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Minutes, 4–5 May 1839

Source Note

General Conference Minutes,
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Adams Co., IL, 4–5 May 1839; handwriting of
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

View Full Bio
; four pages; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, CHL. Includes docket.
Two leaves measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The top left corner of the first page bears an embossed seal with the profile of a man. Above and to the left of the seal,
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

View Full Bio
added a “3”, indicating these minutes were the third of four sets of minutes that Mulholland recorded and numbered in 1839.
1

Mulholland inscribed a “1” on minutes of a 26 April 1839 meeting and a “2” on minutes of a 24 April 1839 meeting. (Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 24 and 26 Apr. 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

It appears that the document was folded and filed with the minutes of a meeting on 6 May 1839 in
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Illinois. A docket written by
Thomas Bullock

23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...

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reads: “May 4. 1839 | Minutes of Conference”. Bullock worked in the Church Historian’s Office between 1842 and 1856, and he likely filed the minutes during that period, suggesting the document has been in continuous institutional custody since at least 1856. The minutes were placed in the General Church Minutes collection with other loose church minutes created by the general church scribe and other clerks affiliated with the Church Historian’s Office.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Mulholland inscribed a “1” on minutes of a 26 April 1839 meeting and a “2” on minutes of a 24 April 1839 meeting. (Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 24 and 26 Apr. 1839.)

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

Historical Introduction

On 4–5 May 1839, JS presided over a general
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
held near
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Illinois. He had recently escaped from incarceration in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
, and this general conference was the first meeting he attended in which the full membership of the church in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
was present.
1

See Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839.


The conference consisted of three sessions, held on Saturday midday, Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon at the Presbyterian campground approximately two miles north of Quincy.
2

Woodruff, Journal, 4 May 1839.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

The first session began with an emotional address by JS. Following his remarks, important issues were brought before the body of the church regarding operations, leadership, and settlement. The minutes featured here record the resolutions adopted by the assembled Saints in the Saturday and Sunday morning sessions, approving the church’s recent purchase of land in
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
and appointing new ecclesiastical leaders. The members also resolved that a committee should collect libelous reports and that a delegation should submit affidavits to the federal government in
Washington DC

Created as district for seat of U.S. federal government by act of Congress, 1790, and named Washington DC, 1791. Named in honor of George Washington. Headquarters of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of U.S. government relocated to Washington ...

More Info
to seek redress for the persecution and losses church members experienced in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. Additional resolutions included sanctioning the meeting that the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

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held in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, Missouri, on 26 April 1839 and the intended mission of the quorum to Europe. The congregation also decided to suspend
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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and
William Smith

13 Mar. 1811–13 Nov. 1893. Farmer, newspaper editor. Born at Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811; to Norwich, Windsor Co., 1813; and to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816...

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from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles but to allow them to speak at the next general conference of the church to address their conduct in Missouri in 1838.
Two additional resolutions concerned
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio.
Oliver Granger

7 Feb. 1794–23/25 Aug. 1841. Sheriff, church agent. Born at Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Pierce Granger and Clarissa Trumble. Married Lydia Dibble, 8 Sept. 1813, at Phelps. Member of Methodist church and licensed exhorter. Sheriff of Ontario Co. ...

View Full Bio
was directed to oversee the
House of the Lord

JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...

More Info
and manage church affairs there, and Saints in the eastern
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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were instructed to migrate to Kirtland. The majority of church members had moved from Kirtland to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
by summer 1838, but some church members remained in Kirtland. At the start of that year, church leaders had expressed their intention to retain land in Kirtland for Saints moving from the eastern United States,
3

John Smith and Don Carlos Smith, Kirtland Mills, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 15–18 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 Feb. 1838.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

and this intention was supported in the May 1839 general conference.
During the final session of the conference, on Sunday afternoon, the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
and apostles provided instruction that is not included in the extant minutes. Before the conference was adjourned, the congregation was reminded that the next general conference would be held in October 1839 in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
, Illinois, signaling the impending move of the church to newly purchased land in the vicinity. The minutes were recorded by
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

View Full Bio
, the appointed clerk for the conference.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839.

