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  2. General Church Officers, August–December 1843

General Church Officers, August–December 1843

The following charts identify the general leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; local church leadership in , Illinois, and in Europe; city officials in Nauvoo; and the officers of other relevant organizations between 1 August and 31 December 1843.
 
First Presidency
Throughout the period covered in this volume, JS served as of the church, with functioning as an associate president and and as counselors. Hyrum Smith was previously a counselor in the presidency, but shortly after he succeeded his father as church patriarch in December 1840, a January 1841 revelation indicated that Law should take his place in the presidency and that Hyrum Smith should have the “blessing and glory, and honor and priesthood and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon . . . .” The revelation also identified Hyrum Smith as “a prophet and a seer and a revelator.” Later church historians applied the term “associate president” to Hyrum Smith’s unusual position. Although this title was not used during his lifetime, it seems to accurately describe his role in relation to JS.
JS and were estranged from one another through much of 1843. As a result, Rigdon’s authority in the presidency during this period was tenuous at best. On 4 February 1843, JS told that he had decided to make him “councillr to the fir[s]t Presidency,” possibly to replace Rigdon. Lyman’s appointment was not announced publicly. Although JS and Rigdon reconciled a week later, JS again considered removing Rigdon from the presidency in late March over suspicions that Rigdon had conspired with former counselor . On 13 August, JS publicly accused Rigdon of disloyalty and prevailed upon a church congregation to withdraw Rigdon’s ministerial license pending an investigation. Evidence suggests that JS privately Lyman to replace Rigdon sometime in early October. Though JS openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Rigdon during the opening session of the church’s October conference, the assembly ultimately voted to retain Rigdon as a member of the First Presidency.
August–December 1843
Joseph Smith, president
, associate president
, counselor
, counselor
, counselor
 
Church Patriarch
was appointed of the in 1834 and served in that position until his death in September 1840. Prior to his death, Smith ordained his son as his successor. In 1841, JS dictated a revelation that appointed to the First Presidency so that Hyrum Smith could “take the office of priesthood and patriarch, which was appointed unto him by his father by blessing and also by right.” That same revelation appointed Hyrum Smith, as patriarch, to hold the sealing power and to be “a prophet and a seer and a revelator unto my church as well as my servant Joseph.” Hyrum Smith functioned in this office for the remainder of his life.
August–December 1843
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
When the was originally organized in 1835, the group included the first six men listed in this charg. By 1841, the other six members of the original quorum had died or become disaffected. The final six men on the list joined the quorum between 1838 and 1841 to replace those members.
August–December 1843
 
Presidents of the Seventy
Three of the were organized in 1835 and 1836, but by 1837, all seventies were included in one quorum. Unlike most quorums in the church, which were presided over by a presidency consisting of one president and two counselors, the Quorums of the Seventy were presided over by seven presidents. In 1835, JS instructed that “the seventh president of these presidents is to preside over the six.” Throughout the period covered in this volume, the same seven men served as presidents of the Seventy. It is uncertain whether any one of the presidents was presiding over the others during the period covered in this volume. The order in which they are listed reflects the order in which they were named in an 1841 revelation regarding the church in .
August–December 1843
  1. 1

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 18, [5]; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:91, 95].

  2. 2

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:94].

  3. 3

    Discourse, 29 Aug. 1842; “Joseph Smith Documents from Sept. 1842 through Feb. 1843”; “Continuation of Elder Rigdon’s Trial,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1844, 663–664.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. 4

    JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1843; Minutes, 20 Jan. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 19 [20] Jan. 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  5. 5

    While there is no extant record of Lyman being officially “ordained” to the First Presidency at this time, at least two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles tacitly acknowledged Lyman’s place in the presidency in mid-1843. After Lyman addressed a special conference of the church in early April, for example, John Taylor published his full remarks in the Times and Seasons, a distinction usually reserved for members of the First Presidency. Willard Richards also listed Lyman’s name alongside JS’s other counselors in the presidency, Sidney Rigdon and William Law, in the minutes of a July 1843 conference. Testimonies given by members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in September 1844 suggest that Lyman was ordained to the presidency by the October 1843 general conference. (JS, Journal, 9 Apr. 1843; “A Discourse,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1843, 4:218–220; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 3 July 1843, CHL; JS, Journal, 1 Oct. 1843; “Continuation of Elder Rigdon’s Trial,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1844, 663–664; Grant, Collection of Facts, 15, 34–35.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

    Grant, Jedediah M. A Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken by Elder Sidney Rigdon, in the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

  6. 6

    JS, Journal, 11 Feb. 1843; Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.

  7. 7

    Discourse, 13 Aug. 1843–B.

  8. 8

    An entry in JS’s journal suggests that Amasa Lyman may have been “ordained” on 1 October 1843; later testimonies also imply that the ordination occurred around the time of the 6–9 October general conference. (JS, Journal, 1 Oct. 1843; “Continuation of Elder Rigdon’s Trial,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1844, 663–664; Grant, Collection of Facts, 15, 34–35.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Grant, Jedediah M. A Collection of Facts, Relative to the Course Taken by Elder Sidney Rigdon, in the States of Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

  9. 9

    Minutes and Discourses, 6–9 Oct. 1843; Clayton, History of Nauvoo Temple, 42–43.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  10. 10

    Oliver Cowdery, Note, in Patriarchal Blessings 1:8–9; Historical Introduction to Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

  11. 11

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 18, [5]; Fielding, Journal, 1840–1841, 88–89.

    Fielding, Joseph. Journals, 1837–1859. CHL. MS 1567.

  12. 12

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:91, 94].

  13. 13

    Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835.

  14. 14

    John F. Boynton, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson, William E. McLellin, and Thomas B. Marsh were excommunicated or removed from office between December 1837 and March 1839; David W. Patten died on 25 October 1838. (John Smith and Clarissa Lyman Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; JS, Journal, 11 May 1838; “Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15; JS History, vol. B-1, 839; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839.)

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  15. 15

    John E. Page and John Taylor were ordained apostles on 19 December 1838. Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith were ordained on 26 April 1839. Willard Richards and Lyman Wight were ordained the eleventh and twelfth members of the quorum in April 1840 and April 1841, respectively. (Minute Book 2, 19 Dec. 1838; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Apr. 1839 and 14 Apr. 1840; “From England,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:119; Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841; see also JS, Journal, 8 July 1838.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  16. 16

    Record of Seventies, bk. A, 3–11.

    Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.

  17. 17

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:94].

  18. 18

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:138].

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