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Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842

Source Note

Times and Seasons (, Hancock Co., IL), 1 Aug. 1842, vol. 3, no. 19, pp. 863–878; edited by JS. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

The 1 August 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons was the eleventh JS oversaw as editor. The issue opened with a reprint from the Bostonian that reported a religious debate between Dr. George Montgomery West (a New England preacher) and Latter-day Saint missionary . It also presented a new installment of the “History of Joseph Smith” and reprinted a note on starvation riots in Ireland. The remainder of the issue was dedicated primarily to denouncing , who had been publishing defamatory statements against JS and the Latter-day Saints. The editorial staff of the Times and Seasons utilized the pages of the 1 August issue to defend JS and condemn Bennett.
Nearly all of this issue’s editorial content about was also published in the Wasp, a general-interest newspaper in , Illinois, that had initially been edited by JS’s brother . However, William had distanced himself from the paper by August 1842, and had assumed the editorial responsibilities of the paper. Taylor, , and others in the appear to have worked on both the Wasp and the Times and Seasons and created content for both newspapers in August. An extra edition of the Wasp dated 27 July bore the title “Bennettiana” and contained affidavits, statements, and articles focused exclusively on exposing the former mayor’s misdeeds. Several of these same official records and editorial comments were printed a second time in this 1 August 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons; this selection therefore features editorial content from both newspapers. The Times and Seasons editorial staff made slight revisions to the editorial commentary in order to customize it to their newspaper. JS’s involvement in the creation of this editorial content is unclear, but as editor of the Times and Seasons, he oversaw the paper and assumed responsibility for all editorial statements.
The editorial content in the 1 August issue includes an article on , which was followed by reprinted affidavits from several City Council members, concluding with a short editorial comment. Certified statements attesting to JS’s character, republished from the Wasp, were then inserted. This was followed by a section contrasting Bennett’s slandering of JS and the with earlier statements Bennett had written, originally published in various newspapers between 1840 and 1842, wherein he spoke positively of JS and the Saints. Another featured selection, also previously published in the Wasp, introduced opinion pieces on Bennett reprinted from several newspapers across the . The editorial content in the issue concluded by reprinting the Wasp’s response to an inflammatory article, written by , that had been published a week earlier in the Quincy Whig.
Note that only the editorial content created specifically for this issue of the Times and Seasons is annotated here. Articles reprinted from other papers, letters, conference minutes, and notices, are reproduced here but not annotated. Items that are stand-alone JS documents are annotated elsewhere; links are provided to these stand-alone documents.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although John Taylor assisted JS in editing the Times and Seasons, JS assumed primary editorial responsibility for all issues, like this one, that named him as editor. (Woodruff, Journal, 19 Feb. 1842; “To Subscribers,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:710.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    See Bennett’s letters printed in the 8, 15, and 22 July 1842 issues of the Sangamo Journal.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  3. [3]

    Although William Smith was acknowledged as editor until October 1842, by August 1842 he appears to have been only a nominal editor. In a disgruntled letter to the editor of the Sangamo Journal, George W. Robinson commented on the confusing status of the editorship of the Wasp, sarcastically stating that because of “the dozen would be editors, who are prowling and loafing about the printing office, it would be difficult to ascertain the editors!” (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:192–193; “To the Public,” Wasp, 8 Oct. 1842, [2]; “Letter from Col. Robinson,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 26 Aug. 1842, [2], italics in original.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  4. [4]

    See “Bennettiana,” Wasp, Extra, 27 July 1842, [1]–[2].

  5. [5]

    The featured editorial content from the Wasp was repurposed as editorial content by the editorial staff of the Times and Seasons.

  6. [6]

    JS owned the printing office where both newspapers were printed. (See JS, Lease, Nauvoo, IL, to John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, Nauvoo, IL, [between 8 and 10] Dec. 1842, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL.)

  7. [7]

    See George W. Robinson, “Letter from Nauvoo,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 23 July 1842, [2].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  8. [8]

    See “Editorial Method”.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 Minutes, 22 July 1842, as Published in Wasp *Minutes, 22 July 1842, as Published in Times and Seasons Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 871

me, weeping at the time; he said Br. Joseph, I am guilty, I acknowledge it, and I beg of you not to expose me, for it will ruin me; Joseph replied, ! why are you using my name to carry on your hellish wickedness? Have I ever taught you that fornication and adultery was right, or poligamy or any such practices? He said you never did. Did I ever teach you any thing that was not virtuous—that was iniquitous, either in public or private? He said you never did. Did you ever know anything unvirtuous or unrighteous in my conduct or actions at any time, either in public or in private? he said, I did not; are you willing to make oath to this before an Alderman of the ? he said I am willing to do so. Joseph said go into my , and write what you can in conscience subscribe your name to, and I will be satisfied—I will, he said, and went into the office, and I went with him and he requested pen ink and paper of , who was acting clerk in that office, and was also secretary pro. tem. for the Lodge U. D. gave him paper, pen and ink, and he stood at the desk and wrote the following article which was published in the 11th No. of the Wasp; sworn to and subscribed before , Alderman, 17th day of May, A. D. 1842; he called in Br. Joseph, and read it to him and asked him if that would do, he said it would, he then swore to it as before mentioned; the article was as follows:
State of Illinois,)
City of .)
Personally appeared before me, , an Alderman of said city of , , who being duly sworn according to law, deposeth and saith: that he never was taught any thing in the least cantrary to the strictest principles of the Gospel, or of virtue, or of the laws of God, or man, under any occasion either directly or indirectly, in word or deed, by Joseph Smith; and that he never knew the said Smith to countenance any improper conduct whatever, either in public or private; and that he never did teach to me in private that an illegal illicit intercourse with females was, under any circumstances, justifiable, and that I never knew him so to teach others.
.
Sworn to, and subsceibed, before me, this 17th day of May, 1842.
,
Alderman.
During all this intercourse, I was present with him, and there was no threats used, nor harshness, every thing was as pacific as could be under existing circumstances. I then immediately convened the Masonic lodge, it being about four o’clock P. M. He then came into the lodge and charges of a similar nature were preferred against him. He admitted they were true, in the presence of about sixty in number. He arose and begged the privilege of speaking to the brethren; he acknowledged his wickedness; and begged for the brethren to forgive still longer, and he called God and angels to witness that he never would be guilty of the like crimes again—he would lay his hand on the Bible and sware that he would not be guilty of such crimes. He seemed to be very penitent and wept much; his penitence excited sympathy in the minds of the brethren, and they withdrew the charge for the time being, until he could be heard on other charges which had been preferred against him by members of the Pickaway Lodge, of , through the communications of the Grand Master, . After this we found him to be an expelled mason, in consequence of his rascally conduct from the Pickaway Lodge, in ; the circumstances and documents were mentioned in the 11th No. of the Wasp, signed by , Master of Nauvoo Lodge, under dispensation, and reads as follows:
NOTICE.
To all whom it may concern, Greeting.—
Whereas , in the organization of the Nauvoo Lodge, under dispensation, palmed himself upon the fraternity as a regular Mason, in good standing; and satisfactory testimony having been produced before said Lodge, that he, said , was an expelled Mason, we therefore publish to all the Masonic world, the above facts, that he, the said , may not impose himself upon the fraternity of Masons.
All Editors who are friendly to the fraternity of free and accepted ancient [p. 871]
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Page 871

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Times and Seasons, 1 August 1842
ID #
8153
Total Pages
16
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:331–344
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