Footnotes
“Mormonism,” American Revivalist, and Rochester (NY) Observer, 2 Feb. 1833, [2]. Saxton was previously the editor of the New York Evangelist, which was consolidated with the Rochester Observer in 1832. The Rochester Observer began in 1827 as a Presbyterian newspaper; by the end of 1832, it had three thousand subscribers. It was known as the American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer from 29 September 1832 to 13 July 1833. (See French, Gazetteer of the State of New York, 396; Norton, “Comparative Images,” 359, 361.)
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
French, J. H. Gazetteer of the State of New York: Embracing a Comprehensive View of the Geography, Geology, and General History of the State. . . . 8th ed. Syracuse, NY: R. Pearsall Smith, 1860.
Norton, Walter A. “Comparative Images: Mormonism and Contemporary Religions as Seen by Village Newspapermen in Western New York and Northeastern Ohio, 1820–1833.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1972.
“American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer,” American Revivalist, and Rochester (NY) Observer, 29 Sept. 1832, [1]; see also Norton, “Comparative Images,” 359–360.
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
Norton, Walter A. “Comparative Images: Mormonism and Contemporary Religions as Seen by Village Newspapermen in Western New York and Northeastern Ohio, 1820–1833.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1972.
JS History, vol. A-1, 244.
See, for example, the following articles in the American Revivalist, and Rochester (NY) Observer: “Cholera Record,” 29 Sept. 1832, [1]; “Effects of the Cholera,” 29 Dec. 1832, [1]; “Political News: South Carolina Nullification,” 22 Dec. 1832, [3]; and “Persia,” 29 Dec. 1832, [4].
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
Revelations in 1831 explained events that would precede Christ’s return, but JS seemed especially concerned with signs of the times in late 1832 and early 1833. (See, for example, Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45]; Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1]; Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133]; Letter to Emma Smith, 13 Oct. 1832; and Letter to William W. Phelps, 31 July 1832.)
Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:49, 96–97].
Revelation, 25 Dec. 1832 [D&C 87:6].
Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:81, 84].
See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 131–139 [Jacob chap. 5].
“Mormonism,” American Revivalist, and Rochester (NY) Observer, 2 Feb. 1833, [2].
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
The nameplate of the American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer proclaimed that it was “DEDICATED TO THE INTERESTS OF ZION GENERALLY, AND ESPECIALLY TO REVIVALS OF RELIGION.” Two weeks before Noah C. Saxton published JS’s letter, the newspaper printed commentary on an article from the Cincinnati Journal about Mormonism in that city. Among other things, the commentary referred to the “ignorant and fanatical” state of Mormon converts, the “arch devices of Mormon leaders,” the “abominable absurdities of Mormonism,” and the “wild vagaries of Mormonism.” (American Revivalist, and Rochester [NY] Observer, 29 Sept. 1832, [1]; “Mormonism in Cincinnati, Ohio,” American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer, 19 Jan. 1833, [1].)
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
TEXT: “d” smudged out.
“Insensibility”; “dullness of perception or understanding.” (“Stupidity,” in American Dictionary [1845], 801.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.
An article in the 17 November 1832 American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer similarly portrayed the cholera epidemic as “God’s judgment” and a “pestilence” sent to “check the ardor of the surviving in their pursuit of the world.” The September 1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star also depicted the epidemic as a result of God’s judgment, declaring, “Not since the flood, if we think right, has the Lord sent the same pestilence, or destruction, over the whole earth at once: But the Cholera, which has swept its thousands in Asia, Africa, Europe and America, gives a solemn token to a wondering world, that it will do so.” (“How Has the Cholera Affected Rochester?,” American Revivalist, and Rochester [NY] Observer, 17 Nov. 1832, [1]; “The Cholera,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1832, [1].)
American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer. Rochester, NY. 1827–1833.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Jeremiah 9:1.
See Romans 13:11.
See Jonah 3:8; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 180 [Mosiah 11:25].
JS apologized to his wife Emma in June 1832 for his “inability in convaying my ideas in writing.” (Letter to Emma Smith, 6 June 1832.)
See Matthew 11:25; and Luke 10:21.