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Elders’ Journal, October 1837

Source Note

Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints, , Geauga Co., OH, Oct. 1837.
Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints (, Geauga Co., OH, and , Caldwell Co., MO), vol. 1, nos. 1–2, Oct.–Nov. 1837, and nos. 3–4, July–Aug. 1838; nos. 1–2 edited by JS (in ) and nos. 3–4 edited by JS (in ).
Each monthly issue featured sixteen octavo pages that measured 10⅛ × 6⅛ inches (26 × 16 cm). Each page was printed in two columns, with each column 2⅛ inches (5 cm) wide.
The copy used for transcription was bound at a later, unknown date with three volumes of an earlier Mormon newspaper—the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate—in a stamped brown leather binding with decorative gold tooling on the covers and spine. The spine also contains two gold-tooled inscriptions: “MESSENGER | & | ADVOCATE” and “W. WOODRUFF.” The pages were trimmed to 9⅛ × 5½ inches (23 × 14 cm) and the edges and endpaper feature a marbled pattern in blue, tan, red, and yellow. The bound volume measures 9½ × 6 × 1⅜ inches (2 × 15 × 3 cm). It includes marginalia and archival notations and is held at the Church History Library. The bound volume belonged to , though at least some of the loose issues of the Messenger and Advocate originally belonged to Ezra Carter, Woodruff’s father-in-law. After Woodruff’s death, the volume passed to his daughter, Clara Woodruff Beebe, who inscribed her name on a flyleaf and pasted on the inside of the front cover a book plate containing her name. The volume entered the custody of the Church Historian’s Office before June 1964, when pencil markings on a flyleaf indicate the volume was accessed by office staff.

Historical Introduction

In the August 1837 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, a prospectus announced that a new publication, the Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints, would replace the Messenger and Advocate as the church’s newspaper. The prospectus, written by , informed readers that JS would act as editor for the new , Ohio, periodical, which was owned by of the . The first issue of the Elders’ Journal likely appeared sometime in mid- to late October.
By establishing the new periodical, leaders were trying to steer the church’s monthly publication toward a focus on missionary labors. After taking over as editor of the Messenger and Advocate in February 1837, printed lengthy editorials and articles on history and philosophy, devoting less space to missionary work. By September 1837, the Messenger and Advocate had finished its volume run, and a “large body of the of the church” established the Elders’ Journal as a new monthly publication. In the August prospectus, Rigdon called attention to the intended focus on missionary efforts in the and , writing that the new paper was to be “a vehicle of communication for all the elders of the church . . . through which they can communicate to others, all things pertaining to their mission.” By featuring letters from missionaries, the paper would also inform church members of “the progress of the work.”
Assuming editorial control of a new church publication was one of the ways in which JS and other church leaders could limit dissent in . During his time as editor, had occasionally used the columns of the Messenger and Advocate to criticize JS. In a July 1837 editorial, Cowdery asserted: “Whenever a people have unlimited confidence in a civil or eclesiastical rule or rulers, who are but men like themselves, and begin to think they can do no wrong, they increase their tyrany, and oppression. . . . Who does not see a principle of popery and religious tyrany involved in such and order of things?” Cowdery’s editorial echoed the sentiment of other church dissenters who had in previous months expressed similar dissatisfaction with JS’s leadership and his control over spiritual and temporal matters. Several months later, JS informed readers of the Elders’ Journal that the new paper would “pursue a different course from that of our predecessor in the editorial department.” He continued, “We will endeavor not to scandalize our own citizens, especially when there is no foundation in truth for so doing.”
Although JS was listed as editor of the Elders’ Journal, his role in editing the subject matter in the October 1837 issue is unclear, since he was away from from 27 September until approximately 10 December. It is possible that he edited some content before leaving Kirtland, but it is more likely that his younger brother , who was acting temporarily as editor in his absence, authored the editorial sections. Because JS was ultimately responsible for the content of the Elders’ Journal and did in fact author editorials in subsequent issues of the paper, these selections are featured as JS documents.
Note that only the editorial content created specifically for this issue of the Elders’ Journal 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, such as the letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, are annotated elsewhere.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1837, 3:545–547; also reprinted as Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:571–574. Marsh had worked at a Boston type foundry for several years in the 1820s. He then acted as proprietor of the Kirtland-era Elders’ Journal while living in Missouri. Publishers of the new newspaper apparently rented the Kirtland printing office and press from William Marks. According to a statement in the April Messenger and Advocate, JS and Sidney Rigdon transferred ownership of the printing office and its contents to Marks in April 1837, though they apparently acted as his agents following the transfer. (“T B Marsh,” [1], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Masthead, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:496; Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1837, 3:545–547; Elders’ Journal, Oct. 1837.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

    Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.

  2. [2]

    See LDS Messenger and Advocate, Feb.–July 1837, 3:449–544. The March 1837 issue of the Messenger and Advocate, for example, included a two-page article on the philosophy of religion, one page on the history of ancient Egypt, and several other articles with titles such as “The Causes of Human Misery,” “Philosophy and Consistency,” and “Duties of Masters and Apprentices.” (LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1837, 3:472–474.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  3. [3]

    Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1837, 3:545; “Notice,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:496. JS and other leaders may have seen October as a logical time to make this transition, given that the third volume of the Messenger and Advocate was coming to a close in September. The first volume (twelve issues in total) had run from October 1834 to September 1835, the second from October 1835 to September 1836, and the third from October 1836 to September 1837. (“Address,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:1; Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:571.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  4. [4]

    Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1837, 3:545–547. The prospectus further asserted that the new periodical would be a vehicle to “transmit to succeeding generations an account of their religion, and a history of their travels, and of the reception which they met with in the nations.” The October and November 1837 issues of the Elders’ Journal did in fact consist primarily of such communications. (Elders’ Journal, Oct. 1837, 1–16; Elders’ Journal, Nov. 1837, 17–32.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland, OH, Oct.–Nov. 1837; Far West, MO, July–Aug. 1838.

  5. [5]

    Around the same time the Elders’ Journal prospectus appeared in the Messenger and Advocate, several church leaders were removed from their positions by a conference of church members for dissenting against JS and the church. In a 4 September letter addressed to John Corrill and the church in Missouri, JS also singled out particular church leaders who he asserted had been in “transgression.” (Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837; Letter to John Corrill and the Church in Missouri, 4 Sept. 1837.)

  6. [6]

    Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1837, 3:538.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  7. [7]

    See Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 23 May 1837; and Charges against JS Preferred to Bishop’s Council, 29 May 1837.

  8. [8]

    Elders’ Journal, Nov. 1837, 27.

  9. [9]

    JS to “the Saints Scattered Abroad,” in Elders’ Journal, Nov. 1837, 27; Thomas B. Marsh to Wilford Woodruff, in Elder’s Journal, July 1838, 37; Vilate Murray Kimball, Kirtland, OH, to Heber C. Kimball, Preston, England, 19–24 Jan. 1838, Heber C. Kimball, Collection, CHL.

    Kimball, Heber C. Collection, 1837–1898. CHL. MS 12476.

  10. [10]

    An addendum to a 7 August 1841 entry in JS’s history indicates, “On the commencement of the publication of the Elders Journal in Kirtland, he [Don Carlos Smith] took the control of the establishment until the office was destroyed by fire in December 1837.” (JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 12.)

  11. [11]

    See Travel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837.

  12. [12]

    See “Editorial Method”.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Elders’ Journal, October 1837
*Elders’ Journal, October 1837 *Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 September 1837 *Elders’ Journal, October 1837

