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Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 8 Apr. 1844]. Featured version inscribed [ca. 8 Apr. 1844] in Thomas Bullock, Minutes, 6–9 Apr. 1844, p. 23; handwriting of ; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock.

Historical Introduction

On 8 April 1844, the third day of the ’s April , JS delivered a discourse in , Illinois, on the location of , the role of the Nauvoo , and the of the Latter-day Saints. The conference meeting on 8 April was held in a that lay about a quarter mile east of the unfinished temple. On 6 April, at the opening of the conference, JS complained of the “weakness of his lungs,” and he delayed speaking at length until 7 April, when he addressed the Saints for two hours and fifteen minutes. After JS spoke for so long to a large group in the open air, his lungs were “worn out,” and he could only give a shorter discourse on the morning of 8 April. recorded JS bringing the meeting to order at ten o’clock in the morning, after which read 1 Corinthians 15 and said a prayer. JS then preached until 10:40, meaning that his discourse lasted less than forty minutes.
JS had initially meant to continue his 7 April sermon, which focused on the nature of God and humankind. His request to have 1 Corinthians 15 read as a preliminary to his 8 April discourse suggests that he intended to speak on the resurrection of the dead. He decided, however, to forgo the topic, promising to take it up on another day. Instead, he made a “proclamation” to the church’s that modified the Latter-day Saint practice of gathering. Previously, JS had instructed the Saints to gather in either , Illinois, or , Iowa Territory. outside of these counties had been discontinued in 1841, although of the church continued to function in various parts of the . Later, in April 1843, JS counseled the Saints to leave and settle in . In this proclamation, JS explained that all of North and South America constituted the land of Zion. He also taught that the was the necessary place for the Saints to perform certain sacred . After the elders received these ordinances, they were then to build congregations and establish stakes wherever people received the gospel. Converts, moreover, were not asked to relocate to Nauvoo but could come to receive their temple ordinances and then return to their homes. JS stated that this proclamation was “the greatest ever made,” while later called these pronouncements “a perfect sweepstakes” and a “perfect knock down to the d——ls kingdom.” Once JS concluded, he requested that speak, having previously instructed him on what he should preach. Adams’s remarks focused on the literal establishment of Zion and the salvation of the dead through vicarious ordinances.
Church members , , , and attempted to capture the proceedings of the April conference. Bullock, a member of JS’s office staff, wrote in his journal that he was specifically attending the conference as a reporter. Clayton, who was JS’s private clerk, and Richards, who was JS’s “private se[c]retary & historian,” often acted as scribes for JS, and they may have also been assigned to record the proceedings. Woodruff, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, also took notes from the conference in his journal. The conference minutes taken by all four men included notes on JS’s 8 April discourse. Unlike JS’s other discourses from the April conference, however, his 8 April remarks were not published in the Times and Seasons. The four accounts of JS’s 8 April discourse, featured here, are remarkably similar to one another, being more or less parallel on a sentence-by-sentence level.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1844. Samuel W. Richards’s reminiscent account of the April conference supports this conclusion, as he noted that “the Grove a little East of the Temple was selected for the meeting ground, seats were made, and necessary arrangements for the congregation.” (Richards, Reminiscences and Journal, 6 Apr. 1844.)

    Richards, Samuel W. Reminiscences and Journal, ca. 1843–1845. Samuel W. Richards, Papers, 1839–1909. CHL. MS 1841.

  2. [2]

    Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844; Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844; JS, Journal, 7 Apr. 1844.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 8 Apr. 1844.

  4. [4]

    See Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 8 Apr. 1844.

  6. [6]

    JS addressed this topic again on 12 May 1844. (See Discourse, 12 May 1844.)

  7. [7]

    Letter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841.

  8. [8]

    Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  9. [9]

    As early as 1840, JS had taught the idea that “Zion” encompassed all of North and South America. The Book of Mormon taught that the Americas were a chosen or promised land where the “New Jerusalem” would be built. (See Discourse, ca. 19 July 1840; and Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 48, 50, 60, 342, 533–534, 550–551 [1 Nephi 18:8, 22–23; 2 Nephi 1:7–9; Alma 46:17; Ether 6:5, 8, 12; 13:2–11].)

  10. [10]

    Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–9 Apr. 1844, 34–35. Although he was enthusiastic about JS’s sermon, Young wrote a letter with Willard Richards to Reuben Hedlock on 3 May, explaining that the sermon’s contents were not yet to be preached in Great Britain. (Brigham Young and Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, 3 May 1844, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  11. [11]

    See Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–9 Apr. 1844, 23–29. Thomas Bullock noted that Adams spoke for three hours, and Willard Richards recorded that Adams’s sermon lasted from 10:40 a.m. to 1:16 p.m., some two hours and thirty-six minutes. (JS, Journal, 8 Apr. 1844.)

