The detailed diaries kept by Eliza R. Snow as she crossed the great plains from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley have long been useful to historians of that period of Mormon history, and the thought that there might be extant a similar account of her Nauvoo experiences has tantalized scholars for years. Recently just such a volume surfaced, and was presented to Nauvoo Restoration Incorporated for use in their projects there. A photocopy of the holograph original is now available to scholars in the Archives of the Historical Department of the Church in Salt Lake City. What is reprinted here represents the first 67 of the total 234 written pages of the book, which served Eliza Snow both as diary and as notebook from June 1842 until well into her life in Salt Lake City.
The sections chosen for reproduction here include all the dated diary entries, narratives which illumine both the Nauvoo events recounted and Eliza Snow’s reactions to them. The first such entry is 29 June 1842, the last 14 April 1844. Occasionally the poems which she interspersed among the dated entries add further to her narrative, in which cases they have been included here. More often, however, the poetry has been published elsewhere, and so has been deleted here, noted with a brief summary of its content.1 The pages after the last 1844 entry contain just poems, with no biographical material of significance.
In editing the material, we have exercised care to preserve as much of its original flavor as possible in the transition from the handwritten to the printed form. Occasionally the normally meticulous Eliza erred in her spelling; often she used abbreviations. These have been retained. Editorial corrections or clarifications have been supplied in brackets. The only unnoted alterations have been the few punctuation marks which may have been lost either through the photocopying process or the writer’s haste. These have been supplied as necessary for readability.
The diary makes reference to several people whose paths crossed Eliza’s. Some of these were prominent figures in Nauvoo history—Joseph Smith, of course, Porter Rockwell and Sidney Rigdon need not be identified to BYU Studies readers. Some others are either so obscure as to be lost from records extant, or insufficiently identified in the diary to allow positive identification. These have been simply represented as they appear in the narrative. Those whose identification is both possible and useful in the reading of the daily accounts have been either footnoted, or explained in brackets in the text.
The diary begins with an acknowledgment of its source: the empty volume was a gift to Eliza R. Snow, “politely presented” by her friend Sarah Melissa Kimball, a young and well-to-do matron of the city. The date of the gift is noted as March 1842, which suggests that it may have been intended as a record book for the newly formed Female Relief Society in which both women were involved. Willard Richards, however, had given Eliza, Relief Society secretary, a volume for that purpose, so this one lay unused for three months.
The first entry in the new book is dated 29 June 1842. Written in a manner far removed from the concise, direct style of Eliza’s usual prose, it seems to be struggling to express feelings without disclosing the events which precipitated those feelings. “This is a day of much interest to my feelings,” Eliza begins, and wanders off into vague references to her family and their plans for moving. She rises to near poetic responses to a thunderstorm beginning, a correlative to the turmoil facing the persecuted Saints, and then resolves into a reflection of faith which must counter the fear she feels: “The grace of God is sufficient,” she concludes. The confusing whole becomes highly significant in the light of biographical data collected from external sources.
Eliza, converted to Mormonism in 1835, had left her childhood home in Mantua, Ohio, and gathered with the Saints in Kirtland, where she lived and taught school in the home of Joseph and Emma Smith. Most of her family joined her there, and together they traveled to Missouri, settling in Adam-ondi-Ahman. Persecutions drove them to Illinois, and Eliza and her older sister Leonora lived for a time in Lima, supporting themselves with their sewing. Finally in Nauvoo, Eliza lived with her parents, until, just as this journal begins, they announced their plans for moving to Walnut Grove, some fifty miles east of Nauvoo. Obviously dismayed at the prospect of living so far from the main body of the Saints, Eliza had apparently had no alternative until the possibility suggested by this first diary entry. From her later testimony, we form the connection: this is the date of her sealing to Joseph Smith as his wife in plural marriage. The emotional climate of Nauvoo—this is the peak of the John C. Bennett troubles—and the real and anticipated persecutions surrounding the practice of celestial marriage explain the veiled references characteristic of this entry and much that follows; Eliza’s own deep feelings account for the emotional pitch to which the response occasionally rises.
That the sealing to Joseph Smith, called by Eliza in later years “the choice of my heart and the crown of my life,2 “was of highest importance to the thirty-eight year old Eliza is evident from the point of view from which she writes the remaining entries in the diary: most of them deal with the Prophet and his difficulties with his accusers, and other less explicit references suggest Eliza’s preoccupation with marriage, with Joseph’s family, with her own brother Lorenzo and his return from a mission to England. Later accounts describe her quandary at confessing to Lorenzo her secret relationship with Joseph; the hesitation can be seen in her references to her brother here. It is regrettable, but significant, that her account stops two months before the martyrdom of the Prophet in June 1844, that the one extant expression of her feelings at that time remains her long, controlled elegy, “The Assassination of Generals Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith.”3
But if she did not write the events immediately surrounding the martyrdom, Eliza did give some insight into the turbulent days of 1842. John C. Bennett had just recently defected from the faith as her diary began, and the accounts he was spreading abroad of licentious “spiritual wifery” were further arousing the neighboring Gentiles against the Saints. Soon thereafter came the attempts to implicate Joseph Smith, who had not been in Missouri in three years, and Porter Rockwell in the attempted murder there of former Governor Lilburn Boggs, who had issued the earlier “extermination order” which officially drove the Mormons out of the state. The legalities involved with attempts to extradite Joseph Smith to Missouri, the proprieties of various summonses, and applications for release under habeas corpus writs kept both Joseph’s friends and his enemies in the picture described by Eliza, and often removed Joseph himself from her observation as he either went with his captors or evaded them. Times were trying for the Mormons in Nauvoo, and the overtones of fear and danger add to the texture of Eliza’s accounts here.
This Album
was politely presented to
Eliza R. Snow
by
Mrs. Sarah M. Kimball
City of Nauvoo, March, 1842
City of Nauvoo, June 29th 1842.
This is a day of much interest to my feelings. Reflecting on past occurrences, a variety of thoughts have presented themselves to my mind with regard to events which have chas’d each other in rapid succession in the scenery of human life.
As an individual, I have not passed altogether unnoticed by Change, in reference to present circumstances and future prospects. Two weeks and two days have pass’d since an intimation was presented of my duty and privilege of remaining in the City of the saints in case of the removal of my father’s family: one week and two days have transpired since the family left, and though I rejoice in the blessing of the society of the saints, and the approbation of God; a lonely feeling will steal over me before I am aware, while I am contemplating the present state of society—the powers of darkness, and the prejudices of the human mind which stand array’d like an impregnable barrier against the work of God. While these thoughts were revolving in my mind, the heavens became shadowed with clouds and a heavy shower of rain and hail ensued, and I exclaim’d “O God, is it not enough that we have the prepossessions of mankind—their prejudices and their hatred to contend with; but must we also stand amid the rage of elements?” I concluded within myself that the period might not be far distant, that will require faith to do so; but the grace of God is sufficient, therefore I will not fear. I will put my trust in Him who is mighty to save; rejoicing in his goodness and determin’d to live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth.
