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Discourse, 21 February 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 21 Feb. 1843]. Featured version copied [ca. 21 Feb. 1843] in JS, Journal, bk. 1, 21 Dec. 1842–10 Mar. 1843, pp. [202]–[215]; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, journal, 1842–1844.

Historical Introduction

On 21 February 1843, JS delivered a one-hour discourse at the construction site in , Illinois, regarding the urgency of completing the temple and the , both of which the Latter-day Saints were building in accordance with a January 1841 revelation. According to , thousands had gathered at the temple site in the morning for the purpose “of Advancing the cause of the Nauvoo House & other mattrs.” , a trustee of the , addressed the gathering, followed by , whom JS had appointed to be the architect of the Nauvoo House. During his comments, Woodworth stated that there was “not that public spirit here as in other cities.” To support his claims, he referenced the laborers on the Nauvoo House who were constantly asking for their pay and for food. Hoping to deescalate the complaints, he asked the laborers to continue working on the house and to be patient as they waited to receive compensation for their labor. He then stated that, like the workers, he had eaten “dry Johncake & cold water” and had shared whatever he had with the workers. For those who continued to complain, Woodworth hoped that they would “get their pay & run away.” Emphasizing the importance of the temple and Nauvoo House building projects, he told the community that if the two buildings were not finished, “you must run—away,” suggesting that those who did not contribute to the buildings ought to vacate the city.
When JS arose to speak, he endorsed what had said and then offered his own remarks on the subject. He reiterated the importance of the , explaining that he considered it just as sacred as the . The 19 January 1841 revelation commanding the construction of the temple made clear that the house, like the temple, “shall be holy.” On 2 October 1841, JS further demonstrated the importance of the Nauvoo House when he deposited the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, along with several other sacred writings, in the building’s cornerstone.
During the discourse, JS expressed displeasure with those who withheld resources from the construction of the in order to aggrandize themselves at the expense of others, singling out in his criticism. JS and Foster had disputed over various matters during the preceding months, and Foster had publicly supported someone other than JS for mayor. At his inauguration, JS accused Foster of having taken “an active part in electioneering for the written opposition ticket. & obstructing the passage to the polls.” In his 21 February discourse, JS voiced irritation that Foster had recently signed a petition to replace as ’s postmaster with , who was not a member. Shortly before JS ended his discourse, Foster interjected by refuting some of JS’s criticisms, and JS apparently accepted most of his refutations.
briefly mentioned the discourse in his diary, stating that JS’s remarks “were plain & pointed.” created a much more detailed account of the discourse, which he recorded in JS’s journal. In preparing JS’s history, Richards later inscribed a copy of the sermon in his rough draft notes. This later version provided additional information that helped to explain some of the enigmatic statements in the journal. Richards’s original version in JS’s journal is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22–23, 31].

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

  2. [2]

    Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843.

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

  3. [3]

    Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843; An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 131, sec. 2; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. 1845.

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

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 1 Feb. 1843; see also Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. 1845. Temple laborers had also expressed concern about receiving compensation. (Letter to “Hands in the Stone Shop,” 21 Dec. 1842.)

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843.

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:24].

  8. [8]

    Memorandum, 2 Oct. 1841; JS, Journal, 29 Dec. 1841.

  9. [9]

    JS, Journal, 11 Feb. 1843.

  10. [10]

    In November 1842, JS and others expressed discontent with Rigdon as the postmaster, believing he may have cooperated with John C. Bennett to steal money and letters from the post office. (Letter to George W. Robinson, 6 Nov. 1842; Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 26 Nov. 1842; Letter to Richard M. Young, 9 Feb. 1843. For the petition in favor of Rollosson, see JS, Journal, 13 Feb. 1843; for the petition in favor of JS, see JS, Journal, 8 Nov. 1842.)

  11. [11]

    Foster acknowledged that some of JS’s accusations against him were true. At the same time, he noted his contributions to the Nauvoo House and the Nauvoo Relief Society as well as to the construction of JS’s own house. Foster suggested that his business dealings allowed him to contribute to the public good in Nauvoo. He also acknowledged signing the petition requesting that William Rollosson be made the postmaster but said that he had done so without knowing about the earlier efforts to make JS the postmaster. As indicated by his subsequent remarks at the end of the sermon, JS apparently felt satisfied with Foster’s reply. (Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843; JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843.)

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

  12. [12]

    Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1843.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, 21 February 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 1, 21 December 1842–10 March 1843 Discourse, 21 February 1843, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff History Draft [1 January–3 March 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [211]

groani[n]g I thought of the paddy’s. ell [eel] when he tried to kill him could not contrive any way so he put it [in] the water to drown him. and as he began to came to— see said he what pain he is in how he wigles his tail.— the banks are failing & it is the privilige to say what a curency we want. gold & silver to build the Temple & . we want your old nose rings & finger rings & brass ket[t]les no longer. if you have old raggs— watches. guns go & peddle them. & bring the hard metal. if we will do this by popular opinion you will have a sound currency. [p. [211]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 21 February 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards
ID #
995
Total Pages
14
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:460–468
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [30]

    This may refer to a “poor paddy” joke, a type of joke that used an Irishman as the example. Such jokes were common among nineteenth-century Americans, who tended to see Irish immigrants in a negative light. (Niehaus, “Paddy on the Local Stage,” 117–134.)

    Niehaus, E. F. “Paddy on the Local Stage and in Humor: The Image of the Irish in New Orleans, 1830–1862.” Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 5, no. 2 (Spring 1964): 117–134.

  2. [31]

    TEXT: Possibly “come”.

  3. [32]

    Between 1837 and 30 June 1842, more than one hundred banks in the United States failed. As demand for specie payments increased, the only chartered banks in Illinois—the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown, the Bank of Cairo, and the State Bank of Illinois—were forced to suspend specie payments on multiple occasions. By fall 1842, the notes of the state bank were so devalued that the state treasury refused to accept them as payment for taxes. By February 1843, the state legislature passed acts requiring both the State Bank of Illinois and the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown to cease operations and liquidate their assets, and in March 1843 the charter of the Bank of Cairo was repealed. In early 1842, JS wrote to Edward Hunter in the eastern United States that “the State Bank is down, and we Cannot tell you what Bank would be safe a month hence, I would say that Gold and Silver is the only safe money a man can keep these times, you can sell Specie here for more premium than you have to give, therefore there would be no loss, and it would be Safe, The Bank you deposit in might fail before you had time to draw out again.” (Dowrie, Development of Banking in Illinois, 104, 114–115, 124–126; Pease, Frontier State, 308–315; An Act to Diminish the State Debt, and Put the State Bank into Liquidation [24 Jan. 1843]; An Act to Put the Bank of Illinois into Liquidation [25 Feb. 1843]; An Act to Repeal the Charter of the Bank of Cairo [4 Mar. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], pp. 21–30, 36–39; Letter to Edward Hunter, 9 and 11 Mar. 1842.)

    Dowrie , George William. The Development of Banking in Illinois, 1817–1863. University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, vol. 11, no. 4. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1913.

    Pease, Theodore Calvin. The Centennial History of Illinois. Vol. 2, The Frontier State, 1818–1848. Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1922.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

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