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Discourse, 1 May 1842, as Reported by Willard Richards

Source Note

JS, Discourse, , Hancock Co., IL, 1 May 1842. Featured version copied [ca. 1 May 1842] in JS, Journal, Dec. 1841–Dec. 1842, in Book of the Law of the Lord, p. 94; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124].

Historical Introduction

On 1 May 1842 in , Illinois, JS delivered a discourse on the doctrine of the of the kingdom, which he described as “certain signs & words” that could be used to distinguish “false spirits & personages” from messengers sent by God. JS taught that the keys must be received in the and stressed the need to complete its construction for that purpose.
On prior occasions, JS taught that the keys of the kingdom could be used to detect false spirits. In a June 1839 meeting, he presented the with one of the “many keys to the kingdom of God,” instructing them to use a handshake to distinguish among Satan, disembodied beings, and embodied angels of God. In April 1842, while JS served as editor of the Times and Seasons, an article titled “Try the Spirits” was printed, providing similar direction on discerning spirits and “the signs by which they may be known.” The editorial, which was likely written by JS, explained that knowledge and use of the signs required “the , and having a knowledge of the laws by which spirits are governed.” Later that month, in a 28 April meeting of the , JS explained that “the church is not now organiz’d in its proper order, and cannot be until the Temple is completed.” He went on to inform the assembled women “that the keys of the kingdom [were] about to be given to them, that they may be able to detect every thing false— as well as to the .” JS seemed to be suggesting that completing the temple, then under construction in , was a prerequisite to receiving the keys. A few days later, on Sunday, 1 May, JS described these keys as physical signs to discern “false” from “true” spirits and again said they could be received only after the temple was completed.
JS delivered the discourse featured here in the on the west side of the temple construction site. inscribed the content of this discourse into JS’s journal, which was being kept in the Book of the Law of the Lord, probably on or shortly after 1 May 1842. Richards may have reconstructed the content of the sermon from notes taken at the time of the discourse. , who recently had been excommunicated from the church, attended the 1 May meeting and also recorded JS’s discourse, which Olney described as being about “the key word of Gods power” and “being endowed / With power from on High.” Although sarcastic in tone, his account includes much of the same content as Richards’s account.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Discourse, 27 June 1839; see also Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A; and Woodruff, Journal, 27 June 1839. William Clayton and Martha Knowlton Coray recorded that JS gave similar instructions in late 1840 and March 1841. (Discourse, Dec. 1840; Discourse, ca. 21 Mar. 1841.)

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

  2. [2]

    “Try the Spirits,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:744.

  3. [3]

    Discourse, 28 Apr. 1842.

  4. [4]

    A January 1841 revelation, dating from the period when JS was teaching some members how to discern spirits, instructed the Saints to build a temple and designated it as the proper place to receive God’s ordinances. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:40].)

  5. [5]

    Prior revelations had tied redemption to embodiment. A February 1832 revelation, which identified the devil as among the unredeemed spirits, implied that the unredeemed lacked bodies. Another revelation, recorded later that year, indicated that redemption was dependent on obtaining a resurrected body. In a May 1841 discourse, JS explained the implications of embodiment for interactions between humans and the devil. “All men have power to resist the Devil,” he taught. “They who have Taber[n]acles have power over those who have not.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:36–39, 70, 78]; Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:15–16]; Discourse, 16 May 1841.)

  6. [6]

    Oliver Olney, Notebook, May–July 1842, 1 May 1842, Oliver Olney, Papers, microfilm, CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 1 May 1842, as Reported by Willard Richards
Journal, December 1841–December 1842 Discourse, 1 May 1842, as Reported by Oliver Olney Discourse, 1 May 1842, as Reported by Oliver Olney, Copy History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 94

preached in the on the of the kingdom charity &c.— The keys are certain signs & words by which false spirits & personages may be detected from true.— which cannot be revealed to the till the is completed.— The rich can only get them in the . The poor may get them on the Mountain top as did moses. The rich cannot be saved without cha[r]ity. giving to feed the poor. when & how God requires as well as building. There are signs in heaven earth & hell. the elders must know them all to be with power. to finish their work & prevent imposition. The devil knows many signs. but does not know the sign of the son of man. or Jesus. No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something. & these this can only be in the holiest of Holies. [p. 94]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 1 May 1842, as Reported by Willard Richards
ID #
822
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:5–8
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    A few days earlier, JS also spoke on charity at a meeting of the Female Relief Society. (Discourse, 28 Apr. 1842.)

