL.

[60] According to later histories, while on this journey to the East, Joseph Smith was arrested at Painesville “for some pretended debt.” The court found no cause for action and released Smith. After being arrested two more times and being released on bail, the party returned to Kirtland before proceeding to Ashtabula, “shunning Painesville and other places where we suspected our enemies were laying in wait to annoy Joseph.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 20–21; and Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, 767, 770, addenda, 6, CHL.)

[61] Brigham Young’s later manuscript history states, “We tarried in Ashtabula through the day, wandering over the bluffs, through the woods and on the beach of the lake, bathing ourselves in her beautiful waters, until evening, when a steamboat arrived from the west. We went on board and took passage for Buffalo.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 21.)

[62] Toronto, York County, Ontario, Canada, was a flourishing city with manufacturing, factories, foundries, mills, newspapers, five railroad lines, and forty-seven churches of a variety of Christian denominations. It was at this point that the traveling party split, with Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Thomas B. Marsh proceeding to Canada while Young and Albert Rockwood continued in New York, taking “the cars for Lockport . . . and from thence we took a line-boat for Utica.” (Crossby, Gazetteer of British North America, 336–38; and Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 21.)

[63] Niagara Falls.

[64] Lockport, Niagara County, New York, located on the Erie Canal approximately thirty miles northeast of Buffalo. In the 1830s the city had twelve churches and two female seminaries and was generally considered an enterprising city with banks, stores, mills, and factories serving a population of 6,500 people. It was connected by railways that ran between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 352.)

[65] Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, was the home of a state prison, a theological seminary under the direction of Presbyterians, four printing offices, a museum, seven hotels and taverns, factories and mills, seven churches, and a population of 5,600. It was also on a railway. According to Brigham Young’s history, “Brother Rockwood stopped at Auburn to see some of our relatives.” (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 42; and Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 21.)

[66] This travel likely occurred over a few days. It is approximately 210 miles from Niagara Falls to Utica and another roughly one hundred miles from Utica to Albany. Given the speed of transportation in the 1830s, it likely took Young a few days to cover this ground.

[67] George Fordham was the father of Elijah Fordham.

[68] Parley P. Pratt’s autobiography offers the following additional details: “Late in July I arrived in the city of New York, on a mission, took lodgings and commenced to preach and write. My first production in that city was a book of upwards of two hundred pages, entitled the Voice of Warning.” Pratt “found the city of New York to be the most difficult as to access to the minds or attention of the people. From July to January we preached, advertised, printed, published, testified, visited, talked prayed and wept in vain. . . . There was one member of the church of the saints living there whose name was Elijah Fordham; he was an elder, and assisted me. We had baptized about six members and organized a little branch, which was accustomed to meet in a small upper room in Goerck Street; sometimes two or three met with us.” (Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, 143–44.)

[69] Likely the Canal Street wharves on the west side of Lower Manhattan.

[70] TEXT: Brigham Young wrote this entry at the bottom of his second holograph journal’s front pastedown.

[71] Young traveled west from New York City during the intervening time from his last entry on 6 August, arriving in Buffalo, New York, by 18 August en route home to Kirtland, Ohio. In Buffalo he boarded the steamer Daniel Webster. The Webster was a 376-ton vessel built in 1833. It operated on Lake Erie servicing many towns and landings on the lake’s southern shore, including Buffalo and Fairport, Ohio, the two likely hubs of Brigham Young’s travel on this trip. (“Lake Erie Steamboats,” Black Rock (NY) Advocate, 31 March 1836, [3]. See also Mansfield, History of the Great Lakes, 611–35.)

[72] TEXT: The following name is written in graphite.

[73] Brigham Young’s later manuscript history provides a fuller account of this event. It states: “When about three quarters of a mile from the end of the pier, a lady fell from the stern of the vessel. The engines were immediately stopped, and the yawl lowered, into which the first mate, Mr. Clark, and two hands jumped, and returned in search of her. When the mate saw her she was about ten feet under water. He dropped his oar and dived into the water like a fish. He was gone about one minute, and brought her up, his left hand clasping the back of her neck and holding her at arm’s length from him. The two hands took her from the mate into the yawl, and returned to the vessel. She was soon able to speak, and quite recovered in the course of the afternoon and evening. Her name was Jane Groves. The passengers on board, in a few minutes, made up a purse of $60 to the mate for saving her life. I learned from the lady herself the cause of her falling into the water. She had left her family and friends in the city of Buffalo, and got on the taffrail to take a farewell look at the city, and on coming down she slipped into the water. Here I learned something I did not know before, that the motion of the water caused by the paddles will keep a person from sinking.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 18 August–3 September 1837, 22–23.)

[74] See Minutes, 3 September 1837, in JSP, D5:420–23.

[75] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 23–24.

[76] Minutes, 7–8, 12 April 1838, in JSP, D6:70–74, 83–93.

[77] Revelation, 17 April 1838, in JSP, D6:107–8.

[78] For more information on the expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri, see Introduction: Joseph Smith Documents from February 1833 through March 1834, in JSP, D3:xxix–xxx.

[79] For more information on the Saints in Clay County, see Introduction: Joseph Smith Documents from October 1835 through January 1838, in JSP, D5: xxv–xxvii.

[80] Lilburn W. Boggs to John B. Clark, 27 October 1838, in Document Containing the Correspondence, Orders, &C, in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons [. . .], 61.

[81] Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 29–30.

[82] Asa Works was born on 25 August 1762 in Worcester County, Massachusetts, to Samuel Works and Mary Smith. Asa married Abigail Marks and they became the parents of Miriam Works, who married Brigham Young in 1824 and died eight years later in 1832. Asa died on 15 February 1846 in Nauvoo, Illinois. (Black, Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 47:769–70.)

[83] Joseph Smith had earlier named Taylor and Page to the Quorum of the Twelve. (Minute Book 2, 19 December 1838, CHL; and Revelation, 8 July 1838–A, in JSP, D6:180 [D&C 118:6].)

[84] Seventies Quorum, Minutes, 28 December 1838, in Seventies Book A, CHL.

[85] Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 January 1839, in JSP, D6:311–16.

[86] See Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118], in JSP, D6:176–80.

[87] For a detailed history of the origins of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostle’s mission to England, see Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission.

