Discourse, 25 April 1841, as Reported by Julius Alexander Reed
Source Note
JS, Discourse, , Hancock Co., IL, 25 Apr. 1841. Featured version reported by Julius Alexander Reed; handwriting of Julius Alexander Reed; two pages; Julius Alexander Reed, Papers, Special Collections, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
Historical Introduction
On 25 April 1841, JS delivered a discourse in , Illinois, answering recent complaints made against him. Earlier that month, the had celebrated its eleventh anniversary by laying the cornerstones of the Nauvoo . JS’s attire on this occasion had reportedly offended at least one person who then left Nauvoo and abandoned the church. This incident apparently led JS on 25 April to address various criticisms leveled against him and other leaders. In particular, JS defended himself against the charges of wearing a ruffled shirt, driving a nice carriage, and saying that he was willing to steal from wealthy individuals. In addition, JS warned of the consequences of criticizing church leaders and encouraged his audience to avoid finding fault with their leaders’ conduct.
Julius Alexander Reed, a Congregationalist minister living in , heard JS speak on 25 April and made notes on what he said. Reed later published a portion of these notes, which he had revised, in the Congregational Journal. The commentary that accompanied Reed’s published account reveals his animus toward JS; he criticized JS’s “rich and genteel dress,” for instance, and pronounced him “a villain.”
Reed’s handwritten notes are featured here. Significant textual differences between this version and the version published in the Congregational Journal are identified in footnotes.
JS, Discourse, 25 Apr. 1841, Julius Alexander Reed, Papers, Special Collections, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines; Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841; “Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:376; “The Mormons,” Western World [Warsaw, IL], 7 Apr. 1841, [3].
Reed, Julius Alexander. Papers, 1825–1909. Special Collections, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Cutter, New England Families, 3:1149. Reed described these notes as “a memorandum made while it was fresh in my memory.” [Julius Alexander Reed], Fairfield, Iowa Territory, 2 Feb. 1843, Letter to the Editor, Congregational Journal, 16 Mar. 1843, [2].
Cutter, William Richard, comp. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, a Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. 4 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914.
A portion of Reed’s published account from the Congregational Journal was later published in the Christian Observer, a Presbyterian newspaper published in Philadelphia. (“The Mormon Prophet as Speaker,” Christian Observer, 7 Apr. 1843, 14; see also Shankman, “Converse, ‘The Christian Observer’ and Civil War Censorship,” 228.)
Christian Observer. Philadelphia. 1840–1861.
Shankman, Arnold. “Converse, ‘The Christian Observer’ and Civil War Censorship.” Journal of Presbyterian History (1962–1985) 52, no. 3 (Fall 1974): 227–244.
Page [2]
His lungs like a man who was worn down feel as tho’ cd do nothing in morning till got warm— like an foundered horse had to get warm & then go well enough
s command on 6th April—
Every one that will not keep profound silenc[e] run through with bayonet— I’ll stand in the breach your business is to obey me right or wrong. So say Davis of Terry a Mormon substitut[e]s submit for “keep profound silence”
Smith talked politics with W[illiam] H. Roosevelt from 8 A.M. to 1. P.M. & excused himself <tardiness> to the people at meeting on plea he had been communing with the Lord.
John C. Bennett was in command of the Nauvoo Legion during the cornerstone-laying ceremonies on 6 April 1841. (“Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:375.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Thomas Gregg’s History of Hancock County, Illinois described Roosevelt as “a scion of a rich family in New York city” who had moved to Warsaw, Illinois, and “acquired large interests there.” He was “a politician, a trader and land speculator.” (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 417.)
Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.