Editing King Follett discourse

{{Short description|1844 sermon given by Joseph Smith}}
The '''King Follett discourse''', or '''King Follett sermon''', was an address delivered in [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], by [[Joseph Smith]], [[President of the Church|president]] and founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], on April 7, 1844, less than three months before he was [[Death of Joseph Smith|killed]] by a mob. The discourse was presented to a congregation of about twenty thousand [[Latter Day Saints]] at a [[General conference (Latter Day Saints)|general conference]] held shortly after the [[funeral]] service of [[Elder King Follett]], who had died on March 9, 1844, of accidental injuries.<ref name="April 1971 Ensign">{{citation |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng |title= The King Follett Sermon (part 1) |date=April 1971 |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |page= 13 }}</ref> The sermon is notable for its assertion that God was once a mortal man, and that mortal men and women can become gods (a concept commonly called [[Divinization (Christian)#Latter Day Saint theology|divinization]]) through salvation and [[Exaltation (Latter Day Saints)|exaltation]]. These topics were, and are, controversial, and have received varying opinions and interpretations of what Smith meant. Literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] called the sermon "one of the truly remarkable sermons ever preached in America."<ref>{{harvtxt|Bushman|2005}}</ref>

==Text==
{{wikisource}}
A full, verbatim account of the speech does not exist, but notes exist, taken contemporaneously, by [[Thomas Bullock (Mormon)|Thomas Bullock]] (using a type of personal shorthand), [[William Clayton (Latter Day Saints)|William Clayton]] (writing in longhand), and [[Willard Richards]] (taking "minute"-style notes of major elements of the speech).<ref name="Larson 1978">{{harvtxt|Larson|1978}}.</ref> [[Wilford Woodruff]] also took extensive contemporaneous notes and transferred the notes to his journal with editorializations, but his original notes were not preserved.<ref name="Larson 1978"/> One author (Searle) estimates that the surviving notes of the sermon contain roughly 30% of the words of the actual address, but that together, they are likely nearly topically complete.<ref>{{harvtxt|Searle|1979}}.</ref>

A version reconstructed (by Bullock) from the Bullock and Clayton records was published in the church paper ''[[Times and Seasons]]'' of August 15, 1844.  A later version resulted from amalgamation of the Richards, Woodruff, Bullock and Clayton texts.  This amalgamation was done by church employee, Jonathan Grimshaw, roughly ten years after Smith's death and is generally regarded as the official version of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) because it was carefully reviewed, edited, and approved by church authorities, including [[Brigham Young]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Larson|1978|loc=fn. 11}}.</ref> It contains some text not found in any of the primary sources and contains redundancies resulting from the naïve reconstruction. These redundancies, and the parts added by Grimshaw without support in the contemporaneous notes, were removed in a modern amalgamation by [[Stan Larson]] in 1978.<ref name="Larson 1978"/>

==Significance in Latter-day Saint theology==
The sermon was not always viewed in a favorable light by leaders of the LDS Church<ref name="BYU Studies 1978 p. 191">''[[BYU Studies]]'', vol. 18(1977–1978): p. 191</ref> or other denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement. It was not published in the LDS Church's 1912 ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'' because of then-[[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] [[Joseph F. Smith]]'s discomfort with some ideas in the sermon popularized by the editor of the project, [[B. H. Roberts]] of the [[Seventy (LDS Church)|First Council of the Seventy]].<ref>J. Stapley, "A Textual History of the KFD, Part II."</ref>  By 1950, it was included in the revised edition of ''History of the Church''.<ref name="BYU Studies 1978 p. 191"/> In 1971, the sermon was published in the ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', an official publication of the LDS Church.<ref name="April 1971 Ensign" /><ref name="May 1971 Ensign">{{citation |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1971/05/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng |title= The King Follett Sermon (part 2) |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=May 1971 |page= 13 }}</ref>

