At Least One Nonmember Thought Nauvoo Was A Wonderful Place

[Uncle Dale]

The year was 1843. The season was late winter. The place was Nauvoo, Illinois.

 

The "Traveler" had stopped off at the far-famed city and his steamer had either

left him there, or was tied up at the boat landing. He was "ice-bound" with nothing

more to do than explore the "golden city."

 

He had heard bad things about some of the Mormons -- perhaps from reading

John C. Bennett's recently published "History of the Saints" -- or maybe aboard

the steamship he'd come across a copy of the "Warsaw Signal" or one of the

other local newspapers -- which frequently criticized the LDS city and its leaders.

 

At any rate, this inadvertent tourist had the leisure (and curiosity) to visit the 

very office of Lieutenant-General Joseph Smith, Jr. -- Not just once, but "a few"

times, and receiving "several interviews" with the topmost Church leaders.

 

His impression of the place and the people was glowingly positive. He seemingly

could not discover a single reason to complain about what was going on in and

around Nauvoo.

 

For some unstated reason, he chose to address his thoughts to the Editor of the

far-off "Boston Daily Bee." Perhaps he had once lived in that eastern city, or maybe

he was familiar with its proprietors. At any rate, his letter (composed on March 17, 1843)

reached Boston several days later and was published on April 12, 1843.

 

The "Bee" Editor must have felt it was important enough to displace three columns

of his regular fare -- to take up the space of a dozen of his usual, smaller items.

 

Who was this 1843 writer? This traveler westward? This "Viator?"

His views of the Nauvoo Mormons sound so positive, that it is a wonder that the

fellow evidently never joined the Saints, to take credit for this marvelous letter.

 

Enjoy...

 

UD

 

 

 

 

 

THE BOSTON DAILY BEE.

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Vol. II. --- Boston, Massachusetts, April 12, 1843. --- No. 144.

 

 

(CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THE  "BOSTON BEE.")

 

Nauvoo, Illinois. }         
March 17, 1843. }         

To the Editor of the Boston Bee:
      Sir -- By the prospectus of the Bee I discover a disposition in that useful creature to spread its wings over the whole earth, eye all the various scenery of its surface, and gather the precious drops from every flower, whether on tree, shrub, or plant, to fill the golden bowl of intelligence to the brim; that all variety of appetite may be gratified, and every epicure may be sated with the abundance of the delicious fluid in your market. If I may be permitted to add one drop, to the great fountain of the store-house of the Bee, you may expect more, anon.

One of the greatest curiosities, in this day of intelligence, is, an editor, who appreciates the high and responsible nature of his calling, in giving tone to the public sentiment and feeling; and, rising above all party prejudices, sectarian dogmas, and political intrigues, emits light from every leaf, and furnishes an intellectual feast at every sitting, that exalts, enriches, and ennobles his fellow man, raising him to the high dignity of "lord of the creation."

There is a great complaint that it is "hard times" and difficult to "get up" in the world, and "the less a business man makes himself busy with business," the better for his estate, which, right or wrong, is surely a grand apology for a lazy man.

When rags became tender legal, at a thousand times their value, and all the fashionables turned bankrupt, I found trade of little use, and resorted to the popular method of travelling to and fro, from one side of the nation to the other, till I came to the far-famed "City of the Mormons," the capital of the "New Western Empire," and residence of the great prophet of the nineteenth century -- Joe Smith.

From what I have heard and read, before my arrival in the golden city I might well have expected to have met with a band of outlaws; marauders of the forest; ruffians of the darkest die; midnight assassins, clad in skins of beasts with horns and hoofs, more ugly than Lucifer himself; with a mighty chieftain at their head, desperate and bloody, before whom, Mahomet or Nero would fall into insignificance: Yes, the visions of Daniel and John, with their beasts of seven heads and ten horns, and eyes within and without, darting firebrands, arrows and death at every glance, were as nothing, compared with the description of this outlandish host; and in contemplating their deeds of darkness, one might well have exclaimed, Ne plus ultra. The cry of blood and murder was wafted on every breeze, but, as I had never been accustomed to fear the spirits of shadows, I leaped from the steamer, which had safely borne me over the waters of the majestic Mississippi, and landed safely on terra firma, in the midst of this wonderful people, just as the frost was about to suspend navigation; and, here I am yet -- ice-bound.

