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Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842

Source Note

Times and Seasons (
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL), 1 Oct. 1842, vol. 3, no. 23, pp. 927–942; edited by JS. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

JS, assisted by
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

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and
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

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, served as editor for the 1 October 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, the twenty-third issue in the third volume. The extent to which JS was involved in writing the editorial content in this particular issue is unclear. As the newspaper’s editor, however, he was responsible for its content.
1

See Historical Introduction to Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1842.


The non-editorial content in the issue, which is not featured here, included an installation of the serialized “History of Joseph Smith,” a letter from JS on the subject of
baptisms

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

View Glossary
for the dead, and the minutes of a church
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
held in Alexander, New York.
2

“History of Joseph Smith,” “Letter from Joseph Smith,” and “Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:928–931, 934–936, 941–942. The manuscript version of JS’s letter is featured earlier in this volume. (Letter to the Church, 7 Sept. 1842 [D&C 128].)


In addition, the issue featured a poem by Frederick William Faber titled “The Signs of the Times,” reprinted from the Warder (a newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland),
3

“The Signs of the Times,” in Faber, Cherwell Water-Lily, 47–48; “The Signs of the Times,” Warder (Dublin, Ireland), 12 Dec. 1840, 5; “The Signs of the Times,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Faber, Frederick William. The Cherwell Water-Lily, and Other Poems. London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1840.

Warder. Dublin, Ireland. 1832–1902.

and reprinted a response by the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star (the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
’s newspaper published in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
) to a letter featured in a British newspaper on the differences between Latter-day Saint and Baptist doctrine.
4

“Difference between the Baptists and Latter-day Saints,” Millennial Star, 12 Apr. 1841, 1:296–299; “Difference between the Baptists and the Latter-day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:931–933.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

Editorial content included commentary on a passage from a book about archaeology in Central America; an update on the growth and development of
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois; and an editorial encouraging donations to the Nauvoo
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
construction fund. In addition, the editors reprinted with commentary the church’s 1835 statement on marriage, criticized the way
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
was handling the criminal case of three abolitionists, and countered the millenarian claims of
William Miller

15 Feb. 1782–20 Dec. 1849. Farmer, author, military officer, preacher. Born in Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Miller and Paulina Phelps. Moved to Hampton, Washington Co., New York, 1786. Married Lucy Phelps Smith, 29 June 1803. Moved...

View Full Bio
and his followers. The issue also included a response to reports circulating in American newspapers that JS had fled Nauvoo to escape arrest. Two passages presumably written by the editors but not included in the selection of editorial content featured here are a single-sentence notice requesting that Martin Titus return to Nauvoo to answer undisclosed charges preferred against him
5

There is no record of charges against Titus in the records of the Nauvoo high council. (“Notice,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.)


and a recurring notice that new printings of the Book of Mormon and hymnbook were available for purchase.
6

“Books of Mormon, &c.,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.


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.
7

See “Editorial Method”.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historical Introduction to Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1842.

  2. [2]

    “History of Joseph Smith,” “Letter from Joseph Smith,” and “Minutes of a Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:928–931, 934–936, 941–942. The manuscript version of JS’s letter is featured earlier in this volume. (Letter to the Church, 7 Sept. 1842 [D&C 128].)

  3. [3]

    “The Signs of the Times,” in Faber, Cherwell Water-Lily, 47–48; “The Signs of the Times,” Warder (Dublin, Ireland), 12 Dec. 1840, 5; “The Signs of the Times,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.

    Faber, Frederick William. The Cherwell Water-Lily, and Other Poems. London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1840.

    Warder. Dublin, Ireland. 1832–1902.

  4. [4]

    “Difference between the Baptists and Latter-day Saints,” Millennial Star, 12 Apr. 1841, 1:296–299; “Difference between the Baptists and the Latter-day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:931–933.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  5. [5]

    There is no record of charges against Titus in the records of the Nauvoo high council. (“Notice,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.)

  6. [6]

    “Books of Mormon, &c.,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:942.

  7. [7]

    See “Editorial Method”.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842 *Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842
*Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842
*Letter to the Church, 7 September 1842 [D&C 128] *Appendix 3: Statement on Marriage, circa August 1835

Page 941

to be the last year of the world, and God should supply the inhabitants thereof with a large amount of food beyond the power of consumption, the present year, where is the evidence of his wisdom, or of the truth of that declaration—“My ways are equal?”
 
————

Editorial Note
The last editorial selection in this issue denied rumors that JS was en route to
Canada

In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...

More Info
in order to avoid arrest in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
and extradition to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. According to the editors of the Times and Seasons, the story originated in an issue of the
St. Louis

Located on west side of Mississippi River about fifteen miles south of confluence with Missouri River. Founded as fur-trading post by French settlers, 1764. Incorporated as town, 1809. First Mississippi steamboat docked by town, 1817. Incorporated as city...