[88] See Brigham Young, Journal, 19–21 October 1840, p. XXX herein. This journal also includes some 1842 writings and then picks up in 1844 with regular entries.

[89] TEXT: Blue ink commences.

[90] TEXT: Brown ink commences.

[91] Brigham Young spent his time in Montrose attending “meetings and administer[ing] to the sick” when he was well enough to do so. He suffered from malaria, which often left him debilitated and weak. According to his later history, when he started from Montrose on his mission to England, his “health was so poor I was unable to go thirty rods to the river without assistance.” Getting out of Montrose proved difficult. According to Young, “after I had crossed the river I got Israel Barlow to carry me on his horse, behind him, to Heber C. Kimball’s, where I remained sick till the 18^th. I left my wife sick, with a babe only ten days old, and all my children sick and unable to wait upon each other.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 14–17 September 1839, 50; Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, vol. C-1, 967, CHL; and Journal of Discourses, 17 July 1870, 13:211.)

[92] Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, situated on the bluff on the east side of the Mississippi River, had four churches (Baptist, Congregationalist, Episcopal, and Methodist), a US land office, mills, and twenty-five stores serving a population of approximately 1,500 inhabitants. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 556.)

[93] Burton, Adams County, Illinois, is approximately four miles east of Quincy, Illinois, and is part of Burton Township. (Map of Adams County, Ill., in History of Adams County, Illinois, x-xi.)

[94] Charles C. Rich was with his wife, Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich, who was then living with her mother, Elizabeth Pea, and father, John Pea, in a rented house in Burton Township, Illinois. The exact location of the residence is not known. Charles Rich took Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball to Benjamin S. Wilber’s residence, approximately twenty-five miles from Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois. (Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich, Autobiography, 1814–1893, BYU; and Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840, in JSP, D7:318.)

[95] Benjamin Wilber had been ordained an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 3 March 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio. He migrated to Missouri thereafter, where he sustained nearly $21,500 worth of losses owing to the governor’s extermination order against the Saints in 1838. By 1839 he had moved to Pike County, Illinois. (Elder’s Certificate for Benjamin S. Wilber, 3 March 1836, Kirtland Elders’ Certificates, 1836–1838, 180, CHL; Benjamin S. Wilber, Account of Property Lost and Damage Sustained, Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845, CHL; and Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840, in JSP, D7:318.)

[96] TEXT: Blue ink commences.

[97] Roswell Murray was Heber C. Kimball’s father-in-law. Kimball stayed at Murray’s home, which was a “few rods” from where Young stayed at Isaac Decker’s residence. At Murray’s, Kimball and Young “found two of Elder Young’s brothers and one sister; and other brethren of the church who had been scattered into that part from Missouri. These brethren had been stripped of their property and smitten &c. yet we found them in comfortable circumstances, rejoicing in God.” (Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840, in JSP, D7:318–19; and Kimball, “History,” CHL, 112.)

[98] Young’s usage here may refer to any form of the word “recruited,” which could mean to procure new supplies, to engage new religious adherents, or to refresh and recover one’s self. (Webster’s 1828 and 1847 dictionaries.)

[99] Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, served as the state capital and in 1830 had a population of approximately 2,500. Springfield also had six churches: Presbyterian (two), Episcopalian, Baptist, Reformed Baptist, and Methodist. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 630–31.)

[100] According to Brigham Young’s manuscript history, he was confined to his bed “for a few days. Brother Libeus T. Coon, who was then practising medicine, waited upon and nursed” him back to health. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 4 October 1839, 52.)

[101] Brigham Young’s later history provides the following additional detail: “The brethren had exchanged horses at Springfield, and with a little assistance from the brethren there, we obtained a two-horse wagon. The sisters fitted me up a bed in the wagon to ride on, as I was unable to sit up.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 11 October 1839, 52.)

[102] The travelers experienced a difficult journey. Their wagon’s “axle tree broke twice” and they “had to suffer hunger in consequence of having to cross large prairies, and the food we got was altogether johnny-cake, and corn dodger, and poor bacon.” (Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840, in JSP, D7:319; and Heber C. Kimball to Vilate Murray Kimball, 24 October 1839, photocopy, Kimball, Correspondence, 1837–1864, CHL.)

[103] Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, a town on the national road where it crossed the Wabash River. In Terre Haute there was a courthouse, a jail, two churches (Congregationalist and Methodist), a bank, mills, and stores for its population of approximately 2,000 residents. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 654).

[104] Dr. Charles Modisett was a church member in Illinois. He allegedly gave the ill Kimball a spoonful of morphine that nearly killed the apostle. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 17 October 1839, 53; Kimball, “History,” CHL, 114; and Woodruff, Journal, 24 August 1839, CHL.)

[105] TEXT: Brigham Young began to use brown ink at this point.

[106] Young was still in Pleasant Garden at this time.

[107] Young and Kimball traveled by stagecoach through Indianapolis and Richmond, Indiana, and Dayton, Columbus, and Wooster, Ohio. Willoughby (formerly Chagrin), Lake County, Ohio, had a population of nearly 2,000 in 1830. It was less than five miles from Kirtland. Willoughby had a university, two churches, and mills and tanneries. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 730.) According to Brigham Young’s manuscript history, Young and the others rode the stage to Indianapolis, then to Richmond before going on to Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland and finally reaching Willoughby on 3 November. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 3 November 1839, 55–56.)

[108] Following the departure of most Kirtland Saints to Far West, Missouri, in late 1837 and early 1838, a small contingent of church members remained in Kirtland, Ohio. A church governing structure continued to function with Oliver Granger appointed to oversee the House of the Lord and general church affairs there. Later, Almon Babbitt served as stake president over the Kirtland area. Church leaders intended to retain some property in Kirtland and to use the temple for Saints traveling through on their way to gather in Nauvoo, Illinois. (John Smith and Don Carlos Smith, Kirtland Mills, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 15–18 January 1838, George A. Smith Papers, CHL; Historical Introduction to Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 February 1838, in JSP, D6:27–30; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839, in JSP, D6:443; Minutes, Kirtland, OH, 22–24 May 1841, in Times and Seasons, 1 July 1841, 2:458–60; and Almon Babbitt to Joseph Smith, 19 October 1841, in JSP, D8:317–24.)

