Footnotes
See Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840. Pratt’s and Hyde’s writings were the first published accounts of JS’s first vision of Deity and were among the earliest works to systematically outline church doctrine for foreign audiences.
In an earlier letter to JS from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, the two missionaries mentioned a “great work to be done in Germany” and asked for permission to write and publish a book on the church to be spread throughout the German-speaking lands. JS responded to their request with “no objections whatever.” (Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 1 May 1840; Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840.)
Hyde compared the destruction of Jerusalem and the first temple by Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC with the later destruction completed under the reign of Vespasian in AD 70. Vespasian led military efforts to quash Jewish rebellion under Nero and assumed the emperorship after Nero’s death. With Titus as commander, Vespasian brought the first war with Judea to an end by destroying Jerusalem and the second temple built by the Jews. Hyde was likely familiar with this history through the popular writings of Flavius Josephus. (See Josephus, Works of Flavius Josephus, 210–211, 555.)
The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by William Whiston. Baltimore: Armstron and Plaskitt and Plaskitt, 1830.
In February 1840, in both Damascus and Rhodes, Jews were falsely accused of ritually murdering Christians—an accusation known as blood libel. The resulting conflict became an international issue, intensifying questions surrounding the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and stoking anti-Semitism. The Times and Seasons excerpted articles that connected the turmoil over blood libel to the final restoration of the Jews and reported efforts to advocate the Jewish cause in Palestine. (“The Jews of Damascus,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1841, 2:341–342; “The Jews,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1841, 2:563; see also Frankel, Damascus Affair, 1–5.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Frankel, Jonathan. The Damascus Affair: “Ritual Murder,” Politics, and the Jews in 1840. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
See Matthew 27:25.
See Isaiah 60:1.
These verses are from a hymn titled “The Morning Breaks,” composed by Parley P. Pratt. The hymn was first published in the inaugural issue of the Millennial Star in May 1840 and was included that same year in a church hymnal. (“Morning Hymn,” Millennial Star, May 1840, 1:24; Collection of Sacred Hymns [1840], 5–6.)
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Edited by Emma Smith. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835.
See Revelation 11:15.
The early 1840s in Europe were known as the “Hungry Forties” and were particularly difficult for the lower classes. In England a combination of a largely unregulated manufacturing industry, scaled-back welfare programs, and import taxes on grain made hunger a national issue. Shortly after his return from Britain in August 1841, Wilford Woodruff verified Hyde’s observations on economic hardship there. After reading New York newspaper accounts of European suffering, Woodruff wrote in his journal: “Thousands are starving to death & hundreds of thousands are in want. Banks are breaking, Merchants becoming Bankrups, Factories are stoping, men are out of employ & bread.” (King, Poverty and Welfare in England, 227–229; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Aug. 1841; see also Taylor, Notes of a Tour, 21–72; and Taylor, Natural History of Society, 2:253–261.)
King, Steven. Poverty and Welfare in England, 1700–1850: A Regional Perspective. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 2000.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Taylor, William Cooke. Notes of a Tour in the Manufacturing Districts of Lancashire; in a Series of Letters to His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin. 2nd ed. London: Duncan and Malcolm, 1842.
Taylor, William Cooke. The Natural History of Society in the Barbarous and Civilized State: An Essay towards Discovering the Origin and Course of Human Improvement. 2 vols. New York City: D. Appleton, 1841.
In 1841 and 1842, England experienced an extreme drought, which increased the price of food. (Way and Ogston, “Report on the Analysis of the Ashes of Plants,” 655.)
Way, J. Thomas, and G. H. Ogston. “Report on the Analysis of the Ashes of Plants.” Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 7 (1846): 593–678.