''The Wasp'' (often referred to as ''Nauvoo Wasp'') was a weekly

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

newspaper edited and published by

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

, from April 1842 to April 1843. While it was not an official publication of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

, ''The Wasp'' was consistently pro-

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

and its primary target audience was the Latter Day Saint residents of Nauvoo. ''The Wasp'' ceased publication when it was replaced by John Taylor's similarly themed ''

Nauvoo Neighbor The ''Nauvoo Neighbor'' was a weekly newspaper edited and published by Latter Day Saint apostle John Taylor in Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1843 to 1845. While it was not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the ...

''. ''The Wasp'' has been described as the "secular counterpart" of the Latter Day Saint Church's ''

Times and Seasons ''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed ...

''.

Ronald W. Walker Ronald Warren Walker (1939 – May 9, 2016) was an American History of the Latter Day Saint movement, historian of the Latter Day Saint movement and a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) and president of the Mormon History Association. Hi ...

, David J. Whittaker & James B. Allen (2001). ''Mormon History''. (Urbana: University of Illinois) p. 208. The newspaper dedicated much of its space to answering the criticism by Thomas C. Sharp's and the

anti-Mormon Anti-Mormonism refers to individuals, literature and media that are opposed to the beliefs, adherents, or institutions of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement as a whole. It may include hostility, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, ...

'' Warsaw Signal'' directed at the church and

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

Notes

References

*Jerry C. Jolley
"The Sting of ''the Wasp'': Early Nauvoo Newspaper—April 1842 to April 1843"
22 ''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies'' is a multidisciplinary academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abs ...

'' (Fall 1982) 487–496. *Darwin L. Hays
"Nauvoo Neighbor"
in Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.) (1992). ''

Encyclopedia of Mormonism The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The encyclopedia's five volumes have been digitized and ar ...

''. (New York: Macmillan) p. 999.

External links

''The Wasp''
PDF scan on Archive.org (16 April 1842–26 April 1843)

: partial archive, HTML format Defunct weekly newspapers Newspapers established in 1842 Nauvoo, Illinois Publications disestablished in 1843 Latter Day Saint movement in Illinois Defunct newspapers published in Illinois 1842 in Christianity Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) periodicals 1842 establishments in Illinois {{LDS-stub

See also

Notes

References

External links