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Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 8 Apr. 1843]. Featured version inscribed [8 Apr. 1843]; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes notation, docket, redaction, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) and ruled with thirty-six horizontal gray lines. At the top of the recto of the first leaf, wrote one line of text that is apparently unrelated to JS’s discourse. Clayton inscribed the discourse in graphite. On the verso of the second leaf, he added mathematical notations that appear unconnected with the discourse. The document was folded twice for filing. A corner of the bifolium was torn off and reattached with cellophane tape.
A title, “Josephs Sermen”, was inscribed at the top of the recto of the first leaf by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. A docket was added by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. At a later date, likely in the twentieth century, an archivist added the date of the discourse in the upper right corner of the recto of the first leaf. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The title, docket, archival marking, and inclusion by 1973 in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Clayton wrote, “Tenor charms the ear—Bass the heart,” as well as “Marcellus Page.” Willard Richards, whose parallel account of the meeting is also featured here, did not include text corresponding to these notes, nor did he make any notes relating to music at this conference session.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  3. [3]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 8 April 1843 in , Illinois, during a special of the held from 6 to 9 April, JS preached a discourse on the meaning of the beasts from John’s vision in the New Testament book of Revelation. As an apocalyptic text, the book of Revelation used symbols such as beasts to depict the cosmic struggle between God and the devil as it unfolded in heaven, earth, and hell. Lacking an explicit explanation of the symbolism of the beasts in John’s vision, many Christians turned to the vision of Daniel in the Old Testament, which likewise used beasts as symbols, since an angel explicitly explained to Daniel that the beasts represented corrupt kingdoms on the earth. Applying this key, Christian interpreters concluded that the beasts, especially those mentioned in Revelation 13, similarly represented corrupt earthly kingdoms under the dominion of the devil. These interpreters subsequently developed many theories to identify the symbolic beasts with specific historical kingdoms, powerful institutions, or influential people.
Although JS reportedly had a strong personal interest in the book of Revelation as a youth, he evidently did not address the interpretation of the beasts publicly during the early years of the church. In an explanatory document written in March 1832, he answered questions regarding the book of Revelation, including a query about “the four beasts spoken of by John” in Revelation 4. Instead of adopting the traditional interpretation that the beasts represented corrupt kingdoms, JS responded that they were actually “four individual beasts which were shewn to John to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.” However, this document was not published during JS’s lifetime. In 1839, the explicitly instructed missionaries to avoid speculating about the meaning of the beasts and other mysteries and instead to focus their public preaching on “the first principles of the gospel.”
By early 1843, however, debates about millennial prophecies in the book of Revelation were unavoidable, primarily due to the excitement surrounding the teachings of Baptist preacher , who had predicted that Christ would return to the earth in 1843 or 1844. The beasts of Revelation became a point of local controversy in March 1843 when the tried Latter-day Saint missionary for teaching false doctrine. According to JS’s summary of Brown’s ideas, Brown adapted the traditional understanding that the beasts represented kingdoms and applied it to the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation, which describe four heavenly beasts worshipping before the throne of God. Rather than interpreting these beasts as corrupt earthly kingdoms, Brown claimed that they represented the “kingdoms of God on the earth” as constituted during the times of biblical figures such as Adam, Enoch, Abraham, and Jesus. After Brown “acknowledged” the false doctrine charge, the trial moved to unrelated allegations.
The issue of the beasts was again raised on 2 April 1843, when JS visited church members in , Illinois. Reading from the fifth chapter of Revelation, he reaffirmed his 1832 statement that the beasts mentioned were actual creatures, adding that they possibly came from another planet. He concluded, referring to ’s teachings, that “God never made use of the figure of a beast to represent the kingdom of heaven.” JS also engaged in spirited debate with unnamed “young ” whom he hoped “would let such things alone.” Later that day, “several came in & expressd fear that [he] had come in contact with the old scripture,” evidently challenging his position that the vision of Daniel should not be used to interpret John’s vision in Revelation. JS again defended his position when speaking later that evening.
JS revisited the subject of the beasts on 8 April 1843, the third day of the church’s special conference in , noting the recent “division of sentiment amongst the E[lde]rs” over the meaning of the beasts and expressing his desire to settle the debate. He then proceeded to refute ’s position and to articulate his own view of the matter. It was a windy morning, and JS was concerned that he would not be able to speak above the wind for an extended period of time. He stopped preaching at 11:25 a.m., when his “lungs faild” and “the wind blew briskly.”
was appointed clerk of the conference and recorded JS’s discourse. The unevenness of Clayton’s notes suggests that he was writing as he heard JS speak. Another of JS’s scribes, , likewise took uneven notes, which he later copied into JS’s journal, likely with minimal polishing, as was his typical practice. Church member also made an account, the polished nature of which suggests that he reconstructed JS’s words after the fact from notes or from memory or both. All three versions are featured here. Annotation that appears in Clayton’s version of the discourse is not repeated in corresponding locations in the other featured versions.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Reflecting the prevailing methodology for interpreting biblical prophecy, nineteenth-century Bible scholar James Clarke explained that “what is meant by the term Beast in any one prophetic vision, the same species of thing must be represented by the same term whenever it is used in a similar way in any other part of the Sacred Oracles.” Clarke’s explanation was quoted approvingly by prominent Methodist Adam Clarke in his influential nineteenth-century Bible commentary, which JS was known to consult. (Clarke, Dissertation on the Dragon, 82, italics in original; Clarke, New Testament, 2:1035; see also Wayment and Wilson-Lemmon, “Recovered Resource,” 262–284.)

