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 by J ...

hymnwriter and

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and an

Assistant Church Historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

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

Market Bosworth Market Bosworth is a market town and civil parish in western 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 o ...

, Leicestershire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 12 July 1848. A short time later, he served as a missionary for the church in Stratford-on-Avon. Jaques crossed the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and proceeded by train to Iowa City. 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 state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

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

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

"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. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. 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'' 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 wa ...

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 state ...

, Jaques began working for the '' Deseret News''. 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

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 The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. 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 (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Histo ...

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 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