The ideas of the King Follett sermon were a precursor to the [[Adam–God doctrine]] taught by Brigham Young, second president of the LDS Church.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buerger |first1=David John |title=The Adam-God Doctrine |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |date=Spring 1982 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=14–58 |doi=10.2307/45225052 |jstor=45225052 |s2cid=254403590 |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/45225052 |access-date=16 February 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref> According to this doctrine, [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] was once a mortal man who became resurrected and [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exalted]], followed by creating the [[Earth]] and again becoming a mortal being in the [[Garden of Eden]] before returning to heaven and to serving as the God of humankind. However, soon after Young died, the Adam–God doctrine fell out of favor within the LDS Church and was replaced by a more traditional biblical [[Adam and Eve in Mormonism|Adam and Eve theology]]. In 1976, church president [[Spencer W. Kimball]] stated the LDS Church does not support the Adam–God doctrine.<ref>''Conference Report'', p. 115 (October 1–3, 1976).</ref><ref>Spencer W. Kimball, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/11/our-own-liahona?lang=eng "Our Own Liahona,"] ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', November 1976, p. 77.</ref>

LDS Church president [[Lorenzo Snow]] succinctly summarized a portion of the doctrine explained in this discourse using a [[couplet]], which is often repeated within the church: {{quote |text= As man now is, God once was: <br /> As God now is, man may be.<ref>{{citation |last= Lund |first= Gerald N. |authorlink= Gerald N. Lund |date=February 1982 |title= I Have a Question: Is President Lorenzo Snow's oft-repeated statement—"As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be"—accepted as official doctrine by the Church? |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1982/02/i-have-a-question?lang=eng |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1= Millet |first1= Robert L. |authorlink= Robert L. Millet |last2= Reynolds |first2= Noel B. |authorlink2= Noel B. Reynolds |year= 1998 |contribution= Do Latter-day Saints believe that men and women can become gods? |contribution-url= http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=45&chapid=534 |title= Latter-day Christianity: 10 Basic Issues |location= Provo, Utah |publisher= [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies]] |isbn= 0934893322 |oclc= 39732987 |url= https://archive.org/details/latterdaychristi00mill }}</ref>}}

The LDS Church today teaches that the King Follett discourse was "the most direct, public explanation" of unique doctrines, such as that of humanity's [[premortal existence]] and [[exaltation (Mormonism)|divine potential]], that are alluded to in Latter Day Saint scripture.<ref>{{cite web |title=King Follett Discourse |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/king-follett-discourse?lang=eng |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> However, with respect to the nature of God prior to creation, the church has stated that "Little has been revealed ... and consequently little is taught."<ref>{{cite web |title=Becoming Like God |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/becoming-like-god?lang=eng |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref>

==Topics==
Doctrinal topics in the sermon include:
* the fundamental nature of reality —
:man is not a contingent being, moreover God made the world from preexisting "chaotic matter."
:"''I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man ... because it has no beginning"''
:"''The pure principles of element, are principles that can never be destroyed."''<ref>''[[Times and Seasons]]'', '''5''':615.</ref>
* the character and nature of God —
:"''It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another.''"<ref name = threefourfive>''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'', p. 345.</ref>
:"''God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and ... God ... (were) to make himself visible ... if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves in all the person, image, and the very form as a man.''"<ref name = threefourfive/>
* Humanity’s potential to become Gods themselves.  —
:Smith discussed the potential of mankind by referencing Romans [[s:Bible, King James, Romans#Chapter 8|8:17]], then stating that men may go: "''...from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation ...  until (they) arrive at the station of a God.''"<ref>''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'', pp. 346-47.</ref>

* the tie between the living and their progenitors —
:"''Is there nothing to be done? — no preparation — no salvation for our fathers and friends who have died without having had the opportunity to obey the decrees of the Son of Man?''"<ref>''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'', p. 355.</ref>
:"''God hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be ... saved unless he has committed (the) unpardonable sin.''"<ref>''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'', p. 357.</ref>

Regarding his personal religious experiences, Smith stated:  "''I don't blame anyone for not believing my history.  If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself.''"<ref>''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'', p. 361.</ref> Concerned with difficulties facing the church and threats on his own life, he closed the two-hour-and-fifteen-minute address with a plea for peace and invoked God's blessing on the assembled Latter Day Saints.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Although the discourse is considered by [[Mormons]] to be one of the most important given by Smith on the nature of [[God]] and [[exaltation (Mormon)|exaltation]], it is not part of the LDS Church's [[canonization|canonized]] scriptures.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} 

