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The Editors: Joseph, William and Don Carlos Smith
Joseph Smith was the nominal editor of the Times and Seasons from Feb. 15, 1842 through Oct. 15, 1842. Ever since, scholars have assumed this meant he actually edited the paper, but new research shows he actually had little, if anything, to do with the paper. He was editor in name only. These new discoveries have important implications for LDS history and teachings.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2017
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October 7, 2022
I have a friend that is really into what I call latter-day aggressive apologetics. He is a huge fan of Jonathan Neville and was encouraging me to read his books. I read a bunch on Neville before deciding to read one of his books. I then wrote him and asked him a couple of questions to determine if I should spend my time reading his work. He passed the test and so I chose this book. As a threshold matter, I am not a fan of this genre of books. I find no satisfaction in reading efforts to “prove” religious questions or ambiguities. Especially, when they turn nasty in belittling those they disagree with.
The basic theme of the book is that Joseph Smith, although listed as an editor for the Times and Season newspaper was at best a nominal editor in name only and did not really approve its content. To me that’s kind of an ok, so what? One might ask why does that matter? That is where the plot thickens. Neville is part of what has become known as the Heartlanders. Their view is that the site of the Book of Mormon stories took place in the Northeast and Midwest of the US. Others have argued that the location was a Mesoamerican setting. Frankly, I have problems with both camps. I do not view the Book of Mormon or for that matter the Bible as a geography manual. Those that get deep into these theories to me miss the whole purpose of scripture, which is to make us better human beings, full of charity, kindness, tolerance, and love. The Heartlanders and the Mesoamericans seem anything but charitable to one another. They do battle all the time in print and on blogs.
To me it is juvenile and short sided. Now as to Neville’s theory in the book. He claims that Joseph was just too busy to pay attention to what was being printed in the Times and Season. I certainly don’t have a problem with the premise that Joseph was a busy man. But it is a stretch that he didn’t pay any attention. I suspect at worst Joseph had a general idea of what was being printed or at best knew the content and read it. If he disagreed with content, I think he would have given instructions to correct any claims he didn’t confirm. After all there are plenty of examples in church history where he did just that.
In the words of Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive, “I don’t care!”
The basic theme of the book is that Joseph Smith, although listed as an editor for the Times and Season newspaper was at best a nominal editor in name only and did not really approve its content. To me that’s kind of an ok, so what? One might ask why does that matter? That is where the plot thickens. Neville is part of what has become known as the Heartlanders. Their view is that the site of the Book of Mormon stories took place in the Northeast and Midwest of the US. Others have argued that the location was a Mesoamerican setting. Frankly, I have problems with both camps. I do not view the Book of Mormon or for that matter the Bible as a geography manual. Those that get deep into these theories to me miss the whole purpose of scripture, which is to make us better human beings, full of charity, kindness, tolerance, and love. The Heartlanders and the Mesoamericans seem anything but charitable to one another. They do battle all the time in print and on blogs.
To me it is juvenile and short sided. Now as to Neville’s theory in the book. He claims that Joseph was just too busy to pay attention to what was being printed in the Times and Season. I certainly don’t have a problem with the premise that Joseph was a busy man. But it is a stretch that he didn’t pay any attention. I suspect at worst Joseph had a general idea of what was being printed or at best knew the content and read it. If he disagreed with content, I think he would have given instructions to correct any claims he didn’t confirm. After all there are plenty of examples in church history where he did just that.
In the words of Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive, “I don’t care!”
Displaying 1 of 1 review