| 1838 Chronology |
| Articles | Biographies | Chronologies | Editorial method | Home | Images | |
| Minutes | Links | Notebooks | Primary sources | Redactions | Reprints |
| January 13– March 3 | LaRoy Sunderland (1802–1885), Methodist minister and editor of Zion's Watchman, publishes Mormonism Exposed and Refuted in New York. In April Parley P. Pratt responds with Zion's Watchman Unmasked, and its Editor, Mr. L. R. Sunderland, Exposed: Truth Vindicated: the Devil Mad, and Priestcraft in Danger! | Descriptive Bibliography, 76–79. | ||
| January 12 | Joseph and others flee Kirtland, arriving in Far West on March 14. | |||
| Luke S. Johnson, learning Sheriff Kimball was about to arrest Joseph for illegal banking, arrests the Prophet himself for an outstanding judgment. Joseph pays the judgment and leaves for Missouri on horseback with Sidney. | ¶
Luke S. Johnson (h) Papers, 2:213n1 |
|||
| January 15 | The church printing office in Kirtland is attached and sold at public auction to pay a debt to Grandison Newell. | Hepzibah Richards to Willard Richards, January 18, 1838, qtd. in Women's Voices, 71. | ||
| January 16 | The church printing office burns. Former members claim the church burned it rather than let anyone else have it. Members claim dissenters burned it to keep the church from getting it back. | |||
| January 20 | Apostles Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten discuss the actions of the Missouri presidents, appoint a committee to visit them >, decide to revise city plot. | Minutes of January 20, 1838 | ||
| January 21 | Oliver: "A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny Alger's was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deviated from the truth." | Earliest known reference to Joseph and Fanny. Oliver Cowdery letterbook qtd. in Sacred Lonliness, 28. Cf. Minutes of April 12, 1838. | ||
| January 26 | In Far West, apostles Thomas B. Marsh (h) and David W. Patten (h), and the high council reject David and John Whitmer, W. W. Phelps as presidents of Zion and arrange for neighborhood meetings on the case. < > | |||
| February 1 | Lyman Wight (h) (swh) moves to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. | |||
| February 5–9 | Led by the high council in Far West, branches in Zion reject the leadership of the stake presidency, David Whitmer, W. W. Phelps, and John Whitmer. < | Minutes of February 5–9, 1838 | ||
| February 24 | Far West high council direct two wagons and funds be sent to meet Joseph and Sidney. | Papers, 2:213n1 | ||
| March 3 | Far West high council votes to provide Joseph, Sidney, and Hyrum with lots in Far West without charge. | Minutes of March 3, 1838 | ||
| March 10 | Far West high council excommunicates John Whitmer and W. W. Phelps for "persisting in unchristian-like conduct." | Minutes of March 10, 1838 | ||
| March 14 | Joseph arrives at Far West and approves of the course the apostles and high council have taken. | |||
| March 15 | Meeting of the high council and bishopric in Zion: Joseph gives "a history of the ordination of David Whitmer, which took place in July 1834, to be a leader or a prophet to this church, which was on condition that he did not live to God himself." | FWR, 151. | ||
| March ca 16 | Joseph dictates "The Motto of the Church of Latter-day Saints." | Scriptory Book qtd. in Personal, 354–355. | ||
| Samuel H. Smith arrives in Far West. | Papers, 2:213. | |||
| March 29 | Joseph writes Hyrum, "The saints at this time are in union & peace & love prevails throughout, in a word Heaven smiles upon the saints in Caldwell." | Personal , 356. | ||
| March 31 | Henry Root and David Thomas, owners of land in DeWitt, Carroll county write Joseph, proposing a Mormon settlement on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Grand Missouri rivers. It would be a convenient location for a port. The first Mormons arrived in July. Several hundred Canadian Saints under John E. Page (h) arrived in September >, but all were expelled in October >. | Personal, 225n1. | ||
| [April 1–3] | As Sidney nears Far West, he meets Henry Root by chance on Turkey Creek, Carroll county. Root offers Sidney "a liberal share" of the profits from the sale of land in DeWitt to Mormons. A few weeks later, Root and Thomas come to Far West and a deal is struck. A few families move to the new site in July, and by October seventy families had gathered, living in tents and wagons as they worked on permanent houses. | Sidney's affidavit submitted to the municipal court of Nauvoo, July 1, 1843, HC 3:450–451. |