Thursday [Friday?] July 29th [1842].
Just returned from Quincy, where I visited the Governor [Thomas Carlin] in company with Mrs. Emma Smith who presented him a Petition from the Female Relief Society. The Gov. received us with cordiality, and as much affability and politeness as his Excellency is master of, assuring us of his protection, by saying that the laws and Constitution of our country shall be his polar star in case of any difficulty. He manifested much friendship, and it remains for time and circumstance to prove the sincerity of his professions.4
Wednesday, August 3 [1842].
Day before yesterday I rode to the burial of bishop Knights [Vinson Knight]—from there to Prest. Smith’s house, from which place I have just returned to my excellent friend, Mrs. b.
Tuesday, 9th [August 1842].
Pest. S[mith] and P[order] R[ockwell] taken for the attempt to assassinate [Missouri ex-Governor Lilburn] Boggs. Prest. S. left in the care of the City Marshal while those who took him return to Quincy to ascertain whither they must submit him to a City trial.5
Oh God, thou God, that rules on high
Bow down thy ear to me:
Listen, O listen to my cry
And hear my fervent plea.
Rebuke the heartless, wicked clan
That wish thy servant harm:
Protect him from the pow’r of man
By thy Almighty arm.
Let unseen watchmen wait around
To shield thy servant’s head—
Let all his enemies be found
Caught in the net they spread.
Thy grace, like prairie dews distil’d,
To all his need, apply;
And let his upright heart be fill’d
With spirit from on high.
The work is thine—thy promise sure
Though earth and hell oppose
Roll, roll it onward, but secure
Thy prophet from his foes.
O, hide him in thy secret fold [hold?]
When on his path they tread
Safe, as Elijah, who of old
Was by the ravens fed.
Bring our accusers’ deeds to light
And give thy people rest—
Eternal God! gird on thy might
And succor the opprest.6
Sunday 1[4]th [August 1842].
Yesterday Mrs. [Emma] Smith sent for me, having previously given me the offer of a home in her house, by Miss [Elvira] A[nnie] Coles [or Cowles], who call’d on me, on the 12th. Mrs. [Sarah] Cleveland having come to the determination of moving on to her lot; my former expectations were frustrated, but the Lord has opened the path to my feet, and I feel dispos’d to acknowledge his hand in all things. This sudden, unexpected change in my location, I trust is for good; it seem’d to come in answer to my petitions to God to direct me in the path of duty according to his will.
[Thomas] King, the deputy sheriff, and Pitman from Quincy, with the Sheriff and his associate from Mo.; are yet watching about the City for Prest. S[mith] who had absented himself while they were on their return to Quincy. Esqr. Powers, Prest. S’s Attorney from Keokuck call’d this evening—thinks the prospect flattering with respect to the excitement abroad.7
Thursday 18th [August 1842].
Monday evening I return’d to my former residence in order to adjust my things for a removal, and return’d with them last evening to Prest. Smith’s. As near as I can ascertain, the Quincy Sheriff and Constable left the place monday afternoon, and yesterday [Harmon T.] Wilson, the Sheriff from Carthage came in disguise, and has taken lodgings at Daviss’ tavern. This evening Esqr. Warren arriv’d—said he concluded from the fact that the Gov. said all was quiet, that they were proceeding to get a new Writ.
Monday, 22 [August 1842].
Last night, six men came in, suppos’d to have a new Writ.
Yesterday Prest. [Sidney] Rigdon spoke on the stand in the grove; giving a narration of Eliza’s [Elizabeth Rigdon] sickness and the very singular manner in which she address’d the family after having been as he express’d it dead three times. He declar’d his confidence in the work of God—said it had been reported of him that he had call’d Prest. S. a fallen prophet—but he denied having said it, &c. How it would rejoice my heart to see him once more standing firmly in the dignity of his station and strengthening the hands of those who are struggling against every kind of opposition for the cause of God!8
Thur. 25th [August 1842].
It has been satisfactorily ascertained that those men who came sunday evening, were not authorized to take Prest. S. but that there is a new Writ issued and on its way. Esqr. Powers called today.
This evening Prest S. said he had some good news, viz. that George W. Robinson had declar’d his determination to forsake his evil deeds and return to the church. If he does return, I hope it may be for his soul’s salvation: not to act the part of Hinkle and betray the innocent, in the time of danger.9 I had a rich treat yesterday in perusing the Book of the Lord—was much gratified with the spirit breathed in the letters of Maj. Gen. [Wilson] L[aw]—10 felt myself rather reprov’d for having distrusted his integrity and devotion to the cause. In such critical times, much is depending on the fidelity of those who fill the higher offices.
Sunday, 28th [August 1842].
Last evening Prest. S. was at home and met in the large drawing room with a respectable number of those considered trustworthy—counsel’d them to go out forthwith to proclaim the principles of truth. I was busied the forepart of this day in needlework to prepare br. [Erastus H.] Derby for his mission.
Sunday Sept 4th [1842].
Surely we know not what a day may bring forth. The little season of quietude with which we have been bless’d for a few days, has gone by, and our City is again infested with some eighteen or twenty men, who are lying in wait, for the blood of the innocent!
Yesterday Pitman from Quincy and Ford from Mo. with another stranger arrived about one o’clock at the house of Prest. Smith, who having a moment’s notice, left the dinner table, where he was seated and made his escape. Pitman enquired for him and ask’d permission to search the house. Mrs. S[mith] said she had no objection if he had the proper authority. Pitman said he had no authority but with her consent he proceeded to search, preceeded by John Boynton and D[imick] Huntington, whom Mrs. S. requested to show them into the rooms.
After sundown, [Thomas] King, the Deputy Sheriff and his associate came in. King seem’d in an unpleasant humor—after enquiring for Prest. Smith spoke about searching the house, Mrs. S. mention’d authority—He said he had authority at any rate he said his will was good enough. Mrs. S. said she thought he could have no objections to telling what he wanted Mr. S. for. He said in a surly tone that it would be time enough to tell that afterwards.11
Sunday Sep. 11th [1842].
Returned from Lima, where I had a very pleasant visit with Sister L[eonora].12 After a short time at the Conference on sat. evening, where Elders G[eorge A.] Smith & A[masa] Lyman, who rode down in our carriage—met Prest. [Brigham] Young, already started on his mission.
Sun. 18th [September 1842].