  2. [2]

    Woodruff, Journal, 4 May 1839.

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

  3. [3]

    John Smith and Don Carlos Smith, Kirtland Mills, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 15–18 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 Feb. 1838.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes, 4–5 May 1839
Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Minutes of a General
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
held by
The Church of the Latter Day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
, at the Presbyterian Camp Ground Near
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Adams County, Illinois, on Saturday the 4th of May 1839.
At a quarter past eleven oclock, the meeting was called to order And
President

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
Joseph Smith Jr appointed Chairman, A hymn was then sung, When President Smith addressed a few observations on the state of his own peculiar feelings, after having been so long separated from his brethren
1

According to a later reminiscence of Edward Stevenson, who was nineteen years old at the time of the meeting, JS stood in silence on an open wagon for an unusual amount of time before he began to speak. According to Stevenson, JS began his discourse by expressing his emotions upon being reunited with the Saints: “To look over this Congregation of Latter Day Saints who have been driven from their homes and still in good faith without homes as pilgrims in a strange land and to realize that my life has been spared to behold your faces again seemed to me so great a pleasure that the present scene was so great a sattisfaction that words seemed only a vague expression of my soul’s grattitude.” (Stevenson, Autobiography, 129–130.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Stevenson, Edward. Autobiography, ca. 1891–1893. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, box 5, fd. 1.

&c &c and then proceeded to open the meeting by prayer, When after some pr[e]liminiary remarks by
Elders

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
J. P. Green [John P. Greene]

3 Sept. 1793–10 Sept. 1844. Farmer, shoemaker, printer, publisher. Born at Herkimer, Herkimer Co., New York. Son of John Coddington Greene and Anna Chapman. Married first Rhoda Young, 11 Feb. 1813. Moved to Aurelius, Cayuga Co., New York, 1814; to Brownsville...

View Full Bio
and
President [Sidney] Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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, concerning a certain purchase of Land in the
Iaway Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
, made for the Church, by the Presidency
2

At this time, the church was considering purchasing land from Isaac Galland in Iowa Territory. Although no deed records indicate purchases were completed before the conference, Vinson Knight, a land agent for the church, apparently purchased shares in a “Half Breed Land Company” from Galland on 1 May 1839. These shares entitled Knight to purchase land in the “Half-Breed Tract” in Lee County, Iowa Territory, when the land was sold at public auction. (Kilbourne, Strictures, on Dr. I. Galland’s Pamphlet, 9; see also Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, 1839–1860, CHL; and Woodruff, Journal, 21 May 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Kilbourne, David W. Strictures, on Dr. I. Galland’s Pamphlet, Entitled, “Villainy Exposed,” with Some Account of His Transactions in Lands of the Sac and Fox Reservation, etc., in Lee County, Iowa. Fort Madison, IA: Statesman Office, 1850.

Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

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

The following Resolutions were unanimously agreed to.
1rst. Resolved, that
Almand [Almon] Babbitt

Oct. 1812–Sept. 1856. Postmaster, editor, attorney. Born at Cheshire, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Ira Babbitt and Nancy Crosier. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1830. Located in Amherst, Lorain Co., Ohio, July 1831....

View Full Bio
,
Erastus Snow

9 Nov. 1818–27 May 1888. Farmer, teacher, merchant, publisher, manufacturer. Born at St. Johnsbury, Caledonia Co., Vermont. Son of Levi Snow and Lucina Streeter. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by William Snow, 3 Feb. 1833, at Charleston...