Immediately on my arrival I made my way into the very heart of the city, and judge of my astonishment, when, instead of finding myself surrounded by savages; more terrible than the copper man of the forest, with his tomahawk and scalping knife, I discovered that I was in the midst of an intelligent and enlightened people; as peaceable, quiet, sober, and industrious as those of any city I had ever visited.

I have had several interviews with the great prophet, and other big lions of this community I and will do them the justice to say that I have never found more of the true gentleman, among any people -- entirely free from that sophistry in deportment, which characterises many of the fashionables of civilized society.

The Mormon Prophet may well be considered the one hundred and first wonder of the age, and the caution too, if I may judge by a few calls at his office, and the frequent exhibitions of himself in public. The dignity, combined with ease, familiarity, and urbanity of manner, which characterise his deportment; on the judgment seat as Chief Magistrate of the City; as commander of the Legion; as President of a numerous church; as the head of a noble family; and as a general business calculator, is unsurpassed: but this is not sufficient to occupy his mind, his eye appears to glance with the velocity of lightning to the utmost bounds of earth, and he compasses other worlds in his imaginations, or revelations, (true or false, Judge, ye) never losing sight of the signs in the heavens, and commotion of the elements, the contentions of nations, and even minute circumstances of every description, which he supposes will have an influence on the happiness, misery, or destiny of himself or his fellow men, and especially of those, his followers, who refer to him for counsel.

I have taken a survey of the location of the city and many other things, such as its charters, number of inhabitants, age of the city, municipal organization and discipline, politics, legion, general and particular relations, as individuals and body politic, literary institutions, morals, commerce, currency, wealth and poverty, prospects, revelations, ordinances, faith, &c. &c., so far as the intense cold would suffer a man, with safety, to trust his nose out of doors, which has been seldom; but will say no more, till I have examined more critically; for there has been so. much speculation, concerning this people, so that I am determined to write nothing but from my own observation.

Yours,             VIATOR.

 

 

 

...

[strappinglad]

An aside not intended to derail, but I wonder when the education system stopped teaching English as a method of communication. I suspect the average college student in the US would be stretched to read this letter let alone compose one of that type. Of course , once they translated it , they could tweet the gist in 140 characters !

[Robert F. Smith]

In Latin viator means "traveler, wayfarer."

 

The Mormons were described by an unbiased observer then pretty much as they can be described today.  Joseph would feel right at home.

[Coreyb]

Fascinating! Now can you find a nonmormon who thought Great Salt Lake City in 1856 was a wonderful place?

[strappinglad]

In bouncing around the internet trying to put a name to ' viator ' , I came upon the BOAP site and records of articles in the newspaper. What jumped out at me were the records of deaths every month with ages and causes. Sad to see so many little-ones die of common afflictions like fever and diarrhea and measles. I think there are a few odd ducks in today's society that would have us return to that scenario.

Give us a hint , UD , who might 'viator ' be??

[Okrahomer]

In bouncing around the internet trying to put a name to ' viator ' , I came upon the BOAP site and records of articles in the newspaper. What jumped out at me were the records of deaths every month with ages and causes. Sad to see so many little-ones die of common afflictions like fever and diarrhea and measles. I think there are a few odd ducks in today's society that would have us return to that scenario.

Give us a hint , UD , who might 'viator ' be??

 

According to an article by Samuel Brown in this issue of the Journal of Mormon History, it was W.W. Phelps:

 

"In July 1843, Phelps in the guise of Viator wrote to the Boston Bee." (pg. 54)

[Calm]

Then not a nonmember after all?

[Okrahomer]

Then not a nonmember after all?

UPDATE:

I didn't see this earlier: we now have this more recent reference from the Joseph Smith Papers indicating that it was not WW Phelps but rather Willard Richards:

http://josephsmithpapers.org/searchNew?query=Viator&sort=page%20number&page=1&perpage=10&startdate=&enddate=&transcripts=false&issuggestion=false&uri=/published/jsp/expanded/papers/53992206/53992206-0285.xml&types=documents-papers|documents-papers-journals|related-materials|biographical-directory|geographical-directory|glossary

"Eleven days later Richards began writing a series of letters under the pseudonym Viator to be published in the Boston Daily Bee, the first of which bears the date 17 March 1843 and was read to JS that day. JS, Journal,..."

