Notes

Chapter One

The earliest documented account we have of Joseph Smith performing a marriage for members of the Church is that of 24 November 1835 (see History of the Church 2:320; hereafter cited as HC). In that account Joseph does not specifically say it was the first marriage he had performed, but that seems to be the implication. Though the form and content of the ceremony as presented in the novel are essentially as described in the 1835 account, having Joseph perform the marriage of Nathan and Lydia in April 1830 is a fictional device, as is the attempt to have the constable arrest Joseph for doing so.

Chapter Three

The depiction of events in Colesville associated with Joseph’s visit and the attempts to baptize and confirm converts—principally Emma Smith and members of the Joseph Knight family—is essentially as described in Joseph’s history (see HC 1:86-88) and noted by Joseph Knight, Jr. (see Larry C. Porter, “The Colesville Branch and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies 10 [Spring 1970]: 372-74). The legal harassment Joseph faced at this time, including the change of heart on the part of the constable and his giving Joseph assistance in escaping the hands of the mob, is also recorded in his history (see HC 1:88-89).

Chapter Four

The depiction of the trials in South Bainbridge and Colesville, including some of the dialogue and the blasphemous mocking Joseph received at the hands of his enemies, follows the recorded account in Joseph’s history (see HC 1:89-96). Some of the details are taken from a report made by one of Joseph’s defenders, John Reid, which is included in a footnote in that same source.

Chapter Five

Emma was pregnant and in poor health during the time the sisters were sewing clothing for the missionaries to the Lamanites, but refused to use that as an excuse to leave the work to others (see Church History in the Fulness of Times [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989], p. 80; hereafter cited as CHFT). The Mary Whitmer story is reported by her son David Whitmer (see CHFT, pp. 57-58). Emma and Joseph were living with the Whitmers at the time Mary had this experience, and so Emma undoubtedly heard Mary’s report. The suggestion that Emma reacted to it with frustration, however, is speculation on the part of the author. Section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants, wherein Emma is counseled not to murmur, was given in July 1830, about a year after Mary Whitmer had the experience with Moroni.

Chapter Seven

The depiction of Joseph Smith’s arrival in Kirtland and his prophetic greeting of Newel K. Whitney is, in general terms, historically accurate (see CHFT, pp. 90-91).

Chapter Eight

The giving of the background of the Newel Whitney story (see note for chapter seven) to Carl Rogers is, of course, a fictional device; but the details of that story are accurate (see Andrew Jenson, comp., Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia [1901-36; reprint, Salt Lake City: Western Epics, 1971], 1:223).

Chapter Nine

Lucy Mack Smith makes it clear that she was the one who led the Saints on the canal boat to Buffalo, and then on to Kirtland (see her History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, ed. Preston Nibley [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958], pp. 195-97; hereafter cited as Mack Hist.).

Chapter Ten

On the journey to Kirtland, Lucy Mack Smith cared for the needs of her group, settled disputes, and saw to it that the group conducted prayer and worship services while under way. Her speeches of exhortation and encouragement in the novel come largely from her own account. (See Mack Hist., pp. 196-99.)

Chapter Eleven

The group of Saints from the Finger Lakes region was too large for one boat, so a second company, under the direction of Thomas B. Marsh, left at about the same time. They arrived in Buffalo shortly after Lucy Mack Smith’s group. The Colesville Branch, under leadership of Newel Knight, had left earlier but were delayed in Buffalo for some time because of the ice. The depiction of the other groups’ reluctance to declare their identity is as described by Mother Smith (see Mack Hist., p. 199).

The miraculous parting of the ice that occurs as Mother Smith exhorts the Saints to repent and call upon God for his intervention closely follows her recorded account of this remarkable event (see Mack Hist., pp. 202-5).

Chapter Twelve

Parley’s humorous account of his escape from the constable and his dog comes from his autobiography, from which most of the wording in the novel is taken (see Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt, Jr. [1874; reprint, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], pp. 36-39; hereafter cited as PPP Auto.).

