Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–B

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Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–B
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. 19 July 1840. Featured version copied [between fall 1843 and 1850s] in Martha Jane Coray, Notebook, ca. 1843–1850s, pp. [9]–[22]; handwriting of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; CHL.

Small book, measuring 5⅝ × 3⅝ × ⅜ inches (14 × 9 × 1 cm). The notebook consists of ninety-two pages in four gatherings of eight, sixteen, ten, and twelve leaves each. The volume is loosely sewn together with thread and lacks a cover. The pages are ruled with now-faded black lines. The beginning of the notebook appears to be missing at least one leaf that likely contained diary entries. The majority of the book’s pages are unnumbered. Coray inscribed most of the entries in the book with black ink, but the volume also includes occasional inscriptions in graphite. Twenty-four pages in the middle of the book are blank. The reverse side of the book includes inscriptions regarding Coray’s study of French. The reverse pages are numbered 3 through 20 inclusive, suggesting that the reverse side is also missing at least one leaf.

The timing of
John Smith
16 July 1781–23 May 1854. Farmer. Born at Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Member of Congregational church. Appointed overseer of highways at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York, 1810. Married...
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’s appointment as
presiding elder
A leader over a local ecclesiastical unit of the church; also a title indicating the leading officers of the church. When the church was organized, JS and Oliver Cowdery were ordained as first and second elders, respectively, distinguishing them as the church...
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in
Macedonia
Area settled, 1826. Founded by Latter-day Saints, 1839–1840, following exodus from Missouri. Town platted, Aug. 1840. Post office established, Sept. 1840. Incorporated as Macedonia, Mar. 1843. Renamed Webster, 23 July 1847. Population in 1845 about 380. Crooked...
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(an event referred to in the notebook) and internal dating suggest that Coray made the entries in the notebook sometime between 1843 and 1855. The first date listed in the notebook is 8 August 1853, and the last recorded date is 1 December 1854. The notebook contains diary entries, financial statements, school notes, a copy of Coray’s patriarchal blessing, and transcripts of three sermons given by JS 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.

Presumably, Coray maintained ownership of the notebook until her death in 1881. The book likely remained in the possession of the Coray family until at least July 1902.
1
Ehat and Cook, Words of Joseph Smith, 419n2.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Ehat, Andrew F., and Lyndon W. Cook, eds. The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980.
Historians later discovered the book filed among the Joseph F. Smith Papers in the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, suggesting that the Coray family placed the notebook in Smith’s custody sometime prior to his death in 1918.
2
Jessee, “Joseph Smith’s 19 July 1840 Discourse,” 390n1.
Jessee, Dean C. “Joseph Smith’s 19 July 1840 Discourse.” BYU Studies 19, no. 3 (Spring 1979): 390–394.
Footnotes
[1]
Ehat and Cook, Words of Joseph Smith, 419n2.
Ehat, Andrew F., and Lyndon W. Cook, eds. The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980.
[2]
Jessee, “Joseph Smith’s 19 July 1840 Discourse,” 390n1.
Jessee, Dean C. “Joseph Smith’s 19 July 1840 Discourse.” BYU Studies 19, no. 3 (Spring 1979): 390–394.
Historical Introduction
See Historical Introduction to Discourse, ca. 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–A.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–A *Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–B
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peace but the Nations of the Earth will be at war:

our cry from the 1st has been for peace
4
After the Saints were driven from Jackson County in fall 1833, a June 1834 revelation instructed the Saints to “make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you” and to “lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth.” Thereafter, church leaders drafted an “APPEAL for peace,” which was published in the August 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:40]; William W. Phelps et al., “An Appeal,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 183–184, emphasis in original.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
and we will continue pleading like the Widow at the feet of the unjust judge
5
See Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:81–85].
but we may plead at the feet of Majistrates and at the feet of Judges At the feet of Governors and at the feet of senotors & at the feet of the Pre[s]idents for 8 years it will be of no avail we shall find no favor in any <of the> courts of this government
6
A December 1833 revelation instructed the church to “impertune at the feet” of judges, the governor of Missouri, and the president of the United States to regain its Jackson County lands. Although church leaders complied with the revelation, they did not receive help from any of those sources. After church members were expelled from Missouri in 1838 and 1839, JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Elias Higbee appealed to Congress and President Martin Van Buren for redress but were denied assistance from the federal government. (Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:86–88]; “Joseph Smith Documents from April 1834 through September 1835”; Letter from Elias Higbee, 26 Feb. 1840; Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839.)

The
redemption of Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
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is the redemption of all N & S America and those 12
stake
Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...
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must be built up before the redemption of Zion can take place and those who refuse to gather [p. [10]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–B
ID #
554
Total Pages
14
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:333–345
Handwriting on This Page
Martha Jane Knowlton Coray
Footnotes
[4]
After the Saints were driven from Jackson County in fall 1833, a June 1834 revelation instructed the Saints to “make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you” and to “lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth.” Thereafter, church leaders drafted an “APPEAL for peace,” which was published in the August 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:40]; William W. Phelps et al., “An Appeal,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 183–184, emphasis in original.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
[5]
See Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:81–85].
[6]
A December 1833 revelation instructed the church to “impertune at the feet” of judges, the governor of Missouri, and the president of the United States to regain its Jackson County lands. Although church leaders complied with the revelation, they did not receive help from any of those sources. After church members were expelled from Missouri in 1838 and 1839, JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Elias Higbee appealed to Congress and President Martin Van Buren for redress but were denied assistance from the federal government. (Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:86–88]; “Joseph Smith Documents from April 1834 through September 1835”; Letter from Elias Higbee, 26 Feb. 1840; Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839.)