translation of what would become the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, acting as Smith's scribe. On January 13, 1836, Phelps was tasked with compiling the "rules and regulations" of the Kirtland Temple. Far West, Missouri From 1834, Phelps was a counselor to David Whitmer in the presidency of the church in Missouri, and, in that capacity, he 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. Phelps was called before the High Council on March 10, 1838, and was accused of profiting from Far West land deals and reneging on a $2,000 contribution to "the house of the Lord" that was not paid. On March 10, 1838, he was excommunicated from the church. In June 1838, Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Lyman E. Johnson were warned to leave Far West, "or a more fatal calamity shall befall you." In November 1838, Phelps was summoned to be tried a witness at the treason hearing of Smith in Missouri. According to The Joseph Smith Papers, "his testimony helped lead to Smith's incarceration in the Liberty, Missouri, jail in winter 1838–1839." Excommunication and rebaptism Unlike Cowdery and the Whitmers, Phelps remained in Far West after "the dissenters" were warned to leave in June 1838. He appears to have had a short-lived détente with church leadership. On July 8, 1838, Smith received a revelation saying that Phelps and fellow dissenter, Frederick G. Williams, could be ordained as elders and serve missions abroad. At the time of the Mormon surrender of Far West, Phelps was one of the Mormon negotiators. But during the Richmond hearings of November 1838, Phelps was one of several who bore witness against Smith and other leaders, aiding in their imprisonment in Missouri until April 1839. This led to Phelps's excommunication in Quincy, Illinois on March 17, 1839. He then moved to Dayton, Ohio. In June 1840, Phelps pleaded for forgiveness in a letter to Smith. Smith replied with an offer of full fellowship, and ended with a variant of Charles Wesley's couplet, "'Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, For friends at first are friends again at last.'" Phelps thus reunited with the church through rebaptism sixteen months after his excommunication. He moved back to Kirtland in May 1841. Nauvoo years Phelps served