The following words of Joseph Smith quoted below shows the rationality of Original Mormonism when it comes to the end-times. I believe the following sets the standard for how modern day Mormons should look at the concept of the "second coming." I believe that by 1844, Joseph had become more rational and scientific in his thinking and thus he was less focused on the millennium (end-times) as it didn't fit his newly evolved empowering and expansive theo-philosophy that affirmed the body and life in this word here and now. The constant talk of, and fear of, an imminent Second Coming reduced the value and richness of the present moment of today. I believe that Joseph Smith felt this way himself and thus he believed Christ revealed to him the Second Coming would definitely not occur in his lifetime; and therefore the Saints could relax and stop hyper focusing on and fearing end-times and thus avoid fanaticism. I believe this sets the precedent for modern-day Mormons in focusing on this life in this world and affirming the body. The following excerpts provide evidence for this.
From the Words of Joseph Smith by Joseph Smith by Andrew F. Ehat, Lyndon W. Cook (emphasis added):
Joseph Smith Diary, by Willard Richards[:]
I attended meeting AM at the Stand by the Temple and preached on the Subject of the Spirit of Elias Elijah. Elias & Mes[si]ah clearly defining the offices of the 3 personages. The Savior will not come this year. nor 40 yrs to come. The bow has been seen in the cloud & in that year that the bow is seen seed time and harvest will be. but when the bow ceases to be seen look out for a famine. [57]
Thomas Bullock Diary[:]
… that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant—the Messiah will not come this year—upsets Millerites … the Messiah will not come for 40 years and he told the people to write it a very large and attentive congregation— …
John Solomon Fullmer Papers 65 [Prophesy delivered by President Joseph Smith, March 10th 1844][:]
… the Revelation of the Son of Man from Heaven, would not be in this year, nor the next; and he would say to his Millerite friends, that it would not be in forty years to come. He uttered all this in the name of the Lord, and said we should go home and write it—
J.S.F.
—10 March 1844
Footnotes tead as follows:
38. William Miller (1782-1849) was founder of the Millerite movement. See 6 April 1843 (2), note 14.
Source: Loc 6159
[Words of Joseph Smith][:]
… were I going to prophecy I would prophecy the end will not come in 1844 or [1845 or 1846]. or 40 years more there are those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till christ comes. I was once praying earnestly upon this subject. and a voice said unto me. My son, if thou livest till thou art 85 years of age, thou shalt see the face of the son of man.—I was left to draw my own conclusions concerning this & I took the liberty to conclude that if I did live till that time Jesus he would make his appearance.—but I do not say whether he will make his appearance or I shall go where he is. [13]—I prophecy in the name of the Lord God.—& let it be written. that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old [14] 48 years hence or about 1890. [15]—then Read 14 Rev. 6 verse another angel fly in the midst of heaven; for the hour of his judgment is come. to extermination—from the commencement. commence when angel commences preaching this gospel 1 day—1000 years. 1000 years as 1 day. [16]—41 yrs 8 months. [17]—only 6 years [18] from the voice, saying, if thou live till thou art 85. years old. Hosea 6th chapter after 2 days &c 2520 years [19] which brings it to 1890.—Gaylor [20] says 45 years according to bible recokening. the coming of the Son of man never will be, never can be till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out, which judments are commenced. [21]—
Franklin D. Richards "Scriptural Items"[:]
Joseph said when he was asking to know of the time of Christs second Coming he obtained for answer my son if thou shalt live untill thou art Eighty five years old thou shalt see the son of man on Earth Joseph was born in Sharon Windsor County Vermont Dec 23 1805. He is therefore now 37 years old last Dec which leaves 48 years yet to transpire untill the tim[e] of Promise that Joseph should see Christ.
—6 April 1843 (2)
Footnotes read:
14. The Saints felt it a great advantage to have a prophet. For Joseph Smith's negative prophecy that Christ would not come before 1890 was an effective counterpoint to the fanaticism of an equally zealous and very popular millennarian movement led by William Miller. Although the Saints thought that Miller had predicted that the Second Coming would occur on 3 April 1843, just three days before this discourse was delivered (History of the Church, 5:326), actually Miller had predicted it could be as much as a year and a half later. Nevertheless, this was still not long enough time, for according to the Lord's voice to Joseph Smith the Second Coming would not be before 1890.
15. Joseph Smith would have been 85 years old on 23 December 1890.
Sourece:Loc 3593-3667
From Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, Volume 2, December 1841 to April 1843, the following journal entry by Joseph states:
3 April 1843 • Monday Monday
April 3d 1843 Millers’s [William Miller’s] Day of Judgment has arrived. but. tis too. pleas[a]nt. for false prophets.—[717]
Footnote 717 reads:
Though Miller affirmed many times that he had never set a precise date for the second coming of Christ, many “Millerites”predicted specific days. One of the most widely anticipated and reported dates was 23 April 1843. George Storrs, however, a prominent Millerite preacher and publisher from New York, was involved in a controversy that led many Millerites to believe 3 April 1843 was the date of the Second Coming. The Christian Secretary reported that Storrs had set 3 April as the precise date in lectures given in Hartford, Connecticut, because it coincided with the day of the Crucifixion. The Millerite newspaper the Signs of the Times repudiated the idea that any date had been fixed by Miller and after interviewing Storrs denied that the latter had ever fixed 3 April as the day of the advent. The Christian Secretary refused to retract, stating that not only had witnesses heard Storrs’s affirmation but that 3 April was a widespread belief among Millerites in the area. The view that 3 April was the date affixed by many Millerites was evident in Moses Stuart’s book on interpreting biblical prophecy, which referred to Millerites as “the men of April 3d.”JS evidently accepted 3 April as the common Millerite designation for the Second Advent, a supposition possibly conveyed to him two months earlier through his conversation on Millerism with a group of “young men”from New York City. (Doan, Miller Heresy, Millennialism, and American Culture, 47–48; “The Time of the End,”Christian Secretary, 13 Jan. 1843, [3]; “The Christian Secretary of Hartford,”Christian Secretary, 27 Jan. 1843, [3]; “The Time of the End,”Signs of the Times, 4 Jan. 1843, 121; Notice, Signs of the Times, 18 Jan. 1843, 141; see also “Spring,”Vermont Chronicle [Bellows Falls], 5 Apr. 1843, 55; Stuart, Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecy, 173; and JS, Journal, 12 Feb. 1843.)
