Benediction, 6 April 1841
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Source Note
JS, Benediction, , Hancock Co., IL, 6 Apr. 1841. Featured version published in “Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church—Military Parade—Prest. Rigdon’s Address—Laying the Corner Stones of the Temple,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, vol. 2, no. 12, 376. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.
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Historical Introduction
On 6 April 1841 in , Illinois, JS oversaw the laying of the cornerstones for the Nauvoo and pronounced a benediction on one of the cornerstones. The cornerstone ceremony coincided with the ’s eleventh anniversary and was part of a celebration attended by thousands. JS and the church had prepared for the cornerstone ceremony since mid-February. An announcement in the 15 February 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons notified readers that at the church’s April general , “the Corner Stone of the temple of god will be laid, attended with appropriate ceremonies.” To prepare for the event, , , and others “laid out the foundation of the building,” while on 18 February other Latter-day Saints “commenced to dig the cellar.” The corners of the cellar were dug first, and by early March, workers began constructing the cellar wall. Latter-day Saints were asked to labor on the temple once every ten days, which many did during March. According to , by “this means they were enabled to rush on the works so that by the 6th day of April the walls were sufficiently high at the corners to lay the corner stones.” Similarly, noted in his journal that by the time of the April general conference, “the wall Was raised five feet was in Rediness for to recieve the Corner stone for the hewed Stone of the basement story.”A procession of the began early in the morning of 6 April 1841 with a military review presenting a “beautiful silk national flag.” The procession arrived at the ground at noon. Some ten thousand men and women—members of the church as well as nonmembers—joined JS and the Nauvoo Legion to sing hymns and hear an hour-long oration from on church history and the Saints’ tribulations. Latter-day Saint Norton Jacob described the scene: “A countless multitude thronged around the Ma[r]sheled lines filed with much wonder & curiosity to know what all this would amount to, manny strange murmers ran through the waveing throng, to see the Prophet the master spirit of the glitering scene; mount a scaffold at the South East corner in full Military costume acompanied by many of his fellow-officers & friends!” After another hymn, the directed the lowering of the first, southeast, cornerstone. JS then pronounced a benediction for that stone, praying, as reported in the Times and Seasons, that “the building might soon be completed, that the saints might have an habitation to worship the God of their fathers.” The only known account of JS’s prayer is the one printed in the 15 April 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons, which is the account featured here.Following JS’s blessing, also offered a brief prayer, and then the other three stones were placed: the southwest corner by , the of the , and , president of the , with Smith pronouncing the benediction; the northwest corner by the Nauvoo , representing the , who were abroad, with a benediction by ; and the northeast corner by the church’s , with giving the benediction.noted that all those in attendance “were truly of one heart and mind, no contention or discord; even persons unconnected with the church forgot their prejudices, and for once took pleasure in the society of the saints, admired their order and unanimity, and undoubtedly received favorable impressions by their visit.” The ceremony for placing the cornerstones drew the interest of editors and readers of newspapers throughout the region and the eastern . When in , for example, wrote to a little over a month later, he commented on his gratification in “seeing pu[b]lished in many papers here the glowing description of cermonies at the laying of the corner stone for your great .”
Footnotes
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1
A newspaper from nearby Warsaw, Illinois, reported that the anniversary celebration was attended by “about 7000 or 8000, some say as high as 12,000.” The church’s newspaper reported that there were “probably not less than ten thousand persons present.” (“The Mormons,” Western World [Warsaw, IL], 7 Apr. 1841, [3]; “Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:376.)
Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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2
“The General Conference, and the Temple of God,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:320, emphasis in original; see also “The Mormons,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 31 Mar. 1841, [2].
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.
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3
Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 5.
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
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4
Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 5–6; Jacob, Reminiscence and Journal, 4. For more on the Saints laboring every tenth day, see “Ecclesiastical,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:296; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; and Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840.
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
Jacob, Norton. Reminiscence and Journal, May 1844–Jan. 1852. CHL. MS 9111.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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5
Huntington, Diaries of William Huntington, 12; see also “The Temple,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1841, 2:369.
Huntington, William. Diaries of William Huntington. [Provo, UT]: Brigham Young University Library, 1952–1953. Copy at CHL.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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6
“Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:375–376.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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7
Jacob, Reminiscence and Journal, 4.
Jacob, Norton. Reminiscence and Journal, May 1844–Jan. 1852. CHL. MS 9111.
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8
Robert B. Thompson, “Laying the Corner Stone of the Temple,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:382; see also “Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:376.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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9
The Times and Seasons served as the source text for a later version copied into JS’s history. (See Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 6 Apr. 1841; and JS History, vol. C-1, 1185.)
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10
“Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:377. The order of the cornerstone placement followed the pattern of the 1838 cornerstone service for a temple in Far West, Missouri. (“Celebration of the 4th of July,” Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 60.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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11
Robert B. Thompson, “Laying the Corner Stone of the Temple,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:382.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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12
For some of the newspaper coverage of the cornerstone event, see News Item, Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot (Burlington), 15 Apr. 1841, [2]; News Item, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 16 Apr. 1841, [2]; “The Mormons,” Cleveland [OH] Daily Herald, 19 Apr. 1841, [3]; “The Mormons,” New-York Tribune, 22 Apr. 1841, [2]; and “The Mormon Temple,” Jeffersonian Republican (Stroudsburg, PA), 12 May 1841, [2].
Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot. Burlington, IA. 1839–1851.
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
Jeffersonian Republican. Jefferson City, MO. 1831–1844.
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13
Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, to Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 13 May 1841, JS Office Papers, CHL.
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