[109] John Young, an older brother of Brigham’s, was formerly a Methodist preacher. He had been baptized into the Latter-day Saint faith in 1833 by another brother, Joseph Young. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, v–x.)

[110] Daniel Kent was Brigham’s brother-in-law; Daniel married Nancy Young, Brigham’s sister, in January 1803. (Black, Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 26:457–59.)

[111] According to Brigham Young’s manuscript history, “There was some division of sentiment among the brethren in Kirtland, many of whom lacked the energy to move to Missouri last season, and some lacked the disposition. Some of the brethren thought that our sickness was owing to some great wickedness we had been guilty of.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 3 November 1839, 57.)

[112] Heber C. Kimball had been ill but nevertheless preached in the afternoon. During the course of his speaking, he compared the men of Kirtland “to a parcel of old earthen pots that were cracked in burning, for they were mostly apostates that were living there.” After the meeting, Kimball went to the house of Ira Bond, where Martin Harris, Cyrus Smalling, and others confronted him about his speech. (Helen Mar Kimball, “Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo, Woman’s Exponent 11 [1882–83].)

[113] Brigham Young and over three hundred other men had their feet washed in the Kirtland temple in the spring of 1836. Neither John Taylor nor Theodore Turley was in Kirtland that spring. The washing and anointing ordinance was one of preparation and purification following biblical precedent. While other contemporary religious denominations viewed foot washing as an act of humility or as preparatory to receiving communion, Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints focused on purification, understanding the washing of feet as a ritual to liberate recipients from the sins of the world. (Grow, “Washing of Feet and the Latter-day Saints,” 131–34; see also Doctrine and Covenants 7:45–46, 1835 ed. [D&C 88:138–41]; Historical Introduction to Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&C 137], in JSP, D5:157–58; Cowdery, Diary, 21 January 1836, CHL; and John Whitmer, History, 83, in JSP, H2:91–92. For the instructions to Moses to wash and anoint Aaron before allowing him to enter the holy tabernacle, see Exodus 40:9–15.)

Brigham Young’s later history offers further details on this November 1839 experience in the Kirtland temple: “Brother Kimball opened the meeting by prayer; I then anointed brother Taylor with pure sweet oil, and pronounced such blessings as the Spirit gave utterance. Brother Taylor then arose and prayed for himself. Brother Turley, one of the Seventies, was anointed by D. S. Miles, one of the Presidents of the Seventies which was sealed by loud shouts of hosanna; then their feet were washed and the meeting closed. A Council was held with brothers Kellog, Moreton, and the leading brethren in Kirtland. It was proposed that some of the Elders should remain there and preach a few weeks. Brother John Moreton said that they had had very many talented preachers, and he considered that men of ordinary talents could do no good in that place. We disposed of our wagon, horse and harness, and picked up what money we could gather, which was insufficient to convey us to New York. There was not a healthy man among us, and some more fitted for a hospital than a journey.” (Watson, Manuscript Historyof Brigham Young, 17 November 1839, 58.)

Heber C. Kimball also offered insights into this event. According to a later account, Kimball stated, “In the evening Brother Brigham anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord, he having previously washed himself in pure water. Then we all went to the temple. I was called upon and opened the meeting by prayer, when Brother Brigham anointed him with oil and pronounced such blessings upon him as the spirit gave utterance. Brother Taylor then arose and prayed. Brother Theodore Turley, one of the seventies, was then anointed by Daniel S. Miles, one of the presidents of the seventies, both of which anointings were sealed by loud shouts of Hosannah! Then their feet were washed and the meeting closed.” (Helen Mar Kimball, “Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo.”)

[114] Batavia, Genesee County, New York, boasted many public buildings, including five churches (Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, and Methodist) and a population of approximately 2,000 people. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 52.)

[115] Rochester, Monroe County, New York, located on the Erie Canal, had twenty-two churches, including two Roman Catholic and two African churches. Rochester was a significant commercial center and place of education with four academies, serving a population of approximately 20,000. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 572–73.)

[116] The phrase “in time nor in eternity” echoes language in an early Joseph Smith revelation from December 1831 that speaks of stewards rendering an account “both in time and in eternity.” (Revelation, 4 December 1831-A, in JSP, D2:150 [D&C 72:3]; see also Luke 16:1–8.)

[117] Fitch Brigham and Salmon Brigham, sons of Phineas Brigham and Susannah Howe, were Brigham Young’s cousins.

[118] During this trip to Hamilton, Young had a gospel discussion with a “very staunch Baptist” who acknowledged Young’s teachings as “Scriptural and reasonable.” The Baptist, according to Young’s later history, “could not give me any light, neither could he answer the questions I asked him, and he was too much of a gentleman—young and inexperienced—to commence a tirade of abuse, as older priests generally did on the character of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, consequently he sat mute as a stock.” Young continued with his own contemplation on faith: “When I found Mormonism, I found that it was higher than I could reach with my researches, deeper than I was capable of comprehending, and calculated to expand the mind and lead mankind from truth to truth, from light to light, from grace to grace, and exalt him in the celestial kingdom, to become associated with the Gods and the angels.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 20–22 December 1839, 61–62.)

[119] Waterville was a small but growing village in Oneida County, New York. (History of Oneida County, New York, 525.)

[120] TEXT: Blue ink commences.

[121] James Blakeslee had presided over a branch of the church in Ontario, Upper Canada, and moved to Oneida County, New York. He served a mission in Great Britain in late 1840 through early 1841 and was ordained a seventy by Brigham Young during that time. By 1841 Blakeslee was preaching in New York. In spring 1841 at the National Hall in New York City he gave a sermon from Jeremiah 13 “to prove that the Mormon religion was the only true creed; and that all others would fall short of everlasting bliss.” According to a newspaper report of his speech, Blakeslee concluded by “saying that converts to Mormonism were increasing ten-fold, hourly, both in England and the United States.” (“New York, Oct. 7th 1840,” Times and Seasons, 15 November 1840, 2:220; James Blakeslee, Rome, NY, to “Dear Brethren in the New Covenant,” 17 April 1841, Times and Seasons, 15 July 1841, 2:483–85; George A. Smith, Staffordshire, England, to Don Carlos Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 18 November 1840, Times and Seasons, 1 February 1841, 2:308; John Taylor, Liverpool, England, to Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 3 February 1841, Times and Seasons, 1 May 1841, 2:402; and “Meeting of the Latter-Day Saints at National Hall,” New York Herald, 3 May 1841.)