[Uncle Dale]

UPDATE:

I didn't see this earlier: we now have this more recent reference from the Joseph Smith Papers indicating that it was not WW Phelps but rather Willard Richards:

http://josephsmithpapers.org/searchNew?query=Viator&sort=page%20number&page=1&perpage=10&startdate=&enddate=&transcripts=false&issuggestion=false&uri=/published/jsp/expanded/papers/53992206/53992206-0285.xml&types=documents-papers|documents-papers-journals|related-materials|biographical-directory|geographical-directory|glossary

"Eleven days later Richards began writing a series of letters under the pseudonym Viator to be published in the Boston Daily Bee, the first of which bears the date 17 March 1843 and was read to JS that day. JS, Journal,..."

 

 

Well then -- what have we here? A disinterested, objective Gentile traveler?

Or maybe the very odd W. W. Phelps -- (who ended his life insane)?

Or, perhaps Willard Richards -- who could at least have been truthful, in

saying that he had visited Smith's Nauvoo office on at least "a few" occasions.

At the time, Richards worked there on a daily basis. Phelps, on the other

hand, spent most of his time assisting John Taylor over at the Times & Seasons,

(and, later, on the Nauvoo Neighbor)

 

 

 

Let's look at a follow-up letter from the same, mysterious Viator. Here he hints

that he is at least a little older than Joseph Smith -- and implies that he has

decided to stay in Nauvoo; even after the river ice had melted away in April:

 

 

 

THE BOSTON DAILY BEE.

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Vol. II. --- Boston, Massachusetts, April 18, 1843. --- No. 149.

 

(CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THE  "BOSTON BEE.")

 

Nauvoo, Ill., March 24, 1843.          

To the Editor -- Sir: -- In gone-by years, and long before I had heard of the prophet "Jo Smith," and, indeed, before he had an existence, I had formed some very curious ideas about the ancient prophets. From reading their history in the Bible, I supposed they must have been men of no ordinary proportions; or, if so, that there was something about them different from other men, by which they might be distinguished at sight. As a matter of course, I thought they must have had grey hairs for a covering to make them appear very dignified, and beard as long as a Jew; for if they shaved it would shew that they were men; and could I have had the privilege of looking at one, I should have expected to have seen him clad in sheep, goat, bear or wolf skin, wandering about on the mountains, like the beasts he had robbed of their garments; lodging in the caves and dens of the earth, and subsisting on the fruits and nuts of the forests. A being too holy, too sanctified, too exalted, by his high calling, to appear in the habitations or among the society of men, unless he had some important message to communicate direct from Heaven; some revelation or commandment to promulgate to his fellows, and then he would just come forth, and cry out, like the beasts, in the wilderness, with so much sacred sanctity that every body would know he was a prophet; and, if by nothing else, when they saw his nails like birds' claws, and his hairs like eagles' feathers, and his face and hands as filthy as a baboon; for it never occurred to me that clean hands, in administering before the Lord, as mentioned in the Scripture, meant any thing more than a good conscience, and I had never supposed but that a man could worship God just as acceptably, all covered with dirt, and filth and slime, as though he had bathed in Siloam every hour, until I heard the Mormon prophet lecturing his people on the subject of neatness and cleanliness, teaching them that all was clean in Heaven, and that Jesus was going to make the place of his feet glorious, and if the Mormons did not keep their feet out of the ashes, they could not stand with him on Mount Zion,

I had no thought before but that dirty people could get to heaven, as well as clean ones; and that if the priests offered sacrifice with polluted hands, the fire would cleanse both the offering and the hands that offered it. I cannot say how much there may be in Scripture to contradict my views, neither can I vouch for it that the churches of the day believe any such doctrine, for I never belonged to any of them, but had rather been called an infidel. As to that I have not altered much. I like consistency, find it where I may.

