THE WENTWORTH LETTER: ANNOTATED FOR LATTER-DAY SAINTS

by Joseph Smith Jr., A.J. Alexander (Foreword)

Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, writes what he calls a "sketch of the rise, progress, persecution and faith of the Latter-day Saints." Read this book and experience the events of his life, as Joseph did. In this emotionally-charged letter you can feel Joseph's heartbreak as mobs destroy their homes, steal their livestock, and murder their families. Experience Joseph's frustration as he petitions local government leaders for help and protection with no avail. But through it all, Joseph never gives up hope. He never falters in his faith and has a perfect brightness of hope for the church, for missionary work and for the well-being of his people. Feel his hope for the future as he describes the progress of the gospel being restored in these latter days.
Within this work Joseph describes many of the significant events of his life, including his birth and upbringing, the First Vision, Angel Moroni's visit and the Gold Plates,the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, an overview of the Book of Mormon story, the organization of the Church, persecution of the Saints, Joseph’s plans for Nauvoo and the progress of missionary work around the world. But unlike any document of its kind, Joseph introduces for the first time the Standard of Truth and the Articles of Faith.

Genres: Religion, Lds, Nonfiction, History, Church, Theology, Spirituality

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2003

About the author

Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s. In 1827, Smith began to gather a religious following after announcing that an angel had shown him a set of golden plates describing a visit of Jesus to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. In 1830, Smith published what he said was a translation of these plates as the Book of Mormon, and the same year he organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

For most of the 1830s, Smith lived in Kirtland, Ohio, which remained the headquarters of the church until Smith began encouraging members to gather the church to a Latter Day Saint settlement in Missouri. There, tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons resulted in the expelling of the Mormons. Smith and his people then settled in Nauvoo, Illinois where they began building a new temple aided by new converts from Europe. He was assassinated by a mob of non-Mormons at the age of 38.

Smith's followers consider him a prophet and have canonized some of his revelations as sacred texts on par with the Bible. His legacy as a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been recognized by millions of adherents.

Reviews

[Mufti]

8/10

As far as prose goes, the author is good with his words and far surpasses the clumsy lexicon of the Book of Mormon. Although I sympathise with his frustration with the trinity and the diversity of churches, faking a scripture and resorting to a canaanite style pantheon as a solution is hardly the way to go about it. It is nontheless fascinating to see how his myth making brought about very real social change within his own lifetime.

[Keith]

It not only contains the Articles of Faith at the end, but in it’s 26 pages, includes a brief history of the church. It was interesting to read this brief account.

[Susan Molloy]

🖊 My review: Interesting publication.
✔️Published in 1842. The Wentworth Letter by Joseph Smith, Jun. as published in the Times and Seasons Vol.3 No.9, 1 March 1842 available in the United States Library Of Congress BX8605.1.T48 Vol.3 pp 706-710
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form Project Gutenberg.
🔲 Excerpt of note:

🔹 Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies, and other places, 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. . . We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege let them worship how, where, or what they may. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul "we believe all things we hope all things," we have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praise worthy we seek after these things.
Respectfully &c.
JOSEPH SMITH

✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿

[Kent Mattingley]

The Wentworth Letter

The Wentworth Letter is a summary of the early beginnings of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, and contains the 13 Articles Of Faith, written by Joseph Smith Jr in 1842. I know for a fact that what the Prophet Joseph states in this is true, so help me God.

[Becky Downey]

I'm incredibly impressed by the author's boldness...

I was moved and enlightened by this amazing documentary of the rise, persecution and determination of the early members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm incredibly impressed by Joseph Smith's boldness in proclaiming their beliefs. I feel the hand of God herein.

[Jack Howard Berg]

Truth! So amazing!


So grateful to God for the prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ!

[Ranee]

So amazing! So grateful for the prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon & the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!

[David Jessop]

A good reminder if what was and now is

I forget at times the sacrifices the saints have made in the face of persecution and how much faith it took to live at that time.

[Lynne]

A basic history of the church and beliefs including the Article of Faith. If you are a member of the Church, this will all be very familiar to you.

[Thebarrys10]

Powerful!

Joseph Smith the prophet of the restored Church of Jesus Christ gave his life for his convictions of the Church.

[Boho Beannie]

Quick, condensed history about the church up till Nauvoo

[Delilah Brinkerhoff]

it’s true

It is true and man can receive revelation as to his faithfulness’s. Seek and ye shall find knock and it will open up unto you. Xxxxxxxxxx I’m

[Mikaela]

I was thinking there was something controversial in this letter so I was excited to read it. But there wasn't. It was another description of the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the 13 Articles of Faith at the end. I would have given it 5 stars if there had been some controversy!

[Thomas]

Important text, some formatting errors

This is a classic text on early church history and I am glad to see it on Kindle but there are some layout issues with artwork overlaying the text. Given the availability of the document, I would hope things like this would be cleaner since this is a paid for edition.

[Mark]

This is a great letter outlining the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as written by Joseph Smith. It's the same beliefs and doctrines followed today by the Church. A great and quick read by anyone interested regardless of personal beliefs. It's a great window into the faith and personality of Joseph Smith.

[Hayley Shaver]

This is a short, free to read letter by Joseph Smith, Junior, easily viewed in five minutes at Gutenberg.org or purchased (I don't know if it's free or not) on kindle. This concise letter outlines the hardships and beliefs of Joseph Smith and the other LDS people. It is well thought out and insightful.

[Joshua C. Day]

Fantastic read of the true history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I highly recommend this to anyone curious about the true history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints written by Joseph Smith himself.

[Dan Tailleur]

Great Reading



This is very good reading!!!!!
Gave good background information and was quite interesting!!!!I would highly recommend that you spend just a designated to read this!!!

[Adam]

I was amazed at the clarity and succinct writing from this document. Not the same for some of Joseph Smith's other personal documents. This is a fabulous little piece of history and a great brief on Mormonism as a whole. A better summary than most any other's I've seen.

[Heather]

Inspired

I've never read the full text of the Wentworth Letter. Very touching. I'm grateful to Mr. Wentworth for giving Joseph Smith the opportunity to write the church's history and beliefs and have them published. And now to know it's in the Library of Congress, wow!

[Marianne]

A True Overview of the LDS Religion

This book provides history of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The restoration of the gospel to this earth. It states exactly what Latter Day Saints believe. It is a wonderful read for those wondering what the LDS church is about.

[for-much-deliberation ...]

The founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints writes to a Mr Wentworth on the startings of the church...

[Stacy]

Very quick read.

[Cheri Spurrier]

Truly inspiring!

Truly inspiring!

Beautiful words written by a true Prophet of God. A wonderful short read. I look forward to reading this letter more than once.

[Cecil]

A nice little, historical piece of trivia.

[Cheryl]

Nothing I didn't already know.

[Dani Hughes]

Perfect summary of my beliefs

I have a deep love for the Book of Mormon and I love to be reminded of the great pains that were taken to translate and publish it.

[Barbara]

A clear, concise declaration of the basic tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from its founder.

[Leslie]

Brain Food:
Scandal Level:
Violence:
Must be ___ old to read:
Read if you liked:
Re-readability:
Thoughts:

[Doug R.]

Recomendado, para saber solo un poquito de la historia de la iglesia