“Myself… I Consecrate to the God of Heaven”

Twenty affidavits, handwritten in the summer of 1842 by Latter-day Saints determined to follow an apostolic invitation to consecrate themselves and their property to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, invite us to reconsider common perceptions of the law of consecration.¹ Many Latter-day Saints believe what Arrington, Fox, and May described as a “folk memory” concerning the law of consecration. It is the belief that the Lord revealed the “higher” law of consecration to Joseph Smith early in Church history and later revoked it because the Saints could not live it. The Lord then revealed the lower law of tithing to replace the higher law. This way of interpreting and relating to Joseph Smith’s revelations seeks to reconcile the past and the present. Arrington, Fox, and May explained this rationale in Building the City of God: “A people failing to live a higher law would be given a lesser law that presumably might prepare them for an eventual restoration of the more perfect order.”²

It is not completely clear when or why this way of explaining the past emerged, but historians have generally taken it for granted. Though some Mormon leaders taught this interpretation as early as 1854, it apparently does not appear in any of Joseph Smith’s writings or teachings before or during the Nauvoo era.³ Twenty consecration affidavits from 1842 published for the first time on the following pages require all to reexamine previous interpretations of the early practice of consecration and the assumptions on which those interpretations have been based. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and facilitate access to these twenty affidavits for further research and interpretation.

Though unique, these affidavits were not the first, nor were they the last, of their kind created for the purpose of consecrating goods, time, or efforts for “the building up of the New Jerusalem.”⁴ When converts from Colesville, New York, began to migrate to Kirtland, Ohio, early in 1831, Bishop Edward Partridge was charged with obtaining land on which they could settle. Leman Copley offered the Saints his farm in Thompson, Ohio. On May 20, 1831, Partridge inquired of Joseph Smith on the matter, and Joseph received the revelation that is now section 51 of the Doctrine and Covenants.⁵ The revelation addressed Bishop Partridge’s concern and also included the command that “when he shall appoint a man his portion give unto him a writing that shall secure unto him his portion that he shall hold it of the church, untill he transgresses & is not counted worthy.”⁶ Though later consecration efforts varied, this revelation became the precedent upon which all consecration affidavits and deeds were created in the future. The first of these were made in about 1832 by Bishop Partridge. There are now currently nine known consecration deeds from that period, and the only one dated is that of Joseph Knight Jr., signed on October 12, 1832.⁷ Such deeds were likely printed at the Mormon printing press in Independence, Missouri, under the direction of William W. Phelps, and later the necessary information was filled in by Bishop Partridge at the time of consecration. However, this type of consecration deed (printing a standardized form and then filling in the information at the moment of consecration) was apparently not utilized again until the Saints arrived in Utah and Brigham Young began to oversee the implementation of cooperative economic organizations in the West.

Another form of consecration deed was created by Wilford Woodruff on December 31, 1834. On that day he recorded in his journal, “Believing it to be the duty of the latter day Saints to consecrate and dedicate all their properties with themselves unto God in order to become lawful heirs to the C[e]lestial Kingdom of God It was under such a view of the subject that I consecrated before the Bishop of the Church of the latter day Saints in Clay County Dec 31st 1834.” Woodruff then proceeded to copy the affidavit he had given to Bishop Partridge into his personal journal. This affidavit of consecration by Wilford Woodruff is similar to the twenty affidavits below in the sense that it appears Woodruff himself wrote out the affidavit and then listed the goods he was consecrating along with himself.⁸

Arrington, Fox, and May point out in Building the City of God that it had been long assumed that no other attempts to implement consecration were made after the Missouri period until the late 1870s. Yet they call their readers’ attention “to the fact that Brigham Young in the 1850s did attempt to secure a general consecration to the church of all property.”⁹ It is therefore evident that there were many attempts to implement the law of consecration before and after 1842. But no mention was made in their volume of these Illinois affidavits.

The twenty affidavits that follow were created during the summer months of June and July 1842, in or around Nauvoo. Each affidavit is written, as far as is evident, in the hand of the individual(s) who signed the document and thereby consecrated goods. The first affidavit created was that of Daniel Stillwell Thomas on June 1, 1842, in Nauvoo. So it is likely that the law of consecration was taught in Nauvoo before June of 1842. The last two of the affidavits to be created were those of Orville Morgan Allen and Samuel W. Henderson, on July 1, 1842. Though these twenty documents are the only known affidavits to have survived to the present day, it is not unlikely that others were created. These affidavits are compelling evidence that Joseph Smith and other LDS leaders taught the law of consecration in Nauvoo and expected the Saints to live it as best they could.

