Attribution

Nicholas J. Frederick in footnote #23 of his 2021 Journal of Mormon History analysis explains:

The intertextual analysis of this letter (and the following one) is complicated by the attribution of authorship to both John Whitmer and Joseph Smith. Documents, Volume 1 simply states that “JS and John Whitmer wrote this letter” (JSP, D1:172), while acknowledging, “most of his letters were dictated to scribes or written by assignment on his behalf” (xxii). The answer may be as simple as understanding that Whitmer served as one of Smith’s scribes as early as 1829, assisted Smith with portions of the Bible translation project during portions of 1830, and was the primary scribe for the Book of Commandments and Revelations. See Robin Scott Jensen, “From Manuscript to Printed Page: An Analysis of the History of the Book of Commandments and Revelations,” BYU Studies 48, no. 3 (2009): 24–25. However, if Whitmer’s role was closer to “written by assignment,” this obviously complicates discerning just how much of the language of these two letters can be attributable to Smith.

Frederick attributes the two Colesville letters to Joseph Smith in his article (e.g., ““Smith makes a conscious decision to close his letter…”).

Joseph Smith Papers Transcript

The Joseph Smith papers transcript reads:1

Harmony Aug 20. [28] 1830

Dearly beloved in the Lord

We are under necessity to disappoint you this time for reasons which I shall mention hereafter, but trusting that your meeting may not be an unprofitable one May you all realize the necessity of getting together often to pray and supplicate at the Throne of grace, that the spirit of the Lord may always rest upon you. Remember that without asking we can receive nothing, therefore ask in faith, and ye shall receive such blessings as God sees fit to bestow upon you. Pray not with covetous hearts that ye may consume it upon your lusts, but pray earnestly for the best gifts— fight the good fight of faith, that ye may gain the Crown which is laid up in for those that endure faithful unto the end of their probation. Therefore hold fast that which ye have received so liberally from the hand of God so that when the time of refreshing shall come ye may not have labored in vain, but that ye may rest from all your labors and have fulness of joy in the Kingdom of God.

“Dearly beloved brethren we are not ignorant of your tribulation, knowing that ye are placed among ravening wolves, therefore we have the more earnest desire to come to see you, but our friends from the west have not yet come, and we can get no horse and wagon, and we are not able to come afoot so far, therefore we cannot come this Saturday, but we look for our friends from the west every day and with safety we can promise to come next Saturday, if the Lord will; therefore our desire is that ye should assemble yourselves together next Saturday So that all things will be in order when we come. Be careful that the enemy of all righteousness will not get the advantage over you in getting the news abroad. Were it not for the prayers of you few, the Almighty would have thundered down his wrath upon the inhabitants of that place; but be not faint, the day of your deliverance is not far distant, for the judgements of the Lord are already abroad in the earth, and the cold hand of death, will soon pass through your neighborhood, and sweep away some of your most bitter enemies, for you need not suppose that God will be mocked at, and his commandments be trampled under their feet in such a manner as your enemies do, without visiting them in his wrath when they are fully ripe, and behold the angel cries, thrust in your sickle for the harvest is fully ripe; and the earth will soon be reaped.— that is, the wicked must soon be destroyed from off the face of the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it, and who can stay the hand of the Lord, or who is there that can measure arms with the Almighty, for at his commands the heavens and the earth must pass away, for the day is fast hastening on when the restoration of all things shall be fulfilled, which all the Holy Prophets have prophecid of even unto the gathering in of the House of Israel. Then shall come to pass that the lion shall lie down with the lamb &c. But brethren be not dis-couraged when we tell you of perilous times, for they must shortly come, for the sword, famine, and pestilence are approaching, for there shall be great destructions upon the face of this land, for ye need not suppose that one jot or tittle of the prophecies of all the Holy Prophets shall fail, and there are many that remain to be fulfilled yet, and the Lord hath said that a short work will he make of it, and the righteous shall be saved if it be as by fire.

“May the grace of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost be and abide with you from henceforth and forever, Amen.

John Whitmer
Joseph Smith
Newel Knight.

P.S. waited until Saturday morning and our friends have not yet arrived. Please send Polly’s Letter and also the Priest’s with William, and oblige [p. 137 missing] [p. 136]

Biblical allusions

In his 2021 Journal of Mormon History analysis Nicholas J. Frederick documents Biblical allusions/echos found in the letter:

Harmony Aug 20. [28] 1830

Dearly beloved in the Lord

We are under necessity to disappoint you this time for reasons which I shall mention hereafter, but trusting that your meeting may not be an unprofitable one May you all realize the necessity of getting together often to pray and supplicate at the Throne of grace [Allusion-Hebrews 4:16], that the spirit of the Lord may always rest upon you [Quotation-Isaiah 11:2]. Remember that without asking we can receive nothing, therefore ask in faith [Allusion-James 1:6], and ye shall receive such blessings as God sees fit to bestow upon you. Pray not with covetous hearts that ye may consume it upon your lusts [Quotation-James 4:3], but pray earnestly for the best gifts [Allusion-1 Corinthians 12:31]—fight the good fight of faith [Quotation-1 Timothy 6:12], that ye may gain the Crown which is laid up for [Allusion-2 Timothy 4:8] those that endure faithful unto the end [Allusion-Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13] of their probation. Therefore hold fast that which ye have received [Echo-Revelation 3:3] so liberally from the hand of God so that when the time of refreshing shall come [Quotation-Acts 3:19] ye may not have labored in vain [Echo-Isaiah 49:4],[13] but that ye may rest from all your labors [Quotation-Revelation 14:13] and have fulness of joy [Echo-Psalms 16:11] in the Kingdom of God [Echo-Mark 14:25].[14]

