Independence Printing Office Site

In June of 1831, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that William W. Phelps, a recent convert in Kirtland, should move to Jackson County, Missouri:

“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” (Doctrine and Covenants 55:4).

Following the Lord’s command, Phelps traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he purchased a press and then transported it to Missouri. In June 1832, he published the first issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. In this issue, Phelps declared the purpose of the paper as “the friend of man, to persuade him to turn to God and live, before the great and terrible day of the Lord sweeps the earth of its wickedness.” The only religious newspaper in Jackson County, The Star, gave the Church a public voice.

Articles published in The Star alarmed local settlers who feared the growing presence of Latter-day Saints in Jackson County. On July 20, 1833, some of these settlers ransacked the building, throwing the printing press and type out into the street.

At that time, Phelps had finished printing some of the Book of Commandments, but the book was not yet complete. Some Church members risked violent retaliation from their neighbors to save pages of the Book of Commandments. Among those were sisters Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins. They gathered the scattered pages of the Book of Commandments and hid with them in a nearby cornfield. These pages were later incorporated into the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants.

As the saints fled Jackson County, the Phelps family returned to Ohio, where William continued to publish for the Church.

Read more about the printing office in Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 14, 16.

What to Expect

Though the printing office is no longer present, a bronze plaque marks the location. It was here that people began to publish copies of Joseph Smith’s revelations as the Book of Commandments.