I desire before I pass away, to place my testimony on record. I have been a member of this church, ever since its first organization on the 6th day of April, 1830. I am the only surviving sister of the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith and will soon be 73 years old. I can testify to the fact of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and also to its truth, and the truth of the everlasting gospel as contained therein.
I well remember the trials my brother had, before he obtained the records. After he had the vision, he went frequently to the hill, and upon returning would tell us, “I have seen the records, also the brass plates and the sword of Laban with the breast plate and interpreters. …” My brother William and myself are all who are left now, and we shall soon pass away, but while I can I will bear my testimony to the truth of the latter day work, both spiritual and temporal. I know that it is true.
— Katharine Smith Salisbury, letter to the “Sisters of the Home Columns,” The Saints’ Herald 33, no. 17 (1 May 1886), p. 4. The page is preserved in the Community of Christ archives and digitized at the LDS Church History Library (catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org, asset 9d90d860-8920-4514-9356-f9d33ccc4490). The ellipsis marks an editorial elision in the published transcription; the surrounding sentences are reproduced verbatim from the original. A companion letter signed “KATHERINE SALISBURY” appeared in The Saints’ Herald 33, no. 26 (3 July 1886) and recounts mob persecutions in 1830–31 and the family’s miraculous crossing of Lake Erie.