Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison

Liberty Jail, Clay Co. Mo.

To Bishop Partridge, and to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Quincy Illinois, and to those scattered abroad, throughout all the regions round about.

Your humble servant Joseph Smith jr. prisoner for Christs' sake, and the saints, taken and held by the power of mobocracy under the exterminating reign of his excellency Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, in company with his fellow prisoners and beloved brethren, Caleb Baldwin, Lyman Wight, Hyrum Smith, and Alexander McRae, send unto you greeting: May the grace of God the Father, and the Lord and Saviour [Savior] Jesus Christ, rest upon you all, and abide with you for ever; and may faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly-kindness and charity dwell in you and abound, so that you may not be barren or unfruitful.

We know, that the greater part of you are acquainted with the wrongs, high toned injustice and cruelty which is practised [practiced] upon us; we have been taken prisoners, charged falsely with all kind of crimes and thrown into a prison enclosed with strong walls, and are surrounded with a strong guard who are as endefategable [indefatigable] in watching us, as their master is in laying snares for the people of God. Therefore under these circumstances, dearly beloved brethren, we are the more ready to claim your fellowship and love. Our situation is calculated to awaken our minds to a sacred remembrance of your affection, and kindness; and we think that your situation will have the same effect; therefore, we believe, that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and our fellowship one with another; and that every species of wickedness and cruelty practised [practiced] upon us, will only tend to bind our hearts and seal them together in love.

It is probably, as unnessary [unnecessary] for us to say, that we are thus treated and held in bonds without cause as it would be for you to say, that you were smitten and driven from your homes without any provocation; we mutually understand and verily know, that if the citizens of the state of Missouri, had not

abused the saints, and had been as desirous of peace as we were, there would have been nothing but peace and quietude to this day and we should not have been in this wretched place and burthened [burdened] with the society of demons in human form and compeled [compelled] to hear nothing but oaths and curses, and witness scenes of drunkenness and debaucheries of every description; neither would the cries of orphans and widdows [widows] have ascended to God or the blood of the saints have stained the soil, and cried for vengeance against them. But "we dwell with those who hated peace" and who delighted in war and surely their unrelenting hearts,-their inhuman and murderous disposition-and their cruel practices, shock humanity, and defy description! It is truly a tale of sorrow, lamentation and woe, too much for humanity to contemplate. Such a transaction cannot be found where Kings and Tyrants reign, or among the savages of the wilderness, or even among the ferocious beasts of the forest. To think that man should be mangled for sport, after being cruelly put to death. Women have their last morsel stolen from them, while their helpless children were clinging around them and crying for food-and then, to gratify the hellish desires of their more than inhuman oppressors, be violated, is horrid in the extreme.

They practice these things upon the saints who have done them no wrong, had committed no crime, and who were an innocent and virtuous people; and have proved themselves lovers of God by forsaking and enduring all things for his sake. "It must needs be that offences [offenses] come, but wo to those by whom they come."

O God! Where art thou? and where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? how long shall thy hand be stayed, and thy pure eyes behold from the heavens, the wrongs and sufferings of thy people and of thy servants; and thine ears be penetrated with their cries? How long, O Lord! shall they thus suffer, before thine heart shall be softened towards them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion towards them? O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them is, and who controleth and subjecteth the devil and the dark and benighted dominions of Shaole. Stretch forth thy hand, let thine eye pierce, let thy pavilion be taken up, let thy hiding place no longer be uncovered, let thine ear be inclined, let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion towards thy people; and let thine anger be kindled against our enemies, and in thy fury let fall the sword of thine indignation, and avenge us of our wrongs. remember thy suffering saints, O our God! and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.

Dearly beloved brethren, we realize that perilous times have come, as have been testified of in ancient days, and we may look with certainty and the most perfect assurance, for the rolling in of all those things which have been spoken of by all the holy prophets: lift up your eyes to the bright luminary of day, and you can say, soon thou shalt veil thy blushing face, for at the behest of HIM who said, "let there be light, and their was light," thou shalt withdraw thy shining. Thou moon, thou dimmer light, and luminary of night, shalt turn to Blood. We see that the prophecies concerning the last days are fulfilling, and the times shall soon come when the "Son of man shall descend in the clouds of heaven, in power and great glory."

