Discourse, 17 May 1843–A, Page 16
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Discourse, 17 May 1843–A

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 17 May 1843]. Featured version copied [ca. 19 May 1843] in William Clayton, Journal, 25 Apr. 1843–24 Sept. 1844, p. [16]; handwriting of ; William Clayton, Journals, 1842–1846, CHL. For more complete source information, see the Source Note for Instruction, 16 May 1843.

Historical Introduction

On 17 May 1843, JS preached a discourse in , Illinois, on the first chapter of 2 Peter in the New Testament. In the discourse, JS revisited a subject he had addressed three days before in , Illinois—the individual Christian believer’s obtaining assurance of having eternal life. As he did in the earlier discourse, JS emphasized the importance of knowledge in this process and explained the “more sure word of prophecy” mentioned in 2 Peter 1:19, which he interpreted as receiving divine confirmation of being “ up unto eternal life.” In this 17 May discourse, JS indicated that this divine affirmation would come through the .
Having been apprised on the evening of 16 May that JS planned to preach the following day, the Saints congregated at 10:00 a.m. on 17 May, possibly in a schoolhouse built by members in . Samuel Prior, a Methodist preacher who was visiting Macedonia to observe the Latter-day Saints in general and JS in particular, attended the meeting and subsequently wrote an account of his experience, which was published in the Times and Seasons. Prior described taking his “seat in a conspicuous place in the congregation” and waiting for JS’s arrival, after which JS “commenced calmly and continued dispassionately to pursue his subject. . . . He glided along through a very interesting and elaborate discourse, with all the care and happy facility of one who was well aware of his important station, and his duty to God and man, and evidencing to me, that he was well worthy to be styled ‘a workman rightly dividing the word of truth,’ and giving without reserve, ‘saint and sinner his portion in due season.’” Prior stated, “I was compelled to go away with a very different opinion from what I had entertained when I first took my seat to hear him [JS] preach.”
, who accompanied JS to , wrote an account of the discourse in his journal. The relatively polished nature of the featured text suggests that Clayton reconstructed JS’s words after the fact, likely from notes taken at the time. Based on the uniformity of the ink flow and character formation in his journal, it appears that Clayton created the entries covering 14 May through most of 19 May in one sitting. The original notes are apparently not extant.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Discourse, 14 May 1843.

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 17 May 1843; see also Hancock County Historical Society Historic Sites Committee, Historic Sites and Structures of Hancock County, Illinois, 130; and Macedonia Branch, Record, 13 Dec. 1840.

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

    Historic Sites and Structures of Hancock County, Illinois. Carthage, Illinois: Hancock County Historical Society and the Hancock County Bicentennial Commission, 1979.

    Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

  3. [3]

    Samuel Prior, “A Visit to Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 15 May 1843, 4:197–198, italics in original; see also 2 Timothy 2:15; and Luke 12:42. According to the Times and Seasons account, Prior desired to observe Nauvoo firsthand to either verify or disprove the negative reports he had heard about the Saints. He described traveling “something over sixty miles” from his home before briefly stopping in Carthage, Illinois, where he met an old friend, a Latter-day Saint, who agreed to take him to Nauvoo after they briefly visited Macedonia. While in Macedonia, Prior was invited to preach in the afternoon of 17 May 1843, and JS gave a brief discourse that evening in response to Prior. Although little is known of Prior outside of the Times and Seasons article and William Clayton’s journal, the 1840 census reported that a Samuel Prior was living in Schuyler County, Illinois, sixty-three miles southeast of Nauvoo. (1840 U.S. Census, Schuyler Co., IL, 121; see also Clayton, Journal, 17 May 1843; and Discourse, 17 May 1843–B.)

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

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 17 May 1843–A
History Draft [1 March–31 December 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [16]

He shewed that knowledge is power & the man who has the most knowledge has the greatest power. Also that Salvation means a mans being placed beyond the power of all his enemies. He said the more sure word of prophecy meant, a mans knowing that he was up unto eternal life by revelation & the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy . He also showed that it was impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance. Paul had seen the third heavens and I more. Peter penned the most sublime language of any of the apostles. [p. [16]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 17 May 1843–A
ID #
1070
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:309–310
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See 2 Peter 1:2–3.

  2. [2]

    See Revelation 19:10.

  3. [3]

    According to William Clayton, JS used similar language the previous night in Macedonia when instructing Clayton and Benjamin F. and Melissa LeBaron Johnson regarding the sealing ceremony that united a man and a woman in marriage by priesthood authority. (Instruction, 16 May 1843.)

  4. [4]

    A revision of the preceding two sentences was published as part of section 131, verses 5–6, in the 1876 Doctrine and Covenants. (Doctrine and Covenants 131:5–6, 1876 ed. [D&C 131:5–6].)

    The Doctrine and Covenants, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Containing the Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, Jun., the Prophet, for the Building Up of the Kingdom of God in the Last Days. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Office, 1876.

  5. [5]

    See 2 Corinthians 12:2.

  6. [6]

    On 16 February 1832, JS and Sidney Rigdon reported experiencing a vision in which they saw three levels of heavenly glory—celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. On 30 January 1842, JS further described the afterlife, stating that “their were many mansions even 12 from the abode of Devils to the Celestial glory.” (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76]; Discourse, 30 Jan. 1842.)

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