Monday, February 26, 2024

Richard Price and Pamela Price vs. Joseph Smith as Author of "The Peacemaker"

  

The points given below (and page numbers) provide additional evidence that Joseph did not conspire with Jacob to have the pamphlet written, and that the Prophet told the truth when he denounced the pamphlet and denied knowledge of it prior to its printing:

 

1. The Peace Maker Degraded Women. Even though Udney Jacob promoted polygamy in his pamphlet, most of it was a tirade insisting that wives must be completely subservient to their husbands, even being considered the husband’s property. In all of Joseph Smith’s extensive writings published during his lifetime, there are no examples of his believing or teaching such an evil system. His respect and treatment of his wife, adopted daughter, mother, and sisters show him to have been compassionate to women. His wife, Emma, and his mother, Lucy, exercised great freedom in testifying and in expounding Church doctrine. He, by revelation, confirmed upon Emma the title of the “elect Lady.” Joseph did not conspire with Udney to publish that pamphlet which advocated the abuse of women and the promotion of polygamy.

 

2. Udney Jacob as a Prophet. The pamphlet declared that Udney Jacob was the Prophet Elijah (2), the prophet who would stop the mouths of kings (22), and the man-child spoken of in Isaiah 66:7-8 (25) who was to precede Christ’s return. Elijah had already appeared as a heavenly messenger sent from the throne of Heaven to Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, in a vision in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 (see RLDS History of the Church 2:47; LDS History of the Church 2:436).

 

There is no way that Joseph, who had beheld Elijah in that glorious vision, could believe that Jacob was the reincarnation of that Old Testament prophet. Elijah had, among other things, committed the keys of this dispensation into Joseph’s hands, while Udney Jacob on the other hand claimed he, as the reincarnation of Elijah, was to change the world by bringing about a worldwide system of polygamy which would rob women of their agency to act and choose for themselves.

 

3. The Law of Moses Should Be Restored. The Peace Maker declared that the Law of Moses should be restored (35); advocated making sin offerings and forty stripes for some punishment (26); death as the only punishment for adultery (7); and death to a child who cursed father or mother (34). In view of the fact that Joseph had spent the previous twelve years restoring the New Testament law of grace, the Prophet would not have had any part in producing a book which called for a return to the Law of Moses.

 

4. Scriptural References. Had the pamphlet been written by Joseph, it would have had references to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the New Testament, and Latter Day Saint history. It is devoid of such, however. Yet it has numerous biblical references.

 

5. The Millennium Now. Jacob wrote, “For we now enter the Millennium” (19). Throughout Joseph’s writings, the Millennium is spoken of as not to begin until after the day of great judgments upon the earth, the binding of Satan, the gathering of the Saints, and the advent of the Lord (see RLDS DC 43:7; LDS DC 43:27-33).

 

6. Slavery. The Peace Maker advocated slavery for those of African descent, calling abolitionists fanatics and their beliefs “absurdities” (26). Joseph and the Latter Day Saints were anti-slavery in sentiment and were favorable to abolitionists. One of the main reasons the Saints were driven from Missouri was the fact that they were against slavery. There were African-American Church members both at Kirtland and Nauvoo. Elijah Abel, the first black elder, was ordained a seventy December 20, 1836 (see Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker, A Book of Mormons, 2).

 

7. Condemning U.S. Law. The pamphlet proclaimed that since the American Government had laws which upheld the rights of women, that it was “the most outrageous crime that a nation can be guilty of. Sodomy itself, is a trifle to this” (33). In contrast, Joseph declared that the Saints should uphold and obey the laws of the land (RLDS DC 58:5; LDS DC 58:21). The Doctrine and Covenants records that the Saints were to respect the marriages of those whose marriages had been performed by civil authority (1835 DC 101:1; RLDS DC 111:1c). The same section also declares that “one man should have one wife.”

 

8. Condemning New Englanders. In his pamphlet Jacob wrote, “O ye miserable fanatics of New England . . .” (26). Joseph was proud of his New England heritage, and appreciated the thousands of Sants from New England who had been baptized and were making worthwhile contributions as Church members.

 

9. Jacob’s testimony. As previously mentioned, Jacob plainly stated that he was the author of the work and was “not a Mormon” (2). Jacob was certain that he was “Elijah the Prophet” reincarnated and that his book, with its polygamous teachings, was destined to fulfill the prophecy in Malachi by turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. There is no way that Jacob would have had anything to do with Joseph. Jacob considered himself to be such a great prophet and he would not have teamed up with one such as Joseph, whom he, according to his letter to President Van Buren, considered to be a dangerous fanatic.

 

10. Joseph’s Quick Response. Another failing of the theory that Joseph had Jacob produce The Peace Maker is the matter of timing, for if Joseph had sponsored the publication of the pamphlet he would not have condemned it immediately. He would have quietly waited to see how the Saints in Nauvoo would have reacted to it. There was no time for The Peace Maker to be condemned or accepted by the Saints at Nauvoo before Joseph issued his statement: “There was a book printed at my office, a short time since.” It is not known just how much time elapsed between the pamphlet coming off the press, and Joseph’s statement being printed. However, it is known that the Times and Seasons was printed only every two weeks, which would have made it impossible for him to have his notice printed sooner. However, it is certain that Joseph was the first and only member of the Church at Nauvoo to denounce Jacob’s pamphlet in print.

 

11. Udney Hated Joseph and the Saints. In his letter to President Martin Van Buren, Jacob showed his hated of Joseph and the Saints by writing:

 

These Mormons know but very little of me; but Sir, I know them—and I know them to be a deluded and dangerous set of fanatics.