[122] Lansinburgh, Rensselaer County, New York, located about ten miles northeast of Albany near the Hudson River, was a thriving community with seven churches (Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, and Universalist) for its population of approximately 3,300. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 333.)

[123] According to Brigham Young’s later history, “George A. said it was the first time he had ever been permitted to visit the State of Massachusetts. He had heard much from his childhood of the refined morals, high state of Christianity and perfect order that reigned predominant in this State, and of the great missionary exertions made to civilize, moralize and Christianize almost every portion of the world. He said he had travelled in the west, north and south; met in congregations with the savages of the forest, and he had never seen so mean a breach of good order and decency before in his life.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 7 January 1840, 64–65.)

[124] TEXT: Insertion made in brown ink, probably at a later time.

[125] Sheffield, Massachusetts, located approximately ten miles north of Canaan, Connecticut.

[126] When Wilford Woodruff arrived in New York City, he “called upon Elder P.P. Pratt in Mott street No 58.” It is probable that Pratt still resided at that address. (Woodruff, Journal, 11 December 1839, CHL; Pratt’s address at 58 Mott Street is also listed in Brigham Young, Mission to England, Notebook 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, box 170, folder 19, CHL.) In 1838 the Pratts had “rented a large upper room on Goerck Street, near the East River in Manhattan’s lower east side.” (Givens and Grow, Parley P. Pratt, 103.) Parley P. Pratt recorded this encounter with Young in his autobiography: “Elders Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith and R. Hedlock also arrived in New York City late in the winter, after performing a long and important journey and mission through the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York.” (Pratt, Autobiography, 263.)

[127] The Columbian Hall in New York City was located at 263 Grand Street and was used for a variety of meetings and gatherings. Parley P. Pratt wrote that the church in New York City met there three times every Sunday. According to Pratt, the Columbian Hall sat “a few doors East of the Bowery, it is very central and one of the best places in the city, it will hold nearly one thousand people and is well filled with attentive hearers.” (Parley P. Pratt to Joseph Smith, 22 November 1839, in JSP, D7:59–66; see also, for example, Hassert, Proceedings of the Grand Division of the Sonsof Temperance of the State of New York, 268; and Jackson, “Bowery,” in Encyclopedia of New York City, 131–32.)

[128] Brigham Young and the others found the church members of New York City and its surroundings “filled with faith and joy and charity and hospitality, and the same may be said of the saints in general in all this region.” In a cowritten letter, Young, Parley P. Pratt, and others described the impoverished conditions among the Saints in New York City: “There is scarce a saint here who would stay another month if they had means to go west. It is the bad times here and not the good times which keeps them from emigrating. There is but little money, little employment, little business of any kind here, and consequently they are most all groaning in poverty; but their deep poverty abounds unto the riches of their liberality, in forwarding the elders on their journey, and in every good work, while some of them almost lack daily bread.” (Parley P. Pratt, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Orson Pratt, New York, NY, to The Church in Commerce, IL, 19 February 1840, in “Communications,” Times and Seasons, March 1840, 1:70–71.)

[129] Brigham Young’s manuscript history offers more detail about his injury: “Passing from Brooklyn to New York, I jumped on the ferryboat with my left arm extended, meaning to catch hold of the stanchion, but I fell on a large iron ring on the deck, which put my shoulder out of joint. . . . When I came to a fire I fainted, and was not able to dress myself for several days.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 2 February 1840, 67.)

[130] In a letter to the church updating them about proselytizing work in the East, Parley Pratt, Brigham Young, and others noted that “Br. Kimball baptized one in Weathersfield, Genesce co N. Y. and 3 in victor Ontario co. near where the records [from which came the Book of Mormon] were found.” (Pratt, Young, Kimball, and Pratt to The Church, 19 February 1840, in “Communications,” 1:70.)

[131] Pratt had traveled to Washington DC and Philadelphia and recently returned to New York City. Pratt was in the nation’s capital “warning them faithfully” and presenting to the government the church’s case for redress of grievances arising from the Saints’ Missouri experience. In Philadelphia, Pratt met Joseph Smith and spent several days with him. During that time, Pratt later wrote, Smith taught him “many great and glorious principles concerning God and the heavenly order of eternity.” (Minutes and Discourse, 13 January 1840, in JSP, D7:113; Pratt, Autobiography, 261–62; and Pratt, Young, Kimball, and Pratt to The Church, in “Communications,” 1:71.)

[132] Hempstead, Queens County, New York was a village with a population of 1,400 and Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Methodist churches. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 273.)

[133] TEXT: Brown ink commences.

[134] Rockaway, Queens County, New York, was a village in Hempstead township on the bay near the Atlantic Ocean and had a population of approximately 200 people. (Haskel and Smith, Statistical Gazetteer, 573.) Other neighborhoods that the men visited in the area included Hempstead and Brooklyn. (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 23 February 1840, 67.)

[135] According to Parley P. Pratt’s autobiography, “During the few days that we were together in New York, we held many precious meetings in which the saints were filled with joy and the people more and more convinced of the truth of our message. Nearly forty persons were baptized and added to the church in that city during the few days of our brethren’s stay there. We held a general conference in the Columbian Hall, previous to our departure.” (Pratt, Autobiography, 263–64.) Relative to this specific meeting, Brigham Young’ s later history stated, “Attended a Conference with the Church in New York. Elders Kimball, Parley P. and Orson Pratt and Geo. A. Smith were present. Much instruction was given to the Saints, and a number of Elders were ordained.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 4 March 1840, 68.)

