they had sometimes altered articles sent for publication. President Joseph Smith told him that the paper had been better conducted since he took the charge of it than it ever was before.
The made some remarks in reply, especially in regard to typographical errors, and showed that it was not or alone, who had to bear the responsibility of the paper but the Twelve Church and especially the authorities of the church. He wants to bear with the errors of the brethren and publish their articles unaltered.
Coun. explained the reasons why he had complained about the papers. He referred to an article which he wrote showing the reason why we held an election after [p. [235]]
It is unclear to which paper Taylor was referring. A January 1842 JS revelation stated that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should “take in hand the Editorial department of the Times and Seasons.” Accordingly, on 3 February 1842 Wilford Woodruff and Taylor were chosen to manage the paper under JS’s direction. In November 1842 JS resigned as editor and Taylor took his place. In December 1842 Taylor also became the editor of the Wasp, a weekly Nauvoo paper that previously had been edited by William Smith; in April 1843 Taylor announced plans to replace the Wasp with a more extensive paper called the Nauvoo Neighbor. (Revelation, 28 Jan. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 3 Feb. and 7–12 Nov. 1842; JS, “Valedictory,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1842, 4:8; “Valedictory,” and “Introductory,” Wasp, 10 Dec. 1842, [2]; “Prospectus of a Weekly Newspaper, Called the Nauvoo Neighbor,” Wasp, 5 Apr. 1843, [1].)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
At the previous council meeting, Young had similarly stated, “He has also heard a complaint that allmost all the articles sent by individuals for publication are altered in the office. If a man is a fool and writes a piece for the paper with his own [name?] to it, he would let it go.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. 1845.)