Several historians have analyzed the records of Joseph’s extant teachings and have come to the conclusion that the law of consecration was revoked or rescinded no later than 1838. These affidavits are compelling evidence to the contrary. In the summer months of 1841, Joseph Smith conferred the responsibility of organizing Church finances on the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after their return from their mission to Great Britain.¹⁰ On December 15, 1841, the same quorum published an article in the Church’s periodical, Times and Seasons, calling all Saints to consecrate toward the construction of the Nauvoo Temple. “The Temple is to be built by tything [sic] and consecration, and every one is at liberty to consecrate all they find in their hearts so to do; . . . whether it be money or whatever he may be blessed with.”¹¹ It seems, therefore, that such instructions from the Apostles accorded with Joseph Smith’s desires. Further evidence indicates that he approved of their invitation to the Saints. On June 18, 1842, he addressed the citizens of Nauvoo near the temple site and “prophesied concerning” the merchants of the city and their treatment of the poor. He then “commanded the Twelve to organize the Church more according to the Law of God”—a likely reference to Joseph’s February 9, 1831, revelation that included the law of consecration (D&C 42).¹² On June 26, 1842, Brigham Young preached a Sunday sermon “on [the law of] consecration. or union of action in building up the city & providing labor & food for the poor.”¹³ The very next day Joseph Smith lectured “at length on the importance of uniting the means of the brethren for the purpose of establishing manufactories of all kinds, furnishing labor for the poor &c.”¹⁴ These twenty affidavits were apparently created in response to such calls to consecrate in Nauvoo.

After their creation in 1842, these documents remained in the private possession of descendants of Brigham Young and were turned over to the LDS Church Archives in 1998. The twenty affidavits are now housed in the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. Due to the existence of these documents, assumptions that Joseph Smith did not implement the law of consecration after the Saints relocated to Illinois are brought into question. At the same time, Brigham Young’s implementation of United Orders throughout the western United States becomes clearer as we can now see one of his first interactions with the concept of organizing a Zion community among the Saints and probably his first time leading and organizing such an attempt.

The affidavits that follow are listed in alphabetical order along with known creation dates. Each includes a brief biographical note, when such information was available. In some cases, it has proved difficult to decipher exactly who each person was, and, as a result, little, if any, biographical information is listed. The editorial procedures for these affidavits follow the Joseph Smith Papers Project.¹⁵

Stephen Joseph Abbott,¹⁶ June 28 1842

Nauvoo June 28^th 1842

a list of Stephen Abbatts property

1 table 2 Cows 10 sheep 2 shoats

3 axes 2 horses 2 horse harnes 1 two horse

wagon 1 addes 1 hand ax 2 augers Brace and

hith croscut saw Square 1 hand saw

2 back saws several chisels 1 lot of land

½ lot land hansl and lot

Debts due against me two hundred

and fifty dollars

I do hereby declare that I am willng

to submit to the consecration law

and to the wil of God in all things

                 Stephen Abbatt

Albern Allen,¹⁷ June 20, 1842

                        June 20. A D 1842

                     a list of Property

                 to land three acres

Lot 31 and Block Six the south end of Lot 31

                     I am Willing to

                 do the will of the Lord

                             Albern Allen

Orville Morgan Allen,¹⁸ July 1, 1842

July the 1 1842

a list of property Belonging to O M Allen

1 improve on the isleand

5 head of hogs. 4 cows s<t>rayd

1 improvement on lot lot belong to chirch

1 clock 2 axes 1 han saw and some plans with

some other little thing 2 bead s<t>eads 3 beds
light by furnished one rifle gun

One debt d<i>ue me in debuque mines $228 doallars

Some little debts dew me in nauvoo in the way <traed> of

and some dew in the same way

in debt to missouria $25 missouria in d[e]bt

to me one farme A wife and 4 children

poarly clad All at your disposal for th[e]

b[u]ilding up of th[e] kingdom

                 O. M. Allen

John S. Canfield,¹⁹ June 29, 1842

Citty of Nauvoo June 29^th 1842

Schedule of property

half of one lot with a small log Cabbin

House hold furniture one bed and

Clothing for the same. Wareing apperil

one pair of pantaloons one pair of shooes

one straw hat.

one table and dishes to set the sa<me> for

four persons. two small tin pai<l>s one

s[o]up pan tin flour box two small butter

boxes one lantern one b<a>nd box one

trunk & chest 6 Baskets 3 barrells

one stone churn one stone crock one wash

tub one soap tub 2 tin milk pans

one cradle one small bake pan one small

stew kettle one tin kettle one fire shovel

one flat iron one fri pan ◊◊◊ one iron

one Book of mormon one Bible and testamen<t>

one Book of Covenants 3 hymns Books

melenial [millennial] poems 3 Glass bottles 6 phials

one tunell 5 towels 2 table cloths.

