The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. Church Officers in Nauvoo, Illinois, May–August 1842

Church Officers in Nauvoo, Illinois, May–August 1842

In 1839, a church conference organized a stake in (later ), Illinois. The stake leadership consisted of a president, a high council, and three bishops. A January 1841 revelation designated the Nauvoo stake as a “corner stone of Zion.”
 
Presidency
In 1839, a general conference of the church appointed as president of the stake in (later ), Illinois. On 30 March 1841, Marks informed the Nauvoo high council that he had chosen and as his counselors. Cowles and Rich were ordained the same day and served in those roles throughout the period from May through August 1842.
1 May–31 August 1842
, president
, first counselor
, second counselor
 
High Council
In 1839, a general conference of the church appointed twelve men to serve as members of the in (later ), Illinois. Though council members changed over the years, the council remained the same for the period from May through August 1842. When individual members could not attend, alternates (or members pro tempore) were appointed to participate in council meetings. These temporary appointments are not reflected in this chart.
1 May–31 August 1842
 
Bishops
In 1839, a general conference of the church designated three men—, , and —as , assigning each to be responsible for a specific ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or ward, in (later ), Illinois. Partridge died in May 1840, and in January 1841 replaced him as bishop. During the next month, JS appointed as bishop of an unspecified ward. On 20 August 1842, the Nauvoo high council appointed as bishop of the third ward to replace Vinson Knight, who had died weeks before. This suggests that the original upper, middle, and lower wards may have become known as the first, second, and third wards, respectively. At the same meeting, the high council divided Nauvoo into ten ecclesiastical wards and the immediate surrounding area into three districts (one of which was also called a ward). Furthermore, they appointed nine new bishops, in addition to Samuel Smith, and assigned them to specific wards. Seven of the newly appointed bishops, listed below, were ordained the following day. Although Samuel Smith, , and were appointed, it is unclear whether they were ordained. Extant records do not indicate whether or when the high council called bishops for the remaining wards.
1 May–21 August 1842 21–31 August 1842
(Upper Ward) (First Ward?)
(Middle Ward) (Second Ward?)
(Lower Ward) (unspecified ward)
(unspecified ward) (Fourth Ward)
(Fifth Ward)
(Eighth Ward)
(Ninth Ward)
(Tenth Ward)
David Evans (Eleventh Ward)
(southeast district)
Contact UsFAQFollow Us on Facebook

Request for Documents

Do you know of any Joseph Smith documents that we might not have heard about? Tell us

The Church Historian’s Press is an imprint of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06