“Dearly beloved brethren we are not ignorant of your tribulation, knowing that ye are placed among ravening wolves [Echo-Matthew 7:15], therefore we have the more earnest desire [Echo-2 Corinthians 7:7] to come to see you, but our friends from the west have not yet come, and we can get no horse and wagon, and we are not able to come afoot so far, therefore we cannot come this Saturday, but we look for our friends from the west every day and with safety we can promise to come next Saturday, if the Lord will; therefore our desire is that ye should assemble yourselves together next Saturday So that all things will be in order [Echo-1 Corinthians 14:40] when we come. Be careful that the enemy of all righteousness [Allusion-Acts 13:10] will not get the advantage over you in getting the news abroad. Were it not for the prayers of you few, the Almighty would have thundered down his wrath upon the inhabitants of that place;[15] but be not faint [Echo-Sirach 7:10; Isaiah 40:31],[16] the day of your deliverance is not far distant, for the judgements of the Lord [Allusion-Psalm 19:9] are already abroad in the earth [Echo-Genesis 11:4], and the cold hand of death [Henry IV, 5:4], will soon pass through your neighborhood, and sweep away some of your most bitter enemies, for you need not suppose that God will be mocked at [Allusion-Galatians 6:7], and his commandments be trampled under their feet in such a manner as your enemies do, without visiting them in his wrath [Ether 14:25] when they are fully ripe, and behold the angel cries, thrust in your sickle for the harvest is fully ripe [Quotation-Revelation 14:18]; and the earth will soon be reaped [Allusion-Revelation 14:16].—that is, the wicked must soon be destroyed from off the face of the earth [Allusion-Genesis 7:4][17] for the Lord hath spoken it [Quotation-1 Kings 14:11][18] and who can stay the hand of the Lord, or who is there that can measure arms with the Almighty, for at his commands the heavens and the earth must pass away [Quotation-Mathew 24:35; cf. Revelation 21:1][19] for the day is fast hastening on when the restoration of all things shall be fulfilled [D&C 27:6],[20] which all the Holy Prophets have prophecid of even unto the gathering in of the House of Israel. Then shall come to pass that the lion shall lie down with the lamb &c [Misquotation of Isaiah 11:6]. But brethren be not dis-couraged when we tell you of perilous times, for they must shortly come [Allusion-2 Timothy 3:1], for the sword, famine, and pestilence [Allusion-Leviticus 26][21] are approaching, for there shall be great destructions upon the face of this land for ye need not suppose that one jot or tittle of the prophecies of all the Holy Prophets shall fail, and there are many that remain to be fulfilled [Quotation-Matthew 5:18] yet, and the Lord hath said that a short work will he make of it [Formal Quotation-Romans 9:28], and the righteous shall be saved if it be as by fire [Allusion-1 Corinthians 3:15] “May the grace of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost be and abide with you from henceforth and forever, Amen [Echo—Romans 1:7].[22]

John Whitmer
Joseph Smith[23]

12. The hierarchy of “quotation,” “allusion,” and “echo” has become standard in biblical studies when performing intertextual works. I rely primarily upon Christopher A. Beetham’s Echoes of Scripture in Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2008) for much of my methodology described above. See, for example, Richard Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (New Haven: Yale University, 1989) and Hays, The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel’s Scripture (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2005); G. K. Beale’s and D. A. Carson’s massive work, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007); as well as Michael Thompson’s Clothed with Christ: The Example and Teaching of Jesus in Romans 12:1–15:13 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1991).
13. Also Phil. 2:16. Variations appear in Job 9:29, 39:16; Psalm 127:1; 65:23; Jer. 51:58; 1 Cor. 15:58; Gal. 4:11; 1 Thess. 3:5.
14. Also Luke 7:28; 13:28; 13:29; 14:15; 22:16.
15. Perhaps an allusion to the threats against Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 18:20–22.
16. Sirach reads “Be not fainthearted,” which is perhaps the closest link textually, although Isaiah 40:31 is also a possibility, “they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
17. Also Deut. 6:15; 1 Kgs. 13:34; Jer. 28:16; Amos 9:8.
18. Also Isa. 22:25; 25:8; Joel 3:8; Ob. 1:18.
19. Also Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33.
20. Perhaps an allusion to the prophecy in Acts 3:21.
21. This one is a bit more complicated. I read this as an allusion to the “blessings and cursings” section of the Law of Moses as laid out in Leviticus 26. The three words, however, do not appear together in Leviticus 26. “Sword” and “pestilence” do (26:25), but “famine” is only described (26:26). The three do explicitly appear together in several other places after Leviticus 26: 1 Chr. 21:12; 2 Chr. 20:9; Jer. 14:12; 21:7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 29:17–18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Ezek. 5:12, 17; 6:11–12; 7:15; 12:16; 14:21.
22. Also 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; 2 John 1:3.
23. The intertextual analysis of this letter (and the following one) is complicated by the attribution of authorship to both John Whitmer and Joseph Smith. Documents, Volume 1 simply states that “JS and John Whitmer wrote this letter” (JSP, D1:172), while acknowledging, “most of his letters were dictated to scribes or written by assignment on his behalf” (xxii). The answer may be as simple as understanding that Whitmer served as one of Smith’s scribes as early as 1829, assisted Smith with portions of the Bible translation project during portions of 1830, and was the primary scribe for the Book of Commandments and Revelations. See Robin Scott Jensen, “From Manuscript to Printed Page: An Analysis of the History of the Book of Commandments and Revelations,” BYU Studies 48, no. 3 (2009): 24–25. However, if Whitmer’s role was closer to “written by assignment,” this obviously complicates discerning just how much of the language of these two letters can be attributable to Smith.

See Also

The Second Colesville Letter: Transcript and Biblical allusions

  1. Citations and most page references have been removed. Two copyediting marks were removed for readability. ↩