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Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842

Source Note

Times and Seasons (, 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 and , 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.
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 for the dead, and the minutes of a church held in Alexander, New York. 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), and reprinted a response by the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star (the ’s newspaper published in ) to a letter featured in a British newspaper on the differences between Latter-day Saint and Baptist doctrine.
Editorial content included commentary on a passage from a book about archaeology in Central America; an update on the growth and development of , Illinois; and an editorial encouraging donations to the Nauvoo construction fund. In addition, the editors reprinted with commentary the church’s 1835 statement on marriage, criticized the way was handling the criminal case of three abolitionists, and countered the millenarian claims of 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 and a recurring notice that new printings of the Book of Mormon and hymnbook were available for purchase.
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]

    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 940

is a creature of his own make as we know of no such society in this place nor never did.
, ,
, ,
, ,
, ,
,
, ,
 
————
We, the undersigned members of the , and married females do certify and declare that we know of no system of marriage being practised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints save the one contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and we give this certificate to the public to show that ’s “secret wife system” is a disclosure of his own make.
, President,
, Counsellor,
, Counsellor,
, Secretary
, Catharine Pettey [Catherine Petty Petty]
Lois [Lathrop] Cutler, ,
, Phebe [Carter] Woodruff,
Ann [Standley] Hunter, Leonora [Cannon] Taylor,
, Sarah [King] Hillman,
Sophia R. Marks, Rosannah [Robinson] Marks,
Polly Z. [Kelsey] Johnson,
Abigail Works.
 
————
Editorial Note
Another editorial selection from this issue discussed the criminal conviction of three abolitionists in . In July 1841, George Thompson, Alanson Work, and James Burr were arrested for attempting to transport several slaves from Missouri to , Illinois. A mob gathered outside the jail in , Missouri, where the abolitionists were being held and threatened to kill them if the courts did not convict them. The three defendants were eventually charged with larceny and found guilty by a jury in Marion County. News of the case spread throughout the country, and the three men were soon viewed as martyrs for the abolitionist cause in the . An article from the New-York Evangelist reprinted in the Times and Seasons immediately above this editorial stated that the American Abolitionist Society had “taken legal advice in regard to what can be done for Thompson, Work, and Burr” but that nothing could “be done for their relief—the case being quite out of the jurisdiction of the other courts.”
While this case had no apparent connection to the or any of its members, the editors of the Times and Seasons reprinted the article on the appeal in order to criticize what they perceived as the unjust use of the court system by officials and the undue influence that threats of mob violence had on legal proceedings in that state. This criticism almost certainly derived from their frustrations with Missouri’s legal system in failing to protect the citizenship rights of church members during the 1830s and, more immediately, with the ongoing attempts of Missouri officials to extradite JS in order to try him on charges that he was an accessory to the attempted assassination of former governor .
Missouri Law.—The Executive Committee of the Am. A. S. [American Abolitionist Society] Society have taken legal adv[ic]e in regard to what can de done for Thompson, Work, and Burr, confined for twelve years in the penitentiary of . The result is, that nothing can be done for their relief—the case being quite out of the justisdiction of the other courts. The only thing which can possibly avail them is, for the governors of those States of which they were citizens, to expostulate with the of , and obtain some abridgement of the time. Whether they will do this is very doubtful. This is a hard case; for it is admitted, even in , that they broke no law except by a forced construction. Indeed, when the young men were arrested, it was a long time before they could find any law under which to try them, and the law they applied did not, and never was intended to have any relation to the case.
We have copied the foregoing article for the purpose of showing that the State of , is not governed by law in her disposition of those that are considered offensive. If “the young men broke no law,” and the law by which they were tried had no relevancy to the case, how could they be sent to the penitentiary for twelve years, except upon mob law, or despotic assumption? It is well such cruel cases, as too often occur in , begin to attract the attention of some more sensible portions of the American public. The will not be the only people, who complain of injustice and oppression from the people and government of . We care nothing about abolitionism, and have nothing to do with it, but we do care about the honor and virtue of our , and want an equal enjoyment of rights and privileges from the banker to the beggar; from the president to the peasant:—but when wicked men bear rule the people mourn.
 
