Philadelphia, A^u^gust, 17, ^or (18)th^ 1843,
President. Smith,
Dear Br, in the Lord, | for the first time in the provdece of the Lord, | I take my pen, that I may communicate to you, some| things, that may be of some benifit to you, in time | and in Eternity,, I pray the Lord that these Lines may | reach you, & find you and all yours, in a state of | prosperity, I have ben trying to do rite ever sence| I parted with you, I have got a long finely with ^the^ | Church in this City, so fare we have had peace| in hear in our mitsts & no dificulty whatever, the | Church is increacing,,, 22 New members have joind | cinse, I came hear, you may look for a goodly number | to come to Nauvoo this fall, ,!! Br Horris [Horace] Whitney | staid with me about ,2, weeks,, he then went into | Jersey with one of the Elders, to preach in the | Country, he, left his things with me & said that | he would be back in ,3, weeks. I have hurd that | he has gone to, CT, to see his Grand Father,!!! | Br Walmart [Smith], & family, are in Monmouth County, New Jersey, he | is preaching, Sister Caroline’s health is no better, but | if any thing it is worse than when she lef home,. | Br Walmart, [Smith] is turning the wourld upside down,, | with his, darling Religion, . . . . . --------- | & Elders, Yong [Young], Kimball, & Page, & GA Smith | left hear this afternoon for, NY, ,, Elders,, | O, Pratt & Woodruff,, left last, Monday for | Chester, Co,. they ^that is Elders Y[oung], K[imball], P[ratt]. & W[oodruff],^ staid heare near, two weeks, they | did not settle any dificulty,, for their was, none, to | settle, but they have got the Saints, to feel the impotu^nce^ | of going to Nauvoo, I think they have performed | a good work in this City,, the Saints all seam to feel | well,, they all, want to see you,, they say when | will, Br, Joseph, come, I tell them that, they | must go whare ^you^ are. & then you will tell them | what to do &c----- |
I will now, tell you sumthing about your old | Friends, in this, ^City^ in so doing, I will try to be a wise | servent and as harmeless, as a, dove,, Sister Bangor, left | the, Church, in April. and has not come back yet, She | is vary friendly, and so is the old gentleman,,, ---- | Br Pawson,, and family, would be glad to see you,, | and in fact all your old friends to numeurous to | mention,,. Sister,. C[onrad], and. her, daugh^t^ers,, they have | ben tried some what of late,, one of the Girls, | is vary much opposed th to, the doctrin of the Saints, | she will not let the old Lady & the others rest becaus | they are Mormons, She wants to rule the family, she | is not willing that any of the Saints should come to | the House,, if theair should come a Letter to the | Office,, she wants to see it., least it should come | from a Mormon, she Washington^t^ches vary close,,!! |
A few days befor the Twelve came to this City, I, | was cauled upon to visit a, family that was sumwhat | troubled in mind., !!! Sum person had given them, ^(or her)^ a, | few, words of Council,, the first cost the giver, 50, ct, | and the Last cost the Receiver, 25, ct, | March. the 11th ,, & June the 2nd Quincy,,, | again, I was cauled upon to explain certin, | mistryes &c., [polygamy] they were unable to comprehend,, | cirten items, made, known, and yet, unknown, | I confesed that it was a grate Mistery that, I, | could not interpet,, ,, altho ^I^ read vary close, | the one out of the Church had not read, | but the, Three in the Church read, and, cept [kept] | reading,, untill, two of the them, was about | to denie, the faith,,, Miss S[Susan],, & the | Mother [Elizabeth], !!!, Miss A[Ann?],, has ben the meanes of caping [keeping] | them in the Church,, and sending for, me | to explain,, after reading,, I preached, bore testim | ony,,.&c, will you answer it Miss S[usan Conrad], no I cannot | think of doing it,, you may write if you will. | so I copied from the March number a few | words thinking to write in a few days,, | but the Twelve coming,, in a day to two, my room, | has ben croded preventing me from writing &c,,.