Saturday, July 16, 2022

W. W. Phelps (February 18, 1861): Slaves to have a "Holiday as Wonderful as their Masters" by 1866

In a letter dated February 18, 1861, to Brigham Young, W. W. Phelps offered a translation of Zech 2:6-9 (Heb: 2:10-13) based on Johannes Michaelis' translation of the pericope. Phelps interprets this pericope in light of the then-future Civil War which would begin on April 1861 (cf. D&C 87), concluding that

 


 

By 1866, these "slaves" will have a holiday as wonderful as their masters . . . sic transit gloria mundi [Thus passes the glory of the world]

 

 Interestingly, this would actually be fulfilled with the establishment of a U.S. holiday on June 19, 1866.