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Lot 161
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Important Mormon document highlighting Brigham Young and the Perpetual Emigration Fund
Important Mormon document highlighting Brigham Young and the Perpetual Emigration Fund
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Mormons

 Important Mormon document highlighting Brigham Young and the Perpetual Emigration Fund

 

Single page Trial balance sheet on pale blue lightly lined paper stock, 5.25" x 16", with header of "Trial Balance (pages 12 to 22)  July 2/57" The P.E.F. known as the Perpetual Emigration Fund, started in 1849 with the goal to assist with mass emigration of The Latter Day Saints to Utah on what would equate to relatively little financial resources to do so. Neatly penned accounting ledger inclusive of  the head office ("T Office" (Tithing office) ) names of individuals including Brigham Young as "B. Young," "Jno D Chase," J.M. Pherson," "A Cahoon," names of possessions and tangible items ("Rifles," "stock," "auditions warrants") and common accounting buckets of "Donations," "Bill Payable" and "Bills Receivable." Verso of page blank. Page very lightly toned with a touch of nicking along top edge. Expected folds, else near fine.

 

Companion to controversy wherever it appeared in the early days, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nevertheless grew at a phenomenal rate. Hundreds of converts were baptized each month in 1850s England and Wales. But Brigham Young's Zion—and the new proselytes' surest refuge—was in America. As noted by Arthur King Peters in his Seven Trails West, "the Mormon Trail of those years stretched all the way from Liverpool to Salt Lake City, making it by far the longest of any trail west."

 

"And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy." (Doctrine and Covenants 45:71).

Inherent to the belief of early Latter-day Saints was the spirit of gathering. They sought to build a centralized "Zion" community with fellow Saints, safe from ridicule and strife. As the Church spread through Europe, tens of thousands of new converts emigrated to America, leaving everything behind them for their faith and desire to be with fellow members. Of the 60,000 to 70,000 Saints who emigrated to the Salt Lake Valley in the late 1800s, more than 98 percent of the survivors were from Europe, and 75 percent were from Britain. The British converts began to emigrate with the arrival of Brigham Young to Britain in 1840. As American members faced persecution, new European members brought strength and refreshment. "They have so much of the spirit of gathering," Brigham said, "that they would go if they knew they would die as soon as they got there or if they knew that the mob would be upon them and drive them as soon as they got there."

The journey from Europe and locations across the plains were well orchestrated by The Church who employed PEF agents. Such an "agent' in Liverpool, England would be employed to charter ships or arrange ocean passage. When the Saints reached New Orleans, another agent would meet them and arrange passage up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. A third agent met them in St. Louis and arranged passage up the Missouri River to the outfitting station for the wagon trip to Utah. Later, once the railroad reached St. Louis, the emigrants would travel to St. Louis via New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. The entire journey from Europe to Salt Lake City often took the better part of a year.

When the Saints first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, they were satisfied that they were isolated from their enemies and could build the kingdom of God in peace and safety. Brigham Young declared to members of the Pioneer Company on 24 July 1847, “If the people of the United States will let us alone for ten years, we will ask no odds of them.”1With the sustaining help of the Lord and by their own industry, the Saints established a strong refuge within the ten years. Success, however, did not come easily. Conflicts developed with government appointees, and great sacrifice was required to gather Church members to Zion and to colonize.

 

Offered here is an official page from the ledger of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, indicating the presence of the Tithing Office "T Office" as a debit of 1569.34, and funding debit commissioned to Brigham Young "B Young" for 207.53. The sheet shows a perfectly reconciled ending balance of credits and debits, with an ending balance of "3558.11. Brigham Young defined tithing as 10 percent of one's property upon conversion and then 10 percent of one's annual income. He also instituted an "immigration tithe" requiring 10 percent of one's net gross upon arrival in the State of Deseret. However, Young admitted that neither he nor anyone else had paid a full tithe as he interpreted the Doctrine and Covenants. Other interesting highlights include a line item for Donations, Bills Receivable, Cash, Rifles and Audition Warrants, along with line items for many individual names including ""Jno D Chase," J.M. Pherson,, "A Cahoon," "Payson J.O.," "W G. Staines," many of whom are found within the database.

 

This may be but one page of an important ledger, but one can spend hours investigating the context of each line item. Especially revealing when each line item is reviewed. The ledger was a part of a larger archive inclusive of numerous letters by Erastus Snow. An important document and worthy of additional research.

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