--- | last, Munday,,, Elder . O[rson]. P[ratt]. was requested, to visit,, but | could not as he had to go to Chester, Co, that Morning | I was to go to the same. House,, with him,, so, I, | went a, Lone,, I was informed that Elder [Orson] P[ratt]. was wante^d^ | to explain, &c, as it was not on, Mathematical subjects, I, | thought it might ^be difficult^ for him, to interpet it, ad and as he | was coming back to the City next week, I thought | it best to make all things shure,,, so I went to work | in the, name of the Lord,, and after using evry .. | argument that, I could,, they delivered into my | Hands, all that ^I^ wanted, March, & June, | I am now in ^(an)^ up^p^er room, I will at this moment light | my Lamp, and offer, a Sacrefice of evry thing | that I have obtained,,,, as a witness befor the| Lord,, that, I will be true to you in time & in | Eternity,, I have made the ofring the Smoke | and flame has assended,,, I obtained ^(the Lets,,,)^ on this | ^condision^ that if I got an ansor,, they or ^She^ Should | see it,, in this mater whatever you say I will do | but if you write, direct to me, if you pleas, as | this is their request,, , they all feel better | (Miss, S[usan], cried. Like ^a^ Child when these things | was made known to me) they think you canot| explain it,, if ^I^ can I will get them all to ^come^ | to Nauvoo, Miss S[usan], was sick and had Brs, | You^n^g, Kimball, lay hands on her,, they said | that she felt quite chearful,,, this ^Family^ think it | vary strang that their friend should advise one & not | all,, ,,what did he mean by sending money,, attendan^c^e | &c, and about Matrimony,, and the will of the ^Lord.,,^ | Br, K[imball], has,, taught me principle, &c, Br, Y, I found | new [knew] about the matte so I read to them, they said | It should be even as you desired, in the name of the | Lord even so Amen, I told them the care that, I, | ^had^ pursued,, & the one I was going to take, they said it was | rite and the Lord would bless me for so doing | give my love to, Br, Hyrum, I was glad to hear that he had | received the Priesthood, [polygamy] &c, Br Joseph, I have ben tried until, I, have | have allmost desired, to die, I would, have given any thing on Earth to | seen you, & talk^ed^ with you one hour,,, but I now feel well and want | to live long on the, Earth,, my health is vary poor : will you | pray your, Heavenly Father ^to^ Bless me,, with health, and the | holy spirit,, if you think best write & I will do as you | say,, I add no more but remain your freend | & Br, in the,, ^new,^ covenent,, |
Preset,, Joseph Smith, Sener, J. M Grant
If you are wondering what this is, it is a letter written by Jedediah M. Grant from Philadelphia Pennsylvania to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. What happened is that one Lorenzo Dow Barnes was engaged to Susan Conrad, but went on a mission to England and died. She was a young women in her twenties. Barnes died at the end of December and Joseph Smith received word in April, 1843. But he wrote to Susan in March and June of 1843 to Susan that she become one of his Spiritual Wives. The family (who were split on the church) were very distraught over this, and some went to Grant. The letters (two of them) were written by William Clayton and Clayton reported that Joseph Smith “received a letter from Jedediah M. Grant containing information of Conrad’s having recd a letter &c.” Emma Smith, “heard J[oseph Smith] read it and appeared for a while to feel very jealous.’’ (Clayton Journal, Aug. 31, 1843, not in Smith's book, but in the Quinn Papers).
Grant writes that he burned the letters, that he knew about polygamy and that he knew that Hyrum had just accepted it a short time before this letter was written. There is more evidence, because Grant claims that Susan said, "no I cannot think of doing it', and "cried like a child when these things were made known to me." I don't think that Joseph was expecting this from Grant, for he read the letter with Emma present who did not take it well. This was the day that they were moving into the Mansion House. The next day Emma attended the trial of George Adams, who Joseph cleared of any wrongdoing even though he had a wife in Nauvoo and in England.
Conrad wrote to a friend Mary Woolley,
I feel tempted to write some thing but I dare not[,] if brother Kimball had passed this way I could have trusted one by him such as I would like to write but it is not so dear sister . . . I heard some things that completely twisted me round that if my life depended on my acting different I could not have done it, I guess Joseph would not think I had much Philosophy about me if he had seen me some times I never was nearer crazy in my life you will know what I mean.
Susan Conrad had met Joseph Smith before this incident.
All this is from an Article written by William V. Smith which appeared in Dialogue (Winter 2016 Issue). Susan Conrad is not mentioned by Brian Hales in his polygamy books.