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Times and Seasons, 15 July 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), 15 July 1842, vol. 3, no. 18, pp. 847–862; edited by JS. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

The 15 July 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons was the tenth published under JS’s editorship. This issue featured correspondence from missionaries and various articles about 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
and the wider world. The contents covered a wide range of topics and included a letter from
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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in Europe to his fellow members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
, an installment of the serialized “History of Joseph Smith,” an article about a destructive fire in
Germany

Inhabited anciently by Teutonic peoples. Included in Holy Roman Empire. Became confederation of states, 1815. Between 1843 and 1856, population estimates range from about 30,000,000 to about 51,000,000. Orson Hyde traveled through Germany during his missionary...

More Info
, minutes from a
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...

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held by missionaries in Utica, New York, and an article reprinted from the Boston Investigator reporting on a debate between Dr. George Montgomery West and
Elder

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...

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George J. Adams

7 Nov. 1810–11 May 1880. Tailor, actor, clergyman. Born in Oxford, Sussex Co., New Jersey. Lived in Boston during 1820s and 1830s. Became Methodist lay preacher. Married Caroline. Moved to New York City, before 1840. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

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in
Boston

Capital city of Massachusetts, located on eastern seaboard at mouth of Charles River. Founded by Puritans, 1630. Received city charter, 1822. Population in 1820 about 43,000; in 1830 about 61,000; and in 1840 about 93,000. JS’s ancestor Robert Smith emigrated...

More Info
.
In addition to this, content created by the editorial staff for the issue included two articles, as well as a notice from the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

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and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The first editorial article advocated theocracy as the ideal form of government, while the second—written after a lengthy excerpt from Josiah Priest’s book American Antiquities—used excerpts from the Book of Mormon to expand on Priest’s argument about an ancient people who had lived on the American continent. Although these editorials were each signed “Ed.,” for “Editor,” JS does not appear to have authored them, and his involvement in writing them is unclear. As the acknowledged editor of the paper, however, he would have taken responsibility for the editorial statements and presumably approved the content; such content is therefore featured here.
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.
1

See “Editorial Method”.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See “Editorial Method”.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842
*Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842
*Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842 Letter from James Blakeslee, 14 June 1842 Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842 Notice, circa 15 July 1842 Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842

Page 855

gress of the flames. This was completely effected by Sunday morning. The Senate ordered every person to leave town and nothing could exceed the heartrending spectacle of thousands of poor people frantic with their losses, and without the means of procuring food or shelter.
The destruction of Hamburgh is one of those calamities which will be felt in every part of the commerical world.— Great as may be the credit of the Senate and people of Hamburgh with foreign states, a century will elapse before the city can be replaced in all the prosperity destroyed by this conflagration. In the midst of the confusion an incident occurred characteristic of the government and the people. A public notice was every where put up, stating that the vault under the bank, containing the gold and silver bars, were fire proof, and that the bank books were all removed in perfect safety,
The Hamburgh Noue Zeitung of the 10th inst. thus sums up the results of the sad catastrophe:—
“Sixty streets, containing from 1500 to 2000 houses, lie smouldering on the ground, and form a fearful but picturesque ruin. Two splended churches, with steeples exceeding 400 feet in height, another church with its tower, the Rath Haus, where the Senate hold their sittings, the old Exchange, the repository of archives, the building of the Patriotic Society, are all destroyed. Reichspost Amt, nearly all the booksellers, the offices of two newspapers, (the Borsenballe, and the Correspondent,) nearly all the the great hotels and inns, (the Old London, the Belvidere, Hotel de Ruisse, St. Petersburgh, Street’s Hotel, the Crown Prince, the Wild Man, the Bramer Anthaus, the Black Elephant,) the principle magazins des modes and repositories of fashion, and nearly all the chief apothecaries, are destroyed. The following are safe:—The cellar where the bullion is deposited at the bank, the Catharinenstrase der Wandralune, du Reichenstrase, &c.”
 
————
Religion.—Is a flower whose bud is peace, whose blossom is joy unspeakable, and whose fruit is everlasting glory.
If you would be truly happy, strive to make others so and learn to cultivate good feelings towards all mankind.
 
