--- title: Times and Seasons description: Issues of 1841 to 1842. authors: - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints editors: - Ebenezer Robinson - Don Carlos Smith - Smith, Joseph, Jr. - Taylor, John collections: - periodicals tags: - newspaper - times-and-seasons - nauvoo - nineteenth-century periodical: Times and Seasons volume: 3 number: 19 published: 1842-08-01 publisher: E. Robinson and D. C. Smith; later John Taylor publisher_place: Commerce and Nauvoo, Illinois language: en type: article reference: "“Certificate of Horace S. Eldridge,” *Times and Seasons* 3, no. 19 (August 1, 1842): 878." printed_title: CERTIFICATE OF HORACE S. ELDRIDGE. source: url: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-08-01_3_19 transcription: Text from the Centerplace.org transcription (https://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v3n19.htm), with its page breaks; this Internet Archive scan is the reference copy (its OCR was used only as a witness for OCR repair) identifier: per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-08-01_3_19 start_page: 878 end_page: 878 curator_note: A Mormon newspaper published by the church in Nauvoo; included for historical study. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1842 (Nauvoo, Illinois); published before 1931, so public domain in the United States source: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-08-01_3_19 publication_year: 1842 --- # Certificate of Horace S. Eldridge Having been called upon to state circumstances connected with a contract between Geo. W. Robinson and myself, I now submit such facts as occur to my mind. Somewhere about the month af [of] November, 1839, Geo. W. Robinson came to my house, in the vicinity of Indianapolis, in the State of Indiana; I told him I designed moving to Nauvoo-was desirous to be near the City-enjoy their privileges of meetings, as well as the comforts of country life. He informed me that he could suit me in a place. A bargain was struck and I paid him over $300 in hand, and was to have possession of the place on my arrival in Nauvoo, and upon my arrival ascertained that he had previously sold the same premises to Mr. Granger, and partly received the pay. Consequently my money was gone, and I had no place, and this was not all, the title bond that he made and gave me was esteemed defective, I was therefore left to do the best I could under the circumstances, either to enter into a suit at law or take up with such terms as he might prescribe. And by my importunities and the influence of my friends, I effected a settlement as I thought greatly to the prejudice of my interest. HORACE S. ELDRIDGE. In regard to his being a scape goat to carry the sins of others, we think that he will do pretty well if he is able to carry his own sins without fainting. We neither want Bennett to sacrifice a lamb, nor do we want a goat to carry our sins into the wilderness, we are ready to atone for our own sins and to answer for our own transgressions. We further hope that all other goats that are in our midst will pack up their sins and walk, but if when they get away they should try to pursuade [persuade] the public that they are somebody's else sins and not their own that they are packing, we may give the public information relative to the matter. The Editor of the Quincy Whig will confer a favor by copying the foregoing. It must be obvious to every reflecting mind that in a city comprising from ten to twelve thousand inhabitants, there must of necessity be some delinquents among them, if it were not so we should be an anomaly in the history of churches, of cities, and of the world. We make use of all prudential means, both ecclesiastical and civil, to prevent the commission of crime, and citizens from being imposed upon: in many instances we have succeeded-if in some few we should fail it cannot be thought surprising.-ED.