The Wentworth Letter

In Short

Written in 1842 as a formal summary for a newspaper editor, this brief text lays out the origins, severe trials, and basic tenets of the Latter Day Saint movement. It tracks Joseph Smith’s initial spiritual confusion in childhood, his angelic visitations, the discovery and translation of the Book of Mormon, and the explosive growth of his new church. Despite brutal mob violence across New York, Missouri, and Illinois, the narrative moves resolutely toward a flourishing refuge in Nauvoo and closes with thirteen distinct declarations of core faith. It endures as the definitive primary overview of early Mormon history.

The Story

The narrative opens in early nineteenth-century rural New York, where young Joseph Smith finds himself deeply unsettled by the intense rivalries among Christian sects. Unable to reconcile their conflicting claims, he prays for wisdom in a secluded grove and receives a vision of two divine personages who warn him against joining any existing denomination. Years later, in 1823, an angelic messenger visits him at night to announce that God's ancient covenant is about to be fulfilled. The angel reveals the existence of an ancient metal record buried in a nearby hill, which Smith retrieves four years later.

Using an instrument called the Urim and Thummim, Smith translates the script, describing it as an abridgement of ancient American histories written on gold plates. The text chronicles two distinct civilizations: the Jaredites, who arrived after the Tower of Babel, and a later group of Israelites who arrived around 600 B.C. The record details their wars, their prophets, and a post-resurrection visit by Jesus Christ, concluding with the eventual destruction of their main nation and the dispersal of their descendants.

Following the publication of the Book of Mormon and the formal organization of the church in April 1830, the movement rapidly gathers converts across several states. However, growth brings immediate hostility. In Jackson County, Missouri, organized mobs burn houses, destroy property, and drive families onto the frozen prairie. Driven next from Clay and Caldwell counties under harsh state executive orders, thousands of believers suffer displacement, robbery, and murderous attacks in the dead of winter.

Despite these severe hardships, the surviving believers cross into Illinois in 1839. Finding refuge among welcoming neighbors, they establish the thriving city of Nauvoo, complete with its own legal charters, university, and defensive militia. Missionaries fan out across North America and Great Britain, winning thousands of new converts. The account culminates in a confident assertion of worldwide expansion and a structured list of thirteen foundational beliefs detailing their theology, spiritual gifts, civil allegiance, and moral aspirations.

How It Unfolds

A seeker in the wilderness Troubled by conflicting religious doctrines, young Joseph Smith seeks divine direction in a quiet grove. He sees a vision of two heavenly personages who inform him that no existing church holds the complete truth, promising that the full gospel will be revealed later.

The hidden records unveiled An angel appears in 1823 to disclose the existence of ancient engraved plates buried in the earth. Four years later, Smith receives the gold volume along with the Urim and Thummim to perform the translation.

A tale of two ancient nations The translated text outlines the history of early American peoples, tracing their lineages from Babel and Jerusalem. It records their rise, their spiritual ordinances, a visit from the resurrected Christ, and their ultimate downfall in battle.

Exodus through the wilderness Following the church's 1830 organization, rapid missionary success triggers intense opposition. Believers face systematic violence in Missouri, enduring forced winter evictions, stolen property, destroyed presses, and loss of life.

Building a city of refuge Rebuilding in Illinois, the believers establish Nauvoo into a self-governing hub with schools and a militia. International missionary work begins to flourish rapidly across the British Isles and beyond.

A declaration of fundamental beliefs The document closes by detailing core doctrines regarding God, repentance, spiritual gifts, scripture, authority, and civil obedience. It asserts an unwavering belief in religious freedom and high personal morality.

The People

Joseph Smith The narrator and founder who seeks basic spiritual clarity amidst sectarian debate. Driven by a desire for divine truth, he faces constant physical threats, public slander, and violent mob action, yet remains entirely committed to translating the plates and building a global church.

The Angelic Messenger A divine emissary sent to announce the impending fulfillment of ancient covenants. This visitor acts as an authoritative guide, providing Smith with specific instructions regarding the hidden gold plates, the ancient inhabitants of America, and the coming dispensation.

The Believers and Converts A rapidly expanding body of early followers who join the new church across multiple states and overseas nations. They endure severe hardships—including homelessness, loss of property, winter exile, and physical violence—while remaining devoted to spreading their new faith.

The Opposing Mobs and Authorities Frontier neighbors, local antagonists, and hostile state officials who feel threatened by the growing Latter Day Saint population. They utilize ridicule, property destruction, forced exiles, and government extermination orders to halt the movement's spread.

In Its Own Voice

When reflecting upon the intense sectarian division of his youth, the narrator describes his inner conflict regarding the nature of God's true assembly:

"considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a church it would not be split up into factions"

Describing the harrowing expulsion of church members from their homes during the harsh winter months in Missouri, he records the stark reality of their suffering:

"driven from their habitations; who, houseless, and homeless, contrary to law, justice, and humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children left the tracks of their blood on the prairie"

Expressing an unyielding confidence in the ultimate expansion of his movement despite continuous opposition, he concludes:

"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"

What It's Really About

At its core, the text is a defense of divine authority restored directly to human hands in an era of religious confusion. It contrasts human-made creeds with direct revelation, arguing that true faith requires spiritual gifts, living prophets, and continuous divine communication. Beneath the chronological narrative of displacement lies a profound thematic tension between earthly persecution and divine momentum. The author presents every setback not as a defeat, but as evidence of a pure movement refined by trial. Additionally, the text frames the American continent as a sacred landscape with an ancient spiritual heritage, arguing that modern believers are part of a long historical continuum extending from biblical times to the final restoration before the millenarium.

Why Read It Today

This work offers an essential primary window into nineteenth-century American religious history. It provides a rare, direct look at how a uniquely American religious movement understood its own origins, struggles, and identity while actively laying its foundations. Readers will appreciate the remarkable economy of the prose, which condenses complex historical events, sacred origins, severe trials, and systematic theology into a unified, accessible statement.

The reading experience feels earnest, urgent, and distinctly shaped by the frontier atmosphere of its period. Rather than presenting a detached history, the author writes with the passionate conviction of a participant who has survived mob violence and winter exiles. Modern readers should anticipate nineteenth-century rhetorical styles, direct assertions of supernatural events, and sharp, defensive critiques of frontier neighbors and state officials. For anyone seeking to understand the foundational tenets of Latter Day Saint theology—most notably the initial framing of the Articles of Faith—this concise document remains an indispensable, highly readable historical text.