The topics in the discourse were not new to Smith's preaching.<ref>See notes at: W. V. Smith, "[http://www.boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1844/7Apr44.html A parallel account of known texts of the King Follett Discourse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115200647/http://www.boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1844/7Apr44.html |date=2021-11-15 }}," The Parallel Joseph, The Book of Abraham Project, boap.org</ref>  Nearly all the subjects treated were continuing threads from earlier sermons. However, this discourse brought these ideas together in one connected narrative, and has had much wider distribution than most of the rest of his public utterances.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Latter Day Saint movement}}
* [[Divinization (Christian)]]
* [[God in Mormonism]]
* [[Exaltation (LDS Church)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|2}}
* ''[[Times and Seasons]]'', August 15, 1844
*{{Citation
 | editor-last=Roberts
 | editor-first=B. H.
 | editor-link=B. H. Roberts
 | title=History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 | volume=6
 | publisher=[[Deseret News]]
 | place=Salt Lake City
 | year=1950
 | edition=revised
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGi-iiz6juYC
 | pages=302–17 (omitted from original 1812 edition)
 }}.
*{{Citation
 | last=Bushman
 | first=Richard Lyman
 | authorlink=Richard Bushman
 | title=[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]]
 | year=2005
 | place=New York
 | publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]]
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/josephsmithrough00bush/page/533 533]
 | isbn=1-4000-4270-4
 }}.
*{{Citation
 |last=Canon 
 |first=Donald Q. 
 |title=The King Follett Discourse: Joseph Smith's Greatest Sermon in Historical Perspective 
 |journal=BYU Studies 
 |volume=18 
 |issue=2 
 |year=1978 
 |pages=179–92 
 |url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5320 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826023706/http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5320 
 |archivedate=2010-08-26 
}}.
*{{Citation
 | editor1-last=Canon
 | editor1-first=Donald Q.
 | editor2-last=Dahl
 | editor2-first=Larry E.
 | title=The Prophet Joseph Smith's King Follet Discourse: A Six-Column Comparison of Original Notes and Amalgamation.
 | year=1983
 | place=Provo, Utah
 }}.
* Ehat, Andrew F. and Cook, Lyndon W., "The Words of Joseph Smith," (Orem, Utah: Grandin, 1991).
*{{Citation
 |last=Hale 
 |first=Van 
 |title=The Doctrinal Impact of the King Follet Discourse 
 |publisher=BYU Studies 
 |volume=18 
 |issue=2 
 |year=1978 
 |page=209 
 |url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5322 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826023712/http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5322 
 |archivedate=2010-08-26 
}}.
*{{Citation
 |last=Larson 
 |first=Stan 
 |author-link=Stan Larson
 |title=The King Follett Discourse: A Newly Amalgamated Text 
 |journal=BYU Studies 
 |volume=18 
 |issue=2 
 |year=1978 
 |pages=193–208 
 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol18/iss2/7/ 
}}.
* [[Daniel H. Ludlow|Ludlow, Daniel H.]], Editor,  ''Church History, Selections From the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. ''  [[Deseret Book Co.]], Salt Lake City, UT, 1992.  {{ISBN|0-87579-924-8}}.
* {{citation |last=Searle |first=Howard C. |title=Early Mormon Historiography: Writing the History of the Mormons |type=Ph.D. dissertation |publisher=UCLA |date=1979 |pages=270ff}}
* [[Joseph Fielding Smith|Smith, Joseph Fielding]], editor. ''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'' (TPJS), Salt Lake City, 1938.  Section Six 1843–44, pp.&nbsp;342–61.
* Smith, W.V., editor, "[http://www.boap.org/LDS/Parallel The Parallel Joseph]" at www.boap.org.
* Stapley, J. "[http://www.splendidsun.com/wp/a-textual-history-of-the-kfd-part-i-sources-to-the-history-of-joseph-smith/ A Textual History of the KFD, Part I: Sources to the 'History of Joseph Smith']" at www.splendidsun.com.{{Verify credibility|date=November 2011}}
* Stapley, J. "[http://www.splendidsun.com/wp/a-textual-history-of-the-kfd-part-ii/ A Textual History of the KFD, Part II]" at www.splendidsun.com.{{Verify credibility|date=November 2011}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/king-follett Biography] of King Follett, The Joseph Smith Papers
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1840s speeches]]
[[Category:1844 works]]
[[Category:1844 in Christianity]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity]]
[[Category:Mormonism-related controversies]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint sermons]]
[[Category:Works by Joseph Smith]]
[[Category:Works originally published in Times and Seasons]]