Skip to main content

Discourse, between circa 1 and circa 15 March 1843

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Discourse, between circa 1 and circa 15 March 1843

Source Note

JS, Discourse, , Hancock Co., IL, [between ca. 1 and ca. 15 Mar. 1843]. Featured version published in “A Short Sketch of the Rise of the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, vol. 4, no. 10, 155. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

At a meeting of young men and women in , Illinois, in March 1843, JS gave a discourse that expressed approval of meetings the youth had previously held and urged them to form an organization focused on charitable actions. Beginning in January 1843, an increasing number of “young people” in Nauvoo met on a regular basis and heard “instruction and advice” from , a member of the . They met four times before this meeting in which JS addressed them. This fifth meeting may have taken place in the upper room of JS’s , where the youth had met for the fourth meeting.
In his discourse, JS “addressed the young gentlemen and ladies for some time,” praising for holding the meetings and the youth for their sizable attendance and earnest attention. JS instructed them to continue with their meetings, to concentrate on “benevolent efforts,” and specifically to help , a member residing in , by constructing a house for him. JS appeared to be advising the youth to form an organization similar to the , which was established in March 1842 in part as a benevolent association to look after “objects of charity.” The youth followed JS’s counsel, and later in March 1843, sometime after this discourse, they formally established an organization later called the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of Nauvoo, complete with officers and a constitution. This organization, one report stated, was created because “the young gentlemen and ladies” of Nauvoo wanted to help relieve “the condition of the poor” by “carrying out the principles of charity and benevolence, as taught in the holy scriptures.” The group met at least one more time after its organization, but it is unclear how long it functioned in Nauvoo.
Dating JS’s discourse is somewhat difficult. The first meeting of the youth occurred “in the latter part of January,” but no other meeting dates are given until the sixth gathering, which was held on 21 March. This means that the fifth meeting, in which JS spoke, was held sometime between the latter part of January and 21 March. If the meetings took place weekly, the fifth one would have occurred sometime in mid- to late February, but it appears the gatherings were held more erratically. The two known meetings that occurred after the fifth gathering—including the formal organizational meeting of the group—took place in the latter part of March. Assuming that the young men and women acted quickly on JS’s counsel “to organize themselves into a society for the relief of the poor,” it seems likely that the fifth gathering happened sometime in the first half of March.
James M. Monroe, secretary of the organization, composed a history of the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of , from which the featured version of JS’s discourse was taken. The history was printed in the 1 April 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons. No other versions of the discourse have been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “A Short Sketch of the Rise of the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:154–155.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    “A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:155.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Minutes and Discourses, 17 Mar. 1842. Benevolent societies, frequently headed by women, were prevalent in the United States at this time. (Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 6.)

  4. [4]

    “A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:156. On 25 December 1843, JS held a dinner party for “young ladies and gentlemen,” but it is unclear whether this was associated with the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society. (“Dinner Party,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 13 Dec. 1843, [2]; JS, Journal, 23 and 25 Dec. 1843.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  5. [5]

    “A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:154, 156.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, between circa 1 and circa 15 March 1843
History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 155

He expressed his gratitude to in the strongest terms, for having commenced and carried on in so masterly a manner the good and glorious work he had undertaken. He said it would be the means of doing a great deal of good, and of benefitting his young friends more than they were aware of: that the gratitude of all good men, and of the young people whom he had so much benefitted, would follow him through life; and “when gray hairs should his temples adorn,” he could look back with pleasure upon the winter of 1843, when he was engaged in promoting the cause of benevolence, and prepairing his young friends for the glorious career which awaited them.
He said that he stood before them with more embarrassment, than he would before kings, nobles, and great men of the earth, for he knew the crimes of which they were guilty, and knew precisely how to address them; but his young friends before whom he now stood were guilty of none of these crimes, and he hardly knew what to say. He said he had never in his life seen such a large company of young people assembled together, pay such strict attention, listen with such profound silence, and keep such good order, as the assembly now before him. He praised their good conduct, and taught them how to behave in all places, explained to them their duty, and advised them to organize themselves into a society for the relief of the poor. As a commencement to their benevolent efforts, he offered a petitition from an English brother by the name of Modesley [Sutcliffe Maudsley], who was lame, and who wished them to build him a house, that he might have a home among the saints: he had gathered together a few materials for this purpose, but was unable to use them; and, now, relying upon the active benevolence of the young people of , he sends in this petition that you may act upon it as you deem proper. He advised them to choose a committee to collect funds for this purpose, and perform this charitable work as soon as the weather became suitable.— He gave them much good advice, to guide their conduct through life and prepare them for a glorious eternity. He said he was very much pleased with the course had taken, and hoped he would continue his meetings and that the young people would follow his teachings. [p. 155]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 155

