John Jaques was a Latter Day Saint hymnwriter and missionary

Missionary (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

 and an Assistant Church Historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jaques was born to Thomas Jaques and Mary Ann Heighington at Market Bosworth

Market Bosworth

Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...

, Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the fall of 1845. A short time later, he served as a missionary for the church in Stratford-on-Avon.

Jaques crossed the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

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

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 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

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

.

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 "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, who Jaques baptized while preaching in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Entitled "Oh Say, What is Truth?", the hymn is included in the hymnal of the LDS Church

Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book)

Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....

.

In 1869 Jaques returned to England for a two-year mission. He co-edited the Millennial Star

Millennial Star

The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star was the longest continuously published periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being printed from 1840 until 1970....

with George Teasdale

George Teasdale

George Teasdale born in London, England, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....

 and then from 1870 to 1871 he served as the sole editor of that publication.

After returning to Utah Territory

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....

, Jaques began working for the Deseret News. In 1874 he became the principal editorial writer for this newspaper. He then served as an Assistant Church Historian starting in 1873. While in this position he was on a committee with A. Milton Musser

A. Milton Musser

Amos Milton Musser was a Mormon pioneer who served in many church and community roles, including as an Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1902 until his death.-Early life:...

 and Franklin D. Richards that presented plans for a Genealogical Association of the church. This association was the forerunner of the Family History Library

Family History Library

The Family History Library 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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-History:The origins of the Family History...

 in Salt Lake City. After the Genealogical Society of Utah

Genealogical Society of Utah

The Genealogical Society of Utah , established in 1894, does business as FamilySearch International, which is the genealogical arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

was organized, Jaques served as its first librarian.

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