On 9 June 1842, JS delivered a discourse on mercy to the . He opened the society’s eleventh meeting, held in the near the , with prayer and then addressed the assembled women. He began his discourse by reiterating counsel he had given them in March 1842, shortly after the Relief Society was organized. In that discourse, as well as in this 9 June sermon, he expressed concern that some who had been admitted may not have been worthy of membership. He continued his 9 June discourse by counseling the women to be charitable, humble, and merciful. JS briefly interrupted his discourse to give the Relief Society time to receive new members; he then continued his address. He emphasized that the purpose of the Relief Society was not only to relieve the poor, but also to reform the repentant and save souls. He concluded by offering to provide the society with a city lot and an unfinished house they could use to begin building homes for the poor.

As secretary of the Relief Society, recorded an account of JS’s discourse in her minutes for the 9 June 1842 meeting. Although the original loose minutes she took are no longer extant, Snow copied the minutes, including her account of JS’s discourse, into the Relief Society Minute Book, probably shortly after this meeting.