Went to meeting in the forenoon & heard elder G[eorge] J. Adams, who arriv’d here last monday, deliver an eloquent discourse from the 15th of 1st Corinthians. commencing with the 12th verse, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead” &c, on the subject of the resurrection of the dead. Yesterday I wrote the following
Conjugal
To Jonathan & Elvira.13
Like two streams, whose gentle forces
Mingling, in one current blend—
Like two waves, whose onward courses
To the ocean’s bosom tend—
Like two rays that kiss each other
In the presence of the sun—
Like two drops that run together
And forever are but one,
May your mutual vows be plighted—
May your hearts, no longer twain
And your spirits be united
In an everlasting chain.
Friday 23d [September 1842].
Last evening spent at sister Knights—On my way, call’d at the Post-Office, and found a letter from Eli & Amanda, announcing their expectation of moving to this country.14 Their intention of settling near father & mother is a subject of much gratification to my feelings, hoping it may add much to the comfort of the aged; in this age of disappointment and sacrifice. But the mind must be fix’d on God, that the cheering influence of his spirit may elevate our hopes above the power of changing circumstance; then will the aged rejoice, and the young be encouraged, even amid scenes of difficulty and peril.
To stand still and see the salvation of God seems to be the only alternative for the present. While reflecting on the present, and its connexion with the future; my thoughts mov’d in the following strain:
O, how shall I compose a thought
When nothing is compos’d?
How form ideas as I ought
On subjects not disclos’d?
If we are wise enough to know
To whom we should give heed—
Thro’ whom intelligence must flow
The church of God to lead,
We have one grand position gain’d—
One point, if well possess’d—
If well established—well maintain’d,
On which the mind may rest.
This principle will bear us up—
It should our faith sustain,
E’en when from “trouble” ’s reckless cup
The dregs, we have to drain.
What boots it then, tho’ tempests howl
In thunders, round our feet—
Tho’ human rage, and nature’s scowl
By turns, we have to meet.
What though tradition’s haughty mood
Deals out corroding wrongs;
And superstition’s jealous brood
Stirs up the strife of tongues.15
Sunday October 9th [1842].
Last night Prest S. left home in consequence of intelligence that King & Pitman were on the way in search for him. It was a sorrowful time. Sister Emma had been sick eleven days,—still confined to her bed—but he must go or be expos’d to the fury of the merciless! Gov. [Thomas] Carlin has offered [$]200, and [Thomas] Reynolds [$]300, for his apprehension.16
Wed. 12th [October 1842].
Having heard of the safe arrival of Prest. S. at the place of his destination, I wrote as follows and sent to him
Prest Smith,
Sir, for your consolation permit me to tell
That your Emma is better—she soon will be well;
Mrs. Durfee stands by her, night & day like a friend
And is prompt every call—every wish to attend;
Then pray for your Emma, but indulge not a fear
For the God of our forefathers, smiles on us here.
Thou hast found a seclusion—a lone solitude
Where thy foes cannot find thee—where friends can’t intrude;
In its beauty and wildness, by nature design’d
As a retreat from the tumult of all humankind,
And estrang’d from society: How do you fare?
May the God of our forefathers, comfort you there.
It is hard to be exil’d! but be of good cheer
Thou art destin’d to triumph: then like a chas’d deer
Hide yourself in the ravine, secure from the blast
Awhile, till the storm of their fury is past;
For your foes are pursuing and hunting you still—
May the God or our forefathers screen you from ill.17
November 16th [1842].
[The first three of the four poems included under this date are available elsewhere, and so are included here only by title and brief summary. “Apostrophe to Death” traces the changing view of death, in the light of modern revelation, from that of a fearsome tyrant surrounded by “terror,” “darkness,” and “frightfulness” into “A haggard porter, charg’d to wait before / The Grave—Life’s portal to the worlds on high.”18 “True Happiness” acclaims the position of those who, though vilely reproached by former friends, still enjoy “the bliss of conscious innocence”: which permits them to stand secure ‘‘on Zion’s hill.”19 “Saturday Evening Thoughts,” one of Eliza Snow’s own favorites of her poems, was written in response, she later said, to “the first of Spencer’s Letters.” The poem affirms the higher value of Sainthood over ease and comfort, states that “It is no trifling thing to be a Saint,” and applauds the persevering aim, the toil, and the sacrifice required of those who would be Saints, “Tried to the core and sounded to the depth.”20 The fourth poem, unpublished elsewhere, is included here.]
Retirement
O how sweet is retirement! how precious these hours;
They are dearer to me than midsummer’s gay flow’rs
Then soft stillness and silence awaken the Muse—
’Tis a time—’tis a place that the minstrel should choose
While so sweetly the moments in silence pass by
When there’s nobody here but Eliza and I.
This is truly a moment peculiarly fraught
With unbound meditation and freedom of thought!
Such rich hollowed seasons are wont to inspire
With the breath of Parnassus, the languishing lyre.
For sweet silence is dancing in Solitude’s eye
When there’s nobody here but Eliza and I.
O thou fav’rite retirement! palladium of joys
Remov’d from the bustle of nonsense and noise
Where mind strengthens its empire—enlarges its sphere
While it soars like the eagle or roams like the deer
O these still, sober moments, how swiftly they fly
While there’s nobody here but Eliza and I.
November, Wed. 30th [1842].
Dec. 12th [1842].
This day commenced school-teaching in the Masonic Hall—the weather very cold and I shall never forget the kindness of Bishop [Newell K.] Whitney, who opened the school by prayer after having assisted in preparing the room.
In undertaking the arduous business with my delicate constitution, at this inclement season of the year, I was entirely governed by the wishes of Prest. and Mrs. Smith; trusting in God for strength to fulfill, and acknowledging his hand in this as well as in every other circumstance of my life; I believe he has a purpose to accomplish which will be for my good ultimately, inasmuch as I desire and aim to be submissive to the requirements of those whom he has plac’d in authority over me.21
Feb. 11th 1843.
Took board and had my lodging removed to the residence of br. J[onathan H.] Holmes.22
[There follows here a forty-eight line poem under the incomplete heading: “Lines written by request of Elder.” It begins with the supposition that “If we’re faithful . . . ,” and proceeds through didactic injunctions to the hoped-for conclusion, “And the glory celestial inherit.”23]
March 17th 1843.
This day clos’d my school much to my own satisfaction; having the pleasure of the presence of Prest. J. Smith, his lady—Mrs. Allred, Mrs. Durfee and others. After reading in the hearing of the school several beautiful parting pieces, addressed to myself by the scholars, I read a farewell address which I had prepared for the occasion—and after singing the following parting hymn; Prest. S. closed the school by prayer.
The Parting Hymn.
How sacred is the tie that binds
In lasting bonds congenial minds?