More Info
Picket Guard. While that issue is not extant, the story was reprinted or paraphrased in several other newspapers throughout the country.
71

See, for example, “Joe Smith,” Evening Post (New York City), 26 Sept. 1842, [2]; and “The Morman Prophet,” Maine Farmer and Mechanic’s Advocate (Winthrop), 8 Oct. 1842, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Evening Post. New York City. 1801–.

Maine Farmer and Mechanic’s Advocate. Winthrop, ME. 1842–1843.

One of those newspapers, the Baltimore Sun, stated that JS started traveling northward on the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
on 3 September.
72

“Joe Smith, the Mormon,” Sun (Baltimore), 26 Sept. 1842, 1.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.

The version reprinted by the Times and Seasons reported that JS was “on his way to
Galena

County seat. Originally known as the Point; laid out and named Galena, 1826. Principal town in lead-mine country. Population in 1840 about 1,800. Population in 1845 about 4,000. Several Saints worked in mines while Nauvoo temple was being built.

More Info
,”
73

Galena is a city located upriver from Nauvoo in the northwest corner of Illinois near the state’s border with Wisconsin. However, the Baltimore Sun stated that JS was traveling northward on the Mississippi River on a steamship named the Galena and was not necessarily en route to the city of Galena. (“Joe Smith, the Mormon,” Sun [Baltimore], 26 Sept. 1842, 1.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.

that “it was thought he would push for Canada,” and that “his influence is on the wane most evidently.”
74

News Item, Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:941.


The editorial refutes these claims, and JS’s journal confirms that although legal authorities were indeed pursuing JS with the intent to arrest him and that JS was in hiding, he remained in or around
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
at this time.
75

JS, Journal, 3–10 Sept. 1842.


In the months following the 8 August 1842 arrest attempt, publications both in and out of Illinois commonly speculated about JS’s whereabouts.
76

See, for example, News Item, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 30 Sept. 1842, [2]; and “The Mormon Prophet,” Public Ledger (Philadelphia), 26 Sept. 1842, [1].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.


Joe Smith was seen on the 3d inst., on his way to
Galena

County seat. Originally known as the Point; laid out and named Galena, 1826. Principal town in lead-mine country. Population in 1840 about 1,800. Population in 1845 about 4,000. Several Saints worked in mines while Nauvoo temple was being built.

More Info
, and it was thought he would push for
Canada

In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...

More Info
. His influence is on the wane most evidently.—St. Louis Picket Guard.
It is a great pity that humbuggery was not on the wane too. Joe Smith is at his residence in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, attending to and administering the droppings of Mormon beneficence. Apropos—would it not be a more wise course for the press abroad to drop this nonsensical jargon about the Mormons—let them pursue their vocations after their own modes, customs and consciences, than to be eternally poking sharp sticks at a harmless inoffensive sect? Surely we should think so. What say you, friend [Thomas R.] Whitney?
77

Whitney was one of the editors of the St. Louis Picket Guard. (“Assault and Battery,” Daily Picayune [New Orleans], 21 Sept. 1842, [2]; Coxe et al. v. Whitney, 9 Stringfellow 314 [Mo. Sup. Ct. 1845]; Palmquist and Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers, 632–633.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Daily Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 1837–1914.

Stringfellow / B. F. Stringfellow. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, from 1845 to 1846. Edited by Louis Houck. Vol. 9. St. Louis: Gilbert Book, 1880.

Palmquist, Peter E., and Thomas R. Kailbourn. Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide: A Biographical Dictionary, 1839–1865. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005.

 
————
CONFERENCE

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
MINUTES.
Minutes of a conference of the
elders

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
of the
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
, held at Alexander, Genesee co. N. Y., on the 27–8 of August A.D. 1842.
The conference met according to previous adjournment and organized by calling Elder R. L. Young to the chair and C. R. Clark clerk; after which a hymn was then sung and the throne of Grace addressed by Elder
Pelatiah Brown

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.
On motion said conference was adjourned to 1 o’clock P. M. Conference met according to adjournment, a hymn being sung and prayer by the president, conference proceeded to business.
Motioned and carried that the clerk take the names of all the official members present, which are as follows:
high priest

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
,
Ezra Thayer

14 Oct. 1791–6 Sept. 1862. Farmer, gardener, builder. Born in New York. Married Elizabeth Frank. Lived at Bloomfield, Ontario Co., New York, 1820. Lived at Farmington, Ontario Co., 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley ...

View Full Bio
: of the
Seventy

A priesthood office with the responsibility to travel and preach and assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, similar to the seventy in the New Testament. In February and March 1835, the first members of the Seventy were selected and ordained. All of those...