——————————
TIMES AND SEASONS.
CITY 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
,
FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1842.
——————————
 

Editorial Note
The first editorial in the 15 July 1842 issue was titled “The Government of God.” It specified that the government of God, which functioned as a theocracy, was directed through divine revelation and
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

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. The editorial gave a general overview of forms of government and then enumerated instances of political and social unrest around the world, which the author attributed to the flawed governments of man. The emphasis on creating a godly and perfect government was especially pronounced after the Saints’ experiences in
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 ...

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. With their expulsion from Missouri, the incarceration of JS and other
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
leaders, and the dismissal of their requests for redress from the federal government, many Saints expressed concerns and misgivings about the shortcomings of the current state and federal governments.
Authorship of the editorial is unclear. Although attributed to the editor, it does not appear to have been written by JS. When
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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was writing JS’s history in 1844, he did not attribute the editorial to JS and noted only that the editorial had been published in the Times and Seasons.
2

Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 15 July 1842.


Apostle

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
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 ...

View Full Bio
may be the most likely author of the editorial. Taylor had been working in the
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,
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
since February 1842 and had helped JS with editorial responsibilities for the Times and Seasons and possibly the Wasp.
3

In his journal, Wilford Woodruff discussed the printing of the Book of Abraham in mid-February 1842, noting that it would be published in the Times and Seasons, “for Joseph the Seer is now the Editor of that paper & Elder Taylor assists him in writing.” In November 1842, when JS arranged to rent the church’s printing office to Taylor and Woodruff, he also turned over both newspapers to their control, suggesting that he may have owned at least a portion of the Wasp and that JS and Taylor may have had some involvement in producing the Wasp before that time. (Woodruff, Journal, 3 and 19 Feb. 1842; 7–12 and 16 Nov. 1842; JS, Lease, Nauvoo, IL, to John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, Nauvoo, IL, [between 8 and 10] Dec. 1842, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL; see also Revelation, 28 Jan. 1842.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Taylor had also recently returned from a mission to Britain, which may explain why the editorial’s discussion of social and political developments in Europe were noticeably more detailed for Great Britain. In the 1850s, Taylor published a pamphlet titled The Government of God that echoed some of the content of this editorial and expanded the discussion on the significance of the priesthood.
4

See John Taylor, The Government of God (Liverpool: S. W. Richards, 1852).


Comprehensive Works Cited

Taylor, John. The Government of God. Liverpool: S. W. Richards, 1852.

Additionally, in his sermons in the 1850s, Taylor expressed similar anti-imperial sentiments and emphasized the need for government directed by God through the
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
and revelation.
5

See John Taylor, Discourses, 25 Sept. 1852 and 7 Oct. 1859, in George D. Watt, Discourse Shorthand Notes, George D. Watt, Papers, CHL, as transcribed by LaJean Purcell Carruth.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Watt, George D. Papers, ca. 1846–1865. CHL.

Another possible author of the editorial is
William W. Phelps

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...

View Full Bio
, who had agreed to work on JS’s history and appears to have done so for a short time in June 1842, resuming work in 1843.
6

Phelps first began working on JS’s history in June 1842 but ceded primary responsibility for the work to Willard Richards on 1 December 1842. Phelps noted in his diary that he “commenced writing on the history of the church for B[rother] Joseph” on 19 January 1843. (William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, to Parley P. Pratt, Liverpool, England, 16 June 1842, Parley P. Pratt, Correspondence, CHL; JS, Journal, 1 Dec. 1842; Richards, Journal, 1 Dec. 1842; Phelps, Diary and Notebook, 19 Jan. 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Pratt, Parley P. Correspondence, 1842–1855. CHL. MS 897.

Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

Phelps, William W. Diary and Notebook, ca. 1835–1836, 1843, 1864. CHL. MS 3450.

While Phelps later worked as a scribe for JS, there is no documentation connecting him to such work at this time, and it is not clear that he had any connection to the Times and Seasons in summer 1842.
7

See Brown, “Translator and the Ghostwriter,” 26–62.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Brown, Samuel. “The Translator and the Ghostwriter: Joseph Smith and W. W. Phelps.” Journal of Mormon History 34, no. 1 (Winter 2008): 26–62.


THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
The government of the Almighty, has always been very dissimilar to the government of men; whether we refer to his religious government, or to the government of nations. The government of God has always tended to promote peace, unity, harmony, strength and happiness; while that of man has been productive of confusion, disorder, weakness and misery. The greatest acts of the mighty men have been to depopulate nations, and to overthrow kingdoms; and whilst they have exalted themselves and become glorious, it has been at the expense of the lives of the innocent—the blood of the oppressed—the moans of the widow, and the tears of the orphan. Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Persia, Carthage, Rome—each were raised to dignity amid the clash of arms, and the din of war; and whilst their triumphant leaders led forth their victorious armies to glory and victory, their ears were saluted with the groans of the dying, and the misery and distress of the human family;—before them the earth was a paradise, and behind them a desolate wilderness; their kingdoms were founded in carnage and bloodshed, and sustained by oppression, tyranny, and despotism. The designs of God, on the other hand, have been to promo[t]e the universal good, of the universal world;—to establish peace and good will among men;—to promote the principles of eternal truth;—to bring about a state of things that shall unite man to his fellow man—cause the world to “beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks”
8

See Isaiah 2:4; and Micah 4:3.


—make the nations of the earth dwell in peace; and to bring about the millenial glory—when “the earth shall yield its increase, resume its paradisean glory, and become as the garden of the Lord.”
9

See Ezekiel 34:27; and Psalm 67:6.


The great and wise of ancient days have failed in all their attempts to promote eternal power, peace, and happiness. Their nations have crumbled to pieces; their thrones have been cast down in their turn; and their cities, and their mightiest works of art, have been annihilated; or their dilapidated towers, or time worn monuments have left us but feeble traits of their former magnificence, and ancient grandeur. They proclaim as with a voice of thunder, those imperishable truths—that man’s [p. 855]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Times and Seasons, 15 July 1842
ID #
8152
Total Pages
16
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:276–289
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [2]

    Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 15 July 1842.

  2. [3]

    In his journal, Wilford Woodruff discussed the printing of the Book of Abraham in mid-February 1842, noting that it would be published in the Times and Seasons, “for Joseph the Seer is now the Editor of that paper & Elder Taylor assists him in writing.” In November 1842, when JS arranged to rent the church’s printing office to Taylor and Woodruff, he also turned over both newspapers to their control, suggesting that he may have owned at least a portion of the Wasp and that JS and Taylor may have had some involvement in producing the Wasp before that time. (Woodruff, Journal, 3 and 19 Feb. 1842; 7–12 and 16 Nov. 1842; JS, Lease, Nauvoo, IL, to John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, Nauvoo, IL, [between 8 and 10] Dec. 1842, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL; see also Revelation, 28 Jan. 1842.)

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

  3. [4]

    See John Taylor, The Government of God (Liverpool: S. W. Richards, 1852).

    Taylor, John. The Government of God. Liverpool: S. W. Richards, 1852.

  4. [5]

    See John Taylor, Discourses, 25 Sept. 1852 and 7 Oct. 1859, in George D. Watt, Discourse Shorthand Notes, George D. Watt, Papers, CHL, as transcribed by LaJean Purcell Carruth.

    Watt, George D. Papers, ca. 1846–1865. CHL.

  5. [6]

    Phelps first began working on JS’s history in June 1842 but ceded primary responsibility for the work to Willard Richards on 1 December 1842. Phelps noted in his diary that he “commenced writing on the history of the church for B[rother] Joseph” on 19 January 1843. (William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, to Parley P. Pratt, Liverpool, England, 16 June 1842, Parley P. Pratt, Correspondence, CHL; JS, Journal, 1 Dec. 1842; Richards, Journal, 1 Dec. 1842; Phelps, Diary and Notebook, 19 Jan. 1843.)

    Pratt, Parley P. Correspondence, 1842–1855. CHL. MS 897.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Phelps, William W. Diary and Notebook, ca. 1835–1836, 1843, 1864. CHL. MS 3450.

  6. [7]

    See Brown, “Translator and the Ghostwriter,” 26–62.

    Brown, Samuel. “The Translator and the Ghostwriter: Joseph Smith and W. W. Phelps.” Journal of Mormon History 34, no. 1 (Winter 2008): 26–62.

  7. [8]

    See Isaiah 2:4; and Micah 4:3.

  8. [9]

    See Ezekiel 34:27; and Psalm 67:6.

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