What sacred feelings swell the heart
When friends from friends are call’d to part—
When fond endearment twines a spell
Around the parting word, “Farewell”?
The hours have glided swift away
While we have met from day to day
To echo studies in the Hall—
Those hours we never can recall
For now their dying numbers tell
That we must bid the Hall “Farewell.”
Long, mem’ry’s vision will hold dear
The season spent together here—
And long will recollection chime
Its music to far distant time,
And oft in thrilling numbers tell
The time—the hour we bade “Farewell.”
O God! thy guardian care extend—
Be thou our father and our friend—
Let each within thy presence share
Thy favor, thy protecting care;
And may thy smile the shades dispel
That gather round the word “Farewell.”
Thy spirit and thy pow’r impart
To guide aright each youthful heart;
And all our feet securely guide
Where thy salvation’s streamlets glide;
That we may in thy presence dwell
When we to time, shall bid “Farewell.”
[There follows here a copy of a very long speech, written in high-flown prose in the formal manner of a university commencement address. Eliza alludes to the relief she feels, to be “liberated” from the “arduous” business of instructing the class these past few months, but then expresses “my satisfaction and approbation of your conduct,” and “thanks for the respectful attention which, with very few exceptions, you have paid to my instructions.” The remaining six pages are a preachment to the departing class, full of Polonius-like admonitions to the young, simple homilies couched in elaborate prose. The speech closes with the hope “that you may be preserved from the evils that are in the world, and be of that number who, having the harps of God, shall sing the song of Moses and the Lamb and inherit the glory of the celestial kingdom.”
Following her own speech, Eliza has copied into the journal four tributes, mostly in verse, presented to her by four of her students: Fanny Decker, Sophia Roundy, Eliza A. Allred, and Samantha Roundy.]
Sunday April 9th, [1843].
Conference closed yesterday—it has been a very interesting season to those present, but from ill health I have been deprived attending except one half day. With mingled emotions of pain and pleasure I perused a letter written by P[arley] P. Pratt, with which I was this evening favored by the politeness of elder Woodruff. The joyful intelligence of the arrival of my brother with a company of 230, in St. Louis was accompanied with the announcement of the death of br. L[orenzo D.] Barnes, the first elder in the church of Latter-day Saints, who has laid his bones upon a foreign soil.
[There follows in the diary a short poem on the death of the missionary, praising the cause for which he crossed the Atlantic.24]
Wednesday 12th [April 1843].
This day I have the inexpressible happiness of once again embracing a brother who had been absent nearly three years. I cannot describe the feelings which fill’d my bosom when I saw the steam-boat Amaranth moving majestically up the Mississippi, and thought perhaps Lorenzo was on board: my heart overflowed with gratitude when, after the landing of the boat, I heard Prest. Hiram Smith say to me “your brother has actually arrived.” It is a time of mutual rejoicing which I never shall forget.
Sat. 15th [April 1843].
Spent a very interesting and agreeable afternoon at Mr. Lyon’s present L[orenzo], Mrs. Scovill, Miss Geroot, &c.
Tues, May 9th [1843].
Had a delightful excursion up the river to Burlington.
Thurs. May 11th [1843].
Accompanied L[orenzo] to Lima—very pleasant ride.
Monday 15th [May 1843].
Returned to Nauvoo after a very pleasant visit and an interesting Conference at which present Prest. J. Smith, W. Woodruff & George A. S[mith].25
Friday [19 May 1843].
Visited at Prest. [William] Marks in company with Sophie Robinson, O[live Grey] Frost, Miss Mitchell &c. Sat. visited at Mr. Harris’.
Tues. 23d [May 1843].
Last night L[orenzo] and myself staid at New Lancaster & this evening arrived at our father’s residence in Walnut Grove; where we found sister A[manda], and all in tolerable health and pleasantly situated in a beautiful country; for which I feel very thankful; The care and anxiety which I have experienced for the difficulties to which my parents have been subject since our expulsion from our home in Mo. have been a source of much bitterness of feeling; and that bitterness has been aggravated by the reflection that they did not in their trials draw out from the springs of consolation which the gospel presents that support which was their privilege, and which would have enabled them to rejoice in the midst of tribulation & disappointment.
Thurs. June 1st [1843].
My brother & I returned again to our beloved City after visiting my aunt & cousins at Spring-Creek 12 miles south-east from LaHarpe. A severe storm occur’d this day week—much injury done in Monmouth.
Sun. 4th [June 1843].
Yesterday & last night I spent alone except L[orenzo]’s company for a few hours; the people having gone on a pleasure excursion to Quincy.
Friday 9th [June 1843].
The melancholy news of the sudden death of Elias Higbee Esqr. who died yesterday morning has spread a feeling of deep sorrow over the City. How truly it may be said that “in the midst of life we are in death.” It is to us a mysterious providence at this time, when every talent and exertion are peculiarly needed for the erection of the Temple; that one of the Committee should be so suddenly call’d from time to eternity.26
Today Lorenzo leaves for Ohio—may the Lord prosper his way and return him soon to my society.
Tues. 13th [June 1843].
Last Sunday I had the privilege of attending meeting and in the forenoon listening to a very interesting discourse by Prest. J. Smith. He took for his subject the words of the Savior to wit. “O Jerusalem thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto you! How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and you would not!” He beautifully and in a most powerful manner, illustrated the necessity of the gathering and the building of the Temple that those ordinances may be administered which are necessary preparations for the world to come: he exhorted the people in impressive terms to be diligent—to be up and doing lest the tabernacle pass over to another people and we lose the blessings.27
Sunday 18th [June 1843].
Last Tues. Prest. S. & family started for a visit to her [Emma’s] relatives.28 Friday spent the night very pleasantly at bishop Whitney’s after attending a very interesting meeting of the Relief Society in the afternoon. This morning sister Mills left us for the eternal world. I spent the day at home wrote a letter for Mother [Lucy Mack] Smith. Several brothers and sisters call’d on me in the evening—inform’d me that brother L[orenzo] did not leave at the time we expected—probably did not go till monday morning.
Tues. 20th [June 1843].
Last evening heard the unpleasant intelligence that the Gov. of Missouri has issued another Writ for the arrest of Prest. Smith. How long will the hand of persecution retain its iron nerve! How long must the innocent be harrass’d and perplexed! Heard that a messenger arrived from Springfield, sent by Judge [James] Adams, saturday night to apprize Prest. S. of the expected arrival of the officers. Visited at elder [John] Taylor’s.
Friday 23d [June 1843].
Judge Adams arrived this morning from Springfield. I call’d to see him—he confirm’d previous intelligence respecting the Writ being issued, but nothing as yet is heard of the officers. Yesterday I was presented with the following lines, which had been sent to press without my knowledge, & of which I had retain’d no copy.
