William Wines Phelps (1792–1872)

stephenstrent7
May 24
7 min read

W. W. Phelps, ca. 1850–1860; Wikipedia

Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants, for the Come Follow Me lesson May 26 - June 1 Doctrine and Covenants 51-57

Doctrine and Covenants 52:2-5, received in Kirtland, Ohio, June 6, 1831, states, “…I, the Lord, will make known unto you what I will that ye shall do from this time until the next conference, which shall be held in Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are a remnant of Jacob, and those who are heirs according to the covenant. Wherefore, verily I say unto you, let my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon take their journey as soon as preparations can be made to leave their homes, and journey to the land of Missouri. And inasmuch as they are faithful unto me, it shall be made known unto them what they shall do; And it shall also, inasmuch as they are faithful, be made known unto them the land of your inheritance.”

Then Doctrine and Covenants 55:1-2; 4-5, again received Kirtland, June 14, 1831, says, “Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant William, yea, even the Lord of the whole earth, thou art called and chosen; and after thou hast been baptized by water, which if you do with an eye single to my glory, you shall have a remission of your sins and a reception of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands; And then thou shalt be ordained by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., to be an elder unto this church, to preach repentance and remission of sins by way of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God...And again, you shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver Cowdery to do the work of printing, and of selecting and writing books for schools in this church, that little children also may receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me. And again, verily I say unto you, for this cause you shall take your journey with my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, that you may be planted in the land of your inheritance to do this work.”

Doctrine and Covenants 57:11, received in Jackson County, Missouri, July 20, 1831, states, “And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William W. Phelps be planted in this place, and be established as a printer unto the church.”

Probably my favorite song in the Hymn book (Hymn #2) is “The Spirit of God”. My favorite line is, “The veil o’re the earth is beginning to burst.” The veil is not being lifted, but “burst”! That song was written by W. W. Phelps and published in the first Latter Day Saint hymnal, printed by Phelps, in February 1836 (although dated 1835 on the title page), and was sung the next month, 27 March 1836, 27 for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.

The first stanza reads:

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning;

The latter day glory begins to come forth;

The visions and blessings of old are returning;

And angels are coming to visit the earth.

Phelps apparently wrote those words following a meeting during which the leaders of the church were overcome by the Spirit. In his journal, Joseph Smith wrote of the events of Sunday 17 January 1836, “Sunday morning the 17th Attended meeting at the schoolhouse at the usual hour a large congregation assembled; I proceeded to organiize the several quorums present; first, the presidency; then the twelve, and the seventy all who were present also the counsellors of Kirtland and Zion. President [Sidney] Rigdon then arose and observed that instead of preaching the time would be occupied, by the presidency and twelve in speaking each in their turn untill they had all spoken, the Lord poured out his spirit upon us, and the brethren began to confess their faults one to the other and the congregation were soon overwhelmed in tears and some of our hearts were too big for utterance, the gift of toungs, come upon us also like the rushing of a mighty wind, and my soul was filled with the glory of God.”1

What a wonderful time to be alive and involved in those early Church meetings. However, this was also a very chaotic time, W. W. Phelps, with all his spirit and enthusiasm, was excommunicated and re-instated three times. Of the original twelve nine were excommunicated in those early days. Six were rebaptized.

“One day Joseph Smith and Isaac Behunin (my great, great grandfather) were in conversation about apostates who were threatening and harassing the Prophet. Brother Behunin said: ‘If I should leave this Church I would not do as those men have done: I would go to some remote place where Mormonism had never been heard of, settle down, and no one would ever learn that I knew anything about it.’”

“Joseph answered: ‘Brother Behunin, you don’t know what you would do. No doubt these men once thought as you do. Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. You could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant.’”2

Phelps, who was a writer and printer by trade, purchased a copy of the Book of Mormon from Parley P. Pratt 9 April 1830, just three days after the Church was organized. He and his wife Sally Waterman read the book and became converted to its truthfulness. Phelps then met Joseph Smith 24 December1830, and was convinced that Joseph was a prophet.3

In Doctrine and Covenants 55:1-2; 4-5, June 14, 1831, William was commanded to be baptized, and was baptized two days later.4 The following month, July 20, 1831, he was called as the Church printer, according to Doctrine and Covenants 57:11. He ran the printing office at W. W. Phelps & Co., in Independence, Missouri. He was a prolific writer for the Church, composing “at least thirty-five of the ninety hymns” included in the first Church Hymnal. He edited several Church newspapers. In late June or early July 1835, Joseph Smith acquired Egyptian papyri from Michael Chandler, and Phelps began assisting with the translation of what would become the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, acting as Smith's scribe. Phelps compiled the rules and regulations of the Kirtland Temple, which were approved by the various quorums two days before the spiritual manifestation on January 17th.5 He helped compile the Doctrine and Covenants and assisted Willard Richards in writing Joseph Smith’s history. He was also superintendent of the local schools in Missouri. He was also a counselor to David Whitmer in the presidency of the church in Missouri, and helped found the town of Far West, Missouri, purchasing the land for the town using church funds alongside John Whitmer. He served as postmaster in Far West.6

On March 10, 1838, Phelps was called before the High Council in Missouri, and was accused of profiting from Far West land deals and for not paying a promised $2,000 contribution to the Temple. He was excommunicated that day. He was later rebaptized. But then, during the treason hearing of Joseph Smith in Richmond, Missouri, beginning November 12, 1838, Phelps was one of several who bore witness against Joseph and other leaders, leading to their imprisonment in the Liberty jail in winter 1838–1839. His testimony led to Phelps’ excommunication on March 17, 1839. However, in June 1840, Phelps wrote a letter to Joseph, pleading for forgiveness. Joseph replied with an offer of full fellowship, stating, “Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, for friends at first are friends again at last.” Phelps was rebaptized sixteen months after his excommunication.7

Phelps moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841, where he donated $1,000 to the construction of the Nauvoo Temple and worked there in as an ordinance worker. He received his own endowments on December 9, 1843 and his “second anointing” February 2, 1844. He was a member of the Council of Fifty and the Nauvoo City Council. Phelps gave the eulogy at Joseph Smith’s funeral. In 1846, he married Laura Stowell and Elizabeth Dunn as pleural wives on February 2, 1846, in Nauvoo. He was excommunicated for the third time on December 9, 1847, for entering into an unauthorized polygamous marriage, but he was rebaptized two days later.8

During the great exodus from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City, Phelps set up the first printing press ever in Nebraska in 1847. He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1848. He served in the Utah territorial legislature, 1851-1857 and on the board of regents for the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah). He helped create the Provisional State of Deseret’s constitution. He obtained the first printing press used to print the Deseret News. He wrote poems and articles for the Deseret News. In 1856, he wrote the hymn “If You Could Hie to Kolob” for Brigham Young. Phelps died March 7, 1872, in Salt Lake City, and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.9