[136] Liverpool, Lancaster County, England, was a major seaport, market town, and municipal and parliamentary borough that served as the primary port of trade in cotton, tobacco, and sugar with the United States. The manufacturing sector of the city was primarily connected with shipping, sugar refining, tobacco, soap manufactures, pottery, glassworks, and iron and brass foundries. Many church buildings, including those for Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Unitarians, and Methodists, were present. Orson Hyde wrote to his wife upon arriving in the city, “When we came in sight of Liverpool, the Spirit of God rested down upon us to a very great degree.” Heber C. Kimball spoke to the economic diversity in the city: “We wandered in the streets of that great city, where wealth and luxury, penury and want abound. I there met the rich attired in the most costly dresses, and the next moment was saluted with the cries of the poor, without covering sufficient to screne them from the weather; such a distinction I never saw before.” Young and the Twelve made Liverpool the center of Latter-day Saint emigration and publishing. (National Gazetteer, 2:619–24; Bloxham, Truth will Prevail, 71; and Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 28, 311.)

[137] John Taylor had come to Liverpool from Preston a few days earlier. He had been in Preston since January 1840. Brigham Young’s later history states, “We procured a room at No. 8 Union Street. . . . We held a meeting, partook of the sacrament and returned thanks to God for his protection and care exercised over us while on the waters, and asking that our way might be opened before us to accomplish our missions successfully.” (Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 108–9; and Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 6 April 1840, 69.)

[138] Preston, Lancaster County, England, was connected by rail to other cities, including Liverpool. Its inhabitants were primarily employed in the manufacture of cotton goods, Preston being a major British center of trade in cotton. Missionaries established a branch of the church there in 1837, which now constitutes the oldest continuously functioning church ecclesiastical unit in the world. Heber C. Kimball specified that there were some 60,000 inhabitants in Preston and that fifty-five people had been baptized in that city by 2 September 1837. This proselytizing success was due in part to the Reverend James Fielding (a relative of Joseph Fielding and Mary Fielding Smith), who allowed the Latter-day Saint missionaries to preach in his church. Joseph Fielding and his sisters Mary and Mercy wrote several letters to Reverend Fielding, who in turn read the letters to his congregation. Though James Fielding did not convert to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, several members of his congregation were baptized shortly after Joseph Fielding, Heber C. Kimball, and others arrived in July 1837. (National Gazetteer, 3:251–52; Bloxham, Truth will Prevail, ix, 33; Pratt, Autobiography, 183; Heber C. Kimball, Preston, England, to Vilate Murray Kimball, Kirtland, OH, 2 September 1837, in Elders’ Journal,October 1837, 4–7; Joseph Fielding, Journal, 9, 16, CHL; and Joseph Fielding, Preston, England, to Mary Fielding and Mercy Fielding, Kirtland, OH, 2 October 1836, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL.)

[139] Preston served as the venue for the first council that a majority of the Twelve held together in a foreign nation. Seven of the apostles attended: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George A. Smith. That council took place on 14 April 1840. Two particularly noteworthy moments occurred at the council. First, “Elder Willard Richards was ordained to the office of an Apostle, and received into the Quorum of the Twelve by unanimous vote, agreeable to a revelation given to Joseph Smith in Far West, July 8, 1838.” In his journal Willard Richards wrote, “With the Twelve in council at my room in Preston, I was ordained to the Apostleship by President Young, under the hands of the quorum present.” Richards’s ordination made him the eighth apostle present at the council. Second, Brigham Young “was chosen standing President of the Twelve by unanimous vote.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 14 April 1840, 70; Revelation, 8 July 1838, in JSP, D6:175–80 [D&C 118]; “The first Council of the Twelve among the Nations,” Woodruff, Journal, 14 April 1840, CHL; and Willard Richards, Journal, 14 April 1840, CHL.)

[140] At this meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the men chose Parley P. Pratt to edit the monthly church periodical, later named the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. They also established a committee (composed of Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and John Taylor) to select hymns for a British hymnal. They also discussed securing a British copyright for the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. (Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 244–55.)

[141] Minutes of the Preston conference for 17 April provide information about the numbers of church members and priesthood holders in England and Scotland. Brigham Young’s history provides some additional detail about this conference: “Attended a general Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in the Temperance Hall, Preston, Lancashire, England. Elder Heber C. Kimball was chosen to preside, and Elder William Clayton Clerk. There were represented 1,671 members, 34 Elders, 52 Priests, 38 Teachers and 8 Deacons. During this Conference we resolved to publish a monthly periodical in pamphlet form, to be edited by Elder P.P. Pratt, also to publish a selection of hymns, and that Elders P. P. Pratt, John Taylor and I select the hymns. It was also resolved that Elders H.C. Kimball, P.P. Pratt and myself be a committee to secure the copyright of the Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, as soon as possible.” Brigham Young wrote to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo on a few occasions seeking approval for the English printing of the hymnbook, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. According to a letter from Mary Ann Young, Joseph Smith approved of all the apostles were doing in England. She wrote, “J. Smith said he received nothing in letter you had written that he disapproved of. But he wanted you to go ahead, be gloried in your resolutions to go ahead.” (“From England,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:119–20; Woodruff, Journal, 15–16 April 1840, CHL; Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 15–17 April 1840, 70–71; Brigham Young to Joseph Smith, 29 April 1840, in Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:121–22; Brigham Young to Joseph Smith, 7 May 1840, in Joseph Smith, Letterbook 2, 151–53, Joseph Smith Collection, CHL; and Willard Richards to Brigham Young, 22 August 1840, CR 1234 1, CHL.)

[142] Moon had been baptized into the Latter-day Saint faith on 10 December 1837 by the first church missionaries in England. (Kimball, Journal, CHL; and Joseph Fielding, Journal, CHL.)

[143] William Clayton, who was married to Thomas Moon’s daughter Ruth, recorded the following in his journal: “This day the brethren have come from Preston. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Willard Richards, Willford Woodruff, Ruben Hadlock, Hiram Clark and Joseph Fielding. We have each had a glass of wine which my brother in law made 40 years since. We spent the day together and I wrote a minute of the conference for Brother Kimball to send to America. Brother Hadlock preached in my father in laws barn this night on John 15. Brothers Bradbury and Bourne from Burslem came and Brother Stafford from Stockport.” (William Clayton, Journal, 17 April 1840, 141.) According to Brigham Young’s manuscript history, Young “met with the Quorum of the Twelve at mother Moon’s [Lydia Plumb Moon]. She presented a bottle of wine for us to bless and partake of, which she had kept for forty years, and she said there was something providential in its preservation, for when she was married she designed to use it, but forgot until the event was over, and when her first child was married it was also forgotten, and so it had passed over several events until she now had the privilege of presenting it to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We spent the day in conversing and counselling with each other pertaining to the things of the Kingdom of God. We held a Council at her house in the evening, and ordained Peter Melling a Patriarch.” (Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 17 April 1840, 71–72.)

