1855, English, Unpublished edition: Mark Hill Forscutt Collection Forscutt, Mark Hill, 1834-1903

User activity

Send to:
Mark Hill Forscutt Collection
 
Bookmark: http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/435414
Physical Description
  • 9 boxes, 4.5 linear feet
  • Diaries, Hymnals, Photographs
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1855-1900
Language
  • English

Edition details

Title
  • Mark Hill Forscutt Collection
Creator
  • Forscutt, Mark Hill, 1834-1903
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1855-1900
Physical Description
  • 9 boxes, 4.5 linear feet
  • Diaries, Hymnals, Photographs
Subjects
Notes
  • Mark Hill Forscutt was born 19 June 1834 in Godmanchester, England. He became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1853 and later immigrated to Utah. There he served as secretary to Brigham Young for a short while before he left the Church to join a group called the Morrisites, led by Joseph Morris. He was given several leadership positions within the Morrisite group. However, when a prophecy given by Morris about the date of the Second Coming went unfulfilled, there was an uprising and Morris was killed. A few years later, Forscutt joined with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (renamed The Community of Christ in 2001), where he became good friends with Joseph Smith III. Forscutt also had significant musical talents from which he wrote, directed, performed, and composed numerous hymns. Forscutt died on 18 October 1903. This collection contains the journals of Mark Hill Forscutt from June 1855 to May 1900. They cover his transitions from membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the Morrisites, and finally to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now the Community of Christ). The collection also contains some miscellaneous material such as a copy of The Saints-- Harmony and The Saints-- Harp, as well as photographs and other material. Mark Hill Forscutt was born 19 June 1834 in Godmanchester, England, to Robert and Amy Hill Forscutt. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1853 and, as a result, was disowned from his family. In 1855, he was called to be a missionary in England. At the end of 1857, he was called to serve as president of the Preston Conference. He also wrote for the LDS publication, The Latter-day Saint--s Millennial Star. In subsequent years he would also be called to preside over the Wiltshire District and then over the entire Wiltshire Conference. During the spring of 1860, he married Elizabeth Unsworth and they immediately immigrated to Utah. They arrived in Salt Lake City on 27 August 1860. Forscutt was appointed to be a secretary to President Brigham Young and was then ordained into the Quorum of Seventies and appointed President of the 62nd Quorum in February of 1861. However, the practice of plural marriage, which he learned about after he came to Utah, was not something with which he agreed. Six months after arriving in Salt Lake, he and his family left the Church and joined with a splinter group, the Morrisites, led by Joseph Morris.Upon joining the Morrisites, Forscutt was quickly put into a position of leadership and given the responsibility of printing the revelations received by Joseph Morris. It was believed by the Morrisites that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be on New Years Day, 1862. The people of that movement neglected their farming responsibilities that season in order to prepare for the day. When New Year--s day came and their prophecy was unfulfilled, the people were severely disappointed and many of them left. There was an uprising and Morris himself was killed. Following Morris-- death, Forscutt waited three years, and in 1865 joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [renamed The Community of Christ in 2001]. He was appointed to several positions, including general church recorder. Giving in to the persuasion of his wife, Forscutt and his family left Utah in the fall of 1866 and went to Nebraska. He soon returned to Utah, alone however, to give his full service to the Reorganization. Throughout the years Forscutt was associated with the Reorganization, he was given many assignments and callings which he performed with --œenduring confidence.-- He was given the nickname --œUncle Mark-- in the church. He also became very close friends with the leader of the Reorganization, Joseph Smith III. In July 1870, the Forscutts moved to Plano, Illinois where the largest body of RLDS members resided.In 1872, Forscutt was called on a mission to England, on which his daughter Amy accompanied him. She stayed with an aunt while he did his missionary work. He served as president of a European Conference held that year and proposed establishing a publishing department for the church in England. However, in 1873 he was released as president because the Quorum of the Twelve feared that his planned establishment would fail. Forscutt was extremely disappointed and returned to America at the insistence of the First Presidency.He was then appointed to preside over the newly developed Australian mission. He was not there for very long, though, due to poor health, and returned to California.Forscutt had significant musical talents. He wrote, directed, performed, and composed hymns. In 1869, he was appointed by Joseph Smith III to put together a church hymnal. He came out with The Saints' Harp in 1870. Eighty-eight of the pieces in that production were written by Forscutt himself. In 1871, he compiled a second hymnal called The Saints' Harmony, but it was not completed for another twenty years. To that he contributed 72 of his own songs. Mark Hill Forscutt died on 18 October 1903. This collection contains the journals of Mark Hill Forscutt from June 1855 to May 1900. There are 26 journals in total. They cover his transitions from membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the Morrisites, and finally to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now the Community of Christ). The collection also contains some miscellaneous material such as copies of The Saints-- Harmony and The Saints-- Harp, as well as other material. ; The journals have been arranged chronologically into individual folders. Following the journals and other materials in the collection are the typescripts of the journals, prepared by the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at BYU.
  • Vault MSS 811
Terms of Use
  • The originals are restricted. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.Permission to publish material from Mark Hill Forscutt Collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/​or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Language
  • English
Contributed by
OAIster

Get this edition

  • Set up My libraries

    How do I set up "My libraries"?

    In order to set up a list of libraries that you have access to, you must first login or sign up. Then set up a personal list of libraries from your profile page by clicking on your user name at the top right of any screen.

  • All (1)
  • Unknown (1)
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.

User activity


e.g. test cricket, Perth (WA), "Parkes, Henry"

Separate different tags with a comma. To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes.

Be the first to add a tag for this edition

Be the first to add this to a list

Comments and reviews

What are comments? Add a comment

No user comments or reviews for this version

Add a comment