On 24 March 1838, the in , Missouri, met twice to conduct business. First, the council convened to address a charge that leveled against for “unchristian-like conduct, in speaking reproachfully of youngsters.” Newberry was a twenty-year-old student at the school where Murdock served as schoolmaster. Murdock was also a member of the high council. The dispute arose after Murdock accused his students of misbehaving, and Newberry disapproved of how Murdock had dealt with him. The aggrieved parties met with a council of , and one witness later explained in the high council meeting that Newberry and Murdock had aired their grievances and come to a resolution. However, Newberry apparently remained upset and appealed his case to the high council. Because Murdock was the defendant, his council duties were fulfilled by a substitute. The council deemed this a “difficult case” and followed established procedures to appoint six counselors for the case—three counselors to represent Newberry and three to represent Murdock. After hearing testimony from several witnesses, the high council decided that Newberry had mistreated Murdock and that Murdock was not at fault. After a one-hour adjournment, the high council reconvened and decided that counselors who could not attend meetings would resign their seats to those who could attend. As the clerk for the meeting, kept the minutes, which were later copied into Minute Book 2 by .