[144] Manchester, Lancaster County, England, was a leading manufacturing center involved in the trade of cotton, arms, hardware, silk, and woolen goods. The city boasted more than fifty churches and places of worship for people of a variety of faiths, including Episcopalians, Wesleyan Methodists, Roman Catholics, and Calvinists. The population of Manchester was 192,219 in 1841, while the Latter-day Saint church branch there had grown to 240 members by April 1840. Most of the members in the area were young, unmarried, and lower middle class, with more women than men and most of the former working in the factories. (National Gazetteer, 2:757–64; and Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 18.)

[145] Burslem, Stafford County, England, was a prominent city of the Staffordshire Potteries area that produced earthenware, china, porcelains, and other wares. (National Gazetteer, 1:427–28.)

[146] According to the British Mission manuscript history, “Pres. Brigham Young preached to the people in Hanly in the forenoon and evening; partook of the sacrament with the Saints in the afternoon.” (British Mission, Manuscript History, 19 April 1840, vol. 12, part 2, box 5, folder 4, CHL.)

[147] Wolverhampton, Stafford County, England, was a place of mineral wealth standing on layers of limestone, ironstone, and coal beds, with a rich and fertile soil for agriculture as well. Its city limits contained several churches and meeting places for Wesleyans and other Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. (National Gazetteer, 3:853–54.)

[148] Built between 1084 and 1504, the Worcester Cathedral featured many styles of English architecture. According to Wilford Woodruff’s journal, “We visited the Ancient noted splended Worcester Cathedral Which surpassed any thing for splender & architecture mine eyes ever beheld. It was about 400 feet in length 800 or 900 years of age. It contained many Monuments and portraits of persons which were graven out of marble & lade over the tombs or vaults of Ancient Bishops, Lords & Princis, some of which had lane there for 7 or 800 years. . . . Almost every thing about this cathedral from top to bottom is carved out of solid marble. The whole pulpit is carved out of one solid stone.” Woodruff also noted that there “was a large Organ in the building” and that the Anglican Church still worshipped in the cathedral in 1840, holding a worship service twice each day of the year. (Woodruff, Journal, 21 April 1840, CHL.)

[149] At Ledbury the apostles met with a Baptist minister who was especially friendly. Wilford Woodruff wrote of the experience: “I had not been in town an hour before many flocked around me to see me and give me the hand of fellowship, though strangers unto me. The Baptist minister [Rev. G. H. Roper-Curzon] opened his chapel for me to preach in, and he went into the pulpit with me and opened the meeting by reading the 35^th chapter of Isaiah and praying mightily for me; I then arose and preached to a large and attentive audience and when I closed thirteen offered themselves for baptism, notwithstanding it was the first meeting we had held in the town.” (Bloxham, Truth will Prevail, 140.)

[150] Wilford Woodruff’s journal provides further details. On this date, he wrote, “We walked to Frooms Hill & called upon Brother John Benbow & had an interview with Elder [Thomas] Kington & in the evening we had a church meeting at Standly Hill.” Woodruff also mentioned the names of people that he and Brigham Young ordained that day, including James Hill, James Barns, Charles Price, and John Parry, who were ordained priests, and John Benbow was ordained “to the Office of a Teacher.” (Woodruff, Journal, 22 April 1840, CHL.)

[151] John Benbow gave two hundred pounds for the English printing of the Book of Mormon. Benbow owned a large property and farm that was central to Latter-day Saint activities in Ledbury. (Woodruff, Journal, 3–5 March, 14 May 1840, CHL.)

[152] None of these letters have been located. Young was with Wilford Woodruff at this time, and one of Woodruff’s letters to the editors of the Times and Seasons gave a recap of his proselytizing efforts with Young. Brigham Young baptized four people at Froom’s Hill around this time. (Letter from Wilford Woodruff, 27 April 1840, Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:122; and British Mission, Manuscript History, 27 April 1840, CHL.)

[153] Writing from Lugwardine on 7 May 1840, Brigham Young wrote about those who accepted the restored gospel message. To Joseph Smith he stated, “Almost without exception it is the poor that receive the gospel.” Given the numbers of baptisms performed by the apostles, Young asked for more missionaries to come to England. He proclaimed, “We need help very much in this Country.” (Brigham Young to Joseph Smith, 7 May 1840, in Joseph Smith, Letterbook 2, 151–53.)

[154] Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff preached at Froom’s Hill, administered the sacrament, confirmed nine new members of the church, and ordained one elder, two priests, and one teacher. (British Mission, Manuscript History, 13 May 1840, CHL.)

[155] At this 14 May meeting there was, according to Wilford Woodruff’s journal, “much disturbance,” and at its conclusion “the congregation was besmeared with rotten eggs.” (Woodruff, Journal, 14 May 1840, CHL.)

[156] This brick chapel refers to the Gadfield Elm Chapel, located seven miles southwest of Ledbury, England, on John Benbow’s property. The chapel was built in 1836 by the United Brethren of which Thomas Kington was a leader before he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kington apparently owned the chapel and turned it over to the apostles. According to the manuscript history of the British mission, on this date “Elders Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and Willard Richards held conference with the Saints of Gadfield Elm chapel. Elder Woodruff preached in the forenoon, and while Elder Young was preaching in the afternoon, several opposers endeavored to raise a disturbance. Elder Young commanded peace and order in the name of the Lord and by virtue of the laws of the Land. Elder Richards and another brother went to the door and peace was restored. The brethren administered the sacrament, confirmed five, and ordained four Priests, and one teacher.” On this occasion Woodruff wrote that while Young was preaching “opposers made much disturdance & was determined to break up the meeting. Elder Young rose up in the power of the Priesthood & in the name of the Great God & according to the laws of the land Commanded order. Two of the brethren went to the door to keep order. Elder Richards was one of them & they were enabled to overcom the enemy & peace was again restored.” (Woodruff, Journal, 21 March, 17 May 1840, CHL; Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 35:760; and British Mission, Manuscript History, 17 May 1840.)

