The
following charts identify the general leadership of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, local church leadership in , Illinois, and in
, and the
officers of other relevant organizations between 1 December 1841 and 30
April 1842.
First Presidency
Membership in the remained
consistent throughout the period from December 1841 through April 1842.
JS served as president of the church,
with and as his counselors. Due to Rigdon’s prolonged
illness, was appointed as a
temporary assistant president in April 1841.
served as associate president during this period. He had
been a counselor in the presidency, but a few months after he succeeded
his father as patriarch, a January 1841 revelation indicated that William Law should take his place
in the presidency and that Hyrum should have the “blessing and glory,
and honor and priesthood and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put
upon . . . .” Cowdery
had received the keys of the priesthood in connection with JS, had been
sustained as “Second Elder of the Church” on 6 April 1830, and had
served in the church’s presidency from December 1834 to April 1838 under
the titles “assistant president” and “assistant Councillor.” Later
church historians who knew Hyrum Smith and were familiar with his role
in church leadership applied the term “associate president” to his
unusual office, but that term was not used during his lifetime.
1 December 1841–30 April 1842
Joseph Smith, president
, associate president
, counselor
, counselor
, assistant
president
Patriarch
was appointed of the church 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 January
1841, JS dictated a revelation that appointed to the 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 him, 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 that office for the remainder of his life.
1 December 1841–30 April 1842
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
When the was
originally organized in 1835, the group included the first six men on
the list below. By December 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 December 1838 and April 1841 to replace those
members. Membership in the quorum remained
stable throughout the period between December 1841 through April
1842.
1 December 1841–30 April 1842
Presidents of the Seventy
Three quorums of the were organized in 1835 and
1836, but by 1837, all seventies were referred to as belonging to a
single 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. Throughout the period covered between December 1841 through
April 1842, the same seven men served as presidents of the Seventy. The
order in which they are listed below reflects the order in a 19 January
1841 revelation.