Chapter Fourteen

The account of Elsa Johnson and the miraculous healing of her arm is drawn in detail from Joseph’s history and from a later report published in the Millennial Star (see CHFT, pp. 93-94, for more detail and references). Obviously, having her tell it to the Steeds at the June conference is the author’s device.

With regard to the blessing of Nathan and Lydia’s child, it should be noted that we do not know exactly when the blessing of infants was first instituted in the Church. We know that, in response to Doctrine and Covenants 20:70, children were blessed by priesthood holders (e.g., see PPP Auto., p. 51). The report of an infant being blessed early in Church history comes from George Reynolds, who states that in Kirtland, Reynolds Cahoon asked the Prophet Joseph to bless his newborn son. Joseph did so and gave him the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. The Prophet indicated that this was the name of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. (See Juvenile Instructor 27 [1 May 1892]: 282.)

Chapter Seventeen

The details of the laying of the foundation for the first house in Kaw Township and the dedication of the land of Zion on 2 August 1831 come from Joseph’s history (see HC 1:196) and from John Whitmer’s history (cited in a footnote in the same reference).

Chapter Eighteen

Nathan’s letter to Lydia reflects a blend of missionary experiences drawn from the journals or personal histories of several missionaries serving on different missions. For example, the “breakfast cursing” comes from Wilford Woodruff (see Richard L. Anderson, “Jackson County in Early Mormon Descriptions,” Missouri Historical Review, April 1971, p. 279); the “drum and egg” band comes from Parley P. Pratt (see PPP Auto., p. 107); and some of the language and phrasing used by Nathan comes from the missionary journals of Noah Packard (see “The Life and Travels of Noah Packard,” in Voices from the Past, BYU Campus Education Week, pp. 1-7).

In Jessica’s letter, the account of what conditions were like for the Saints in Jackson County during that first winter comes from Parley P. Pratt’s autobiography (see PPP Auto., p. 56).

In Joseph’s letter, the challenge to the wording of some of the revelations is described pretty much as it happened; the resulting revelation is now section 67 in the Doctrine and Covenants (see CHFT, p. 119).

The “vision,” as it was called (now section 76 in the Doctrine and Covenants), was given in response to Joseph and Sidney’s work on the translation of the New Testament (see HC 1:245). The details of Sidney’s exhaustion and how the revelation was received are from an account by Philo Dibble, who was present at the time (see J. Christopher Conkling, A Joseph Smith Chronology [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], pp. 30-31; hereafter cited as JS Chrono.).

The petty reasons for apostasy listed in Joseph’s letter to Nathan are not fictional, though some of the incidents mentioned in this regard occurred elsewhere and not in Hiram (see CHFT, p. 113).

The tarring and feathering of Joseph and the mistreatment of Sidney come almost word for word out of Joseph’s history (see HC 1:261-65).

Chapter Nineteen

Lydia’s retelling of the details of the meeting that occurred two days before the beginning of the School of the Prophets is correct. Joseph reported that all present, including some women (who are not named), spoke, sang, and preached in tongues (see HC 1:322-23).

Chapter Twenty

The fact that the First Presidency saw the Kirtland Temple in vision is reported by Truman O. Angell, who was one of the construction supervisors on the project (see CHFT, pp. 162-63).

Joseph’s disastrous experience with the store and the Saints who demanded credit is a matter of record (see JS Chrono., p. 36).

The events of July twentieth (and the incidents leading up to them) are recorded in much detail in Joseph’s history (see HC 1:372-400) as well as in other places, and the novel generally follows those recorded accounts. Having Joshua Steed present is, of course, a fictional embellishment, as are some of the dialogue segments, but every attempt has been made to keep the subject matter of such dialogue accurate and appropriate to the events of the day. Lilburn W. Boggs, lieutenant governor of Missouri, was present on that day and was supportive of the activities. He later became governor of Missouri and issued the infamous “extermination order” of 1838, when the Saints were driven from the state.