With all these curious notions I fell into the Mormon Settlement, and saw the prophet, but having never heard a Mormon preach, you can imagine me not quite ready to receive all the impressions incident to an interview with such a distinguished personage, but Iwill give it as I find it, hit or miss the faith or feelings of any one.

I have had an interview since my last, and found anything but the truth of current reports. "The prophet Joseph," (as he is caned among his people) said in a conversation with a gentleman present that he no more professed to be a prophet, than every man must, who professed to be a preacher of righteousness, or a minister of the New Testament. To be a minister of Jesus, a man must testify of Jesus; and to testify of Jesus, a man must have the spirit of prophecy; for, according to John, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. If a man professes to be a minister of Jesus, and has not the spirit of prophecy, he must be a false witness for he is not in possession of that gift which qualifies him for his office; and the difference between himself and the clergy of this generation is, he claims, to be in possession of that spirit of prophecy which qualifies him to testify of Jesus and the gospel of salvation; while the clergy deny that spirit, even the spirit of prophecy, which alone could constitute them true witnesses or testators of the Lord Jesus, and yet claim to be the true ministers of salvation.

In this, said he, I am honest, and they are dishonest, and that is the difference between us. Were they true and honest witnesses of Jesus Christ, they would acknowledge they have the testimony of him, and that is the spirit of prophecy, and every man who possesses that spirit is a prophet. I, said he, claim no more than what every servant of Christ must possess, to qualify him for his office while the clergy of the 19th century, deny that which alone could constitute them what they profess to be. He said he did not profess to be a very good man, but acknowledged himself a sinner like other men, or as all men are, imperfect; and it is necessary for all men to grow into the stature of manhood in the gospel.

I could not help noticing that he dressed, talked and acted like other men, and in every respect the perfect counterpart of what I had conjured up in my imagination for a prophet.

The Mormons have not yet completed their great temple, and have no commodious place of worship, but the apostles and elders preach in private houses on the Sabbath, and at other times, though I seldom attend these latter meetings: but when the weather will admit, they meet in the grove, or on the rough floors of the basement of the temple, and then the prophet frequently preaches. On one of these occasions I heard him preach concerning the prodigal son.

After naming his text, the prophet remarked, that some one had asked him the meaning of the expression of Jesus, "among those born of woman there has not arisen a greater than John," and said he had promised to answer it in public, and he would do it then. "It could not have been on account of the miracles John performed, for he did no miracles; but it was, first, because he was trusted with a divine mission, of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Who was trusted with such a mission, before or since? No man.

Second, He was trusted, and it was required at his hands, to baptise the son of man. Who ever did that? Who ever had so great a privilege or glory?" Who ever led the Son of God into the waters of baptism, beholding the Holy Ghost descend upon him in the sign of the Dove? No man.

Third, John, at that time, was the only legal administrator, holding the keys of power, there was on earth: The keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory, had departed from the Jews; and John, the son of Zachariah, by the holy anointing, and decree of heaven, held the keys of power at that time."   V.

 

 

 

 

ps. ---- On March 6, 1843, Joseph Smith's "History" records that he "requested Dr. Richards to write to the Bee..."

[strappinglad]

Well, whoever it was, were he alive today, could find a position in the Church's PR department. He might have to tone it down a notch.

[Uncle Dale]

Well, whoever it was, were he alive today, could find a position in the Church's PR department. He might have to tone it down a notch.

 

 

I suppose that I might as well go ahead and post the next two installments in this

"Daily Bee" Viator series. The rest I'll upload to my web-site next month.

 

Notice, in the 4th letter, that the writer seems to praise all things Mormon,

EXCEPT for Hyrum Smith's knowledge and abilities as a Temple Construction

Committeeman --- Strange. Perhaps somebody ought to take a look at the

"Daily Bee" for May 11th, 1843, to see if the letter actually reads that way.

 

An unknowing, visiting Gentile might be expected to make occasional

out-of-school remarks concerning the Patriarch of the Church. But this

letter reports the topmost Mormon leaders as preaching/teaching vacuous

imaginings concerning owls and elephants -- not exactly the sort of Divine

guidance and inspired counsel one would expect the see in the One True

Church --- No wonder that the "Times & Seasons" never reprinted this.

 

Enjoy

 

UD

 

THE BOSTON DAILY BEE.