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, between circa 1 and circa 15 March 1843
ID #
1001
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:54–56
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    It is unclear why Kimball took a leading role in assembling the youth and speaking to them, although it was perhaps because Kimball’s son William Henry Kimball (who was sixteen at the time) was involved. Heber C. Kimball may have seen the meetings as a type of instructional school similar to Sunday schools that were apparently held in Kirtland, Ohio, when the Kimballs lived there. Likewise, when Kimball served a mission in England in 1840, the Millennial Star, the church’s newspaper there, advocated the formation of Sunday schools where “old and young” could be taught “the first principles of the Gospel of Christ.” (“A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:156; Kimball, Heber C. Kimball, 311; Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, “Life Incidents,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Aug. 1880, 9:42; “Questions and Answers,” Millennial Star, Aug. 1840, 1:95–96.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Kimball, Stanley B. Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  2. [2]

    This was a line from the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” which was included in John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, first published in 1787, and in the first Latter-day Saint hymnal. (Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, 537, 963–964; Hymn 82, Collection of Sacred Hymns [1835], 111–113.)

    Julian, John, ed. A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations with Special Reference to ose Contained in the Hymn Books of English-Speaking Countries, and Now in Common Use. . . . New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1892.

  3. [3]

    It is unclear who attended this meeting, but when the organization was formally established later in March, the officers consisted of William Walker, William Cutler, Lorin Walker, James Monroe, Stephen Perry, Marcellus Bates, R. A. Allred, William Henry Kimball, and Garrett Ivins. (“A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:156.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    Maudsley was baptized with his wife, Elizabeth Foxcroft Maudsley, in 1841 in England. The two immigrated to Nauvoo in 1842. Sutcliffe Maudsley, who suffered from severe asthma, was the artist who drew the profile of JS that was featured on a map of Nauvoo printed in 1842. (Bule, Sutcliffe Maudsley, 1, 5, 7, 36; JS, Journal, 25 June 1842; Historical Introduction to Copyright for Map of the City of Nauvoo, 17 Dec. 1842.)

    Bule, Steven. From Calico Printer to Portrait Painter: Sutcliffe Maudsley, Nauvoo Profilist. Orem, UT: A Better Place, 2002.

  5. [5]

    It is unclear whether the youth followed JS’s counsel here. Maudsley is listed as owning property in 1843 in the Munson addition of Nauvoo. (Book of Assessment, 1843, Fourth Ward, 15, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

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

  6. [6]

    Before this meeting, Kimball had given several talks to the youth, teaching them “the duties of children to their parents, to society, and to their God” and “exhorting them to lay aside their vanity, lightmindedness, pride, and frivolity” so that they could “show themselves worthy of the religion which they had embraced.” He also counseled them “to shun evil company” and “to be obedient to their parents.” In addition, Kimball told the youth to devote themselves to “the studies commonly deemed necessary to fit them for active life, and polish them for society,” as well as “to the study of the Scriptures, by the book of Mormon, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and the theological work of their most talented elders.” Finally, Kimball warned them “against the evils to which they were exposed, and the temptations to which they were peculiarly subject,” telling them to avoid “balls and such places.” (“A Short Sketch,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1843, 4:154–155.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.