Chapter Twenty-One

The tarring and feathering of Edward Partridge and Charles Allen also comes from Joseph’s history, and Bishop Partridge’s response comes largely from his own autobiography (see HC 1:390-91).

The experiences of the Rollins sisters recounted in the novel, including Mary Elizabeth’s first experience with the Book of Mormon, are historically accurate (see CHFT, pp. 133-34; and “Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 17 [July 1926]: 193-97). Having been instrumental in saving several unbound sheets of the Book of Commandments, the two girls were later given bound copies of the book, which they prized for the remainder of their lives. Mary Elizabeth Rollins married Adam Lightner at the age of seventeen. She eventually bore ten children, came to Utah, and lived to the age of ninety-five.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Throughout this whole section on the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, the author has placed his fictional characters in the midst of actual events. Every attempt has been made to represent the events properly, including the loss of life and the actual names of known persons, both Saints and Missourians. (B. H. Roberts’s book The Missouri Persecutions [1900; reprint, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965] brings details from various sources together into one place; the discussion in CHFT, pp. 127-39, is also excellent.) To facilitate the flow of the story, in some cases (e.g., the shooting of the man who was ill) an event has been included in the occurrences of a day other than that on which it actually took place.

Chapter Twenty-Three

See general note for chapter twenty-two.

The story of the money being found in the fish’s stomach is recorded in the history of Mary Elizabeth Rollins (see “Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” p. 197).

Chapter Twenty-Four

Though fleshed out for the purposes of the novel, the conversation in which Joseph prophesies that Brigham Young and his brother Joseph will return safely is accurate (see CHFT, p. 142). The prophecy about the gathering to the Rocky Mountains is reported by Wilford Woodruff (see Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph Smith and the Restoration [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1973], p. 278).

Chapter Twenty-Five

The record of Zion’s Camp as given in Nathan’s diary in this chapter comes largely from Joseph’s history (see HC 2:63-101). (CHFT, pp. 141-51, also contains an excellent summary of Zion’s Camp.)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The gathering at the courthouse in Liberty actually took place a day or two earlier than shown in the novel; the time frame has been altered slightly to aid in the flow of the narrative.

The details of the gathering of Zion’s Camp on the Fishing River—including the visit of the five Missourians, the terrible swiftness with which the storm strikes and its fury, the hail and the rapid rise of the river—are all from Joseph’s history (see HC 2:102-6).

The depiction of the plague of cholera and the resulting deaths is accurate. The reader should be careful, however, not to assume that in all cases those who died were the ones who had been rebellious. Joseph does not make that conclusion in his history. (See HC 2:114-20.)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The events of this chapter take place in the late summer of 1834. Parley P. Pratt actually did go on a mission to the East, but it took place later than this.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The description of Kirtland and the events that were taking place between the fall of 1834 and the spring of 1836 comes largely from CHFT, pp. 153-64.

Chapter Thirty

The only liberty the author has taken with the events of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple and the associated Pentecostal season is to place his fictional characters into those scenes. Accounts of the marvelous manifestations that took place during this period in Church history can be found in several excellent sources (see Milton V. Backman, Jr., The Heavens Resound [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], pp. 284-309; CHFT, pp. 164-67; and HC 2:410-28).

Regarding the last illustration, “Dedication of the Kirtland Temple,” readers might be interested to know what the letters on the western pulpits stand for. Starting at the top, here are the generally accepted meanings: M.P.C.—Melchizedek Presiding Council; P.M.H.—Presiding Melchizedek High Priesthood; M.H.P.—Melchizedek High Priesthood; P.E.M.—Presiding Elder Melchizedek. (See Backman, Heavens Resound, p. 160.) Note also that some of the leaders who were actually present for the dedication services are depicted in the illustration, including Joseph Smith, Jr., Frederick G. Williams, Joseph Smith, Sr., and Hyrum Smith.