    Clarke, James E. Dissertation on the Dragon, Beast, and False-Prophet, of the Apocalypse; in Which the Number 666 Is Satisfactorily Explained. And Also a Full Illustration of Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. London: Printed for the author, 1814.

    Clarke, Adam. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Version, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts. . . . Vol. 1. New York: J. Emory and B. Waugh, 1831.

    Wayment, Thomas A., and Haley Wilson-Lemmon. “A Recovered Resource: The Use of Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary in Joseph Smith’s Bible Translation.” In Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity, edited by Michael Hubbard MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Brian M. Hauglid, 262–284. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020.

  2. [2]

    Pomeroy Tucker, a contemporary of JS who lived in the town where JS grew up, wrote that JS “frequently perused the Bible, becoming quite familiar with portions thereof. . . . The Prophecies and Revelations were his special forte.” (Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 17.)

    Tucker, Pomeroy. Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church. New York: D. Appleton, 1867.

  3. [3]

    Answers to Questions, between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 [D&C 77:2–4]. JS also reviewed the book of Revelation in his revision of the King James Bible in the early 1830s. He made no changes relevant to the beasts in chapters 4–6, although he did insert “in the likeness of the kingdoms of the earth” into John’s description of the beast in chapter 13. (New Testament Revision 2, pp. 150–151, 153 [second numbering] [Joseph Smith Translation, Revelation 4:6; 6:1; 13:1].)

  4. [4]

    “Proposed Sixth Gathering of the Book of Commandments.”

  5. [5]

    The Twelve warned the elders to “leave the further mysteries of the kingdom, till God shall tell you to preach them, which is not now.— The horns of the beast, the toes of the image, the frogs and the beast mentioned by John, are not going to save this generation.” (“To the Elders of the Church,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:13–14.)

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

  6. [6]

    See Historical Introduction to Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843 [D&C 130]; Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; and Underwood, Millenarian World of Early Mormonism, chap. 7.

    Underwood, Grant. The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

  7. [7]

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 19 Mar. 1843. Pelatiah Brown had joined the church by the mid-1830s and served missions in the late 1830s and early 1840s. (Elder’s License for Pelatiah Brown, 1 June 1836, in Kirtland Elders’ Certificates, 128; Haight, Journal, [4], [6]; Nauvoo Ninth Ward High Priests Quorum, Minutes, 21 Jan. 1845, [15]; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:941.)

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

    Haight, Isaac Chauncey. Journal, 1852–1862. Photocopy. CHL. MS 1384.

    Nauvoo Ninth Ward. High Priests Minutes, Nov. 1844–Feb. 1845. CHL. LR 3501 21.

  8. [8]

    Brown was also charged with criticizing Daniel Shearer, which Brown denied. After deliberation, this charge was “not sustained” by the council. (Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 19 Mar. 1843.)

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

  9. [9]

    Instruction, 2 Apr. 1843 [D&C 130].

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 8 Apr. 1843.

  11. [11]

    See Historical Introduction to Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  12. [12]

    See Historical Introduction to Discourse, 4 July 1843.

  13. [13]

    The recollective nature of Franklin D. Richards’s account of the discourse is further confirmed by the fact that he inscribed his accounts of JS’s comments at the April 1843 conference in reverse chronological order, beginning with the 8 April discourse, following it with JS’s 7 April response to Orson Pratt, and concluding with JS’s second discourse given on 6 April 1843. (See Richards, “Scriptural Items,” [15]–[17].)

