John Silvanus Davis (June 7, 1822 – June 11, 1882) was a Welsh printer, writer, and early defender of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Wales during the mid-1800s. He translated the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants into the Welsh language.
Early life John Silvanus Davis was born during a period of rapid industrialization in South Wales during the mid-1800s and was baptised into the Congregational Church. His father later started his own congregation, which was common in the Nonconformist chapels of Wales. Davis followed his father's faith as a young man.
Davis received a fair education and developed a talent for literature.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). "He received a fair education" He began writing poetry, under his mother's direction, when he was thirteen. His writing appeared in various Welsh magazines. Davis continued to write poems, songs and hymns for the rest of his life, a practice his daughter Julia Elizabeth Davis also enjoyed.
Life and work in Wales Davis first became interested in the Latter-day Saints (LDS) in 1845 at Llanybydder; he heard about them from Reverend John Jones, the brother of Mormon missionary Dan Jones. John Jones was printing Mormon tracts at the time, which made him deeply unpopular among his fellow printers. Davis was working with Jones as editor, typesetter and pressman, and read the tracts carefully.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 82. "a young man by the name of John Davis, took a great interest in the content of Jones’s pamphlet" Davis was baptised on April 19, 1846, by Thomas Harris,Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "He joined the Latter-day Saints on 19th of April, 1846"Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 118. "The elder is probably Elder Thomas Harris, the missionary who baptized John Davis" and within the next two years was ordained a teacher and priest.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 353. "In the Church Mr. Davis held the office of High Priest." Davis strongly defended Mormonism in periodicals, tracts and poems; he engaged directly with local and visiting preachers, and travelled throughout Wales and Dublin as a missionary for his newfound religion.Biography. p. 2. "he began to journey from Merthyr to North Wales and Dublin"
In 1848, Davis was called as first counselor to William S. Phillips, president of the Welsh mission.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 82. "John Davis was called to be a counselor in the mission presidency" Davis and Phillips managed the printing office in Llannerdy. Davis printed several periodicals that were influential among the Welsh Saints, most notably Zion's Trumpet, which he edited from 1849 until his emigration in 1854.Biography. p. 1. "he published the Udgorn Seion"Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 172. "For five years, he [Davis] had edited Udgorn Seion" In addition to translating, Davis wrote edifying tracts explaining and defending Latter-day Saint beliefs. He edited a hymn book with over 500 songs that included many of his own hymns.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 113. "In 1849 John Davis printed a second hymnal" His dealings with the Latter-day Saints in the Welsh mission brought him into contact with early Mormon leaders such as F. D. Richards, Orson Pratt, Erastus Snow, and future prophet John Taylor.Biography p. 2. "John attended an LDS conference in London"
Translation of The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants
The first branch of the Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Wales was established near Overton, Flintshire.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 74. "to go to [Cloy], near Overton, in Flintshire" LDS missionaries had been preaching there for more than a decade without a Welsh translation of the Book of Mormon because many of the farming communities around Overton did not speak Welsh.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 74. "its inhabitants were not Welsh speaking" In 1842, Elder Lorenzo Snow sent William Henshaw to Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 61. "Lorenzo Snow issued a call to [William Henshaw] to take his young family to Merthyr Tydfil" While there, Henshaw saw the need for proselytising materials in Welsh. Davis, then 23, was assisting Reverend John Jones, who was printing Mormon tracts at his printing press in Rhydybont near Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 46. "Working at the press during the latter part of 1845 and the first part of 1846 was a 23-year-old employee by the name of John S. Davis"
By late 1848, Dan Jones wanted to make the standard works of the LDS available to his countrymen who had already been baptised.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 46. "Jones undoubtedly wanted to make this standard work of his faith available to his fellow countrymen" However, he emigrated to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 before the translation could be started. Davis was selected to oversee all printing activities for the LDS Church in Wales in his place.Dennis, Ronald D. (2017). p. 82. "with responsibilities for all the printing activities of the mission" Davis's exposure to standard grammar, exposition, logic, and printing served him well as editor of all church publications in Wales. He was one of the most-educated converts in mid-19th-century Wales.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 49. "John Davis was one of the most highly educated converts to the church" Much of his education came from setting type and reading proofs in both Welsh and English.
