Poem from Eliza R. Snow, 20 August 1842

Home >
The Papers >

Poem from Eliza R. Snow, 20 August 1842
Source Note

Eliza R. Snow
21 Jan. 1804–5 Dec. 1887. Poet, teacher, seamstress, milliner. Born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Daughter of Oliver Snow and Rosetta Leonora Pettibone. Moved to Mantua, Trumbull Co., Ohio, ca. 1806. Member of Baptist church. Baptized into Church...
View Full Bio
, “Your Portrait,” Poem,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to JS, [
Nauvoo
More Info
, Hancock Co., IL], 20 Aug. 1842. Featured version published in Wasp, 27 Aug. 1842, vol. 1, no. 19, [4]. For more complete source information, see the source note for Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.

Historical Introduction
On 20 August 1842,
Eliza R. Snow
View Full Bio
composed a poem in
Nauvoo
More Info
, Illinois, which she addressed to JS, who was in hiding. The poem focused on JS’s absence from Nauvoo due to the attempt to extradite him to
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
More Info
. Snow had joined the
church
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
View Glossary
in Mantua, Ohio, in 1835 before moving to
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
More Info
, Ohio, where she taught school and lived with JS and his family. From Kirtland she moved to
Adam-ondi-Ahman
Settlement located in northwest Missouri. 1835 revelation identified valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman as place where Adam blessed his posterity after leaving Garden of Eden. While seeking new areas in Daviess Co. for settlement, JS and others surveyed site on which...
More Info
, Missouri; then, after being forced to leave the
state
More Info
along with her fellow Latter-day Saints in early 1839, she eventually settled in Nauvoo.
1
Eliza R. Snow, “Sketch of My Life,” in Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 10–12, 15; Life and Labors of Eliza R. Snow Smith, 10–11.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.
The Life and Labors of Eliza R. Snow Smith; with a Full Account of Her Funeral Services. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888.
A respected poet and writer, Snow published her first poem in
Ohio
French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...
More Info
in 1825 and had published thirty additional poems in local newspapers by 1832.
2
Derr and Davidson, Eliza R. Snow, xxiv.
Derr, Jill Mulvay, and Karen Lynn Davidson, eds. Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press; Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2009.
After joining the church, she penned hymns and poems celebrating and defending Latter-day Saints and their doctrines.
3
Derr and Davidson, Eliza R. Snow, xxv–xxvii.
She was elected secretary for the
Female Relief Society of Nauvoo
A church organization for women; created in Nauvoo, Illinois, under JS’s direction on 17 March 1842. At the same meeting, Emma Smith was elected president, and she selected two counselors; a secretary and a treasurer were also chosen. The minutes of the society...
View Glossary
in March 1842, and an April 1842 notice about the formation of the society referred to Snow as “our well known and talented poetess.”
4
Minutes and Discourses, 17 Mar. 1842; “Ladies’ Relief Society,” 1 Apr. 1842, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 133.
Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.
She lived for a time in Nauvoo with
Sarah Cleveland
20 Oct. 1788–21 Apr. 1856. Born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Daughter of Ebenezer Kingsley and Sarah Chaplin. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, by 1807. Married first John Howe, 7 Dec. 1807, in New Haven. Moved to Cincinnati, by ...
View Full Bio
; then, in August 1842,
Emma Smith
10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...
View Full Bio
invited her to live in the Smith home. Snow moved there between 14 and 17 August.
5
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 14 and 18 Aug. 1842.
Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

Nearly two months before writing this poem,
Snow
View Full Bio
had been
sealed
To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in...
View Glossary
to JS as a plural wife.
6
Eliza R. Snow, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 7 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:25; see also Eliza R. Snow, “Sketch of My Life,” in Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 17. As with most of JS’s plural marriages, no contemporary documents record the date of Snow’s marriage to JS, and scholars must rely on her affidavit and reminiscent accounts for this information.
Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.
On that day, 29 June 1842, Snow began writing in a new journal given to her earlier that year by
Sarah Granger Kimball
29 Dec. 1818–1 Dec. 1898. Schoolteacher. Born in Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Daughter of Oliver Granger and Lydia Dibble. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1833. Married Hiram Kimball, 22 Sept. 1840. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, fall 1840...
View Full Bio
.
7
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, Mar. 1842.
Snow’s entry does not mention her sealing to JS, but it appears to capture the significance of the day, opening with the statement: “This is a day of much interest to my feelings.” In the journal, Snow reflected on the recent departure of her family from
Nauvoo
More Info
and the loneliness and changes she was experiencing, which certainly included her marriage to JS. Perhaps concerned about societal misunderstandings and objections to plural marriage, Snow’s 29 June entry included an exclamation about a sudden thunderstorm that had occurred while she was writing: “O God, is it not enough that we have the prepossessions of mankind—their prejudices and their hatred to contend with; but must we also stand amid the rage of elements?” She then concluded her journal entry with her determination to trust in God and to “live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth.”
8
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 29 June 1842.

During JS’s absence from
Nauvoo
More Info
in August 1842,
Snow
View Full Bio
wrote two poems that were published in the Wasp. The 20 August poem featured here is the second of those two poems.
9
The featured poem is representative of both of Snow’s August 1842 poems.
The first was untitled and addressed to both JS and
Emma Smith
10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...
View Full Bio
. It focused on the unsettled state of affairs in Nauvoo, which Snow described as “A deep intricate puzzle, a tangle of strings, / That no possible scheme can make straight.” The poem ended with a triumphant stanza promising that
Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
View Glossary
would be sustained and “the glory of God usher’d in.”
10
Eliza R. Snow, Poem, Wasp, 20 Aug. 1842, [3], italics in original.