    Richards, Franklin D. Scriptural Items, ca. 1841–1844. CHL. MS 4409.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton
*Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 *Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by Franklin D. Richards History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Have 3 requests— all who have faith exercise. that the Lord may be willing to came [calm] the wind.— Next. have your prayers strengt[h]en my lungs— next I may have the H. G. [Holy Ghost] to enable me to declare such things that are true— subject that I seldom have touched upon since I commenced— subj— of great spec[ulation] as well among the & the divin[e]s— sub of beast in Rev. Reason why is in consequence of a division of sentiment amongst the Ers my object is to do away div[ision] the knowledge of this thing is not very essential in relation to beasts heads figures &c— if we get to much puffed up— k[nowledge] is nec to do away cont— the k of being puffed up is not so great as the evil of contention if they were to climb to the top of Mt Pisgah the Lord would hear knowledge does away darkness suspense, doubt— for where k is there is no doubt &c, no pain so awful as the pain of suspense— this is the condemnation of the wicked— doubt anxiety causes wailing in k there is power— God has more power than all other beings because he has more k. he knows how to subject other beings Instruct you in relation to the beasts— has been the cause one of the wisest old heads we have among us has been called up before the on account of the beast— The old man preached about the beast &c & was hauled up— never thought it was right to called up a man for erring in doctrines— to[o] much like methodism not Latter Dayism— Methodists has creed— kicked out— want the liberty of believing as I please— feels so good— Dont prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine— the H. C undertook to correct him— came to me. Rev 5.— four beasts & four & twenty Ers (8 verse) he had confounded all christend[om] by making out the the 4 beasts repd k [kingdoms?] wise men could not do any thing with him— any thing to whip sectarian & put down — a club as is better than none for a poor man to firht [fight] could not help laughing at the idea of God making use of the figure of a beast to represent the kingdoms of God on the earth— when he could have used a more noble figure what? make use of the figure of a meaner creature to rep a much glorious one— you mist it old man but the sec. did not know enough to detect him, [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton
ID #
2004
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:185–190
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Nineteenth-century Bible scholar James Clarke noted that there were “many discordant hypotheses” regarding “the meaning of the prophetic symbol Beast.” (Clarke, Dissertation on the Dragon, 81; see also Clarke, New Testament, 2:1035.)

    Clarke, James E. Dissertation on the Dragon, Beast, and False-Prophet, of the Apocalypse; in Which the Number 666 Is Satisfactorily Explained. And Also a Full Illustration of Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. London: Printed for the author, 1814.

    Clarke, Adam. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Version, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts. . . . Vol. 1. New York: J. Emory and B. Waugh, 1831.

  2. [2]

    See 1 Corinthians 8:1.

  3. [3]

    According to Deuteronomy, the Lord showed Moses the land of Israel from the vantage point of Mount Pisgah. (Deuteronomy 34:1–4.)

  4. [4]

    The Book of Abraham, published in 1842, similarly stated that “these two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other, there shall be another more intelligent than they: I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.” (Book of Abraham Excerpt and Facsimile 2, 15 Mar. 1842 [Abraham 3:19].)

  5. [5]

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 19 Mar. 1843.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

  6. [6]

    John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, formulated twenty-five articles of religion in 1784. Trials and excommunications of ministers and ordinary church members who diverged from the articles were apparently rare in the United States in the nineteenth century. (See Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 71–72, 100; Wheeler, History and Exposition of the Twenty-Five Articles, 9; and Heitzenrater, “Doctrinal Standards in Early American Methodism,” 62–76.)

    Coke, Thomas, and Francis Asbury. The Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in America. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Henry Tuckniss, 1798.

    Wheeler, Henry. History and Exposition of the Twenty-Five Articles of the Religion of the Methodist Episcopal Church. New York: Eaton and Mains, 1908.

    Heitzenrater, Richard. “At Full Liberty: Doctrinal Standards in Early American Methodism.” In Perspectives on American Methodism: Interpretive Essays, edited by Russell E. Richey, Kenneth E. Rowe, and Jean Miller Schmidt, 62–76. Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1993.

  7. [7]

    Nineteenth-century Bible scholar James Clarke noted that the kingdom of God “is represented as a stone ‘cut out of the mountain without hands,’ that is, without the instrumentality of earthly power; and is never resembled to a beast, because it is not raised up by the sword, as all other secular powers are, but sanctifies the persons under its subjection, in which last particular it essentially differs from all other dominations.” (Clarke, Dissertation on the Dragon, 84, italics in original; see also Clarke, New Testament, 2:1035.)

    Clarke, James E. Dissertation on the Dragon, Beast, and False-Prophet, of the Apocalypse; in Which the Number 666 Is Satisfactorily Explained. And Also a Full Illustration of Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. London: Printed for the author, 1814.

    Clarke, Adam. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorised Version, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts. . . . Vol. 1. New York: J. Emory and B. Waugh, 1831.

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