Abstract
William Wines Phelps (1792-1872) was a prominent associate of Mormon founder Joseph Smith in Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. He published the first Mormon newspaper and was Smith’s ghostwriter for some of his most important communications. In this paper I will focus on Phelps’s early years in western New York where he lived for almost forty years, edited three newspapers, became a Freemason, renounced that institution, and became a prominent participant in the anti-Masonic movement. I will then suggest how Phelps’s experiences in New York influenced his conversion and early career in Mormonism.
Date
1-1-2024
Volume
18
Number
1
First Page
33
Last Page
64
Journal Title
American Communal Societies Quarterly
ISSN
1939-473X
