Hic et Nunc

During Joseph Smith’s incarceration in Liberty Jail his wife, Emma, wrote a heart-rending letter to him on 7 March 1839, which he received on 19 March, along with letters from his brothers Don Carlos and William, and from Bishop Edward Partridge. She told of her sufferings of and their children as they were driven from their home in Missouri, able to take little besides themselves, and of the sufferings of the other Saints during the exodus out of the state. The next day Joseph began dictating a letter “To the Church of Latter-day Saints at Quincy, and Scattered Abroad, and to Bishop Partridge in Particular”, which was signed by all five prisoners and sent to Emma. Emma was to keep the original and have copies made for the Prophet’s parents and the church.

The lengthy letter is considered one of the most revealing and significant letters ever written by a prophet of God in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. The letter was written in two parts on twenty-nine sheets of paper and contains the words comprising sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Reading the words of those revelations in their original context heightens and enhances the impressive spiritual message of those sections. Following is a copy of the letter in its entirety. It is transcribed literally with original spellings and manuscript features preserved. Commentary is provided by Dean C Jessee and John W Welch in their article from BYU Studies 39, no. 3 (2000).

• Revelations in Context, Joseph Smith’s Letter from Liberty Jail, March 20, 1839

pax vobiscum

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