||
| April 4 | Sidney arrives in Far West. | Sidney's affidavit, HC 3:449. |
||
| April 6 | George W. Robinson named general church recorder and clerk to the First Presidency. | "Writing of Joseph Smith's History," 450. | ||
| April 9 | Joseph and Sidney write John Whitmer requesting the return of his notes as church historian and noting his "incompetency as a historion." | FWR, 2:26–227. | ||
| April 12 | High council and bishopric of Zion meet as a "common council" in Far West and excommunicate Lyman E. Johnson, David Whitmer, and Oliver Cowdery. | Minutes of April 12, 1838 | ||
| April 27 | Joseph, Sidney, and George W. Robinson begin "a history of this Church from the earliest period of its existance up to this date." | Joseph's 1838 journal in Papers 2:233. | ||
| May 2 | Joseph writes his history. | Joseph Smith—History | ||
| May 7 | Reynolds Cahoon arrives in Far West from Kirtland, Parley P. Pratt arrives from New York. | From Historian, 73. | ||
| May 11 | William E. McLellin (h) is excommunicated. | |||
| May 12 | High council grants Joseph and Sidney each 80 acres, annual salary of $1100 (quickly rescinded). | |||
| May 18 | Joseph, Sidney, Thomas B. Marsh (h), and others visit Oliver Cowdery, Lyman E. Johnson (h) and others in Daviess county who are also exploring northward on Grand River. | |||
| June | Daughters of Zion are organized in Far West. | Origins, 93, citing William Schwartzell journal, July 14, 1838. | ||
| June 4 | Joseph, Sidney Hyrum, and others travel to “Adam Ondi Awman.” Despite the rain, they survey the city plot, and build houses “day after day ..." | Papers 2:248. | ||
| June 11 | After digging a well on Lyman Wight's property in Daviess county, Missouri, with Joseph and Martin Harris, William Swartzell suggests Joseph should name the place. He calls it Adam-ondi-Ahman because, "there was no place by that name under heaven." | Mormonism Exposed | ||
| June 17 | Sidney Rigdon's "salt sermon" inflames feelings on both sides. | |||
| June 18 | Hyrum and Uncle John Smith, Sampson Avard, and 83 other Mormons sign an ultimatum directed at Oliver, David and John Whitmer, Lyman E. Johnson, and William W. Phelps, warning them to leave the county immediately lest a "fatal calamity shall befall you." | Origins, 94, quoting Document Containing | ||
| June 28 | Adam-ondi-Ahman stake organized in the grove near Lyman Wight's house, Joseph Smith Jr. presiding. Uncle John Smith is named president of the stake, with Reynolds Cahoon and Lyman Wight (h) (swh) counselors. Vinson Knight acting bishop. President John Smith then organizes the High Council: John Lemon, Daniel Stanton, Mayhew Hillman, Daniel Carter, Isaac Perry, Harrison Sagers, Alanson Brown, Thomas Gordon, Lorenzo Barnes, George A. Smith, Harvey Olmstead, Ezra Thayer. Lorenzo Barnes, clerk. Sing "the well-known hymn Adam-ondi-Ahman." Benediction by Joseph Smith, Jr. | Elders'
Journal vol. 1 no. 4 (August 1838), 61. "Adam-ondi-Ahman"Lyrics |
||
| July 4 | (Wednesday) Corner stones are laid for the Far
West temple. Sidney Rigdon declares a "war of extermination" on persecutors of the Saints, First Presidency reviews the troops. |
¶
Order of the Day, July 4, 1838 Sidney's Independence Day Oration |
||
| Vigilantes fire on first Mormon settlers at DeWitt. | ¶ DeWitt | |||
| July 6 | The Kirtland Camp, consisting of 500 Saints, leaves for Missouri (only half remain at the half-way point). > | Lucy's Book, 193. | ||
| July 8 | D&C 118 (Far West): John Taylor, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards (h) to replace apostles John F. Boynton (h), Luke (h) and Lyman Johnson (h), and William E. McLellin (h), who had been excommunicated in 1837. The Twelve are to depart for England on April 26, 1839 from the temple site. |
|||
| Revelation: Frederick G. Williams and W. W. Phelps have lost their standing, but may be ordained elders and serve missions abroad. | Revelation of July 8, 1838 | |||
| D&C 119: Law of tithing. | ||||
| D&C 120: First Presidency, bishop's council, and high council are to dispose of tithes. | ||||