We do not shrink, nor are our hearts and spirits broken at the grevious [grievous] yoke which is put upon us. We know that God will have our oppressors in derision, that he will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh. We think we should have got out of our prison house, at the time Elder Rigdon got a writ of habeas corpus, had not our own lawyers interpreted the law contrary to what it reads, and against us, which prevented us from introducing our witnesses before the mock court, they have done us much harm from the beginning; they have lately acknowledged that the law was misconstrued, and then tantleized [tantalized] our feeling with it, and have now entirely forsaken us, have forfeited both their oaths, and their bonds, and are coworkers with the mob. From the information we received, the public mind has been for some time turning in our favor, and the majority is now friendly, and the lawyers can no longer browbeat us by

saying, that this or that is a matter of public opinion, for public opinion is not willing to brook all their proceedings, but are beginning to look with feelings of indignation upon our oppressors.-We think that truth, honor, virtue, and innocence will eventually come out triumphant.

We should have taken out a writ of hobeas [habeas] corpus, and escaped the mob in a summary way, but unfortunately for us, the timber of the wall being very hard, our auger handles give out which hindred [hindered] us longer than we expected, we applied to a friend for assistance, and a very slight uncautious [incautious] act gave rise to suspicion, and before we could fully succeed, our plan was discovered. We should have made our escape, and succeeded admirably well, had it not been for a little imprudence, or over anxiety on the part of our friend.

The Sheriff and Jailor [Jailer] did not blame us for our attempt; it was a fine breach, and cost the county a round sum; public opinion says, we ought to have been permitted to have made our escape, but then the disgrace would have been on us, but now it must come on the State. We know that there connot [cannot] be any charge sustained against us, and that the conduct of the mob-the murders at Hawn's mill-the exterminating order of Govenor [Governor] Boggs, and the one sided, rascally proceedings of the Legislature, has damned the state of Missouri to all eternity. Gen. Atchison has proved himself to be as contemptible as any of our enemies. We have tried a long time to get our lawyers to draw us some petitions to the supreme Judges of this state, but they have utterly refused; we have examined the laws, and drawn the petitions ourselves, and have obtained abundance of proof to counteract all the testimony that is against us-so that if the Judges do not grant us our liberty they have got to act contrary to honor, evidence, law or justice, merely to please the mob; but we hope better things, aud [and] trust that before many days, God will so order our case, that we shall be set at liberty, and again enjoy the society of the saints. We received some letters from our friends, last evening, one from Emma, one from D. C. Smith and one from Bishop Partridge all breathing a kind and consoling spirit; we have been a long time without information from our friends, and when we read those letters they were refreshing to our souls, and the gentle air and refreshing breeze; but our feelings of joy were mingled with feelings of pain and sorrow on account of the sufferings of the poor and much injured saints, and we need not say unto you that the flood gates of our hearts were open, and our eyes were a fountain of tears. Those who have not been inclosed [enclosed] in the walls of a prison, without cause or provocation, can have but little idea, how sweet the voice of a friend or one token of friendship is, from any source whatever, and awakens and calls into action every sympathetic feeling of the human heart, it brings to review every thing that has passed, it seizes the present with the velocity of lightning, and grasps after the future with fond anticipation; It fills the mind with tenderness and love until all enmity, malice, hatred, past differences, misunderstanding and mismanagements are entirely forgotton [forgotten] or are slain victims at the feet of love. When the heart is sufficiently contrite, then the voice of inspiration steals along and whispers, My son, peace be unto thy soul, thine adversity and thy afflictions shall be but for a moment, and then if thou art faithful and endure; God shall exalt thee on high, thou shalt triumph over all thy foes, thy friends do stand by thee, and shall hail thee again with warm hearts: thou art not yet as Job, thy friends do not contend against thee, neither do they charge thee with transgression, and those who do charge thee with transgression their hope shall be blasted, and their prospects melt away, as the hoar frost melteh before the rays of the raising sun. It likewise informs us that God has set his hand to change the times and the seasons and to blind the minds of the wicked, that they may not understand his marvellous [marvelous] workings, that he may take them in their own craftiness, because their hearts are corrupt and the distress and sorrow which they seek to bring upon the saints, shall return upon them double; and not many years hence, they and their posterity, shall be destroyed from under heaven. Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, for they have not sinned before me saith the Lord, but have done

that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them, saith the Lord. Those who cry transgression, do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves, and swear falsely against my servants, that they may bring them into bondage and death.-Wo unto them, because they have offended my little ones; they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house, their basket shall not be full, their houses and their lands shall be empty, and they themselves shall be dispised [despised] by those who have flattered them. They shall not have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them, from generation to generation; and it would have been better for them that a mill stone had been hung about their necks and they drowned in the depths, of the sea; Wo unto all those who drive, and murder, and testify against my people, saith the Lord of hosts, for they shall not escape the damnation of hell: behold mine eye seeth, and I know all their works, and I have in reserve, a swift judgment in the season thereof, and they shall be rewarded according to their works.