————
Editorial Note
The sixth editorial selection from this issue commented on an article titled “God’s Ways Are Equal” that appeared in the newspaper Olive Branch. That article, as reprinted in the Times and Seasons immediately below the commentary featured here, claimed that God sent years of plentiful harvests in order to provide for years of famine and always maintained a balance in the number of years of abundance and scarcity. Based on this interpretation of scripture, the Olive Branch article claimed that because the harvest throughout the country in 1842 signaled a year of plenty, those who believed that it was the last year of the world’s existence were mistaken; God would not “supply the inhabitants thereof with a large amount of food beyond the power of consumption.” This article was written as a critique of the Millerites, who believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ would occur sometime in 1842 or 1843, based on the calculations of . As the predicted years neared, the Millerites narrowed their predictions to more specific dates. JS and other leaders were also critical of Miller and his millennial prognostications.
We certainly take pleasure in presenting to our readers, the following well directed hit on Miller’s Sectarian Millennium. It appears in the Olive Branch of , and if the editors had been as wise in their calculations from a plentiful harvest for the people’s salvation, as in their exposition of the Millennium’s commencing in April, 1843, they would have given one hint upon the voice of famine: but to the article; viz:—
God’s ways are Equal. In his controversy with the ancient Jews, God said, “My ways are equal, your ways are unequal.” On this declaration we have been led lately to reflect, when looking over the country and seeing the immense harvest about to be gathered in. Nature is yielding in an unusual manner, and the strong probablility is that two years’ provision are soon to be reaped from the earth. Why is this? We know that the All-wise Giver of good things has in time past sent plentiful years, but they were to supply the necessities of his creatures in years of scarcity which were to follow. In this he showed his ways to be equal. It was so with the seven years of plenty in Egypt, which were followed by seven years of famine. This was an equal balance of year for year; and no doubt this balance has always been kept up, the surplus of one year supplying the deficiency of another. Here all is equal. Now our reflections on this subject led us to propose the following question for the consideration and answer of those who believe that this is the last year of the world’s existence. If the present is [p. 940]
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Editorial Title
Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842
ID #
8157
Total Pages
16
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Footnotes

  1. [62]

    Thompson, Prison Life and Reflections, 17–23, 81, 90–91; Dempsey, Searching for Jim, chap. 6.

    Thompson, George. Prison Life and Reflections; or, A Narrative of the Arrest, Trial, Conviction, Imprisonment, Treatment, Observations, Reflections, and Deliverance of Work, Burr and Thompson, Who Suffered an Unjust and Cruel Imprisonment in Missouri Penitentiary, for Attempting to Aid Some Slaves to Liberty. Oberlin, OH: James M. Fitch, 1847.

    Dempsey, Terrell. Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens’s World. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2003.

  2. [63]

    “Missouri Law,” New-York Evangelist, 18 Aug. 1842, 262; “Missouri Law,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:940.

    New-York Evangelist. New York City. 1830–1850.

  3. [64]

    In a letter to John C. Bennett several months earlier, JS had expressed his opinions on the case of Thompson, Work, and Burr, using it as an opportunity to further criticize what he perceived as the lawlessness of Missouri. (Letter to John C. Bennett, 7 Mar. 1842; see also Letter from John C. Bennett, 8 Mar. 1842.)

  4. [65]

    A July 1833 editorial in a church-owned newspaper informed free people of color who were contemplating living in church settlements in Jackson County, Missouri, that the state had laws prohibiting them from coming to or settling in the state. A different editorial in the same issue referred to efforts to abolish slavery as part of “the wonderful events of this age.” These articles angered many in Jackson County, who interpreted them as inviting free people of color to settle in Missouri, and contributed to the violent treatment of the Saints there. The editor, William W. Phelps, subsequently denied that the church was aligned with the movement to abolish slavery, but these denials did not bring an end to the violent backlash. In an 1836 letter to the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, JS expressed several of his thoughts on the abolition movement, which he acknowledged to be both controversial among the general American public and “a tender point” among church members, several of whom lived in the southern states and owned slaves. In this letter, JS declared that he was not an abolitionist and that slaveholding members of the church could remain in full fellowship. While slavery was not legal in Illinois as it was in Missouri, abolition was still a contentious topic. A May 1842 article in an Alton, Illinois, newspaper reported on a speech by Illinois governor Joseph Duncan in which he, in an apparent attempt to stir up additional public outcry against the church, inaccurately claimed that the Latter-day Saints were prepared to march into Missouri with abolitionists in order to free Thompson, Work, and Burr. (“Free People of Color,” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1833, 109; “The Elders Stationed in Zion to the Churches Abroad,” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1833, 111; Letter from John Whitmer, 29 July 1833; Letter to Oliver Cowdery, ca. 9 Apr. 1836; Zucker, “Race Relations in Ante-Bellum Illinois,” 27–75, 157–185; “From the Alton Telegraph and Review,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1842, 3:806.)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Zucker, Charles N. “The Free Negro Question: Race Relations in Ante-Bellum Illinois, 1801–1860.” PhD diss., Northwestern University, 1972.

  5. [66]

    See Proverbs 29:2.

  6. [67]

    An extant copy of the issue of the Olive Branch in which this article appeared has not been located.

  7. [68]

    “God’s Ways Are Equal,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:940–941.

  8. [69]

    Rowe, God’s Strange Work, chaps. 4–7.

    Rowe, David L. God’s Strange Work: William Miller and the End of the World. Library of Religious Biography. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2008.

  9. [70]

    See, for example, JS, Journal, 12 Feb. 1843; and Packard, Political and Religious Detector, 23–29.

    Packard, Noah. Political and Religious Detector: In Which Millerism Is Exposed, False Principles Detected, and Truth Brought to Light. Medina, OH: Michael Hayes, 1843.

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