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Discourse, 21 January 1844

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Discourse, 21 January 1844

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL]. Featured version inscribed [ca. 21 Jan. 1844] in Wilford Woodruff, Journal, vol. 5, 1 Jan. 1843–31 Dec. 1844, pp. [181]–[183]; handwriting of ; Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Discourse, 17 Jan. 1843, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff.

Historical Introduction

On 21 January 1844, JS gave a discourse in , Illinois, on the mission of the Old Testament prophet Elijah and the power. According to JS’s journal, kept by , JS delivered the sermon in front of the Mammoth Hotel. Richards noted that “several thousand peoplee” attended and that “the weather was somewhat unple[as]ant.” JS prefaced his discourse by explaining that his health was poor and his lungs weak, making it difficult for him to speak in the open air to a large group. He referred to the prophecy in the book of Malachi that Elijah would return, before the second coming of Jesus Christ, to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” JS explained that this prophecy was fulfilled as the received (or authority), preached the gospel, together, built up , constructed temples, and acted as proxies for their dead in receiving necessary for salvation, such as . He also emphasized that little time remained to complete the work and encouraged the Saints to gather their living relatives to Nauvoo to “be sealed & saved.” In addition, JS taught that it was necessary to receive all the ordinances of the gospel and obey all of God’s laws in order to obtain the highest or “” kingdom of heaven after this life.
inscribed in his journal the only known version of JS’s 21 January 1844 discourse. The quality of Woodruff’s handwriting suggests that the account was a fair copy. It is unknown, however, if Woodruff created his account from notes he took during the sermon or whether he reconstructed it from memory.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 21 Jan. 1844. The Mammoth Hotel, owned by Robert D. Foster, was located on the northeast corner of Mulholland and Woodruff streets on lot 3 of block 19 in Wells’s Addition to Nauvoo. Wilford Woodruff’s account of the discourse, however, states that the meeting occurred at the Nauvoo temple construction site, which was about one block west of the Mammoth Hotel. (Book of Assessment, 1843, Third Ward, 8, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Cochran et al., History of Hancock County, Illinois, 441; Berrett, Sacred Places, 3:184; Woodruff, Journal, 21 Jan. 1844; Hills, Map of the City of Nauvoo, 1842; see also Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 40–41.)

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

    Cochran, Robert M., Mary H. Siegfried, Ida Blum, David L. Fulton, Harold T. Garvey, and Olen L. Smith, eds. History of Hancock County, Illinois: Illinois Sesquicentennial Edition. Carthage, IL: Board of Supervisors of Hancock County, 1968.

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Hills, Gustavus. Map of the City of Nauvoo. New York: J. Child, 1842. CHL.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 21 Jan. 1844.

  3. [3]

    Malachi 4:5–6. JS had referenced the coming of Elijah in previous discourses. (See Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841; and Discourse, 13 Aug. 1843–A.)

  4. [4]

    See Historical Introduction to Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, 21 January 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
the Saints of God gatherd built up, & the Saints to come up as saviors on mount zion but how are they to become Saviors on Mount Zion by building their temples erecting their Baptismal fonts & going forth & receiving all the , , , , & powers upon our heads in behalf of all our Progenitors who are dead & redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection & be exhalted to thrones of glory with us, & herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, & the children to the Fathers which fulfills the mission of Elijah & I would to God that this was now done that we might go into it & go to work & improve our time & make use of the seals while they are on earth & the have none to[o] much time to save & redeem their dead, & together their living relatives that they may be saved also, before the earth will be smitten & the consumption decreed falls upon the world & I would advise all the Saints to go to with their might & gather together all their living relatives to this place that they may be sealed & saved that they may be prepared against the day that the destroying angel goes forth & if the whole church should go to with all their might to save their dead seal their posterity & gather their living friends & spend none of their time in behalf of the world they would hardly get through before night would come when no man could work & my ownly trouble at the present time is concerning ourselves that the Saints will be divided & broken up & scattered [p. [182]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 21 January 1844
ID #
1257
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Wilford Woodruff

Footnotes

  1. [5]

    See Obadiah 1:21.

  2. [6]

    See Revelation 20:5–6; and Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:64–65]. In August 1840, JS taught publicly for the first time that church members could be baptized on behalf of deceased relatives. He discussed this concept in a funeral sermon for Seymour Brunson (who had served on the Nauvoo high council) and elaborated on the teaching during the October 1840 general conference. According to church member Vilate Murray Kimball, JS explained that the Saints could be “baptised for all their kinsfolks that have died before this Gospel came forth; even back to their great Grandfather and Mother if they have ben personally acquainted with them.” Church members began performing baptisms for the dead in the Mississippi River as early as September 1840. (Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; JS History, vol. C-1, 968; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Manchester, England, 6–19 Oct. 1840, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL; Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  3. [7]

    At this point in time, the unfinished walls of the Nauvoo temple “were up as high as the arches of the first tier of windows all round.” (Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 40–41.)

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  4. [8]

    See Malachi 4:1.

  5. [9]

    See John 9:4.

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