Discourse, 17 May 1843–B, Page 18
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Discourse, 17 May 1843–B

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. [18]; 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 the evening of 17 May 1843, JS preached a discourse in , Illinois, in response to a sermon given by Samuel Prior, a visiting Methodist preacher, who had been “invited to preach” earlier that evening before a “large and respectable” congregation of Latter-day Saints. Prior wrote an article that was published in the Times and Seasons shortly after JS gave the sermon featured here. After Prior delivered his unrecorded discourse, JS sought to correct Prior’s interpretation of Genesis 2 and the “eternal duration of matter”—doing so “mildly, politely, and affectingly,” according to Prior.
During his remarks, JS questioned the King James Bible’s language in Genesis 2:7, which states, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” According to ’s notes of the discourse, JS also discussed aspects of Hebrew in his argument. JS argued that the “breath of life” referred to Adam’s spirit, and he included comments on the Hebrew word ruach (breath or spirit), arguing that when the word is applied to Eve, life should be rendered lives.
Genesis 2:7 prompted pronouncements from religious thinkers of JS’s era on the nature of bodies and souls and on their duration throughout eternity. Methodist minister Adam Clarke, for instance, wrote that “man is a compound being, having a body and a soul, distinctly and separately created; the body out of the dust of the earth, the soul immediately breathed from God himself.” A widely circulated nineteenth-century theological dictionary stated that the “generally received opinion” held that the human soul “began to exist in his mother’s womb.” Though it is impossible to reconstruct Prior’s sermon, JS’s response makes clear that Prior used his sermon to engage this topic. JS responded to Prior and offered his own thoughts on the nature of the human spirit.
JS’s own teachings about the soul and matter differed from those of other Christians of his day in some important respects. Common teachings stated that the soul consisted of “the vital, immaterial, active substance, or principle, in man.” For some years, JS had taught that all beings were composed of eternal matter. A May 1833 revelation stated that “the Elements are eternal.” On 30 August 1840, JS preached a “discourse on Eternal Judgement and the Eternal Duration of matter.” In 1842, JS published an editorial directly opposing the traditional idea that the spirit was immaterial. He argued, much as he did in the discourse featured here, that “the body is supposed to be organized matter, and the spirit by many is thought to be immaterial, without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave to differ—and state that spirit is a substance; that it is material, but that it is more pure, elastic, and refined matter than the body.” Also in 1842, the published Book of Abraham stated that “the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit, that is the man’s spirit, and put it into him, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” The discourse featured here shares the Book of Abraham’s emphasis on the eternal nature of humankind and the idea that spirits were embodied at birth.
was present during JS’s discourse and took notes. However, 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. It is likely the entries were based upon earlier, nonextant notes.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Samuel Prior, “A Visit to Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 15 May 1843, 4:198.

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

  2. [2]

    Samuel Prior, “A Visit to Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 15 May 1843, 4:197–199; see also Historical Introduction to Discourse, 17 May 1843–A. Though the date of the Times and Seasons issue containing Prior’s article was 15 May, the issue was late and had not been published as late as 20 May 1843. (JS, Journal, 20 May 1843.)

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

  3. [3]

    Samuel Prior, “A Visit to Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 15 May 1843, 4:198.

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

  4. [4]

    Clayton is not known to have understood Hebrew, and it is not clear how accurately he reflected JS’s discussion of that language. It is likely he conflated a more nuanced discussion by JS of several verses or an expanded discussion of ruach not specifically tied to Genesis 2:7.

  5. [5]

    Clarke, Holy Bible [1834 ed.], 1:36, italics in original.

    Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments: the Text Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Translation, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts, with a Commentary and Critical Notes. . . . Vol. 1. Baltimore: John J. Harrod, 1834.

  6. [6]

    “Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ,” in Buck, Theological Dictionary, 479.

    Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.

  7. [7]

    “Soul,” in Buck, Theological Dictionary, 557.

    Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.

  8. [8]

    Revelation, 6 May 1833 [D&C 93:33].

  9. [9]

    John Smith, Journal, 1840–1841, 30 Aug. 1840.

    Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1.

  10. [10]

    “Try the Spirits,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:745.

  11. [11]

    Book of Abraham and Facsimiles, 1 Mar.–16 May 1842 [Abraham 5:7], italics added.

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

Page [18]

The 7th verse of c 2 of Genesis ought to read God breathed into Adam the his spirit or breath of life. but when the word “ruach” applies to Eve it should be translated lives.
Speaking of eternal duration of matter he said. There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter but is more fine or pure and can only be discerned by purer eyes We cant see it but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. [p. [18]]
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Page [18]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 17 May 1843–B
ID #
11981
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:311–313
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    As late as the 1834 printing of Adam Clarke’s influential nineteenth-century Bible commentary, a footnote to Genesis 2:7 stated that the Hebrew words ruach chayim meant “breath of lives.” However, the verse in Hebrew does not use ruach chayim, instead utilizing another phrase, nishmath chayim (breath of life or lives), an error that was corrected in the 1836 printing of the commentary. (Clarke, Holy Bible [1834 ed.], 1:36, emphasis in original; Clarke, Holy Bible [1836 ed.], 1:45.)

    Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments: the Text Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Translation, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts, with a Commentary and Critical Notes. . . . Vol. 1. Baltimore: John J. Harrod, 1834.

    Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments. The Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorized Translation, including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts, with a Commentary and Critical Notes. . . . New ed. Vol. 1. London: Thomas Tegg and Son, 1836.

  2. [2]

    In the Old Testament, the word ruach is never used in conjunction with chavah, the word translated as “Eve.” It is possible that JS instead commented on the word chayah (life), which shares a base word with chavah. It is also possible that William Clayton, who recorded this discourse and was evidently unfamiliar with the Hebrew language, misunderstood JS’s explanation of the meaning of the Hebrew words in the discourse. JS similarly used the plural “lives” in a March 1843 blessing. When JS blessed Joseph Kingsbury in March 1843, he promised him “eternal life” and his deceased wife, Caroline Whitney Kingsbury, “eternal lives.” (Brown et al., Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 924; Blessing to Joseph Kingsbury, 23 Mar. 1843.)

    Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament: With an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1852.

  3. [3]

    Earlier in 1843, JS instructed several individuals that angels were either corporeal beings or disembodied spirits awaiting a resurrection. The previous month, JS also taught that God and Jesus had bodies “of flesh & bones as tangible as mans.” (Instruction, 9 Feb. 1843 [D&C 129:1–3]; Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843 [D&C 130].)

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