The second poem
Snow
View Full Bio
wrote, “Your Portrait,” is featured here. In this poem, Snow contrasted JS with the image in his portrait and reflected on his gifts of intellect and speech, which the portrait could not possess. Snow further used the metaphor of a framed portrait to parallel the sense of imprisonment that JS faced in being surrounded by enemies and threatened with extradition to
Missouri
More Info
; in doing so, she decried the injustice of his circumstances. In the poem, Snow expressed admiration for JS and concern for his welfare, as well as a devotion likely enhanced by their recent sealing. Snow composed the poem featured here on 20 August; it was printed in the 27 August issue of the Wasp.
Footnotes
[1]
Eliza R. Snow, “Sketch of My Life,” in Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 10–12, 15; Life and Labors of Eliza R. Snow Smith, 10–11.
The Life and Labors of Eliza R. Snow Smith; with a Full Account of Her Funeral Services. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888.
[2]
Derr and Davidson, Eliza R. Snow, xxiv.
[3]
Derr and Davidson, Eliza R. Snow, xxv–xxvii.
[4]
Minutes and Discourses, 17 Mar. 1842; “Ladies’ Relief Society,” 1 Apr. 1842, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 133.
Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.
[5]
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 14 and 18 Aug. 1842.
[6]
Eliza R. Snow, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 7 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:25; see also Eliza R. Snow, “Sketch of My Life,” in Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 17. As with most of JS’s plural marriages, no contemporary documents record the date of Snow’s marriage to JS, and scholars must rely on her affidavit and reminiscent accounts for this information.
Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.
[7]
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, Mar. 1842.
[8]
Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 29 June 1842.
[9]
The featured poem is representative of both of Snow’s August 1842 poems.
[10]
Eliza R. Snow, Poem, Wasp, 20 Aug. 1842, [3], italics in original.
Page [4]
Hide editing marks

For the Wasp.

Repectfully, to President Smith, in his absence.

YOUR PORTRAIT.

by miss
e[liza] r. snow
View Full Bio
.

Sir, you’ve left us ‘your portrait’ that product of art—
1
Artist Sutcliffe Maudsley created a portrait of JS in June 1842, which may have hung in the Smith home. Maudsley likely used a pantograph to create a profile for JS and then added details. This portrait of JS was made into a lithograph by printer John Childs and was included on the published map of the city of Nauvoo. (See JS, Journal, 25 June 1842.)

A small specimen neatly design’d—

But ’tis only a picture, for where is the heart?

And O, where that rich jewel, the mind?

It is only a picture! for where is the speech,

That most noble conductor of thought

With which thou art gifted the nations to teach,

And by which we desire to be tought?

Sir, we look at ‘your portrait’ and see it enclos’d

In its frame like a prisoner bound,

And regret its original, thus is expos’d

To the malice of men that surround!

O, how strange, in this boasted, republican land,

Where all claim to be happy and free;
2
Several Latter-day Saint writers contrasted their mistreatment by the federal government with the ideals of the republic. This contrast paralleled antislavery arguments of the period, which showed the disparity between the horrors of slavery and republican ideals. (See, for example, Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, 3–7; Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 68; Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; and Channing, Duty of the Free States, 50.)
Channing, William E. The Duty of the Free States; or, Remarks Suggested by the Case of the Creole. Boston: William Crosby, 1842.

That a prophet of God is forbidden to stand,

And is forced like a culprit to flee!
3
In an effort to avoid arrest and extradition to Missouri, JS went into hiding in early August. From 10 to 23 August, he avoided his home in Nauvoo and used couriers, decoys, and clandestine meetings to keep his location secret. (JS, Journal, 9–23 Aug. 1842; see also Letter to Wilson Law, 14 Aug. 1842; and Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann Smith, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842.)

’Tis a sad ‘restitution’! but all things must come—

It was thus with the prophets of old:
4
JS and other Latter-day Saints often compared the persecution they faced, particularly in Missouri, to the persecution endured by early Christians. (See Letter to Presendia Huntington Buell, 15 Mar. 1839; Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839; and Mary Fielding Smith, Commerce, IL, to Joseph Fielding, June 1839, in Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 257.)
Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.

But when you are absent, and driv’n from your home

Here’s ‘your portrait,’ your friends may behold.

Nauvoo
More Info
, August 20, 1842. [p. [4]]
View entire transcript
|
Cite this page
Source Note
Document Transcript
Page [4]
Document Information
Footnotes
[1]
Artist Sutcliffe Maudsley created a portrait of JS in June 1842, which may have hung in the Smith home. Maudsley likely used a pantograph to create a profile for JS and then added details. This portrait of JS was made into a lithograph by printer John Childs and was included on the published map of the city of Nauvoo. (See JS, Journal, 25 June 1842.)
[2]
Several Latter-day Saint writers contrasted their mistreatment by the federal government with the ideals of the republic. This contrast paralleled antislavery arguments of the period, which showed the disparity between the horrors of slavery and republican ideals. (See, for example, Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon, 3–7; Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 68; Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; and Channing, Duty of the Free States, 50.)
Channing, William E. The Duty of the Free States; or, Remarks Suggested by the Case of the Creole. Boston: William Crosby, 1842.
[3]
In an effort to avoid arrest and extradition to Missouri, JS went into hiding in early August. From 10 to 23 August, he avoided his home in Nauvoo and used couriers, decoys, and clandestine meetings to keep his location secret. (JS, Journal, 9–23 Aug. 1842; see also Letter to Wilson Law, 14 Aug. 1842; and Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann Smith, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842.)
[4]
JS and other Latter-day Saints often compared the persecution they faced, particularly in Missouri, to the persecution endured by early Christians. (See Letter to Presendia Huntington Buell, 15 Mar. 1839; Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839; and Mary Fielding Smith, Commerce, IL, to Joseph Fielding, June 1839, in Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 257.)
Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.