Discourse, circa 16 February 1841

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Discourse, circa 16 February 1841
Source Note

JS, Discourse, [
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....
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, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 16 Feb. 1841]. Featured version in William P. McIntire, Notebook, pp. [11]–[12]; handwriting of
William P. McIntire
29 May 1813–5 Jan. 1882. Tailor. Born in Wheatfield, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania. Son of George McIntire and Sarah Davis. Married Anna Patterson, ca. 1833, in Pennsylvania. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Erastus Snow, 23 Nov. 1836...
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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Account of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841, as Reported by William P. McIntire.

Historical Introduction
In a discourse at a lyceum meeting in
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
, Illinois, most likely held on 16 February 1841, JS spoke about the nature of the Godhead and the virtue of self-examination.
1
For more on the Nauvoo lyceum, see Historical Introduction to Discourse, ca. 2 Feb. 1841.
In the first meeting of the lyceum on 5 January 1841, JS spoke about the essence of God, highlighting the corporeal nature of God and rejecting the general Christian tenet resulting from the verse in the Gospel of John that states, “God is a Spirit.”
2
John 4:24.
JS instead declared, “That which is without body or parts is nothing. There is no other God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones.”
3
Accounts of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841. For more on the evolution of ideas concerning the corporeality of God in early Christianity, see Paulsen, “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity,” 105–116.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Paulsen, David L. “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity: Origen and Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses.” Harvard Theological Review 83, no. 2 (Apr. 1990): 105–116.
In this 16 February discourse, JS further explained the separate embodiment of God the Father and Jesus Christ; he also discussed the value of personal introspection and the relationship between motivation and action.

JS appears to have been the fourth and final featured speaker at this meeting of the lyceum.
4
McIntire’s notebook lists Alexander Badlam, Samuel Smith, and Theodore Turley as the first three speakers. They spoke on “Machanical Powers & utility,” virtue, and the “Results of Eivel,” respectively. (McIntire, Notebook, [11].)
Comprehensive Works Cited
McIntire, William Patterson. Notebook, 1840–1845. CHL. MS 1014.

William P. McIntire
29 May 1813–5 Jan. 1882. Tailor. Born in Wheatfield, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania. Son of George McIntire and Sarah Davis. Married Anna Patterson, ca. 1833, in Pennsylvania. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Erastus Snow, 23 Nov. 1836...
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wrote an account of this JS discourse in his personal notebook. Although McIntire did not provide a date for the meeting, lyceum meetings appear to have been held every Tuesday, and because the text of this discourse is found in the seventh meeting entry of McIntire’s notebook, JS most likely delivered the discourse at the lyceum meeting of 16 February, the seventh Tuesday of 1841.
5
For more information on dating in McIntire’s notebook, see Historical Introduction to Discourse, ca. 2 Feb. 1841.
Footnotes
[1]
For more on the Nauvoo lyceum, see Historical Introduction to Discourse, ca. 2 Feb. 1841.
[2]
John 4:24.
[3]
Accounts of Meeting and Discourse, 5 Jan. 1841. For more on the evolution of ideas concerning the corporeality of God in early Christianity, see Paulsen, “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity,” 105–116.
Paulsen, David L. “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity: Origen and Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses.” Harvard Theological Review 83, no. 2 (Apr. 1990): 105–116.
[4]
McIntire’s notebook lists Alexander Badlam, Samuel Smith, and Theodore Turley as the first three speakers. They spoke on “Machanical Powers & utility,” virtue, and the “Results of Eivel,” respectively. (McIntire, Notebook, [11].)
McIntire, William Patterson. Notebook, 1840–1845. CHL. MS 1014.
[5]
For more information on dating in McIntire’s notebook, see Historical Introduction to Discourse, ca. 2 Feb. 1841.
Page [12]
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the God-head it was Not as many imagined— three Heads & but one body; he said the three were separate bodys, God the first & Jesus the Mediator the 2d
1
The term “mediator” as a title for Jesus Christ is found in a few places in the New Testament and twice in the Book of Mormon. In the New Testament the phrase “Jesus the Mediator” is exclusive to the book of Hebrews, where it is fully rendered “Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” In his account of an 1832 vision of the afterlife, JS used the phrase when describing those who would inherit a celestial glory: they were “just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” He again used this terminology to describe Christ in a letter to his uncle Silas Smith in 1833 and in published instructions on the priesthood in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. In an 1839 sermon, JS described Christ as “Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant.” (Galatians 3:19–20; 1 Timothy 2:5; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 65 [2 Nephi 2:27–28]; Hebrews 12:24; Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:69]; Letter to Silas Smith, 26 Sept. 1833; Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:19]; Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A.)
& the Holy Ghost & these three agree in one
2
Compare JS’s statement two years later when he criticized sectarian priests for believing that “Fathe[r]— Son & H. Gho[s]t. all stuck into one person . . . all stuffed into one God—— a big God.” (JS, Journal, 11 June 1843.)
& this is the man[n]er we should aproach God in order to get his blessings & he also said Every man ware is stimulated by a certain motive, to act motive preceeds action & if we want to know ourselves this is the key to Examine the motive what it is, & the fact will be manifest [p. [12]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, circa 16 February 1841
ID #
610
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:46–48
Handwriting on This Page
William McIntire
Footnotes
[1]
The term “mediator” as a title for Jesus Christ is found in a few places in the New Testament and twice in the Book of Mormon. In the New Testament the phrase “Jesus the Mediator” is exclusive to the book of Hebrews, where it is fully rendered “Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” In his account of an 1832 vision of the afterlife, JS used the phrase when describing those who would inherit a celestial glory: they were “just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” He again used this terminology to describe Christ in a letter to his uncle Silas Smith in 1833 and in published instructions on the priesthood in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. In an 1839 sermon, JS described Christ as “Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant.” (Galatians 3:19–20; 1 Timothy 2:5; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 65 [2 Nephi 2:27–28]; Hebrews 12:24; Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:69]; Letter to Silas Smith, 26 Sept. 1833; Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:19]; Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A.)
[2]
Compare JS’s statement two years later when he criticized sectarian priests for believing that “Fathe[r]— Son & H. Gho[s]t. all stuck into one person . . . all stuffed into one God—— a big God.” (JS, Journal, 11 June 1843.)