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Vol. III. --- Boston, Massachusetts, April 28, 1843. --- No. 4.

 

 

(CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THE  "BOSTON BEE.")

 

Nauvoo, Ill., April 1, 1843.          

To the Editor -- Sir: -- As the prophet was expatiating on the character of John and Jesus, I had a peculiarly fair view of his person; and, to my astonishment, I beheld a man destitute of all those qualifications so essential to the life and interest of the man of memory keen, the razor; for if men generally, did not need shaving more than the Mormon prophet, barber's shops would be of little use; indeed, if he shaves at all, I think it must be for fashion's sake, for I would judge him to be a beardless hero of about thirty-seven or eight years.

The way he explained the difference between the Holy Ghost, in the form of the dove, and the sign of the dove, was curious indeed, and after critically noticing all the nice distinctions between the two, he closed that part of his subject by calling on all the learned men present, of every sect and denomination, or of no denomination at all, to come forward, and, by their Greek and Hebrew, refute what he had stated; and when they had done it, he pledged himself to prove them all false, before the whole world, by their own witnesses. There were several learned men present, but no one accepted the offer, and it was presumed they dare not do it, for fear they should expose themselves.

There is the greatest spirit of liberality among this "deluded" people, I have ever met with. They will let any man who professes to be a minister of the gospel, preach in their houses, or, on their stand, and I have never known them flinch from investigation, but always appear open and frank in faith and practice.

The way the prophet uses his lungs, when he addresses a great multitude in the open air, (and he seldom speaks to less than several thousands on such occasions) would be a caution to almost any man; when he gets engaged, he roars -- so that all who will may hear, and all who will not, must not stand very near.

In all his appearance, both in public and in private, so far as I have observed, he is purely sui generis, he is governed by the governing spirit, and not by any fixed rules, or scholastic dogmas; and thousands hung on his lips in breathless silence, while he explained the Alpha and Omega, and all the interstices of the Prodigal Son; and although he occupied near three hours in his multifarious observations, his standing auditors seemed at the close as though he had just named his text, or as though they wished it were so, and seemed as much delighted as surprised at the wonderful expose of the poor returning penitent of the parable, in which he brought forth a particular key which unlocked the whole mystery. But I must not enter into a detail of such lengthy proceedings to the exclusion of passing events.

Saturday week, Peter Sozzle was brought up, on complaint, before the Mayor, (for you must recollect that "Jo" is Mayor, as well as prophet) for breach of ordinance. Peter feigned himself rather blue, and the Mayor ordered him to the lockup until sober. I'm sober as your honor, said Peter. Then I will imprison you two days for contempt of Court, was his honor's reply. On Monday it appeared that Peter had been in the habit of making too free with the "gud cratur," and had abused his better half, whom he had found only about one moon ago, and who thought them poor saints "who would act so." Fined ten dollars, and bound over, to keep the peace 6 months.

But you must not take Peter for a specimen of Nauvoo. The city ordinances prohibit drunkenness in every form, both by fine and imprisonment, and no man is allowed to sell less than one gallon of whiskey, at any one time, under severe penalty. Whiskey is used principally for making vinegar, in the West, but the ordinance is rather hard against the tippler, in the "city of the Saints," "for the Mormon drunkards, while drunk, are obliged to keep hid behind the barrel, or risk being found before their betters, with or without precept, when sober.

Before arriving at this place, and since too, from abroad, I have often heard it reported that the prophet gets drunk; but if I may be permitted to judge of "Joe's" exterior, I would as soon suspect the angel Gabriel for a tippler, as his honor, and if he were as guilty as the Gothamites, and other ites, report him to be, I think somebody might have found it out before now, for he stated in Court, two days since, that he had been arrayed before the Courts of his country, sixty-five times, and no evil had yet been found against him.

There is a fine field here now; for the hopeful sons of Galen and Blackstone; for opposition is the life of business, and we read that when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them; this being the situation of Nauvoo city, of course it requires many of the professionals to keep things straight; and the Mormons think it takes their prophet to keep these orators strait; and he lately fined a limb of the law, $10.00, for abusing a witness with improper questions.

