On 22 April 1845 Amasa Lyman “moved that the reading of the minutes of the last meeting be dispensed with.” Though George A. Smith objected to this measure because reading the minutes was “a law of the council,” he was overruled and the minutes of the previous meeting were not read. A similar resolution was passed on 6 May 1845. There is no record of a similar vote taking place on 29 April, yet it appears that the council likewise decided to forgo reading the minutes on that occasion. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 and 29 Apr. 1845; 6 May 1845.)

On 15 April 1845 William W. Phelps, Albert P. Rockwood, and Rich were appointed to a committee to determine “the present standing of the Nauvoo Legion” according to Illinois law. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 15 Apr. 1845.)

Brigham Young had earlier suggested to Governor Thomas Ford that most Mormons were legally excused from service in the militia because of age or because they were licensed ministers of the gospel. Phelps’s statement about not being compelled to serve likely refers to these legal exemptions. His statement about the status of the Nauvoo Legion officers’ commissions was likely drawn from the provision on dividing regiments in the Illinois militia statute, which stated that when new regiments were created or divided, “commissioned officers, living in the bounds of any regiment so created, or of the old regiment, shall continue to hold their respective offices as though no such division had been made.” (Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, 31 Mar. 1845, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Militia [3 Mar. 1845], Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois [1844–1845], p. 358, sec. 6.)

Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois, Adopted by the General Assembly of Said State, at Its Regular Session, Held in the Years, A. D., 1844–’5. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1845.