From the Wasp.
To who needs Consolation.
O can a gen’rous spirit brook
With feelings of content
To see an age, distrustful look
On thee with dark intent!
I feel thy woes—my bosom shares
Thy spirit’s agony:—
How can I love a heart that dares
Suspect thy purity?
I’ll smile on all that smile on thee
As angels do above—
All who in pure sincerity
Will love thee, I will love.
Believe me, thou hast noble friends
Who feel and share thy grief;
And many a fervent pray’r ascends
To heav’n, for thy relief.29
Sunday June 25th [1843].
This afternoon, while the people were assembled for service in the grove, Br. [William] Clayton who had been sent with br. [Stephen] Markham to Lee Co. to notify Prest. Smith of the issue of the Writ for his arrest, returned which occasioned considerable excitement. He announced the capture of Prest. S. with his request that a number of the Militia should be sent to his assistance if needed. It was truly gratifying to see the spirit manifested on the occasion, not only by brethren but also by many persons not members of the church. All seem’d desirous of proving their patriotism in the cause of the persecuted prophet. The City literally swarmed with men who ran together from every quarter to volunteer their services. A selection of about eighty horsemen started about dusk, while fifty others were chosen to go by water, who went on board the “Maid of Iowa” to go down the Mississippi and up the Illinois to Ottawa, expecting that Prest. S. would be taken there for trial.
Tues. 27th [June 1843].
Mrs. S. [Emma Smith] arrived—I went to see her, and learned more particulars concerning the the manner in which her husband was taken by J[oseph] H. Reynolds, Sheriff of Jackson Co. Mo. and Willson [Harmon T. Wilson] a constable of Hancock Co. Ill. who came to Dixon on Rock river professing to be Mormon elders & enquired for Joseph Smith who they were informed was 12 miles distant at a place called Palestine Grove. They proceeded there & took him in a savage manner & brought him to Dixon, intending the same evening which was friday the 23d, to take him into Mo. but thro’ the providential interference of the patriotic citizens of the place he was rescued & reserved for a more lawful proceeding.
Thurs. 29th [June 1843].
Took a ride to br. Lot’s30 in company with Mrs. Whitney, Mrs. Durfee & Mrs. Holmes. Before we returned, it was announced that a messenger had arrived bringing the joyful intelligence that the prophet would arrive in a few hours.
Sat. 30th [June 1843].
A very interesting day. A military Escort accompanied by the Band and a number of ladies on horseback & a vast multitude of citizens, in carriages left the City at 11 o’clock A.M. and returned at 2, to the house of Prest. S. with the Prest. where I witness’d a scene of mingled joy & sorrow, which language cannot describe; for who can paint the emotions of the heart—the burst of parental and filial affection amid scenes of deepest anguish and the highest joy? The affectionate manner in which he introduced his family to those worse than savage officers, and the very hospitable treatment they received, was a lesson that should have made an impression on every heart, not to be eradicated.
[Eliza follows this account with her poem “The Kidnapping of Lieutenant-general Joseph Smith,” sixteen stanzas in ballad form which tell the story of the prophet’s arrest at Dixon.31]
July 20th [1843].
Sister [blank in original] call’d to see me. Her appearance very plainly manifested the perturbation of her mind. How strangely is the human countenance changed when the powers of darkness reign over the empire of the heart! Scarcely, if ever, in my life had I come in contact with such forbidding and angry looks; yet I felt as calm as the summer eve, and received her as smilingly as the playful infant; and my heart as sweetly reposed upon the bosom of conscious innocence, as infancy reposes in the arms of paternal tenderness & love. It is better to suffer than do wrong, and it is sometimes better to submit to injustice rather than contend; it is certainly better to wait the retribution of Jehovah than to contend where effort will be unavailable.32
July 21st [1843].
In company with br. Allen left Nauvoo for the residence of sister [Leonora] Leavitt in the Morley Settlement. We rode most of the way in the night in consequence of the annoyance of the Prairie flies. It was the season for contemplation, and while gazing on the glittering expanse above, which splendidly contrasted with the shades that surrounded me; my mind, as if touched by the spirit of inspiration, retraced the past and glanced at the future, serving me a mental treat spiced with the variety of changes subsequent to the present state of mutable existence.
The likeness and unlikeness of disposition & character with which we come in contact, is a fruitful theme of thought; and the very few who have strength of mind, reason & stability; to act from principle; is truly astonishing, and yet only such, are persons worthy of trust.
July 30th [1843?].
[Under this date Eliza copies her poem “Some Good Things,” an optimistic verse of nine quatrains affirming that assurance of one’s own righteousness and of God’s blessings, present and future, is the ultimate good.33]
August 28 [1843].
Last evening was entertained by br. [Sylvester?] Huelett reading to us from his own manuscript.34 This morning wrote the following,
Lines addressed to Mr. Huelett.
I always love the pages fraught
With noble truth & native thought
Where mind, unshackled seems at home
Where e’er abroad it wills to roam.
I wonder’d when I heard your lay
Why you Should seek to hide away
Your harp, nor let its cheering sound
Move on the gales that flutter round.
Why should you yield to self-distrust
And hide your talent in the dust?
Why should you selfishly suppress
A source of mutual happiness
And lavish on your solitude
That which might do your neighbor good—
That which might cheer the toilsome way
Amid the ills of latter-day?
Why so tenacious that your name
Should be unknown? All earthly fame
Will pass away; but Zion’s spire
Is destined to be rising higher
Until celestial glories blaze
And earth is lighted with the rays—
Till upper Zion shall come down
And be an everlasting crown.
Though fame’s a paltry aim, ’tis well
For Zion’s chronicles to tell
How, carefully, within the sphere
However small, allotted here;
Her children each with child-like heart
With promptitude perform’d a part;
And each improv’d the talent giv’n
In honor of the law of heav’n.
When young in years,—in all a child—
With thought untrain’d, and fancy wild
’Twas my delight to spend an hour
Beneath a Muse’s fav’rite bow’r:
While there I fan’d Parnassus’ fire
The letter’d pinions ask’d my lyre;
I deeply scorn’d the Poet’s fame
And from the world witheld my name.35
But when from the eternal throne,
The truth of God around me shone;
Its glories my affections drew
And soon I tun’d my harp anew:
By counsel which I’d fain abide
I laid fictitious names aside:
My duty, not a love of fame
Induc’d me to divulge my name.
It surely is a glorious thing
To mount imagination’s wing;
With Inspiration’s chart unfurl’d
That bids defiance to the world;
And ride triumphantly abroad
Where the unthinking never trod,
And gain an empire for the mind
That leaves tradition’s throne behind.
Aug. 28th [1843].
This afternoon had the inexpressible happiness of greeting Lorenzo, just return’d from Ohio.
