John Jaques (7 January 1827 – 1 June 1900) was a

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

hymnwriter and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and an Assistant Church Historian for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Jaques was born to Thomas Jaques and Mary Ann Heighington at

Market Bosworth Market Bosworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of the ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

on 12 July 1848. A short time later, he served as a missionary for the church in

Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west of ...

. Jaques crossed the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

with his wife in 1856 on the ''Horizon''. They landed at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and proceeded by train to

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

. There they joined the Martin Handcart Company. Jaques' oldest daughter was among the many in that company who died when they were caught in snowstorms in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. Jaques wrote many poems and other works, including "Truth." As a young missionary in Stratford-on-Avon he contemplated

Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his cruc ...

's question to

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

"What is truth?". The poem was included in the first (1851) edition of the Pearl of Great Price. It was also set to music by Ellen Knowles Melling, whom Jaques baptized while preaching in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Entitled "Oh Say, What is Truth?", the hymn is included in the hymnal of the LDS Church. In 1869 Jaques returned to England for a two-year mission. He co-edited the ''

Millennial Star ''The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star'' (usually shortened to ''Millennial Star'') was the longest continuously published periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was printed in England from 1840 unti ...

'' with

George Teasdale George Teasdale (8 December 1831 – 9 June 1907) was a Mormon missionary and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Teasdale was born in London, England. Teasdale was ...

and then from 1870 to 1871 he served as the sole editor of that publication. Jacques also wrote a catechism to teach the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was a very respected and popular compendium of Latter-day Saints doctrine in the early period of Church headquarters being in Utah. It is one of the sources that declare God having a specific place to live but still being omnipresent based on the influence and range of the Holy Ghost. After returning to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, Jaques began working for the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

''. In 1874 he became the principal editorial writer for this newspaper.Jenson, Andrew. ''Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret news Press, 1941) p. 187 He then served as an Assistant Church Historian starting in 1873. While in this position he was on a committee with A. Milton Musser and Franklin D. Richards that presented plans for a Genealogical Association of the church. This association was the forerunner of the Family History Library in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. After the

Genealogical Society of Utah FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is part of the Church's Family History Department (FHD). The Famil ...

was organized, Jaques served as its first librarian.

References

*Allen, James B., Jessie L. Embry, Kahlile B. Mehr. ''Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994'' Provo: BYU Studies, 1995. *Cornwall, J. Spencer. ''Stories of our Mormon Hymns''. Deseret Book Company: Salt Lake City, 1975.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaques, John 1827 births 1900 deaths 19th-century English musicians 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saints British Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism Editors of Latter Day Saint publications English Latter Day Saint hymnwriters English Latter Day Saint writers English Latter Day Saints English Mormon missionaries English emigrants to the United States English hymnwriters Genealogy and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Latter Day Saint poets Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon missionaries in England Mormon pioneers Musicians from Leicestershire Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Market Bosworth