  12. [12]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 6–9 Apr. 1844.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

  13. [13]

    Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 31.

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

  14. [14]

    JS, Journal, 21 Dec. 1842.

  15. [15]

    Woodruff, Journal, 6–9 Apr. 1844. The quality of Woodruff’s handwriting suggests that the account in his journal was a fair copy and that he first inscribed the text elsewhere before transferring it to his journal. It is unclear, however, if Woodruff created his account from notes he took during the sermon or whether he reconstructed it from memory.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock
*Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by William Clayton *Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 4, 1 March–22 June 1844 *Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 23

it is just as impossible for me to continue the subject as to raise the dead— my lungs are worn out— I will do so ano[the]r. day— I want a few words to the you know very well that the L[or]d. has led this by rev[elatio]n I have an[othe]r. revn. a great grand & glorious revn. & this is what I am going to declare— you kno there has been great discus[sio]n. where is & when the of the D is & which I am ea[g]er to— the whole America is the Land itself N[orth] & S[outh] itself & is desc[ribe]d. by the Prophets that it sho[ul]d. be in the centre of the land. the declar[ation] is that as soon as the & B[aptismal] font is prep[are]d. & so as we can & the El[ders] of Israel there must be a place prepd for that purpose //— There are provi[sio]ns made until the work is comp[lete]d.— to be as K[ings] & P[riests] of the mos[t] H[igh] God but as all to do with the — but there must be an express place built for that purpose & for men to be for their d[ea]d for every man who wishes to save th[eir] F[ather] & M[other]— B[rothers] S[isters] & F[riends] must go thru the same— B[aptism]— A[nointing] W[ashing] & all the protect[io]n. of the powers of the sam[e] as for themselves— the Elders of Israel shall build Churches unto the Ld. & there shall they build Churches unto the Lr. [Lord]— there shall be a of Zion— it is a glorious procl[amatio]n. & I reserved it to the last & des[ig]n. it to be undestd. [understood] that it shall be after the washd. & anointg. here— the place that the Ld. has est[ablishe]d. for the S[alvatio]n. of the dead— there must be a par[ticu]lar place— I verily believe this to be the place— & men who wish to save their dead must come here to be B for their dead— & then may go back ag[ai]n.— & I shall leave m[y] Bre[thre]n to enlarge— it is my duty to teach those who err in doctrine— the Sp[irit] is will[in]g. but the flesh is weak— it God made Aaron to be their mouthpiece & made me to be their K. & their God— & if you dont like it you must lump it— I have given instr[ucti]on to in some principles— if he makes a mistake I will tell it [p. 23]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 8 April 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock
ID #
4194
Total Pages
1
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  • Thomas Bullock

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The compilers of the manuscript history rendered this word as “dispensation.” (JS History, vol. E-1, 1981.)

  2. [2]

    Prophecies in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon as well as JS revelations speak of the gathering of Israel from the four cardinal directions. (See Psalm 107:3; Isaiah 43:5–7; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 52, 59 [1 Nephi 19:16; 22:25]; and Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3].)

  3. [3]

    A January 1841 revelation specified that certain sacred ordinances, like baptisms for the dead, needed to be performed in a temple. However, the Latter-day Saints were allowed to perform these ordinances outside of the temple until they had had sufficient time to construct it. (See Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:28–39].)

  4. [4]

    See Revelation 1:6; 5:10; and Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:56–57].

  5. [5]

    In August 1840, JS taught publicly for the first time that church members could be baptized on behalf of deceased relatives. Church members began performing proxy baptisms in the Mississippi River as early as September 1840.

  6. [6]

    In his 21 January 1844 discourse, JS taught that the living “become Saviors on Mount Zion by building their temples erecting their Baptismal fonts & going forth & receiving all the ordinances, Baptisms, Confirmations, washings anointings ordinations, & sealing 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.” (Discourse, 21 Jan. 1844, underlining in original.)

  7. [7]

    A 20 July 1831 revelation designated Missouri as the “Land of Zion” for the gathering of the Saints and the place where the “City of Zion” was to be built, with the Independence area as the “centre place” of Zion. Substantial Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere became known as “stakes” of Zion, drawing on Old Testament imagery of the tent of Zion being supported by cords fastened to stakes. (Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–3, 14]; see also Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:6]; and Isaiah 33:20; 54:2.)

  8. [8]

    See Matthew 26:41.

  9. [9]

    See Exodus 7:1–2.

  10. [10]

    Two days earlier, at the opening of the April conference, JS stated, “The elders will give you instruction, and then, (if necessary) I will offer such corrections as may be proper to fill up the interstices.” (Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844.)

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