| D&C 117: William Marks and Newel K. Whitney to move to Far West. Let Kirtland properties pay debts. Adam lived in what is now western Missouri. William Marks to preside in Far West. Newel to be bishop "not in name but in deed." Oliver Granger to pay First Presidency debts, come to Zion. | ||||
| July 6–7 | Second quarterly conference in Far West, mostly ordinations. | Minutes
of July 6, 1838 Minutes of July 7, 1838 |
||
| July 6 | The Kirtland Camp, 515 members under the direction of the Seventy, leaves Kirtland for Far West. | |||
| July 9 | The Twelve meet in Far West (Thomas B. Marsh president) and resolve to fill vacancies with Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt (h), Willard Richards. Sidney counsels concerning provisions for the Twelve. | HC 3:47. | ||
| July 26 | First presidency, high council, bishop's council set First Presidency prerogatives: can sell their properties at a profit and consecrate the rest, direct bishop in expenditures. Stop sale of liquor, petition to move county seat to Far West. | Minutes of July 26, 1838 | ||
| August 6 | Mormons battle non-Mormons at the Gallatin election near Adam-ondi-Ahman. | |||
| August 7 | Joseph leads 150 men to Adam-ondi-Ahman to protect the Saints. | |||
| August 8 | Joseph, Hyrum and a large company of armed men call on Judge Adam Black in Daviess county. He produces a statement pledging to support the Constitution. | |||
| August 11 | Joseph leaves Far West for DeWitt to welcome Canadian Saints <. | |||
| August 20 | 100–150 armed men ride into DeWitt and give the Mormons to October 1 to leave the county. | ¶ Dewitt | ||
| August 30 | Governor Boggs orders Major General David R. Atchison to call out the state militia. About the same time, Neil Gillum, a militia captain, begins plundering Saints at Hunters Mills. | |||
| September 3 | James Mulholland begins writing for Joseph (begins the 1839 history, which includes text written in 1838). | |||
| September 4 | Self-confessed Danite John N. Sapp swears out an affidavit before the Carroll county clerk estimating the number of Danites to be between eight hundred and one thousand men "well-armed and equipped." | Document, 17. D. Michael Quinn lists 233 Danites by name in Origins, 480–485, including some who became Danites after Sapp's statement. |
||
| September 24 | Joseph and Lyman Wight (h) (swh) are arrested and freed on bail pending grand jury results. | |||
| September 25 | Don Carlos Smith and George A. Smith leave on a mission to Kentucky and Tennessee to raise funds for Missouri Saints. | |||
| October [1–7] | John E. Page and his company of Canadian converts arrive in DeWitt. | |||
| October 2 | Kirtland Company arrives at Far West after a journey of 860 miles. The First Presidency and others escort them into town. The company continues to Adam-ondi-Ahman, arriving October 4. < | HC 3:85; Papers 2:307n1. | ||
| October 5 | While checking sites for a town in Caldwell county, Joseph learns that DeWitt is under siege. | Papers 2:307n2; Papers 1:213 | ||
| October 11 | DeWitt falls to 400 vigilantes from Carroll and five other counties. Mormons flee to Far West <. | |||
| October 25 | Battle of Crooked River: David W. Patten killed. | ¶ David W. Patten (h) | ||
| October 27 | Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issues the extermination order. | |||
| October 30 | Haun's Mill massacre. Two hundred militia from Livingston county kill 18 men, women, children. | |||
| October 31 | Militia surround Far West, Joseph and 80 leaders surrender as hostages. | |||
| December 19 | High council meets in Far West and votes to ordain John E. Page and John Taylor apostles. Brigham and Heber ordain them. | Minutes of December 19, 1838 | ||
| December 25 | My brother, Don Carlos, and my cousin George A. Smith returned [from missions in Kentucky and Tennessee], having traveled fifteen hundred miles—nine hundred on foot, and the remainder by steamboat and otherwise. They visited several branches, and would have accomplished the object of their mission, had it not been for the troubles at Far West. | Joseph Smith, qtd. in HC 3:241 | ||
| When nearly home they were known and pursued by the mob, which compelled them to travel one hundred miles in two days and nights. The ground at the time was slippery, and a severe northwest wind was blowing in their faces; they had but little to eat, and narrowly escaped freezing both nights. | ||||