God has said, he would have a tried people, and that he would purify them as gold is purified; now, we think he has chosen his own crucible to try us, and if we should be so happy as to endure and keep the faith it will be a sign to this generation, sufficient to leave them without excuse; and that it will be a trial of our faith equal to that of Abraham or any of the ancients, and that they will not have much cause to boast over us, in the persecutions and trials they endured. After passing through so much suffering and sorow [sorrow], we trust that before long a ram may be caught in the thicket, so that the sons and daughters of abraham may be relieved from their fears and anxiety, and that their faces may once more be lighted up with joy and salvation, and be enabled to hold out unto everlasting life. Now concerning the places for the location of the saints, we would say that we cannot council you in this thing as well as if we were with you; and as to the things written to you before, we did not consider them binding; we would advise, that while we remain in prison and in bondage, that the affairs of the church be conducted by a general conference of the most faithful and respectable of the authorities of the church, and that the proceedings of the same be forwarded to your humble servants, and if there be any corrections by the word of the Lord they shall be freely transmitted, and we will cheerfully approve of all things which are acceptable to God. If any thing should have been suggested by us or any names mentioned except by commandment or "thus saith the Lord," we do not consider it binding; therefore we shall not feel grieved if you should deem it wisdom to make different arrangements. We would respectfully advise the brethren, to be aware of an aspiring spirit, which has frequently urged men forward to make foul speeches and beget an undue influence in the minds of the saints and bring mush sorrow and distress in the church; we would likewise say be aware of pride, for truly hath the wise man said "pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall;" outward appearance is not always a criterion for us to judge our fellowman by, but the lips frequently betray the haughty and overbearing mind. flattery also, is a deadly poison; a frank and open rebuke, provoketh a good man to emulation, and in the hour of trouble he will be your best friend, but rebuke a wicked man and you will soon see manifest, all the corruption of a wicked heart, the poison of asps is under their tongue, and they cast the saints in prison that their deeds be not reproved. A fanciful, flowery and heated immagination [imagination] be aware of, for the things of God are of vast importance, and requires time and experience as well as deep and solemn thought to find them out; and if we would bring souls to salvation it requires that our minds should rise to the highest heavens, search into and contemplate the lowest abyss, expand wide as eternity and hold communion with Deity. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God than the vain immaginations [imaginations] of the human heart: how vain and trifling have been our spirits in our conferences and council meetings, as well as in our public and private conversations; too low and condescending, for the dignified character of the called and chosen of God, who have been set apart in the mind of God

before the foundation of the world, to hold the keys of the mysteries of those things, which have been kept hid for ages and generations, which have been revealed to babes, yes to the weak obscure, and despisable ones of the earth. We would beseech you to bear with the infirmities of the weak, and at the same time exhort one another to a reformation, both teachers and taught, male and female, so that honesty, sobriety, candor, solemnity, plainness, meekness and virtue may characterise [characterize] us from henceforth; and that we be like little children without malice, guile or hypocracy; [hypocrisy] and now brethren after your tribulations, if you do these things, and exercise fervant [fervent] prayer in the sight of God always, he shall give unto you knowledge, by his holy Spirit, yea he shall pour out the Holy Ghost in such copious effusion as have not been since the creation until now; yea, the fulness [fullness] of that promise which our Fathers have waited for with such anxions [anxious] exspectation [expectation], which was to be revealed in the last days, and held in reserve until a time when nothing shall be withheld, when all the glories of earth and heaven, time and eternity shall be manifest to all those, who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. If there be bounds set to the heavens, the seas, the dry land, they shall be manifest, as well as the various revolutions of the sun, moon, and planets; and a full development of all the glorious laws by which they are governed shall be revealed in the "dispensation of the fulness [fullness] of times" according to that which was ordained in the midst of the council of heaven in the presence of the eternal God, before this world was.