Page 3

he closed his meeting we arose and rectified some of his wide mistakes in his presence before the congregation, and informed the people if they would meet next Sabbath at the meeting house we would answer every objection that had been presented against the book of Mormon and our principles during the meeting. And last Sabbath we met a congregation of several hundred at the meeting house, assembled together from the different Islands, and we arose in their midst, and redeemed our pledge by answering every objection that had been brought against the book of Mormon, or our principles.— After meeting we repaired to the water and again administered the ordinance of baptism. The Baptist priest is no less busy than his Methodist brother, for while one is in the pulpit declaring to the people, that the principles of the book of Mormon are saping the very foundation of our churches and holy religion; the other is gone over to the main land calling upon his Baptist brethren, saying come over and help us lest we fall. But cursed is man that trusteth in man or maketh flesh his arm saith the Lord God. O ye priests of Baal your cry is in vain, the God of Israel has set his hand the second time to recover his people. The stone has began to roll, and will soon become a mountain and fill the whole earth. The Lord is calling his church out of the wilderness, with her gifts and graces and restoring her judges as at the first. God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the wise, and with them he will rend your kingdoms, that the wisdom of your wise men may perish, and the understanding of your prudent men may be hid. The cry of the Saints is ascending into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth for Ephraim.— The horns of Joseph are begining to push the people together. The apostles of the Lamb of God are bearing the keys of his kingdom on the shores of Europe. Yea and the mighty Captain of the ships at sea, are receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ; and enjoying its power, and the call of many from distant Islands, has already entered our ears; O come and preach to us, we have sent a book of Mormon over the billows of the great deep, to teach those that are at sea. And the word and work are propelled by the arm of JEHOVAH. And the weapon that is formed against shall soon be broken. And he that raises his puny arm against it, is fighting against God and shall soon mourn because of his loss. We say these things are true as God liveth, and the Spirit beareth record and the record is true, and vengeance will be speedily executed upon an evil work in these last days, therefore, O Babylon thy fall is sure.
Although we have not baptized but few on these Islands, yet there is hundreds believing and many are almost ready to enter into the kingdom, the calls are numerous from the neighboring Islands, and also from the main land, for us to come and preach unto them, and tell them words whereby they may be saved from the pending judgments that await the world. There are fifteen or twenty neighboring Islands that are inhabited, some of them contain a population of several thousand. And while the fields are white, we view the harvest great in this country: and the laborers few. And while we are faithfully laboring day and night for the salvation of his people; we ask an interest in your prayers, O ye Saints of the most high God. O ye elders of Israel will ye not go forth into the vineyard and help wind up the scene of this generation which sits in darkness and in the shadow of death. O ye ministers of our God, if we altogether hold our peace at this time, shall we not suffer loss when the Lord raises up deliverance unto Israel. But for Zion’s sake let us not hold our peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake let us not rest until the light thereof go forth as brightness and salvation as a lamp that burneth.
That we all may keep the patience and faith of the Saints and see that no man take our crown, is the prayer of your brethren in the Lord Jesus.
,
.
————
Editorial Note
The first editorial passage in the October Elders’ Journal introduced a letter from to his wife, . At this time, Heber was in on the church’s first transatlantic mission. Writing from the city of on 2 September, he described the elders’ experiences overseas. Though some ministers closed their doors to them, Kimball informed his wife that the elders were “ almost every day.”
Our readers will notice that the following from was intended for a private letter to his , consequently it was not expected by him to be placed before the public; but as is like ourselves, a man that delights in plainness, and is not skilled in the art of daubing with untempered morter; we have taken the liberty to give it publicity almost en [p. 3]
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Editorial Title
Elders’ Journal, October 1837
ID #
8531
Total Pages
16
Print Volume Location
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    In the newspaper’s prospectus, Sidney Rigdon explained the rationale for highlighting letters such as this. “Since our missionaries started for England,” he noted, “how many deep anxieties are felt in the minds of many, that they never felt before, to know how they will be received, and what will be the success of their mission.” Rigdon concluded, “How grateful then would a letter be from any of them, making its appearance in the Journal, by this means satisfying the desires of all at once, which could not be done in any other way, but by great expense and great waste of time.” (Sidney Rigdon, Elders’ Journal Prospectus, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:573.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  2. [2]

    See Historical Introduction to Recommendation for Heber C. Kimball, between 2 and 13 June 1837.

  3. [3]

    Kimball specified that fifty-five people had been baptized by 2 September 1837. (Heber C. Kimball, Preston, England, to Vilate Murray Kimball, Kirtland, OH, 2 Sept. 1837, in Elders’ Journal, Oct. 1837, 4–7.)

  4. [4]

    See Ezekiel 13:10–15.

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