Vienna Jaques
- Dec 7, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 18, 2022
Married briefly at age 52.
Background
Vienna Jaques was born on June 10, 1787 in Essex County, Massachusetts. She met the missionaries in 1831 as a 44-year-old unmarried woman. She traveled alone that year to meet the prophet in Kirtland, and later returned to Massachusetts where she helped missionaries establish the Boston branch. At age 52, she married Daniel Shearer, although very little is known about this marriage because it ended shortly after and she took back her maiden name. She drove her own wagon across the plains and ended up settling in the Salt Lake Valley, where she died at age 96.
“She lives entirely alone, … does all her own housework, including washing, ironing and cooking, writes many letters, and does a great deal of reading. Sister Vienna is very familiar with the Scriptures. This last Spring she has made sixty-one pounds of butter, and milked her own cow.”
Accomplishments
There are only two women mentioned by name in the Doctrine and Covenants. One is Emma Smith in section 25, and the other is Vienna Jaques in section 90. Vienna came from considerable wealth and as a single woman, with few opportunities to provide for herself, she relied heavily on this money to live. Yet, even before the Doctrine and Covenants revelation, she willingly donated most of her money to the church. Her donations came at a time of great need, helping purchase the land the Kirtland Temple was later built on. In response to her generosity, the Lord commanded Vienna to go to Missouri and promised that if she was faithful, she would receive an inheritance and be able to settle down in peace.
Vienna was able to settle down in peace, as she received her own land in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1876, Vienna was honored at an event in Provo, Utah that celebrated the early pioneers. She was one of the featured speakers among other prominent church leaders, like John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Orson Pratt.
“[Never] be afraid to do good. You will never be sorry. Don’t neglect your duties. When we neglect our duties, we lose; when we lose, the adversary gains.”
Stories
One of the most interesting stories of Vienna involves the first ever baptism for the dead. In August 1840, Joseph Smith revealed the doctrine of baptisms for the dead at the funeral of one of the church members. A sister named Jane Neyman had recently lost her son Cyrus before he could be baptized, so this revelation came as an answer to her prayers. She asked Harvey Olmstead to perform the baptism and Vienna Jaques to be the witness. To be able to hear the prayer better, Vienna rode her horse out into the river. It wasn't until 1841 that Joseph Smith revealed the ordinance should take place in a temple, and it wasn't until Brigham Young became prophet that he revealed the ordinance should be gender-specific. So, while definitely unorthodox, this is the first known baptism for the dead in Church history.
Earlier in her life, in July 1833, Vienna watched a mob tar and feather Edward Partridge and Charles Allen and demolish the Church's print shop. They threw the printing press and pages from the Book of Commandments out the window. Afterwards, Vienna began collecting the pages from the dirty road in order to salvage what she could. One of the robbers came over and told her, "Madam, this is only a prelude to what you have to suffer." Despite this threat, Vienna never wavered in her faith and continued to endure persecution for her beliefs.
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