[157] This feast may have coincided with the British observance of the “Feast of the Ascension of Christ,” celebrating the belief in Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven. Such festival days were common in England and celebrated by the Church of England. Nevertheless, Wilford Woodruff’s journal notes that feast days were also a common custom among the United Brethren, a branch of the Methodist Church, from which came most of those in attendance that day. According to Woodruff, “This was a FEAST day. Elder Kington made a feast for the Saints, which had been a custom among the United Brethren But as they now were all receiving the fulness of the gospel they had become Saints. The Saints began to collect at 2 oclock. By 4 we had nearly 100 Saints together to the feast. . . . Elder Young addressed the Saints clothed with the power of God, & then asked a blessing upon the food prepared. We then sat down to the table & eat & drank with nearly 100 Saints possessing glad hearts & cheerful Coun[t]enances.” (Woodruff, Journal, 17 May 1840, CHL; Letter from Wilford Woodruff, 27 April 1840, Times and Seasons, June 1840 1:122; and Stanley, Faith and Practice of a Church of England-Man, 153.)

[158] Woodruff, Journal, 19 May 1840, CHL.

[159] Brigham Young hiked with Willard Richards and Wilford Woodruff to the top of the Malvern Hills to a place called Herefordshire Beacon. There the men “united in prayer & held a council & unitedly felt that it was the will of God that Elder Young should go immediately to Manchester to assist in Publishing a collection of Hymns of 3,000 copies & also to immediately print & finish 3,000 copies of the Book of Mormon for we had procured 300 three hundred pounds of lawful currency for this purpose. We feel anxios to soon circulate the knowledge of the Book of Mormon to all foreign nations & as this is the first commencment of it I Pray God to Bless the effort & make it a benefit to man.” Willard Richards recorded their joint decision on a slip of paper for Young to carry with him. Richards and Woodruff signed the paper providing their consent and support for the decision. On his way to and once in Manchester, Young consulted with the other apostles, including George A. Smith, who likewise endorsed the plan, stating, “I perfickley concur with the feelings of my Broetherin.” Young’s effort to consult as many members of the quorum as possible reflects his collegial leadership and the shared responsibility and decision-making within the quorum. (Woodruff, Journal, 20 May 1840, CHL; Certificate, 20 May 1840, Miscellaneous Papers, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; and Esplin, Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 167.)

[160] George A. Smith wrote to a cousin in Ohio shortly after seeing Brigham Young in Burslem. In his letter of 6 June 1840, Smith commented on the extreme poverty and conditions of the people in Burslem and the general success of Latter-day Saint proselytizing efforts in England. (George A. Smith, Burslem, England, to Cousin C. C. Waller, Ohio, 6 June 1840, in “Foreign News,” Times and Seasons, 15 November 1840, 1:223–24.)

[161] From the time of his arrival in Manchester on 23 May, Young spent most of his time involved in publishing and general administrative work and did little extended preaching. (Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 157.)

[162] On this date, Young wrote to Wilford Woodruff and Willard Richards letting them know that Young arrived and had found Parley P. Pratt well. He also informed the other apostles of the good prospects for the printing business and the recent publication of the Millennial Star. (Brigham Young to Wilford Woodruff and Willard Richards, 24 May 1840, in British Mission, Manuscript History, CHL.)

[163] Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Parley P. Pratt had been appointed as a committee to secure copyrights for and print the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants in England to provide greater access to these materials for recent converts to the Latter-day Saint faith. While in Manchester, Young and the others met with publishers and printers to ascertain prices for this work. On 7 June, W. R. Thomas gave the men an estimate of 320 pounds and 10 shillings for 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon, while John Tompkins offered to do the same for “110 pounds for printing and prepping and 100 pounds for paper for a total of 210 pounds for 5,000 copies.” On 10 June, Brigham Young wrote to Willard Richards, “We saw about all the printers of note in this place and got a bill from each of them. I then went down with Brother Taylor to Liverpool, saw about all the printers there, and got their bill or bids from each of them. . . . Mr. Tompkins, in Liverpool, offered to do the work about forty pounds cheaper than the rest, and do it [with] new type. He will print 5,000 copies for 110 pounds. We find paper the same size, but the Book will be a trifle shorter and wider than it now is.” Parley P. Pratt had previously written to Young about bids for publishing the hymnal and the Millennial Star. (“From England,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:121; Letter from Brigham Young, 29 April 1840, in JSP, D7:272–73; Woodruff, Journal, 20 May 1840, CHL; British Mission, Manuscript History, 25 May 1840, CHL; Estimate from W. T. Thomas, 7 June 1840 and Receipt from John Tompkins, 12 February 1841, Mission to England—Receipt for Book of Mormon, Brigham Young Office Files, box 170, folder 15, CHL; Brigham Young to Willard Richards, 10 June 1840, in British Mission, Manuscript History, CHL; and Parley P. Pratt, Manchester, England, to Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff, 4 May 1840, in Brigham Young Office Files, box 41, folder 7, CHL.)

[164] This is the first mention of Heber C. Kimball in England. Kimball had previously overseen the conversion of approximately fifteen hundred people between July 1837 and April 1838. Kimball found great success and was told by Joseph Smith that England “is the place where some of the old Prophets traveled and dedicated that land, and their blessing fell upon you.” (Rasmussen, Mormonism and the Making of a British Zion, 5, 51; and Heber C. Kimball, “Temple and Endowment,” in Journal of Discourses, 5:22.)

[165] William Clayton also participated in selecting hymns with Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young, and others. In his journal for 29 May 1840, Clayton noted that after helping a few church members resolve contention among them, Kimball and Young “came to Hardman’s and sung some and afterwards spake with each other in tongues.” (Clayton, Journal, 29 May 1840, 157; and Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Europe [1840].)

[166] This “first company of Saints from England” consisted of forty-one people led by John Moon. The company departed Liverpool on 6 June 1840. (William Clayton, Penwortham, England, to Brigham Young and Willard Richards, Manchester, England, 19 August 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Heber C. Kimball, Joseph Fielding, William Clayton [Preston, Lancashire, England] to the FirstPresidency, High Council, and Bishop [Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL], 25 May 1840, Joseph Smith, Letterbook 2, 168; and Brigham Young to Willard Richards, 10 June 1840, in British Mission, Manuscript History, CHL.)