Ignorance, bigotry, and superstition are frequently in the way of the prosperity of this church, and are like the torrent of rain rushing down from the mountains, which floods the clear stream with mire and dirt, but when the storm is over and the rain has ceased the mire and dirt are washed away, and the stream again is pure and clear as the fountain, so shall the church appear when ignorance, superstition and bigotry are washed away. What power can stay the heavens, as well might a man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the mighty Missouri river in its course, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heart of the Latter day saints: what is the Governor with his murderous party, but willows on the shore to stop the waters in their progress? As well might we argue that water is not water, because the mountain torrent sends down mire and riles the crystal stream; or that fire is not fire because it can be quenchable, as to say that our cause is down because renegadoes [renegades], liars, priests and murderers, who are alike tenacious of their crafts and creeds have poured down upon us a flood of dirt and mire from their strong holds. No, they may rage, with all the power of hell and pour forth their wrath, indignation and cruelty like the burning lava of mount Vesuvius, yet, shall Mormonism stand. Truth is Mormonism, and God is its author, by HIM we received our birth, by HIM we were called to a dispensation of his gospel in the beginning of the fulness [fullness] of times, it was by him we received the book of Mormon, by him we remain unto this day and shall continue to remain if it be to his glory; we are determined to endure tribulation as good soldiers, unto the end: when you read this, you will learn that prison walls, iron doors, screaching [screeching] hinges, guards and jailors [jailers] have not destroyed our confidence, but we say, and that from experience, that they are calculated in their very nature to make the soul of an honest man, feel stronger than the powers of hell. But we must bring our epistle to a close, and send our respects to fathers, mothers, wives, and children brothers and sisters, and be assured we hold them in sacred remembrance.

We should be glad to hear from elder Rigdon, George W. Robinson, and elder Cahoon, we remember them and would like to jog their memory a little on the fable of the bear and the two friends, who mutually agreed to stand by each other; we could also mention Uncle John Smith and others; a word of consolation and a blessing would not come amiss from any body, while we are so closely whispered by the bear. Our respects and love to all the virtuous saints. We are, dear brethren, your fellow sufferers and

prisoners of Jesus Christ for the gospel's sake, and for the hope of glory which is in us. Amen

JOSEPH SMITH JR.,

HYRUM SMITH,

LYMAN WIGHT,

CALEB BALDWIN,

ALEXANDER. McRAE.

Philadelphia, Feb. 10th, 1840.

Dear Brother in the Lord;

It is with pleasure that I take my pen in hand to write a few lines to you, to let you know of the prosperity of our Redeemer's kingdom in this City, And if you think proper, it is at your disposal, for an insertion in the Times and Seasons, for the satisfaction of your readers.

I left Quincy, I11. on the 24 of June, 1839, with a view of resuming my labors in the State of N. J. where I had labored the summer, and winter before; I came by the way of steamboats and railroads' and landed ot [at] the place of destination, in 16 days from the time I left: where I labored, preaching in the towns, and neighborhoods, where I had before preached, till the first of Sept. It was, then thought best by the conference that I should come to this city and proclaim the fulness [fullness] of the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of the same. I immediately repared [repaired] to this place, in order to prosecute my mission. As soon as I had arrived here, I commenced enquiring [inquiring] for a house to preach in, but met with poor success the first two or three days, Indeed, I was ridiculed on almost every occasion when I enquired [inquired] for a house. (All of this in consequence of prejudice, and false reports.) But my determination was still the same; and that was to proclaim the truth, to the inhabitants of this city. At length I obtained one of the commissioner's Hall's and published an appointment, in one of the news papers; and a crouded [crowded] congregation attended the meeting, and I addressed the meeting, with the subject of the first principles of the gospel. I then made other appointments in the same place, and preached some 10, or 12 times; and held one debate with one Dr. Bird, of this city. (a Presbyterian preacher,) which was the means of doing much good.-By this time there was quite excitement, and the former prejudices of the people seemed to be in part removed. I then thought it best to hire a house by the year to preach in that I might have it under my own control. I did so: and have held 5, or 6 meetings, in it a week, ever since. So like Paul, at Rome, I preach in my own hired house.

The first of Oct. some come forward, and was baptized; I have continued baptizing all that desired to be, ever since: some weeks as many as thirteen of a week. Thus the kingdom of God has rolled forth in this city; and I have baptized, in all 65 deciples [disciples]; and some 8, or 10 more have made application for baptism. We had a conference here the first of Jan. 1840,

J. Smith, Jr. S. Rigdon, Orson, P. P. Pratt, and many other elders, were present. The minutes of the above, I will send to you as soon as convenient. J. Smith, jr. bore testimony to the coming forth of the book of mormon which was the means of doing much good. * * The Lord has prospered me, and made me to see the fruits of my labors. And I feel myself authorized to say that the work of the Lord is gaining ground, in this city: and I trust that it will still roll on.

Yours respectfully.

BENJAMIN WINCHESTER.