Sept. 1st [1843].
Br. L[orenzo] left this morning which leaves a great void in our association—it seems like forcing a wide breach in our family circle.36 The more endearing the reciprocation of friendship—the more implicit the confidence; the more painful is the separation. This we realize in the present instance.
Oct. 3d [1843].
[Here follows a short poem “to Mr. & Mrs. Scott on the death of their Son.” It contains a mild reprimand to the parents for their sorrowing, assuring them that “while it lays its victim low, / Death opens to the worlds on high.”37]
Thurs. Oct. 5th [1843].
A disposition to conform to circumstances is a blessing for which I feel very grateful. As saints of the Most High—subject to all the vicissitudes attendant on an adherence to the principles of the celestial kingdom: in order to render life desirable; we must cultivate feelings of submission and cherish in our own bosoms, that peace and tranquility which will enable us to rejoice in what ever situation we may be placed.
To rejoice, or even feel calm and contented, when suffering injustice from our fellow creatures; would certainly require an exertion of mind and a firm command of feeling; yet it is an attainment within our reach, or at least proportionately so; inasmuch as we verily believe that God whom we worship to be a God of justice, and that sooner or later a just retribution will follow.
[There follows here a psalm-like piece identified as “Psalm. Third.” In the Old Testament style, it is an affirmation that the word of God will “dissipate every obstruction,” and the testimony of Jesus “will guide my vision through the portals of immortality.”38]
Oct 10th [1843].
Yesterday returned from Nauvoo. The trial of Prest. Rigdon occupied that portion of the Conference which I attended.39 Some circumstances of very peculiar interest occur’d during my visit to the City. Every thing connected with our affections is engraven on the heart, and needs not the perpetuating touch of the sculptor.
12th [October 1843].
Dream’d that my father spoke to me of prospects nineteen months to come.
Oct. 19th [1843].
Wrote the following for Miss Eliza Partridge.40
You know, dear Girl, that God is just—
He wields almighty pow’r;
Fear not his faithfulness to trust
In the most trying hour.
Though darkness like the shades of night
Should gather round your way;
The Lord our God will give you light
If you his will obey.
In sweet submission humbly wait
And see his purpose crown’d
He then will make the crooked straight
And spread salvation round.
Our heav’nly Father knows the best
What way we must be tried:
Stand still and his salvation test—
Thou shalt be satisfied.
[The poem which follows, beginning “The trials of the present day,” consists of eleven quatrains encouraging the reader through present troubles with the promise of a time “When Zion will arise on high, / In the Celestial glory.” The poem is here superscribed, in a hand suggesting a later addition, with the quotation “Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.41”
A second poem, “Queen Victoria,” follows, with the introduction that it was written in commemoration of Lorenzo’s having presented to Her Majesty and Prince Albert two copies of the Book of Mormon in 1842, prior to his return from his mission.42]
Dec. 6th [1843].
Spent the day at Mr. Lindsay’s in cutting clothes.
[Dec.] 9th [1843].
Lorenzo left for Nauvoo.
Dec. 19th [1843].
Tuesday evening L. having return’d, we had the pleasure of the company of Father [Isaac] & Mother [Lucy] Morley: it was an interesting season, in the order of a blessing meeting, father Morley officiating. The following is a copy of the blessing confer’d on me, as a Patriarchal Blessing.
“Sister Eliza, In the name of Jesus Christ I lay my hands upon thy head, and I confirm all thy former blessings together with the blessings of a Patriarch upon thee. Let thy thoughts, thy mind and thy affections be stay’d upon the mighty God of Jacob.
Thou hast the blessing and gift to know in whom thou has put thy trust—he is thy friend and thy great Benefactor. He has been mindful of thee and has given thee an intellect capable of receiving & understanding all things necessary, pertaining to thy present and everlasting welfare; and thou hast & shall have the blessing to improve upon every talent and gift that the God of nature has bestow’d upon thee. The powers of thy mind are fix’d as firmly as the pillars of heaven, to comply with the requisitions of thy Creator, and thou shalt never be disappointed in the cause thou hast espous’d. The Lord thy Savior loves thee and has been bountiful in pouring his blessings upon thee, and thou shalt have the blessing to be admired & honor’d by all good men. Thou hast the blessing to speak in wisdom & to counsel in prudence, and thou shalt have the blessing to be honor’d by those who have spoken reproachfully of thee; and thou shalt yet stand in high & holy places, to be honr’d and admired for the integrity of thy heart. Thy fidelity has reach’d the heavens, and thy name is honor’d & admir’d by the heav’nly hosts. Thy steps shall be trac’d in prudence—thy examples are worthy of imitation, and thou mayest ever confide in the friend of thy bosom. Thou mayest open thy mind to thy Creator and thy requests shall be granted because thou hast an advocate even Jesus, & in his name thou art invited to pay thy devotions to the Most High, and in and thro’ his name thou mayest ever rejoice in the New & everlasting covenants; Ask, and thou shall be given an additional blessing to thee; and thou shall have influence & power over all those who have sought to injure thee, to do good unto them; and to cause them to become a blessing to thee. Thy influence shall be great—thy examples shall not be excel’d. Thou hast a heart to be enlarg’d and a mind capable of expansion; and for thy comfort remember in thy retired walks, that yonder sun is typical of a crown of glory that shall be sealed upon thy head: The stars that twinkle in yonder sky shall show to thy mind the workmanship of thy Creator, and by those glories thou shalt read the destinies of man, and be capable with thy pen to communicate, to thy fellow man the blessings & glories of futurity: and thy blessing shall roll and continue to thee until time is lost in eternity: and thy name shall be handed down to posterity from generation to generation: and many songs shall be heard that were dictated by thy pen and from the principles of thy mind, even until the choirs from on high and the earth below, shall join in one universal song of praise to God and the Lamb.—These blessings, together with Eternal life I seal upon thy head in the name of thy Redeemer, Amen.”
Recorded in book E. Page 67. A L Morley43
[“Missouri,” which follows here in the original notebook is a long prose-poem condemning that state for its treatment of the Saints. “Thou art fallen—thou art fallen beneath the weight of thine own unhallowed deeds, and thine iniquities are pressing as a heavy load upon thee.” Eliza writes, and, in even more dramatic tone: “Thou hast become an ignominious stain on the escutcheon of a noble, free, and independent Republic—thou art a stink in the nostrils of the goddess of Liberty.”44]
Sunday evening Dec. 31st [1843].
