Discourse, 21 February 1844

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Discourse, 21 February 1844
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], 21 Feb. 1844. Featured version inscribed [ca. 21 Feb. 1844] in Wilford Woodruff, Journal, vol. 5, 1 Jan. 1843–31 Dec. 1844, p. [195]; handwriting of
Wilford Woodruff
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...
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; Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Discourse, 17 Jan. 1843, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff.

Historical Introduction
On 21 February 1844, JS delivered a discourse to a group of
Latter-day Saints
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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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....
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, Illinois, emphasizing the importance of obeying God’s commandments.
1
Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Earlier that evening, JS had attended a lecture by a Reverend DeWolf, an Episcopal priest, in the assembly room on the second floor of
JS’s store
Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. Completed 1841. Opened for business, 5 Jan. 1842. Owned by JS, but managed mostly by others, after 1842. First floor housed JS’s general store and counting room, where tithing...
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.
2
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844. The priest was probably Erastus DeWolf, an Episcopal minister from Lee County, Illinois. In June 1843, DeWolf conversed with JS and preached in Nauvoo. (Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, 85; Stevens, History of Lee County Illinois, 422; JS, Journal, 4 and 11 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 11 June 1843; Letter to Edward Hunter, 5 Jan. 1842.)
Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
Stevens, Frank. History of Lee County, Illinois. 2 vols. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Once DeWolf concluded, he requested that JS speak. JS then “spoke to the people to show them that to get salvation we must not only do some things but every thing whi[c]h God had comandd [commanded].”
3
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844.

As DeWolf was lecturing in the assembly room, members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...
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and others gathered in JS’s
office
Term usually applied to JS’s private office, which was located at various places during JS’s lifetime, including his home. From fall 1840 until completion of JS’s brick store, office was located on second floor of a new building, possibly on Water Street ...
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, which was also on the second floor of his
store
Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. Completed 1841. Opened for business, 5 Jan. 1842. Owned by JS, but managed mostly by others, after 1842. First floor housed JS’s general store and counting room, where tithing...
More Info
.
4
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844; Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Feb. 1844; see also Letter to Edward Hunter, 5 Jan. 1842.
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.
Apostle
Wilford Woodruff
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...
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was present at the meeting in JS’s office, and once it had concluded he presumably heard at least some of JS’s closing remarks in the assembly room. Woodruff later recorded them in his journal. The quality of his handwriting suggests that the account in his journal was a fair copy. It is unknown, however, if Woodruff created his account from notes he took during JS’s remarks or whether he reconstructed it from memory.
Footnotes
[1]
Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844.
[2]
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844. The priest was probably Erastus DeWolf, an Episcopal minister from Lee County, Illinois. In June 1843, DeWolf conversed with JS and preached in Nauvoo. (Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, 85; Stevens, History of Lee County Illinois, 422; JS, Journal, 4 and 11 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 11 June 1843; Letter to Edward Hunter, 5 Jan. 1842.)
Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
Stevens, Frank. History of Lee County, Illinois. 2 vols. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
[3]
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844.
[4]
JS, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844; Woodruff, Journal, 21 Feb. 1844; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 21 Feb. 1844; see also Letter to Edward Hunter, 5 Jan. 1842.
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 21 February 1844
History Draft [1 January–21 June 1844] History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
Page [195]
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Among other things said that men may preach & practice evry thing except those things which God commands us to do & will be damned at last we may tithe rue annis [anise] & cummin [cumin] & still not obey the commandments of God
1
See Matthew 23:23.
the object with me is to obey & teach others to obey God in just what he tells us to do It mattereth not whether the principle is popular or unpopular I will always maintain a true principl even if I stand alone in it [p. [195]]
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Page [195]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 21 February 1844
ID #
1281
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
Wilford Woodruff
Footnotes
[1]
See Matthew 23:23.