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

Fayette [New York] Decr. 2nd. 1830

Dearly beloved in the Lord

According to your prayers, the Lord hath called, chosen, ordained, sanctified and sent unto you, another servant and Apostle separated unto his gospel through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, to whom be all honor & praise henceforth and forever— even our beloved brother Orson Pratt, the bearer of these lines. Whom I recommend unto you as a faithful Servant in the Lord, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Amen.

To the Church in Colesville—

Having many things to write to you, but being assured that ye are not ignorant of all that I can write to you, finally I would inform you that Zion is prospering here, there are many serious inquirers in this place, who are seeking the Lord. It gave us much joy to hear from you, to hear that God is softening the hearts of the children of men in that place, it being the seat of Satan. But blessed be the name of God, it also hath become the abode of our savior, and may you all be faithful and wait for the time of our Lord, for his appearing is night at hand. But the time, and the season, Brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for ye yourselves perfectly know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night: for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman, but they shall not escape. But ye, brethren are not in darkness, therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober, for they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night, but let us who be of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and law, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath; but to obtain [sa]lvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore comfort one another, even as ye also do; for perilous times are at hand, for behold the dethronement and deposition of the kings in the eastern continent,— the whirlwinds in the West India Islands, it has destroyed a number of vessels, uprooted buildings and strewed them in the air; the fields of spices have been destroyed, and the inhabitants have barely escaped with their lives, and many have been buried under the ruins. In Columbia, South America, they are at war and peace is taken from the earth in part. and it will soon be in whole, yea destructions are at our doors, and they soon will be in the houses of the wicked, and they that know not God. Yea lift up your heads and rejoice for your redemption draweth nigh. We are the most favored people that ever have been from the foundation of the world, if we remain faithful in keeping the commandments of our God. Yea, even Enoch, the seventh from Adam beheld our day and rejoiced, and the prophets from that day forth have prophecied of the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and rejoiced at the day of rest of the Saints, Yea, and the Apostle of our Savior also did rejoice in his appear◊ in a cloud with the host of Heaven, to dwell with man on the earth a thousand years. Therefore we have reason to rejoice. Behold the prophecies of the Book of Mormon are fulfilling as fast as time can bring it about. The Spirit of the Living God is upon me therefore who will say that I shall not prophecy. The time is soon at hand that we shall have to flee whithersoever the Lord will, for safety, Fear not those who are making you an offender for a word but be faithful in witnessing unto a crooked and a perverse generation, that thy the day of the coming of our Lord and Savior is at hand. Yea, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make strait his path. Who will shrink because of offences, for offences must come, but woe to them by whom they come, for the rock must fall on them and grind them to powder, for the fulness of the gentiles is come in, and woe will be unto them if they do not repent and be baptized in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and come in at the strait gate and be numbered with the House of Israel, for God will not always be mocked, and not pour out his wrath upon those that blaspheme his holy name, for the sword, famines and destruction will soon overtake them in their wild career, for God will avenge, and pour out his phials of wrath, and save his elect. And all those who will obey his commandments are his elect, and he will soon gather them from the four winds of heaven, from one quarter of the earth to the other, to a place whithersoever he will, therefore in your patience possess ye your souls. Amen.

Joseph Smith Junr.
John Whitmer.

Brother Hyrum [Smith], beware of the Freemasons, [Alexander] McIntyre heard that you were in Manchester and he got out a warrant and went to your father’s to distress the family but Harrison [Samuel Harrison Smith] overheard their talk and they said that they cared not for the debt, if they only could obtain your body. They were there with carriages. Therefore beware of the Freemasons, This from yours &c.

Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio Novr. 12th. 1830

Biblical allusions

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

Colesville 2 December 1830

Dearly beloved in the Lord

According to your prayers, the Lord hath called, chosen, ordained, sanctifyed and sent unto you, another servant and Apostle separated unto his gospel through Jesus Christ [Quotation-Romans 1:1] his our Redeemer, to whom be all honor & praise henceforth and forever—even our beloved brother Orson Pratt, the bearer of these lines.

Whom I recommend unto you as a faithful Servant [Echo-Matthew 25:21, 23] in the Lord, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Amen.