[The closing of the year 1843 led Eliza, probably in the context of a family gathering with Lorenzo and Leonora and others at Morley Settlement, to suggest that the brother address the group. Her summary of his remarks reveals something of Lorenzo’s testimony and personal philosophy, but little by way of review of the year’s events. It is deleted here, as is Eliza’s own poem, “The Past Year,” a piece in blank verse dealing with the transcience of time and ending with a millennial vision of that point “Where Time, extending to its utmost bound, / Will tread the threshhold of Eternity.”45
Eliza’s “Psalm Second,” also deleted here, expresses again the tribulations of the Saints and the blessings of the Lord who “hath already placed us on high, even above the fear of those that counsel in darkness.” And, more in hope than in prophecy, the writer suggests “He hath rolled back the waves of persecution—He hath staid the hour of oppression—He hath brought their names into derision, who dealt out to us the cup of affliction.”]
Jan. 23d [1844].
[“In accordance with a communicated request,” Eliza had written a long poem “To Mrs. M[ary Ann] Pratt, on the death of her little Son.” She repeats the assurance that “all will be again restor’d,” and concludes with the quatrain:
Altho’ a tender branch is torn
Asunder from the parent tree;
Back to the trunk it shall be borne
And grafted for eternity.]
Feb. 17th [1844].
[Another “on the death of” poem follows, this one addressed to “Mrs. Lyons,” Sylvia P. Lyon of Morley Settlement whose daughter had died. The sentiments are similar to those of the previous poem.46]
Thurs. [Tues.?] 20th [February 1844].
Spent last evening much to my satisfaction, entertainment and instruction, at a Blessing meeting at br. Beeby’s in Lima. It was quite a treat to my mind—one of the bright spots on the page of my life, never to be forgotten.
April 14th [1844].
On the fifth I came to the City to attend the Conference. Spent the time very pleasantly in the affectionate family of Bishop Whitney in company with my sister. Having received counsel to remain in the City, after spending a few days at elder Sherwood’s & br. Joshua Smith’s; I took up my residence at the house of Col. S[tephen] Markham being invited to do so; and I feel truly thankful that I am again permitted to enjoy society which is dear to me as life. I find Sister M. an agreeable, noble, independent minded woman; willing to sacrifice for the truth.47
In the preparation of this diary the author acknowledges the assistance of Jill Mulvay and Dean C. Jessee, both of the Historical Department.
1. The compiled poetry of Eliza R. Snow is now in preparation, edited by Maureen Ursenbach and Jill Mulvay, with an introductory essay by Eugene England. All the poems from this notebook will be included in the collection soon to be published.
2. Woman’s Exponent, 1 August 1886.
3. Published Times and Seasons 5 (1 July 1844): 575; Nauvoo Neighbor, 17 July 1844; The Prophet, 17 August 1844; Millennial Star 5 (September 1844): 53; Frontier Guardian, 25 July 1849; and Eliza R. Snow, Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political, 2 vols. (Liverpool and London: F. D. Richards, 1856), 1:142–45.
4. Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1932–51), hereafter cited as HC. The printed work will be used for events up to December 1842, after which reference will be made to original accounts which are not available for the earlier period. The petition, signed by “about one thousand ladies,” affirmed Joseph Smith’s integrity and pled for his safety, and their own and their families’ protection. The women’s petition was one of three delivered by Nauvoo citizens to counter the assertions adverse to the Prophet being circulated at the time by John C. Bennett. In her later “Sketch of My Life,” microfilm of holograph, Church Historical Department, Eliza Snow wrote the following postscript to the event: “But alas! soon after our return, we learned that at the time of our visit, and while making protestations of friendship, the wily Governor was secretly conniving with the basest of men to destroy our leaders.”
5. HC 5:86–87. During this period Joseph Smith was arrested and released, and in hiding to avoid arrest on charges of complicity in the attempted murder, in Missouri, of Boggs. The question of the arrest hinged on the legality of the various writs with which Smith and Porter Rockwell were served.
6. Later published as “Invocation” in Times and Seasons 3 (1 September 1842): 910; Frontier Guardian, 16 May 1842; and as “Supplication,” Snow, Poems, 1:135–36 and LDS Hymms (Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1856), p. 394, and subsequent hymnals to 1871.
7. HC 5:95. Powers “ascertained that there was no writ issued in Iowa” for Joseph Smith.
8. HC 5:121–23; also F. Mark McKiernan, The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer (Lawrence Kansas: Coronado Press, 1971), p. 121. The contemporary account is from Times and Seasons, 15 September 1842. The Eliza mentioned is Rigdon’s daughter.
9. George M. Hinkle, Mormon commander of the Caldwell County militia at Far West, became the LDS counterpart of the Benedict Arnold archetype: Mormons had thought him sympathetic to their cause when he persuaded their leaders to parley with General Lucas after the issuance of the Boggs “extermination order,” but instead of negotiating with them, Lucas imprisoned the Mormon men. Hinkle was later excommunicated. David E. Miller and Della Miller, Nauvoo: The City of Joseph (Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith, 1974), pp. 16–17; also HC 3:188–89.
10. HC 5:110–11 reprints one such letter, which reports on conditions, advises Joseph Smith to absent himself for a season, and promises Law’s continued aid and loyalty.
11. Another account of the attempted arrest is recorded in HC 5:145–46.
12. Eliza’s older sister Leonora, married but long since separated from her husband Enoch Virgil Leavitt, was living in Morley Settlement, sometimes called Yelrome, a Mormon community headed by Isaac Morley just north of Lima, Illinois, some thirty miles south of Nauvoo.
13. Jonathan H. Holmes, a Nauvoo widower, married Elvira Annie Cowles in Nauvoo on 1 December 1842, as reported in the Nauvoo Wasp, 10 December 1842. The poem, with minor changes, was reprinted there under the announcement.
14. Amanda Percy Snow was Eliza’s sister, four years younger. She and her husband, Eli McConoughey, came from Ohio where they had married before the Snows left for Missouri.
15. This poem remained unpublished, either in Nauvoo or later in Utah. It may be that the subject of the poem, hinted at in the underlining of This principle, is actually plural marriage, in which case the necessity for secrecy would have prevented its publication.
16. HC 5:167. Similar rewards were also posted for Orrin Porter Rockwell’s arrest.
17. The poem is published, its first stanza deleted, as “To He Knows Who,” Snow, Poems, 1:133. Other references to Emma’s illness suggest a siege of the ague, or chills and fever, which lasted much of the fall and into winter. Cf. HC 5:166 ff.; Joseph Smith Diary, 26 December 1842, in the hand of Willard Richards, holograph, Church Historical Department. The Place of Joseph Smith’s “seclusion” is identified in HC as “Father Taylors,” but its location is not specified. HC 5:169–72.
18. Times and Seasons 4 (15 December 1842): 48; Wasp, 21 January 1843; Millennial Star 4 (May 1843): 4; and Snow, Poems, 1:51–53.