The credit of the Mormons, is good for almost any thing but righteousness, and of that, they possess much less than many of their more opulent neighbors. They have credit for stealing to an infinite amount. So if anyone wishes to make a big game at slight o'hand, he has only to cry Mormon, and he can be introduced to the whole mystery. Some of the wholesale speculators have been reporting that there is a combination to steal and transport property from place to place, through all this section of country, and other parts of the Union, and that the Mormons are at the head of the heap, but the way the Mayor has given them a hint of somethings, in the last "Wasp" is a loud caution to slippery fingers.   V.

 

 

======================

 

 

THE BOSTON DAILY BEE.

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Vol. III. --- Boston, Massachusetts, May 11, 1843. --- No. 15.

 

(CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THE  "BOSTON BEE.")

 

Nauvoo, Ill., April 8, 1843.          

To the Editor -- Sir: -- The Millennium has begun: -- not Miller's Millennium that is to be ushered in by fire and brimstone on April 3d 1843 but the Mormon Millennium commenced April 6th 1843 on this wise: -- the prophet gave notice some weeks ago, they would have a Conference on that day. So the Prophet and the Patriarch, and the Apostles, and High Priests, and little priests (or lesser Priests I think they call them), and big guns, and little guns, and all sorts of fire arms, collected together on the floor of the Temple (which is now surrounded by walls from 6 to 12 feet high) filled with rough benches, crowded to overflowing, even to the top of the walls on the 6th inst., just 13 years since their church was organized in Manchester, N. York, consisting of six members. This being the first day of the fourteenth year of the church, they call it a Jubilee -- a Millennium; no body but Saints; all peace; one Spirit [fired] 4 or 5000.

I have heard about preachers speaking to the walls, but this was not the case at this meeting, which lasted 3 days, closing this evening; for so completely were the people packed away, there was nothing to be seen from the centre of a room 100 by 80 feet, but bonnets on the one hand, and at prayers, bare heads on the other, which had they been as white as Michael's, would have presented a very fleecy appearance; and instead of speaking to the walls it was literally speaking to the people.

These Mormons have a way peculiar to them, and can accommodate themselves to times and circumstances, with a grace; their stand is by the East Wall, but when the North-West wind blew so hard that the audience could not hear, they made a pulpit of a barrel or two, then mounted some of their big guns heavily loaded; and then some of their auditors would get more sand and dust than knowledge; but it mattered not, there is no turning them from their purpose; they are a persevering people, and will accomplish what they begin.

At these public Councils, or Conferences, they attend to all sorts of business, and talk about all sorts of things. I gave myself up to the Spirit of listening through the whole of their operations, and will tell you of several things before I get through. They had much to say about building the Temple and Nauvoo House, and stealing, and beasts, and kingdoms, and heads, and horns, and seven heads and ten horns; in heaven and earth, and all about; and missions and trials; the first Presidency, and the Prophet, and his Council were tried for the good reason that they offered themselves for trial; but nobody had aught against them, and they were voted in good standing.

Next they called up the Temple Committee. The public property of the Mormons is managed by a sole Trustee in Trust, chosen by the people, and under heavy bonds for a faithful discharge of his duties. This trustee is no less a personage than Joe himself. The Temple Committee are three men under bonds to the trustee for a faithful discharge of their duties. Some of the knowing ones, such as are always found among all sorts of people thought this Committee had helped themselves to a little better pay than they had given their hands who labored for them. The Committee (Cutler, Cahoon & Higbee) made an honorable defence, but the Patriarch Hyrum, (the prophet's oldest brother) thought to make certainly sure by pleading their case over again, and said he once was on a Temple Committee; and as the Committee present could not talk very well, and he could, he would tell them all about it; so at it he went, and told them the complaint against the Committee reminded him of the boy who saw something on a tree; and he ran to his daddy and told him he had seen an Elephant on a tree. His daddy did not believe him but as the lad affirmed it was so, he went to see, and behold it was nothing but an owl; and this was the substance of the whole matter. But I thought the Patriarch did not know much more, and they thought he did. I neither believed it an Elephant nor an owl, but only a scarecrow the thieves had hung up to keep off the owls while they stole the chickens which roosted on the tree. Be that as it may the Committee came off as pure as Angels.   V.