The "Wentworth letter" was a letter written in 1842 by

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

to "Long" John Wentworth, editor and proprietor of the ''

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''. It outlined the history of the

up to that time, and included

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

's Articles of Faith. The letter was written in response to Wentworth's inquiry on behalf of one of his friends, George Barstow, who was writing a history of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. ...

. The letter was first published on March 1, 1842, in the ''

Times and Seasons ''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed ...

'' in

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...

. A similar letter (with some slight revisions) was published by Daniel Rupp in 1844 in a book called ''An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States''. wikisource:The Rupp Letter

Significance

The Wentworth Letter is significant for several reasons. First, it connects the message of what Mormons believe to be the Restoration with the history of said Restoration: "By these things we know..." (

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

20:1-17) Second, it emphasizes the

First Vision The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the Sa ...

as an essential part of Latter-day Saint message. Third, it contains the Standard of Truth, a mission statement for missionaries: “Our missionaries are going forth to different nations . . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” (History of the Church 4:540) Fourth, it ends with the statements which later became the Articles of Faith. B. H. Roberts said of these,

“These Articles of Faith were not produced by the labored efforts and harmonized contentions of scholastics, but were struck off by one inspired mind at a single effort to make a declaration of that which is most assuredly believed by the church, for one making earnest inquiry about the truth."

"The combined directness, perspicuity, simplicity and comprehensiveness of this statement of the principles of our religion may be relied upon as strong evidence of a divine inspiration resting upon the Prophet, Joseph Smith.” (B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, Vol.2, Ch.47, p.131)

And finally, the Wentworth letter re-establishes Joseph Smiths teachings that the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians. In the Wentworth letter we read,

"They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. ''The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country.''" (Wentworth Letter)

Changes in versions published by the LDS Church

The wording of some of the articles was modified in 1851 and 1902: 1. The fourth article of faith originally read, “We believe that these ordinances are: 1st. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d. Repentance; 3d. Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 4th. Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” *It now reads: “We believe that ''the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel'' are: 1st. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d. Repentance; 3d. Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 4th. Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (emphasis added) (''Answers to Gospel Questions'' 2:92) 2. The tenth article originally read, “that Zion will be built upon this continent . . .” It was later changed to "that Zion will be built upon this

he American He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

continent . . ." 3. The eleventh article originally read, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience,..." *It now reads: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our ''own'' conscience,..."

Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was t ...

wrote:

“The reason for the adding of the word "principles," and that is the only change, was because the brethren considered when they were preparing the 1921 edition for publication of the D&C, that the term ordinances did not fully cover the article completely. For instance, "faith" is not an ordinance, neither is "repentance," but they are principles. Therefore we felt fully justified in making the article so that it would convey clearly just what the Prophet intended. So now it reads: "We believe that the first principles and ordinances are," and in doing this we were perfectly within the bounds of propriety. Were the Prophet here, he would fully justify our action.”

"We have no apology to make for this addition. We have in no sense destroyed the original meaning.” (''Answers to Gospel Questions'' 2:92)

References

External links

Digitized Wentworth letter
Joseph Smith Papers
Listen to a recording of The Wentworth Letter online. Public domain recording provided by Librivox.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth Letter 1842 in Christianity 1842 documents Latter Day Saint statements of faith Latter Day Saint movement in Illinois Letters (message) Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism) Works by Joseph Smith Works originally published in Times and Seasons