To the Church in Colesville—

Having many things to write to you, but being assured that ye are not ignorant of all that I can write to you, finally I would inform you that Zion is prospering here, there are many serious inquirers in this place, who are seeking the Lord. It gave us much joy to hear from you, to hear that God is softening the hearts of [Allusion-Helaman 12:2] the children of men in that place, it being the seat of Satan [Echo-Revelation 2:13]. But blessed be the name of God [Echo-Daniel 2:20], it also hath become the abode of our savior, and may you all be faithful and wait for the time of our Lord, for his appearing is nigh at hand [Echo-Joel 2:1].[35] But the time, and the season [Echo-Daniel 2:21],[36] Brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for ye yourselves perfectly know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:2]: for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman, but they shall not escape [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:3]. But ye, brethren are not in darkness [1 Thessalonians 5:4], therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:6], for they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:7], but let us who be of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and law, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:8]. For God hath not appointed us unto wrath; but to obtain [sa]lvation through our Lord Jesus Christ [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:9]. Wherefore comfort one another, even as ye also do [Quotation-1 Thessalonians 5:11]; for perilous times are at hand [Echo-2 Timothy 3:1], for behold the dethronement and deposition of the kings in the eastern continent,—the whirlwinds in the West India Islands, it has destroyed a number of vessels, uprooted buildings and strewed them in the air; the fields of spices have been destroyed, and the inhabitants have barely escaped with their lives, and many have been buried under the ruins. In Columbia, South America, they are at war and peace is taken from the earth in part [Quotation-Revelation. 6:4]. and it will soon be in whole, yea destructions are at our doors, and they soon will be in the houses of the wicked [Quotation-Proverbs 3:33; Micah 6:10],[37] and they that know not God [Allusion-2 Thessalonians 1:8].[38] Yea lift up your heads and rejoice for your redemption draweth nigh [Quotation-Luke 21:28]. We are the most favored people that ever have been from the foundation of the world [Quotation-Matthew 25:34],[39] if we remain faithful in keeping the commandments of our God [Echo-1 Corinthians 7:19].[40] Yea, even Enoch, the seventh from Adam [Quotation-Jude 1:14] beheld our day and rejoiced, and the prophets from that day forth have prophecied of the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [Allusion-2 Peter 1:11],[41] and rejoiced at the day of rest of the Saints, Yea, and the Apostle of our Savior also did rejoice in his appear[42] in a cloud with the host of Heaven [Echo-1 Kings 22:19],[43] to dwell with man on the earth a thousand years [Allusion-Revelation 20:4]. Therefore we have reason to rejoice. Behold the prophecies of the Book of Mormon are fulfilling as fast as time can bring it about. The Spirit of the Living God [Allusion-2 Corinthians 3:3] is upon me therefore who will say that I shall not prophecy [Echo-Micah 2:6]. The time is soon at hand that we shall have to flee whithersoever the Lord will, for safety, Fear not those who are making you an offender for a word [Quotation-Isaiah 29:21] but be faithful in witnessing unto a crooked and a perverse generation [Quotation-Deuteronomy 32:5], that the day of the coming of our Lord and Savior is at hand [Quotation-Joel 2:1].[44] Yea, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make strait his path [Quotation-Matthew 3:3].[45] Who will shrink because of offences, for offences must come, but woe to them by whom they come, for the rock must fall on them and grind them to powder (Allusion-Matthew 21:44],[46] for the fulness of the gentiles is come in [Quotation-Romans 11:25], and woe will be unto them if they do not repent and be baptized in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins [Quotation-Acts 2:38], and come in at the strait gate [Allusion-Matthew 7:13][47] and be numbered with the House of Israel, for God will not always be mocked [Allusion-Galatians 6:7], and not pour out his wrath [Allusion-Revelation. 16:1] upon those that blaspheme his holy name [Allusion-Revelation 16:9], for the sword, famines and destruction [Allusion-Isaiah 51:19] will soon overtake them in their wild career, for God will avenge [Allusion-Luke 18:7], and pour out his phials of wrath [Allusion-Revelation 16:1], and save his elect [Second part of Luke 18:7]. And all those who will obey his commandments are his elect, and he will soon gather them from the four winds of heaven, from one quarter of the earth to the other [Quotation-Matthew 24:31], to a place whithersoever he will [Echo-Proverbs 21:1], therefore in your patience possess ye your souls [Quotation-Luke 21:19]. Amen.

Joseph Smith Junr.
John Whitmer.[48]

Frederick’s footnotes

35. Also Luke 21:30, 31; John 11:55; 19:42.
36. Also Eccl. 3:1; Dan. 7:12; Wis. 8:8; Acts 1:7; 1 Thess. 5:1.
37. In the Old Testament, the phrase “in the house of the wicked” always finds “house” in the singular. Smith uses it in the plural. There are places in the Old Testament where “in the houses of the….” appears, although not linked to “wicked.” See 2 Kings 17:29, 32 (“in the houses of the high places”) and Jeremiah 43:12 (“in the houses of the gods of Egypt”).
38. Or 1 Thess. 4:5.
39. Also Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; Heb. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 17:8.
40. I choose to locate this echo with 1 Corinthians 7:19 due largely to the use of “keeping” rather than “keep.” However, “keep the commandments of God” also appears at Rev. 12:17; 14:12.
41. Also 2 Pet. 2:20; 3:18
42. The original text here is unclear. A superscript character is pres- ent after “appear” that is possibly an “s” or a “d” that is underlined. See https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-the-church-in-colesville-2-december-1830/7.
43. The phrase “the host of Heaven” appears nineteen times in the Bible.
44. Also Isa. 13:6; Joel 1:15; 2:1; Zeph. 1:7.
45. Also Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; cf. Isa. 40:3.
46. Also Luke 20:18
47. Also Luke 13:24.
48. The letter also includes a brief postscript advising Joseph Smith’s brother Hyrum Smith to avoid the Freemasons. I have omitted it from discussion here due to its difference in audience and tone.

See Also

The First Colesville Letter: Transcript and Biblical allusions

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