In August 1850, Orson Pratt counseled Davis to translate and publish Doctrine and Covenants into Welsh.Biography. p. 2. "he was directed by Orson Pratt ... to translate the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants"Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 174. "a translation of The Book of Doctrine and Covenants." Rather than translating it all at once, he released 16 pages of the scripture in Zion's Trumpet every fortnight. Between February 22, 1851, and August 23, 1851, Davis had released all 20 parts of Doctrine and Covenants.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 47. "The response to Davis's idea was positive, for in 27 weeks the final signature was sent out." This distribution method worked well and Davis decided to do the same for the Book of Mormon. He started gathering subscriptions for the translation in July 1851. Davis encouraged his distributors and church leaders to be very aggressive in getting subscriptions, but by September 1851, the LDS Church had gathered only 1,500 subscribers. Davis started the translation anyway, and released the final section of the Book of Mormon 31 weeks later. It was called Llyfr Mormon.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 48. "31 weeks after the distribution of the initial signature, Davis sent out the final signature with his periodical"Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 174. "And in the same year , Llyfr Mormon itself." Davis translated the Book of Mormon for free.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "The translation itself was free"
In his introduction to the Welsh edition of the Book of Mormon, Davis said the translation was the "best that could be done under disadvantages which the majority of translators do not labor under", and that he sought "perspicuity and plain language" more than "any kind of adornment".Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 48. "perspicuity and plain language” had been sought" The disadvantages he talked about could have been the lack of printing experience among LDS adherents or the cramped conditions of the printing press, which was in his house on John's Street in Georgetown, Merthyr Tydfil.Dennis, Ronald D. (2002). p. 48. "Davis stated that the translation was 'the best that could be done under disadvantages'"
Davis sent a copy of Llyfr Mormon to the editor of the Baptist periodical Seren Gomer for review. The editor said it was "so perfect a translation" but that Davis had wasted valuable time on something as "worthless a work as the Book of Mormon."Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "with the remark that it was a pity" The parts were then published and sold all in under one year. The first copy, which was bound in Moroccan leather, was taken to Brigham Young in Utah by emigrating Welsh elders.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "The first published copy ... dedicated to Brigham Young ... was sent to Utah" Davis's translation of Book of Mormon is the only Welsh version of the text.Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 174. "This was the only Welsh translation ever made of The Book of Mormon." It is also the only translation in a Celtic language.
Marriage and children
John Silvanus Davis married Elizabeth Phillips (1823–1906) on December 30, 1850, in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "He married on December 30, 1850, Elizabeth Phillips." They had one daughter, Julia Elizabeth Davis (1851–1946),Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "the issue of this union was a daughter, their only child." who married Utah's first democratic senator, Joseph Lafayette Rawlins.Whitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 681. "[Rawlins] had been a married man since December 8, 1876, when he wedded Miss Julia E. Davis"
Emigration to the United States in 1854 Davis and his family started preparations for their emigration to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah, United States, as early as November 1853. Davis closed his accounts, and transferred management of the Welsh mission and printing presses to Dan Jones.Biography. p. 2. "he transferred his printing office over to Daniel Jones" Davis learned the emigrants were to sail for the US on February 1.Biography. p. 2. "the Saints would have to emigrate on the 31st day of January."Rawlins, Bert J. (1980). p. 4. "informed him that the ship would sail on 1 February" With only two weeks' notice, the LDS adherents hastily gathered in from the countryside with what they could. John and Elizabeth visited their parents for the last time before joining the others at Liverpool.
The Davises boarded the ship GolcondaWhitney, Orson F. (1904). p. 352. "they embarked at Liverpool on the ship 'Golconda'" in the late evening of January 31, 1854. Four days later, the ship set sail with 477 people. The weather was rough for much of their journey across the Atlantic Ocean but it warmed when they reached Bermuda. Passengers entertained themselves with mock trials, dancing, band music, weddings, and daily religious meetings. Golconda reached the Port of New Orleans six weeks later.Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 175. "The Golconda reached New Orleans in forty days." The company travelled by steamboat and wagon to St. Louis, Missouri,Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 175. "... about two weeks before we arrived at St Louis." where they remained for three weeks gathering provisions before heading west across the Great Plains. The Davises travelled in an unknown company along the Mormon Trail.Biography. p. 3. "As they passed Fort Kearny"
After leaving St. Louis, they passed several Native Americans who were receiving gifts from the United States government.Aaron, Wil (2019). p. 178. "The Sioux were waiting for the distribution of the annual payment of $50,000"Biography. p. 4. "they passed a large camp of Indians, gathered there to receive gifts from the Government" The Native Americans were also trading with pioneers, emigrants, gold diggers, and other people heading West. Crossing the Great Plains in the 1850s was a dangerous undertaking; it often resulted in hunger, privation, and death. Both Davis and his wife Elizabeth fell ill with cholera along the way. The emigration company arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in July 1854.Biography p. 4., "The company arrived in Salt Lake City" The journey from England had taken seven months and three weeks.
Life in Salt Lake City 1854–1861