  2. [2]

    JS was exposed to and referenced keys, signs, and words on several occasions around the time of this discourse. On 15 March 1842, he became a Mason and learned of the words, signs, rituals, and symbols of Freemasonry. Also, the 15 March issue of the Times and Seasons featured an explanation of the second facsimile of an illustration in the Book of Abraham; that facsimile referenced “Key words of the Holy Priesthood.” A few days later JS gave a discourse in which he emphasized the need to obtain “certain key words & signs belonging to the priesthood” to receive the Lord’s blessings. A few weeks after the 1 May 1842 discourse, JS spoke to the Female Relief Society about what he described as “the grand key words.” (Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842; Book of Abraham Excerpt and Facsimile 2, 15 Mar. 1842 [Book of Abraham, facsimile 2]; Discourse, 20 Mar. 1842; Discourse, 26 May 1842.)

  3. [3]

    While most Saints did not receive the promised information until the completion of the temple, three days after this discourse JS met with a small group of men in the upper room of his store and introduced them to sacred ceremonies—which included key words and signs—that were later performed in the temple after its completion. Beginning with Emma Smith in September 1843, a number of women were introduced to the same ceremonies. (JS, Journal, 4 May 1842; JS History, vol. C-1, 1328–1329; “Diary of L. John Nuttall,” 7 Feb. 1877, 18–19; JS, Journal, 28 Sept. 1843; see also Clayton, Journal, 21 Aug. 1845; 25 Oct. 1845; 30 Nov. 1845; 7, 11, 14, and 15 Dec. 1845.)

    “Diary of L. John Nuttall, (1834–1905) Dec. 1876–Mar. 1884.” Typescript, 1948. CHL.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  4. [4]

    See Old Testament Revision 2, p. 70 [Exodus 34:1–2]; see also Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:38].

  5. [5]

    See Joel 2:30–31; Matthew 24:29–30; Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:14]; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:39–42].

  6. [6]

    The Saints’ understanding of a divine endowment developed over time as JS’s revelations and teachings on the subject expanded. A number of JS’s revelations in the early 1830s spoke of the Saints being “endowed with power from on high” and indicated that that endowment would be received in the House of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio.a In 1835, JS told the apostles they needed to “attend to the ordinence of the washing of feet,” in preparation to receive “an endowment.”b In a meeting of the apostles just over a month later, JS again spoke of endowment in connection with the washing of feet and in relation to the prospect of viewing the Lord in a “solem assembly.”c In March 1836, a group of men gathered in the newly dedicated Kirtland House of the Lord and washed each other’s feet. JS’s journal recorded that “the Saviour made his appearance to some, while angels minestered unto others, and it was a penticost and enduement indeed.”d The endowment took on additional meaning in May 1842, when JS added new narrative and ritual elements.e

    (aRevelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32]; Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:8]; Minutes, 9 Feb. 1834. bJS, Journal, 5 Oct. 1835. cJS, Journal, 12 Nov. 1835. dJS, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836. eBushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 448–452.)

    Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.

  7. [7]

    The editorial “Try the Spirits,” published in the 1 April 1842 issue, mentioned the signs of Satan. In the 1830s, the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, had also received instruction on discerning spirits. (“Try the Spirits,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:743–748; Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–A [D&C 46:7–8, 16]; Revelation, 9 May 1831 [D&C 50].)

  8. [8]

    See Matthew 24:30.

  9. [9]

    This phrase might correspond to JS’s prior teachings about God’s materiality. In a January 1841 discourse, JS asserted that “there is no other God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones.” Latter-day Saint sources also taught the materiality of spirit. The author of an April 1842 editorial on discerning spirits, likely JS, stated that “spirit is a substance; that it is material, but that it is more pure, elastic, and refined matter than the body.” (Accounts of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841; “Try the Spirits,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:745.)

  10. [10]

    The “holiest of Holies,” or holy of holies, refers to the inner sanctuary of the ancient Israelite tabernacle and, subsequently, the temple in Jerusalem. In the Israelite tabernacle, the holy of holies housed the ark of the covenant and was designated as the place where God would commune with Moses.a “Holy of holies” was translated as “most holy place” in the King James Version of the Bible.b Both “holy of holies” and “holiest of holies” appear in documents contemporaneous with JS’s sermon, including biblical commentary on the Israelite tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem; these terms were also used symbolically in contemporaneous popular sermons and publications.c

    (aSee Exodus 25:22. bSee 1 Kings 8:6; 2 Chronicles 5:7; and Ezekiel 41:4. cSee, for example, Bushby, Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, 49, 58, 71–72, 77–79; Parker, Discourse on the Transient and the Permanent in Christianity, 28; and “Thoughts on Piety,” 85.)

    Bushby, Edward. An Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures. 5th ed. Cambridge, England: J. and J. J. Deighton and T. Stevenson, 1842.

    Parker, Theodore. A Discourse on the Transient and Permanent in Christianity; Preached at the Ordination of Mr. Charles C. Shackford, in the Hawes Place Church in Boston, May 19, 1841. 2nd ed. Boston: By the author, 1841.

    “Thoughts on Piety.” American Baptist Magazine 13, no. 3 (Mar. 1833): 85–94.

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