Discourse, circa 2 February 1841
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Source Note
JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 2 Feb. 1841]. Featured version in William P. McIntire, Notebook, pp. [8]–[9]; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Account of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841, as Reported by William P. McIntire.
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Historical Introduction
JS spoke about the and for the dead at what was most likely a lyceum meeting held in , Illinois, on 2 February 1841. About one month earlier, JS spoke at the organization of a “school of instruction,” an adult education society or lyceum, in Nauvoo. Part of the larger reform impulse of Jacksonian America, the lyceum movement, with its lectures, dramatic performances, class instruction, and debates, contributed significantly to adult education in the . The Nauvoo lyceum met weekly to discuss various topics, generally related to religious principles. Each lyceum meeting typically included two to three speeches or presentations, often followed by debate among those in attendance. Following this model, other lyceum groups were formed in Nauvoo over the course of the next few years.During early lyceum meetings, penned notes capturing topics and themes from speakers, including JS, in a personal notebook. McIntire apparently made no attempt to transcribe everything spoken at the meetings but noted only “the subjects & the most promonent matter as brought fourth from those subjects at Joseph’s office.” Accordingly, McIntire’s lyceum notes are only brief accounts of the topics discussed. Given the succinct and occasionally incomplete nature of the entries, it appears that McIntire wrote his accounts of the lyceum during or soon after each meeting.did not provide a date for the notes of this lyceum meeting during which JS spoke, but it was likely held on 2 February 1841. The lyceum initially met on the first two Tuesdays of 1841. After the second Tuesday, 12 January, McIntire simply noted “Next Meeting” for subsequent entries in his notebook instead of providing a date. If the pattern of weekly meetings on Tuesdays continued, the discourse featured here was given on 2 February, the fifth Tuesday of 1841, since the entry containing the account featured here is the fifth in McIntire’s notebook.According to ’s notebook, JS was the first of two speakers at this lyceum meeting. For the discourse featured here, McIntire recorded only a single statement from JS on the importance of completing the so that baptisms for the dead could be performed within it. On 19 January 1841, JS had dictated a lengthy revelation that in part commanded the church to “build a house unto my name, for the Most High to dwell therein.” In addition to promising restoration of power, the revelation declared that the Saints would be allowed to perform baptisms for their deceased ancestors outside the temple for only a short time and warned that “at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for your dead, shall not be acceptable unto me, and if you do not these things, at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a church.” Such a terse warning likely contributed to the continuing discussion in this meeting about building the temple. followed JS in the lyceum meeting and spoke on the eleventh chapter of Romans, the law of order in heavenly bodies, and animal creation. McIntire did not note any further discussion on the topics presented by JS and Law.
Footnotes
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2
See Stevens, “Science, Culture, and Morality,” 69–83; Bode, American Lyceum, chaps. 1–2, 7; and McClure et al., Education for Work, 18; see also JS, Journal, 18 Nov. 1835.
Stevens, Edward W., Jr. “Science, Culture, and Morality: Educating Adults in the Early Nineteenth Century.” In “. . . Schools and the Means of Education Shall Forever Be Encouraged”: A History of Education in the Old Northwest, 1787–1880, edited by Paul H. Mattingly and Edward W. Stevens Jr., 68–83. Athens: Ohio University Libraries, 1987.
Bode, Carl. The American Lyceum: Town Meeting of the Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956.
McClure, Arthur F., James Riley Chrisman, and Perry Mock. Education for Work: The Historical Evolution of Vocational and Distributive Education in America. Rutherford, NJ: Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 1985.
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3
Though he did not join the lyceum until the following year, Wandle Mace left perhaps the most extensive account of the lyceum and of JS’s involvement with it. Mace observed that the lyceum was designed to educate members and help them improve their public speaking abilities. He explained that the Nauvoo lyceum “was composed of eighteen members, each presided over the meeting in turn, this gave all the members a like experience in conducting, a meeting.” Mace further noted: “There was no jarring, contention, or discord and all were entertained, instructed and edified. The Prophet Joseph, encouraged us by his presence whenever practicable, giving instruction and assistance. ‘Get into your Lyceums’—he would say to all the brethren—‘Get into your Lyceums and investigate doctrine, if you run against a snag, I am here, I’ll help you off.’” (Mace, Autobiography, 69–70.)
Mace, Wandle. Autobiography, ca. 1890. CHL. MS 1924.
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4
For instance, in December 1841 Gustavus Hills organized a musical lyceum through the University of Nauvoo with the intent to meet weekly for the purpose of “our own improvement in the art of Music, and with a view to extend and elevate musical science.” (“University of Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1842, 3:666.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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6
See Historical Introduction to Accounts of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841.
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7
See Account of Meeting, 12 Jan. 1841; Account of Meeting, ca. 19 Jan. 1841; and McIntire, Notebook, [8].
McIntire, William Patterson. Notebook, 1840–1845. CHL. MS 1014.
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8
Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22, 29–32].
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9
McIntire, Notebook, [9].
McIntire, William Patterson. Notebook, 1840–1845. CHL. MS 1014.
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