Officers of Church-Affiliated Organizations in Nauvoo, Illinois, August–December 1843
Temple Building Committee
In 1840, a
general conference of the church resolved to “build a house for the
worship of God” in , Illinois, and
appointed , , and as a committee to oversee
its construction. These men
continued to act as the until 8
June 1843, when Elias Higbee passed away.
was appointed to the temple committee on 10 October
1843, and officially “entered on the duties of his office” on 23
October.
| August–23 October 1843 | 23 October–December 1843 |
Temple Recorder
In December
1841, JS appointed to serve as “Recorder. for the Temple” in
, Illinois. Later that month, JS explained that as a
part of that office, Richards would “receive all property devoted to the
building of the and enter
the same, at the in the lower room of the new .” Richards entered donations into the Book of the
Law of the Lord. Because of the large number of contributions
needing to be entered into the Book of the Law of the Lord, began assisting Richards with the duties of
the recorder’s office in February 1842. In June 1842, JS called
Richards “to go to the East to fetch his family.” Later that month,
Richards transferred custody of the Book of the Law of the Lord “and
books belonging to the Temple” to Clayton. While in hiding in September
1842, JS requested that Clayton take on the role of temple recorder and
“take care of the records and papers.” In connection with Clayton’s
appointment, JS assigned him to record any revelations JS had following
that time. Clayton continued to
serve as the temple recorder throughout the period covered by this
volume.
| August–December 1843 |
Nauvoo House Association
In January
1841, JS dictated a revelation commanding the Latter-day Saints to build a
boardinghouse—later referred to as the —for visitors to , Illinois. In
February 1841, in a meeting of the Nauvoo House’s stockholders, was appointed president of the association and
was appointed
clerk. Later that month, the state legislature approved the incorporation of the
, which
was responsible for managing construction of the building, selling stock
to fund its construction, and employing laborers on the project. The association’s charter named four
men—Miller, Snider, , and —as trustees of the association. In March 1841, JS dictated a revelation appointing and
as agents to assist the trustees by selling
Nauvoo House stock. Although it is unclear
when was appointed to be the
architect of the Nauvoo House, records indicate that he was likely
acting in that position by April 1841. In
addition, in spring 1843, the and a few other individuals were authorized to act as
agents in collecting donations for the Nauvoo House.
These individuals continued to act in these roles during the period
covered by this volume.
| August–December 1843 | |
| Trustees | , president |
| , clerk | |
| Agents | |
| (apostle) | |
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| (apostle) | |
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| Architect | |
Female Relief Society of Nauvoo
The was organized in March 1842. The twenty women in
attendance at that meeting elected as the
organization’s first president. Smith then chose and as her counselors. The society selected and Phebe Bartholomew Wheeler (later
Olney) as secretary and assistant secretary, respectively, and
as treasurer.
Though these women composed the presidency during the
period covered by this volume, three of them did not actively
participate in recorded Relief Society meetings during this same period.
and her
husband, , had moved away from in May 1843.
had temporarily moved to the , located thirty miles south of Nauvoo, in July
1843; Wheeler kept the minutes of the society
in her stead. Though was present in
Nauvoo for most of the period between August and December 1843, she did
not attend any recorded meetings;
presided over nearly all of the society’s meetings in her stead.
| August–December 1843 |
| , president |
| , counselor |
| , counselor (moved) |
| , secretary (moved) |
| Phebe Bartholomew Wheeler (later Olney), assistant secretary |
| , treasurer |