 

12. Udney and Joseph Did Not Know Each Other. Although The Peace Maker was published late in 1842, Joseph and Jacob still had not met by January 26, 1844, according to a statement made by Jacob in a personal letter which he penned to Joseph. Jacob wrote the Prophet:

 

I hope you will not consider this letter an intrusion—I have not to be sure the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with you nor do I know that I am worthy of that favor; yet I believe that I am worth saving. . . . (Brigham Young University Studies 9 [Autumn 1968]: 53)

 

This statement in the letter from Jacob to Joseph completely exonerates Joseph of having collaborated with Jacob in publishing The Peace Maker. Coauthoring the book would have meant the same kind of close working relationship with Jacob that Joseph had with Oliver Cowdery in producing the Book of Mormon, or Sidney Rigdon during the correcting of the Inspired Version. This never happened according to the testimonies of both men.

 

. . .

 

A Chronological Account of Joseph and Jacob’s Activities

 

Since incorrect beliefs seem to never die (such as believing that Joseph had Udney write The Peace Maker to test the Saints’ tolerance of polygamy), the following time line is provided. IT shows that Joseph and Udney could not have cooperated in producing that pamphlet, because they were never together while it was being written:

 

Early 1830s—Udney Jacob, his wife, adult children, and their families lived at Pilot Grove, Hancock County, Illinois.

 

February 1, 1831—Joseph and Emma Smith moved from Pennsylvania to Kirtland, Ohio, arriving there February 1, 1831.

 

March 14, 1838—Joseph and Emma moved from Kirtland in January 1838, and arrived at their new home in Far West, Missouri, on this date.

 

October 31, 1838—Joseph Smith and other Church men were arrested at Far West on false charges. Joseph was imprisoned for a period of five-and-a-half months—most of that time in the dungeon of the jail at Liberty, Missouri.

 

April 16, 1839—Joseph, Hyrum, and others, with the help of their guards, were allowed to escape.

 

April 22, 1839—Joseph arrived in Quincy, Illinois, where he found Emma and their children.

 

May 10, 1839—Joseph and his family moved into a two-room log cabin at Commerce, Illinois (Commerce later became Nauvoo).

 

August 1839—Udney Jacob’s daughter, Mary Jane, was married to Milton Hamilton at Pilot Grove in Hancock County (The Record of Norton Jacob, 2).

 

October 29, 1839—Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, Judge Elias Higbee, and Porter Rockwell left for Washington, D.C., to lay before Congress their grievances for the persecution of the Saints in Missouri.

 

March 4, 1840—Joseph arrived back home in Nauvoo.

 

March 19, 1840—Udney Jacob wrote a lengthy letter to President Martin Van Buren, requesting him to provide finances to publish his manuscript of The Peace Maker, which he had already written.

 

Summer 1840—Udney Jacob’s son, Norton Jacob, read a pamphlet written by Parley P. Pratt, which sparked his interest in the Church (The Record of Norton Jacob, 4).

 

Fall and Winter 1840—Norton Jacob attended preaching services held by Church elders in the vicinity of Pilot Grove, and “obtained” and “read with much interest” Parley P. Pratt’s Voice of Warning (ibid.).

 

March 15, 1841—Norton was baptized at La Harpe by Seventy Zenos Gurley, Sr. Udney said, according to Norton, that “he had rather heard I was dead than I was a Mormon” (ibid).

 

February 6, 1842—Ebenezer Robinson, owner, editor, and printer of the Times and Seasons sold the entire printing establishment to the Twelve. He wrote, “I gave possession of the establishment, to Willard Richards the purchaser on the behalf of the Twelve; at which time my responsibility ceased as editor” (Times and Seasons 3 [February 15, 1842]: 729).

 

February 15, 1842—It was announced that the Prophet Joseph Smith was the new editor of the Times and Seasons, with Apostle John Taylor assistant editor (see ibid., 695)—but Joseph had very little time for editorial work.

 

August 8, 1842—A deputy sheriff from Adams County and two assistants arrested Joseph based on an affidavit signed by ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri. Joseph escaped from his would-be captors and went into hiding until late December 1842, after the new Illinois governor had taken office.

 

Fall of 1842—Udney Jacob’s pamphlet, The Peace Maker, was published in the Times and Seasons press at Nauvoo.

 

November 1, 1842—Norton moved his family into Nauvoo (The Record of Norton Jacob, 4).

 

December 1, 1842—Joseph Smith issued his statements in which he announced that he did not want his name associated with Udney’s pamphlet.

 

1843—Udney was baptized into the Church. A problem arose in the Pilot Grove Branch, where he attended, and he had his name removed from the Church record (ibid. 12).

 

January 26, 1844—Udney wrote a letter to Joseph Smith in which he said, “I have not to be sure the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with you” (Brigham Young University Studies 9 [Autumn 1968]: 53).

 

June 27, 1844—Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered at Carthage Jail.

 

November 2, 1845—Udney Jacob was rebaptized by Norton Jacob and confirmed by Norton, assisted by Zenos Gurley (see The Record of Norton Jacob, 12).

 

March 15, 1850—Eli B. Kelsey’s letter was published in the Millennial Star in England. Kelsey defended Joseph against charges by Paul Harrison that the Prophet participated in the writings and publishing of The Peace Maker (see Millennial Star 12 [March 15, 1850]: 92-93).

 

March 1851—Udney Jacob wrote a letter to President Brigham Young, in which he stated that he wrote the Peace Maker and that he published it before he was a member of the Church (see Brigham Young University Studies 9 [Autumn 1968]: 52-53). (Richard Price and Pamela Price, Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy, 3 vols. [Independence, Miss.: Price Publishing Company, 2014], 2:130-34, 146-48)

 

Further Reading:

 

Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Little Known Discourse by Joseph Smith," BYU Studies (Autumn 1968): 49-53