In a discourse at a lyceum meeting in , Illinois, most likely held on 16 February 1841, JS spoke about the nature of the Godhead and the virtue of self-examination. In the first meeting of the lyceum on 5 January 1841, JS spoke about the essence of God, highlighting the corporeal nature of God and rejecting the general Christian tenet resulting from the verse in the Gospel of John that states, “God is a Spirit.” JS instead declared, “That which is without body or parts is nothing. There is no other God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones.” In this 16 February discourse, JS further explained the separate embodiment of God the Father and Jesus Christ; he also discussed the value of personal introspection and the relationship between motivation and action.

JS appears to have been the fourth and final featured speaker at this meeting of the lyceum. wrote an account of this JS discourse in his personal notebook. Although McIntire did not provide a date for the meeting, lyceum meetings appear to have been held every Tuesday, and because the text of this discourse is found in the seventh meeting entry of McIntire’s notebook, JS most likely delivered the discourse at the lyceum meeting of 16 February, the seventh Tuesday of 1841.