Footnotes
See Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840. Pratt’s and Hyde’s writings were the first published accounts of JS’s first vision of Deity and were among the earliest works to systematically outline church doctrine for foreign audiences.
In an earlier letter to JS from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, the two missionaries mentioned a “great work to be done in Germany” and asked for permission to write and publish a book on the church to be spread throughout the German-speaking lands. JS responded to their request with “no objections whatever.” (Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 1 May 1840; Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840.)
Hyde was likely referring to the opening article of the 15 April 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons, which praised the lack of drunkenness at the recent cornerstone-laying ceremony on 6 April: “Thank God, that the intoxicating beverage, that bane of humanity in these last days, that—what shall we call it? devil? is becoming a stranger in Nauvoo.” A similar sentiment had also been voiced by John C. Bennett in his inaugural address as mayor, which was also published in the Times and Seasons. Bennett stated, “The liberty of selling the intoxicating cup is a false liberty—it enslaves, degrades, destroys, and wretchedness and want are attendant on every step,—its touch, like that of the poison Upas, is death.” (“Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:377, italics in original; “Inaugural Address,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:317, italics in original.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
See Genesis chap. 19.
Hyde’s stance on abstaining from alcohol reflected his understanding of a revelation dictated by JS in February 1833. The revelation, which became known as the Word of Wisdom, stressed that “strong drinks are not for the belly.” Hyde’s stance also aligned with some ideas of the general temperance movement of the time. (Revelation, 27 Feb. 1833 [D&C 89:7].)
Hirschell served as chief rabbi of the Great Synagogue in London from 1802 to 1842. (Simons, Forty Years a Chief Rabbi, 11.)
Simons, Hyman A. Forty Years a Chief Rabbi: The Life and Times of Solomon Hirschell. London: Robson Books, 1980.
Hirschell “used to be very much annoyed at the arrivals of young men from abroad” who would “call upon the Dr. to pay their respects.” Especially since the establishment in 1809 of the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, the growing numbers of Gentiles visiting from abroad contributed to Hirschell’s distaste for entertaining guests. (Margoliouth, History of the Jews in Great Britain, 2:193–194.)
Margoliouth, Moses. The History of the Jews in Great Britain. 3 vols. London: Richard Bentley, 1851.
The Jewish Reform Movement was spreading through Germany and England at the time, and Hirschell stubbornly resisted the movement by excommunicating its leaders and advocates. By 1841, Hirschell was reportedly “broken in body and mind.” Some believed that his inability to deal with the shock of the reform movement was psychosomatically expressed in his physical frailty and that the “slight shock” overthrew his “tottering frame” as “he accidently fell and broke his thigh.” He also reportedly broke his collarbone months later. (Margoliouth, History of the Jews in Great Britain, 2:186–187.)
Margoliouth, Moses. The History of the Jews in Great Britain. 3 vols. London: Richard Bentley, 1851.
The notion that JS enjoyed access to divine secrets is referenced in several revelations. (See Revelation, Sept. 1830–B [D&C 28:7]; Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830 [D&C 35:18]; and Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:5].)