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. General Church Officers, September 1842–February 1843

General Church Officers, September 1842–February 1843

The following charts identify the general leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; local church leadership in , Illinois, and Europe; city officials in Nauvoo; and the officers of other relevant organizations between 1 September 1842 and 28 February 1843.
 
First Presidency
Throughout the period between 1 September 1842 and 28 February 1843, JS served as of the church, with and as counselors and as associate president. Hyrum had been a counselor in the presidency, but shortly after he succeeded his father as patriarch in 1840, a January 1841 revelation indicated that 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.” The January 1841 revelation that called Hyrum Smith as church patriarch also identified him as “a prophet and a seer and a revelator,” and Hyrum continued to serve in the presidency. 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.
In early February 1843, JS proposed to make a “councillr to the fir[s]t Presidency,” possibly to replace , who was estranged from JS at the time. Although JS and Rigdon met and reconciled several days later, with Rigdon expressing that “he & his family were willing to be saved,” Lyman apparently retained his appointment as a counselor in the First Presidency, and at the end of February, JS appointed him to take charge of the new Latter-day Saint settlement at , Illinois. There is no record of Lyman being ordained or sustained to a position in the First Presidency, but evidence suggests he was subsequently considered a member of the presidency. In April 1843, he addressed a special conference of the church—with his remarks subsequently published in full by the Times and Seasons—and at a July 1843 conference, listed Lyman’s name alongside JS’s other counselors, Rigdon and .
1 September 1842–ca. 4 February 1843 ca. 4–28 February 1843
Joseph Smith, president Joseph Smith, president
, associate president , associate president
, counselor , counselor
, counselor , counselor
, counselor
 
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 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 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 this office for the remainder of his life.
1 September 1842–28 February 1843
 
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
When the was originally organized in 1835, the group included the first six men on the right-hand column below. By December 1841, the other six members of the original quorum had died or become disaffected. The final six men on the second list joined the quorum between December 1838 and April 1841 to replace those members. In summer 1842, difficulties arose between and JS as rumors spread that JS had proposed marriage to Pratt’s wife, , while he was serving a mission in . These difficulties led to a four-day meeting between Pratt and a council consisting of the three other apostles then living in . On 20 August, after Pratt refused to “recall his sayings against Joseph,” the council concluded that he should be “cut off” from the church, and they ordained in his stead. On 20 January 1843, JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reviewed Orson Pratt’s case and restored him to his position within that quorum. While Lyman was not formally removed from the body, he was added as a counselor to the instead of actively functioning in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
1 September 1842–20 January 1843 20 January–28 February 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. Throughout the period between 1 September 1842 and 28 February 1843, the same seven men served as presidents of the Seventy. The order in which they are listed reflects the order in which they were named in an 1841 revelation regarding the church in .
1 September 1842–28 February 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 124:95].

  2. 2

    Minutes, 20 Jan. 1843; JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1843.

  3. 3

    JS, Journal, 11 Feb. 1843; Power of Attorney to Amasa Lyman, 28 Feb. 1843.

  4. 4

    JS, Journal, 9 Apr. 1843; “A Discourse, Delivered by Elder Amasa Lyman, at the Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1843, 4:218–220; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 3 July 1843.

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

  5. 5

    JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1843.

  6. 6

    Oliver Cowdery, Note, in Patriarchal Blessings 1:8–9.

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

  7. 7

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 18, [5]; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.

  8. 8

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

  9. 9

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

  10. 10

    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 Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George A. 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.)

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

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

  11. 11

    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. (Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118:6]; 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.)

    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.

  12. 12

    See John C. Bennett, Carthage, IL, 2 July 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 15 July 1842, [2]; Jacob B. Backenstos, Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 28 July 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL; Stephen H. Goddard, Nauvoo, IL, to Orson Pratt, 23 July 1842, in Affidavits and Certificates (Nauvoo, IL: 1842), copy at CHL; and “Testimony of Mrs. Goddard,” in Affidavits and Certificates (Nauvoo, IL: 1842), copy at CHL.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Affidavits and Certificates, Disproving the Statements and Affidavits Contained in John C. Bennett’s Letters. Nauvoo Aug. 31, 1842. [Nauvoo, IL: 1842]. Copy at CHL.

  13. 13

    Woodruff, Journal, 10 Aug.–18 Sept. 1842; Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 63–64.

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

    Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

  14. 14

    Minutes, 20 Jan. 1843.

  15. 15

    JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1843.

  16. 16

    Woodruff, Journal, 10 Aug.–18 Sept. 1842; Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 63–64.

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

    Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

  17. 17

    Record of Seventies, bk. A, 3–17.

    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.

  18. 18

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

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