one Calico one Gingham one mull one Silk

dress for my wife Children 2 dreses

each 8 pairs of hose 2 Bonnets

one Crape shawl 2 aprons 2 Capes

and 23 hnkerchiefs 2 Caps 1 pair of

shoo<e>s. Myself Wife and two children

I Consecrat[e] to the God of He[a]ven

and for the Good of his Cause hoping

to keep the faith and endure to the<> end

is the p[r]ayer of your un worthy

servent

                     John S Canfield

[Reverse Side of Affidavit:]

Things forgoten in

the list 3 Chairs 2 axes 2 drawing

k<ni>ive 3 Plains 5 Chissels

$845 cts due from Stephen Markam

$225 cts due to G W Pierce

2 Squares 2 handsaws with all

I possess I freely give to the Lord and

into thy hands for good.

                 to

                 President

                 Young

                 Nauvoo

David Clough,²⁰ Date Unknown

David Cloughs property

improvement on lot. no. one in Block no twenty

Samuel W. Henderson,²¹ July 1, 1842

                 July 1 – 1842

Property of Samuel W Henderson

7 Acres of Land 4 miles east of the Temple

2 Cows and calves parte of a set waggon irons

1 Ax. 1 ◊ Spade 1 hoe 1 pare drawen chanes

1 Smawl log Caben 6 Chairs <1 table> 1 bed stid 1 bed and

beding 1 Close basket 2 smawl baskets

Clothing 2 shirts 2 pare pantiloons 1 Casinet

Cote and vest <1 pare boots 1 hat> boy 1 pare pantiloons 2 shirts

Females 2 my wife 2 Dresses 1 bonnet

1 Shawl Chi girls <H> 1 dress and shirt a piece

1 gun 1 barrel 1 bred tra 1 smawl wooden

bole 2 wooden buckets 2 Churns 4 plates

1 dish 1 bole 4 tins 4 nives 3 forkes 5 spoons

1 pot 1 oven and led [lid] 1 skellet and led [lid] 1 meal

bag 1 voliece 1 razour 1 box and bush

Dues $28

Debts $17

5 Children makeing 7 in family

Joseph G. Hovey,²² June 28, 1842

Nauvoo June 28/42

Inventory of Joseph G. Hovey

Residing on Block thirty three belonging to the Church

have not paid but the taxes the House is log rough

12 by 15 the lot fensed three sides

Viz.

One Cow

2 Soats

Household furniture [flourish]

1 Bed and bedding Childs Crib

1 Set of Chairs

1 table and one cubbuard.

2 trunks

1 Dining Set

Cooking Utencils

1 Fire Set

Five Volums of Books

Waring Apparel 1 dress Coat 2 pare pants

Cloth for one oth[er] Coat

1 Ladies clock [cloak] 4 dresses 1 Large and small Shawl

1 fur cape [flourishes]

Children dresses

Family Consisting of Wife and two Children

                 Joseph G. Hovey

Henry Jacobs,²³ June 30, 1842

Nauvoo June 30^th         A.D. 1842

Schedule of property I have in posesion

one half Acre of land on it a small house

I have also one cow and calf two yearling<s>

steers one shoat two feather beds and beding

a wife and a boy 15 years old we are clean

ly clad all at the desposal of the Church

N/B I owe fifty Dollars for my lot

                 Henry Jacobs

Levi North,²⁴ June 27, 1842

Nauvoo I,lls June the 27^th 1842

A list of of all the property belonging to Levi North

Addison Pratt,²⁵ Date Unkown

An invoice of A. Pratts property –

A lot & improvements in Nauvoo bought of

Lyman Wight for $250.,     $150 <paid down> & 100 due, to be paid in

work on the Nauvoo House,     one hundred & eighty dollars

paid to Brigham Young on a lot donated to the building the

Temple by Brother Mathews. A half acre lot with a 2 story <block> hous<e>

& a good framed blacksmith shop &c in the town of Pleasant Garde<n>

Putnum county, Indiana – 160 acres of good land in Clay county, Indiana

near the Cumberland road, Personal property in Nauvoo, 1 cow, 5 years old

1 heffr 3 years old, 1 heiffer 2 years old, One extra light stand- farming tools

worth about 5 <or 8> dollars, An Order on Joseph Smith calling for $70,85 <cts>

to be applied on a town lot in Nauvoo, This order I paid Almon Babit

$75:00 for which he warrented to be good for the same, Due from

Jacob Johnson <seign> $24,00 to he paid in work on the Temple, Due &

There is an incumberance on the 160 acres of land, the circumstances

of which are well known to Bishop G[eorge] Miller, There is 50 cts, due to

to E Robinson esqr for recording a power of attorney given to Bishop G—

Miller to act upon this same, __ I have a wife & 4 children with

beds & bedding & wearing apparrel sufficient for present use to gether

with a scanty supply of kitchen utensils, A particular imvoice of these

will be given in of these if required, ___

This I submit freely, & volunterily, & think I am willing to

to submit to evry order of the Church of Jesus Christ in these last

   days.