View Glossary
, Charles Thompson, Harmon H. Hill, Joel McWithey: Elders, Geo. Thomson, Hiram Thompson, C. R. Clark, S. W. Disbrow, Nathan Hatch, [blank] Taylor, Benjamin Waldron, Thomas Pearson,
Pelatiah Brown

View Full Bio

, Geo. Brown, Rowland Cobb, Nathan Bradley, R. L. Young,
R[ichard] D. Sprague

View Full Bio

:
Priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. In the Book of Mormon, priests were described as those who baptized, administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church,” and taught “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” A June 1829 revelation directed...

View Glossary
, Miron Alger, John L. Bartholf, Alviras Webster, Daniel Adams:
Teachers

Generally, one who instructs, but also an ecclesiastical and priesthood office. The Book of Mormon explained that teachers were to be ordained “to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end...

View Glossary
, Silas Alger, Joseph Shamp, Joseph Shadbolt, Linus Whiting, James E. Herrington:
Deacons

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. The “Articles and Covenants” directed deacons to assist teachers in their duties. Deacons were also to “warn, expound, exhort, and teach and invite all to come unto Christ.” Although deacons did not have the authority...

View Glossary
, Samuel Mott, Isaiah Call.
Representation of the several
branches

An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...

View Glossary
belonging to said conference.
Alexander branch represented by Samuel Mott, consists of 24 members, 2 elders, 1 deacon.
Batavia branch represented by S. W. Disbrow, consists of 22 members, 2 elders, 1 priest, 1 teacher.
Acron branch represented by James E. Herrington, consists of 9 members, 1 elder, 1 priest.
Charlotte Centre branch represented by Thomas Pearson, consists of 16 members, 3 elders.
Attica branch represented by Alviras Webster, consists of 13 members, 1 priest, 1 teacher.
Castile branch represented by Benjamin Waldron, consists of 5 members, 2 elders, 1 teacher. Also 4 members, living near by.
Bennington branch represented by Joel McWithey, consists of 24 members, 2 elders, 1 deacon.
Sparta branch represented by R. L. Young, consists of 13 members, 2 elders, 1 deacon; 2 moved away since last conference.
Loon Lake branch represented by R. L. Young, consists of 6 members, 2 elders.
Howard and Bath branches represented by R. L. Young, consist of 25 members, 1 priest, 1 teach[er.]
In Burns are 2 members and 1 elder.
In Grove are 5 members and 1 teacher.
In Granger are 2 members and 1 elder.
Conference then adjourned to Br. Geo. Thompson’s at early candle light.
Opened agreeable to adjournment: after singing and prayer, conference proceeded to business.
Moved and carried that no elder or priest belonging to any of the branches under the jurisdiction of this conference, go beyond the jurisdiction of his branch to preach and build up the church without a recommend from said conference; and that no officer shall hereafter be ordained to any of the above branches except for the express purpose of presiding over or in said branch without the voice of the conference.
Motioned and carried that Richard D. Spraque and Rowland Cobb have a recommend to build up the church in the regions round about. [p. 941]
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Editorial Title
Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842
ID #
8157
Total Pages
16
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Footnotes

  1. [71]

    See, for example, “Joe Smith,” Evening Post (New York City), 26 Sept. 1842, [2]; and “The Morman Prophet,” Maine Farmer and Mechanic’s Advocate (Winthrop), 8 Oct. 1842, [3].

    Evening Post. New York City. 1801–.

    Maine Farmer and Mechanic’s Advocate. Winthrop, ME. 1842–1843.

  2. [72]

    “Joe Smith, the Mormon,” Sun (Baltimore), 26 Sept. 1842, 1.

    Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.

  3. [73]

    Galena is a city located upriver from Nauvoo in the northwest corner of Illinois near the state’s border with Wisconsin. However, the Baltimore Sun stated that JS was traveling northward on the Mississippi River on a steamship named the Galena and was not necessarily en route to the city of Galena. (“Joe Smith, the Mormon,” Sun [Baltimore], 26 Sept. 1842, 1.)

    Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.

  4. [74]

    News Item, Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:941.

  5. [75]

    JS, Journal, 3–10 Sept. 1842.

  6. [76]

    See, for example, News Item, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 30 Sept. 1842, [2]; and “The Mormon Prophet,” Public Ledger (Philadelphia), 26 Sept. 1842, [1].

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.

  7. [77]

    Whitney was one of the editors of the St. Louis Picket Guard. (“Assault and Battery,” Daily Picayune [New Orleans], 21 Sept. 1842, [2]; Coxe et al. v. Whitney, 9 Stringfellow 314 [Mo. Sup. Ct. 1845]; Palmquist and Kailbourn, Pioneer Photographers, 632–633.)

    Daily Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 1837–1914.

    Stringfellow / B. F. Stringfellow. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, from 1845 to 1846. Edited by Louis Houck. Vol. 9. St. Louis: Gilbert Book, 1880.

    Palmquist, Peter E., and Thomas R. Kailbourn. Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide: A Biographical Dictionary, 1839–1865. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005.

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