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Selections from Elders’ Journal, July 1838
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was translated, in a hill in Manchester, On tario County New York, being dead; and raised
again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were; and
gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them, and
the Urim and Thummim with them; by the means of which, I translated the
plates; and thus came the book of Mor mon.
Settled 1793. Formed as Burt Township when divided from Farmington Township, 31 Mar. 1821. Name changed to Manchester, 16 Apr. 1822. Included village of Manchester. Population in 1825 about 2,700. Population in 1830 about 2,800. JS reported first vision of...
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Question 5th. Do you believe Joseph Smith Jr. to be a prophet?
Answer. Yes, and every other man who has the testimony of
Jesus. “For the testi mony of Jesus, is the spirit of prophecy.”— Rev.
19: 10.
Question 6th. Do the Mormons believe in having all things
common?
Answer. No.
Question 7th. Do the Mormons believe in having more wives
than one.
Answer. No, not at the same time. But they believe, that
if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again. But we do disapprove of the custom
which has gain ed in the world, and has been practised among us,
to our great mortification, of marrying in five or six weeks, or even
in two or three months after the death of their companion.
We believe that due respect ought to be had, to the memory
of the dead, and the feel ings of both friends and children.
Question 8th. Can they raise the dead.
Answer. No, nor any other people that now lives or ever did
live. But God can raise the dead through man, as an instru ment.
Question 9th. What signs do Jo Smith give
of his divine mission.
Answer. The signs which God is pleased to let him give: according
as his wisdom thinks best: in order that he may judge the world
agreably to his own plan.
Question 10. Was not Jo Smith a
money digger.
Answer. Yes, but it was never a very prof itable job to him,
as he only got fourteen dol lars a month for it.
Question 11th. Did not Jo Smith steal his wife.
Answer. Ask her; she was of age, she can answer for herself.
Question 12th. Do the people have to give up their money,
when they join his church.
Answer. No other requirement than to bear their proportion
of the expenses of the church, and support the poor.
Question 13th. Are the Mormons aboli tionists.
Answer. No, unless delivering the people from priest-craft,
and the priests from the prower of satan, should be considered such.— But
we do not believe in setting the Negroes free.
Question 14th. Do they not stir up the In dians to war and
to commit depredations.
Answer. No, and those who reported the story, knew it was
false when they put it in to circulation. These and similar reports, are
pawned upon the people by the priests, and this is the reason why we
ever thought of answering them.
Question 15th. Do the Mormons baptize in the name of Jo Smith.
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...
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Answer. No, but if they did, it would be as valid as the baptism
administered by the sectarian priests.
Question 16th. If the Mormon doctrine is true what has become
of all those who have died since the days of the apostles.
Answer. All those who have not had an opportunity of hearing
the gospel, and being administered to by an inspired man in the flesh,
must have it hereafter, before they can be finally judged.
Question 17th. Does not Jo Smith profess to
be Jesus Christ.
Answer. No, but he professes to be his brother, as all other
saints have done, and now do.—Matthew, 12: 49, 50—. And he
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold
my mother and my brethren: For whosoever shall do the will of my father which
is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Question 18th. Is there any thing in the Bible which lisences
you to believe in revela tion now a days.
Answer. Is there any thing that does not authorize us to believe
so; if there is, we have, as yet, not been able to find it.
Question 19th. Is not the cannon of the Scriptures
full.
[p. 43]
In the final issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, dated September 1837, a prospectus appeared announcing the forthcoming publication of the Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. The following month, the first issue of the new paper appeared. The short-lived newspaper ran only four issues—two in Kirtland, Ohio, dated October and November 1837; and two in Far West, Missouri, dated July and August 1838. For the two Far West issues, the title of the paper was changed to Elders’ Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. JS is listed as editor for each of the four issues, with Thomas B. Marsh listed as proprietor or publisher. It is unknown how labor was divided on the newspaper or how much immediate responsibility JS had for the content. The paper presumably would have continued with additional issues in Missouri had it not been for the escalating violence between Mormons and non-Mormons in late 1838, which culminated in the Mormons being driven from the state. After settling at Commerce, Illinois, the Saints began publishing a new paper, the Times and Seasons—though explicitly not as a successor to the Elders’ Journal.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More InfoOriginally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...
More Info1 Nov. 1800–Jan. 1866. Farmer, hotel worker, waiter, horse groom, grocer, type foundry worker, teacher. Born at Acton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of James Marsh and Molly Law. Married first Elizabeth Godkin, 1 Nov. 1820, at New York City. Moved to ...
View Full BioArea 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. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoLocated near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...
More InfoBecause of JS’s involvement as editor of the Elders’ Journal, the Joseph Smith Papers will publish the significant editorial content from each issue as a collection of documents. Some of the individual items are signed “Ed[itor]” while others are not. Each of these collections is titled “Selections from Elders’ Journal” and dated with the month and year of publication for the issue.
Selections from Elders’ Journal, Far West, MO, July 1838, pp. 42–44.
Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...
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