19. Deseret News, 16 April 1853; Millennial Star 15 (10 September 1853): 608; Snow, Poems, 1:47–48.
20. Times and Seasons 4 (2 January 1843): 64; Millennial Star 4 (July 1843): 43; The Mormon, 23 June 1855; Snow, Poems, 1:3–6.
21. A class roll from the school reveals an attendance of thirty-seven scholars, ranging in age from four years to seventeen. Included are four children of Joseph and Emma Smith, five of Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney, two Partridges, three Knights, and one William Marks, as well as several other with names less prominent in Nauvoo leading circles. Nauvoo School Records, Church Historical Department. The “Masonic Hall,” where the school was held, would have been the large upper room of Joseph Smith’s store.
22. Eliza gives no reason for the move out of the Smith household, although some conjecture may be valid. As near as can be estimated the Smith’s were still living in the “homestead,” a four-room wooden house. There conditions would have been at best crowded—there were four Smith children, as well as Joseph and Emma, and possibly Joseph’s mother as well.
23. Published in Snow, Poems, 74–76, under the title “As I Believe,” and dedicated to President Heber C. Kimball.
24. Published as “On the Death of Elder Lorenzo D. Barnes,” Snow, Poems, 1:118–19. Elder Barnes died in Bradford, England, 20 December 1842. HC 5:207, 360; Joseph Smith Diary, 16 April 1843.
25. The elders had traveled to Lima, or Yelrome, to speak to the Saints there about the Nauvoo House. Emma Smith also accompanied them. Joseph Smith Diary, 13–15 May 1843.
26. Judge Higbee’s death of “choleramorbus” is noted in Joseph Smith’s Diary under date 8 June 1843; a funeral address delivered by Joseph Smith is summarized under date 13 August 1843.
27. The speech is summarized in HC 5:423–27, drawing on original accounts in Joseph Smith Diary, 11 June 1843, and Wilford Woodruff Diary, 11 June 1843, holograph, Church Historical Department.
28. The visit here mentioned resulted in Joseph’s capture at Dixon, Lee County, Illinois. The more complete account is in HC 5:431–75, 481–88, and Joseph Smith Diary, 13–30 June 1843. The HC narrative has Joseph and Emma Smith leaving Nauvoo on the Thursday rather than the Tuesday of this mention, but the Joseph Smith diary concurs with Eliza’s dating.
29. The poem, obviously more personal than most of Eliza Snow’s verses, had been published in the Wasp, 10 September 1842, some nine months earlier. Although it might have been Joseph Smith himself who originally submitted it for publication—his brother William was then editor—it is likely that it was John Taylor, William’s successor, who returned the poem to Eliza. In the Wasp the verse is signed merely “E.”
30. Most likely their destination was actually Joseph Smith’s farm, where Cornelius Lott was foreman.
31. Published in Nauvoo Neighbor, 26 July 1843; Times and Seasons 4 (1 August 1843): 288; Snow, Poems, 1:127–29; Deseret News 6 (21 January 1857): 363; and Charles O’Brien Kennedy, A Treasury of American Ballads: Gay, Naughty, and Classic (New York: The McBride Company, 1954), pp. 59–61. In preparing HC for publication, B. H. Roberts weeded the poem out of the original collection of documents, explaining his reasons to President Joseph F. Smith in a memo: the story had already been “twice told” in the narrative, he explained, and the Snow “poem” (quotation marks are his) added nothing “either of beauty or fact” to the account. “The verses are the merest dogerel,” he complained, and concluded, “All that jingles is not poetry.” Undated memo, B. H. Roberts Papers, Church Historical Department.
32. A nineteenth century definition of “unavailable” suggests meanings akin to “unavailing,” useless, futile.
33. Snow, Poems, 1:56–57.
34. Only one poem by a “Mr. Huelett” appears in any Nauvoo papers. “Lines” by S. Huelet was published almost simultaneously in both the Nauvoo Neighbor, 11 December 1844, and Times and Seasons, 15 December 1844. The borrowing from Eliza’s earlier published poem on the same subject, the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, suggests that the poet felt himself disciple to the more experienced poetess.
35. The poems which Eliza wrote and published in Ohio during her pre-Mormon years, 1826–1835, carried such pseudonyms as Narcissa, Pocahontas, Cornelia, Minerva, and Tullia.
36. Lorenzo had apparently visited Eliza and Leonora at Morley Settlement, from which place he likely continued to Nauvoo to report his mission-visit to Ohio.
37. Published as “To Mr. and Mrs. S., on the Death of a Child,” Snow, Poems, 1: 81–82.
38. Published as “The Lord Is My Trust,” Snow, Poems, 1:147–49.
39. HC 6:47–49. Joseph Smith had proposed the release of Sidney Rigdon as his counselor, but the vote of the conference reinstated him.
40. Eliza Partridge had been sealed as a plural wife to Joseph Smith some five months earlier.
41. Published as “Celestial Glory,” Times and Seasons 4 (1 November 1843): 383; Nauvoo Neighbor, 20 December 1843; LDS Hymns (Liverpool, 1851), pp. 138–39, and in subsequent hymnals to 1948; Snow, Poems, 1:139–41.
42. Times and Seasons 5 (1 January 1844): 398; Nauvoo Neighbor; 17 January 1844; Millennial Star 4 (April 1844): 184; Snow Poems 1:89–91; Deseret News, 13 May 1857; and Eliza R. Snow Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884), pp. 63–64.
43. The blessing as it appears in Isaac Morley’s book is signed “A. Leonora Leavitt, scribe.” That Eliza changed the signature in copying the blessing into her own book suggests her knowledge that her sister’s sealing to Isaac Morley, later confirmed in the Nauvoo Temple, had in fact already taken place. Nauvoo Temple Records, 14 January 1846, Church Historical Department.
44. Times and Seasons 5 (1 February 1844): 430; Snow, Poems, 1:94–97; Deseret News, 13 May 1857.
45. Published as “The Past Year” in Deseret News, 28 December 1850; in Millennial Star 13 (1 May 1851): 143; and Poems, 2:10–12, Eliza’s summary of Lorenzo’s remarks is published in Eliza R. Snow Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, pp. 70–73.
46. Published as “Obituary” in Times and Seasons 5 (15 March 1844): 479; Nauvoo Neighbor, 3 April 1844; LDS Hymns (Liverpool, 1851), p. 354, and in subsequent editions to 1871; and Snow, Poems, 1:138–39.
47. Eliza’s accommodation with the Markhams must have proved satisfactory, for she apparently stayed there for the remainder of her time in Nauvoo. When she left in the February 1846 exodus, it was with the Markhams that she traveled, and she stayed with them to Winter Quarters. Her next extant diary accounts begin with the February move from Nauvoo, heading west.