[167] This was William Mitchell, an Aitkenite preacher, who was baptized into the Latter-day Saint faith after hearing the teachings of John Taylor and Joseph Fielding earlier in 1840. He and his wife, Eliza Ridsdale, were baptized on 4 February 1840. The Aitkenites were followers of the Reverend Robert Aitken, who broke with the Anglican Church and founded the “Christian Society” in 1835 in Liverpool. Aitken led his brand of Wesleyan congregations together with the Reverend Timothy Matthews, the brother-in-law of Joseph Fielding, before eventually returning to Anglicanism. Aitken’s followers proved to be receptive to Latter-day Saint teachings, even if their leaders were vehemently against the missionaries. Many of the early English converts from Heber C. Kimball’s mission in the late 1830s were Aitkenites. The apostles’ preaching on the topics of authority and baptism convinced many of the Aitkenites that the apostles offered them something they were missing from Aitken and Matthews. (See Joseph Fielding, Journal, 1838–1840, 51–52, 108–13, CHL; Underwood, Millenarian World of Early Mormonism, 131–33; John Taylor, Liverpool, England, to Leonora Cannon Taylor, Commerce, IL, 30 January 1840, John Taylor, Collection, CHL; and “Mission to England,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, April 1841, 1:292–94.)

[168] Elizabeth Young, the daughter of Brigham Young and Miriam Works Young, was born on 26 September 1825.

[169] In addition to Elizabeth Young, who was the eldest child mentioned above, Brigham Young had five children at this time: Vilate Young (born 1 June 1830), Joseph Angel Young (born 14 October 1834), Brigham Young Jr. and Mary Ann Young (twins born 18 December 1836), and Alice Young (born 4 September 1839). (See “History of Brigham Young, Deseret News, 24 March 1858.)

[170] Brigham Young and the apostles made the printing and distribution of the Book of Mormon in Britain a high priority and were “desirous the Saints should purchase and read the book as fast as they can, for it contains things which if followed, will make them wise unto salvation.” (Willard Richards to John Child, 27 February 1841, CHL; see also Parley P. Pratt to Brigham Young, 4 May 1840, in Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

[171] According to William Clayton, Brigham Young preached on Romans 11:26. Young also led another evening meeting this day in which Parley P. Pratt focused his remarks on Mark 16:15 through 19:7. (Clayton, Journal, 28 June 1840, 164.)

[172] The 1840 European hymnal contained 271 hymns with more than 30 of those written by Parley P. Pratt. (See Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Europe [1840], CHL.)

[173] Wilford Woodruff wrote that he “arrived in Manchester on the first day of July, and [he] spent 3 days with the Twelve, and other friends, in writing, transacting business, visiting the Saints, preparing for the Conference, &c. and had a pleasant time.” (“From England,” Times and Seasons, September 1840, 1:168.)

[174] The Staffordshire Potteries were located approximately thirty miles south of Manchester and comprised of the towns of Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Fenton, and Longton. Taken together, these potteries produced stoneware and earthenware that were shipped globally. In her autobiography, Bathsheba Bigler Smith mentioned the “nice earthenware which had been presented to [her] husband at the Staffordshire potteries while he was engaged there as a missionary.” George A. Smith commented on the poverty of the people in these towns: “So many of the poor are begging that it would astonish the Americans. . . . Of the more than 450 Saints in this District not more than one third of them have full Employment. Many of them Rest Not more than two or Three Days per Week and Many have no work at all. Times are growing harder Every Week. Some are turned out of Employ because they have been baptised by the Latter Day Saints.” (Bathsheba Bigler Smith, Autobiography, BYU; Allen, Esplin, and Whittaker, Men with a Mission, 118; and Bloxham, Truth Will Prevail, 53, 120–21.)

[175] Woodruff, Journal, 6 July 1840, CHL.

[176] Parley P. Pratt departed England around this time to retrieve his family from the United States and bring them to live with him in England. His departure created a need for Brigham Young to take charge over the church’s printing efforts. (Brigham Young to Mary Ann Young, 16–30 October 1840, Thatcher Collection, CHL; and Pratt, Autobiography, 272–74.)

[177] “From England,” Times and Seasons, September 1840, 168; Esplin, Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 170; and Woodruff, Journal, 14 July, 18 August 1840, CHL.

[178] On this date Brigham Young and Willard Richards penned a letter to Joseph Smith and other church leaders that provided much information on English society and economy, wages, classes, taxes, and the impoverished conditions of a large portion of the people. Their letter further noted that the British Saints largely could not afford the price of the Millennial Star at sixpence per month. Nevertheless, he remained upbeat about England and the willingness of its people to receive the gospel. Despite challenges and difficulties, Young seemed pleased with the missionary labors of the apostles. (Brigham Young and Willard Richards, Manchester, Lancashire, England, to Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 5 September 1840, Joseph Smith Collection, CHL.)

[179] This company, led by Theodore Turley, departed Liverpool on 8 September 1840 and arrived in Nauvoo on 24 November 1840, approximately five months before the first company arrived in Nauvoo. This much larger second company numbered 201 people. Brigham Young secured funds for Turley for this passage. One of Young’s British mission notebooks contains the following note: “Paid T. Turley – 42. 13. 6 pounds for the company from Manchester.” Some of the British converts in this group stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. (Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1820–1897, roll 44 [16 September 1840–10 May 1841], Manifest 779, microfilm 2,289, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; John Taylor, Liverpool, England, to Leonora Cannon Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, 6 September 1840, John Taylor, Collection, CHL; Brigham Young, Mission to England, Notebook 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, box 170, folder 20, CHL; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840, in JSP, D7:468; Editorial, Times and Seasons, 1 December 1840, 2:233; and Orson Pratt, Edinburgh, Scotland, to George A. Smith, Burslem, England, 1 February 1841, George A. Smith, Papers, CHL.)

[180] TEXT: This run-together word appears to be written over a wipe-erased illegible word.

[181] In this chapter of Romans, Paul explained foreordination and how faith can lead to salvation, which contrasted with prevailing Calvinist beliefs of predestination.

[182] TEXT: Brigham Young’s handwriting in brown ink commences again.