I am Messrs, yours &c. Addison Pratt.

John Rounolds [Reynolds?],²⁶ Date Unknown

John Rounolds

     to one Side saddle

too[two] Cows and Calves.

one yong year old Cow

one rifle gunn

one note on Kalip Baldon 65

fifty seven dollars

one grass sythe

I am now wiling to give all

that have to the Lord and

for the Biling up the temple

                                                  John Rounold

I am in detd 18 dollars

Augustus Stafford,²⁷ June 29, 1842

Nauvoo Jun 29 1842

                To Prest B Young

This Certifies that I Augustus

Stafford have furnature <goods> household

Furnature including all I posess

amounting to one hundred &

Twenty five Dollars which is at the Dspos
al of the twelve

Elizabeth Stewart,²⁸ Date Unknown

Nauvoo    Hancock Co Ill    bedding & clothing $17 32 1

Cow & calf $15 Elizabeth Stewart a widow
32

Urban Van Stewart,²⁹ June 27, 1842

A list of proprty belonging to v Urban V Stewart

I have A wife & 1 child      this the 27^{of June} 1842

                 Urban V Stewart

[Reverse side of Affidavit:]

Brigham Young Brigham Young

             Joseph Smith

Daniel Stillwell Thomas,³⁰ June 1, 1842

Nauvoo the June first 1842

A Schedule of property

one house on church property

three Beads and furniture

one cow and one Sheep four pigs

one table and four chears

Cooking utentials and cobard ware

one wife and Seven children

                 Daniel S Thomas

Nelson, Lucinda, and Martha Turner,³¹ Date Unknown

one feather bed & bedding—1 bed stead

4 chairs 1 chest—1 chichin table—1 pail—

1 tin cand—2 tin pains—1 oven & lid—1 frying
pan—1 teacittle—1 stew cittle—1 griddle

1 smoothing iron— 8 plates—4 knives—

4 forks—1 bole— U 3 tins—pepper box &
salt cup—2 flasks—1 old bible—1 hymn
book—2 axes—1 orger

[Reverse side of Affidavit:]

an 3 dollars
5 dollars

1 iron wedge

1 fraw

5 cords of wood

Turner

Whitford Gill Wilson,³² Date Unknown

A Schedule of property possessed by Whitfor[d] G. Wilson

First one lot purchased at $500 dollars nothing paid yet

one hewed log house 16 <feet> by 18 one story high

Lot under cultivation_ timber to build a shop 16 by 20

two cows & calves of an average quality

A part of a set of blacksmith tools probably worth 40 dollars

Beding clothing furniture dresser ware &c about 60 dollars worth

Debts due him 40 dollars & fifty cts

Owed by him $5,35 in small debts

Seven children and expect an other soon

Wife & children all dependent on my labo<ur>s.

                 Whitford G. Wilson

Thomas Woolsey,³³ June 27, 1842

     nauvoo

     Nauvoo Ills     June the 27^th 1842

A list of property held by Thomas Woolsey

Ahira Young,³⁴ June 28, 1842

Nauvoo City June 28 1842

A Shedule of Property Belonging to

Ahira Young one Lot Taken of the

Church Nothing Paid on it one Log House

on the Same one Cow & Calf one Sow

& two Pigs one Bed & Beding one Wife

& four Children one Bedsted two Chests

two Chairs & Several other Articals of

house hould furniture Cloathing Scant

Due to Osman Butler Wife

<one> Two hundred & Sevnty 5 Dollars $275.00

All at the Disposal of the Church

                     Ahira Young

Lewis Zeigler,³⁵ c. [June] 26, 1842

Articles

11-  Shirts and 2 flannel         do 1 Sham

6     pair of Pants

5     – vests –

3     Cloth Coats two Summer Coats & 2 over Coats

6     Pair of Woollen Stockings and 7 pair of Cotten stockings

2     Silk Pocket handkerchiefs & 1 silk neck handkerchief

2     Stocks

2     Pair of Boots and one Pair of Shoes

2     Pocket Bible<s> 1 book of Mormon 1 dictionary – life of Washington

1     fur hat 1 summer hat – 1 Fur Cap 1 Trunk 1 hat Box

1     Postmanteau 1 Pair of Woolen Mittens 1 do of buckskin gloves 1 Summer pair

4     Pair of Cotton drawers & stuff for 1 Pair

1     Umbrella

The above named Articles comprehend all that I am steward

over excepting Comb Penknife &c – I for my part feel willing to

lay what little is Commited to what is my trust at the Apostle feet

for such I firmly believe them to be and am willing to

submit to their distribution of said mentioned property –

asking the blessing of my heavenly Father to strengthen

their hands abundantly                 Lewis Zeigler

Nauvoo 26^th 1842