View Full Bio
, and
Robert, B Thom[p]son

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
be appointed a travelling committe to gather up and obtain all the libelous reports and publications which have been circulated against our Church, as well as other historical matter connected with said Church which they can possibly obtain.
3

While imprisoned in Liberty, Missouri, in winter 1838–1839, JS suggested that a committee be formed to gather anti-Mormon publications. JS later clarified that Babbitt and Snow were to gather anti-Mormon publications and other historical materials and that Thompson was to use these materials to draft a history that refuted libelous claims. Because of illness and other church assignments, Thompson was unable to complete the history before dying in 1841. (Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; Snow, Journal, 1838–1841, 50–54; Authorization for Almon Babbitt et al., ca. 4 May 1839.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

2nd Resolved, That
Bishop Knights [Vinson Knight]

14 Mar. 1804–31 July 1842. Farmer, druggist, school warden. Born at Norwich, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Rudolphus Knight and Rispah (Rizpah) Lee. Married Martha McBride, July 1826. Moved to Perrysburg, Cattaraugus Co., New York, by 1830. Owned farm...

View Full Bio
be appointed or received into the Church in full
Bishopric

Initially referred to a bishop’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but eventually described the ecclesiastical body comprising the bishop and his assistants, or counselors. John Corrill and Isaac Morley were called as assistants to Bishop Edward Partridge in 1831...

View Glossary
.
4

Knight was appointed as acting bishop at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri, on 28 June 1838, before the Saints were forced to leave Missouri. The term “full Bishopric” may indicate he was appointed at this meeting to serve in an official capacity instead of as an acting bishop. In the October 1839 general conference, Knight was appointed as one of Commerce’s three bishops. (See Minutes, 28 June 1838; and Minutes, 5–7 Oct. 1839, in Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30–31.)


3rd Resolved that this Conference does entirely sanction [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 4–5 May 1839
ID #
7577
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:442–447
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Mulholland

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    According to a later reminiscence of Edward Stevenson, who was nineteen years old at the time of the meeting, JS stood in silence on an open wagon for an unusual amount of time before he began to speak. According to Stevenson, JS began his discourse by expressing his emotions upon being reunited with the Saints: “To look over this Congregation of Latter Day Saints who have been driven from their homes and still in good faith without homes as pilgrims in a strange land and to realize that my life has been spared to behold your faces again seemed to me so great a pleasure that the present scene was so great a sattisfaction that words seemed only a vague expression of my soul’s grattitude.” (Stevenson, Autobiography, 129–130.)

    Stevenson, Edward. Autobiography, ca. 1891–1893. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, box 5, fd. 1.

  2. [2]

    At this time, the church was considering purchasing land from Isaac Galland in Iowa Territory. Although no deed records indicate purchases were completed before the conference, Vinson Knight, a land agent for the church, apparently purchased shares in a “Half Breed Land Company” from Galland on 1 May 1839. These shares entitled Knight to purchase land in the “Half-Breed Tract” in Lee County, Iowa Territory, when the land was sold at public auction. (Kilbourne, Strictures, on Dr. I. Galland’s Pamphlet, 9; see also Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; Alanson Ripley, Statements, ca. Jan. 1845, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, 1839–1860, CHL; and Woodruff, Journal, 21 May 1839.)

    Kilbourne, David W. Strictures, on Dr. I. Galland’s Pamphlet, Entitled, “Villainy Exposed,” with Some Account of His Transactions in Lands of the Sac and Fox Reservation, etc., in Lee County, Iowa. Fort Madison, IA: Statesman Office, 1850.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

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

  3. [3]

    While imprisoned in Liberty, Missouri, in winter 1838–1839, JS suggested that a committee be formed to gather anti-Mormon publications. JS later clarified that Babbitt and Snow were to gather anti-Mormon publications and other historical materials and that Thompson was to use these materials to draft a history that refuted libelous claims. Because of illness and other church assignments, Thompson was unable to complete the history before dying in 1841. (Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, ca. 22 Mar. 1839; Snow, Journal, 1838–1841, 50–54; Authorization for Almon Babbitt et al., ca. 4 May 1839.)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  4. [4]

    Knight was appointed as acting bishop at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri, on 28 June 1838, before the Saints were forced to leave Missouri. The term “full Bishopric” may indicate he was appointed at this meeting to serve in an official capacity instead of as an acting bishop. In the October 1839 general conference, Knight was appointed as one of Commerce’s three bishops. (See Minutes, 28 June 1838; and Minutes, 5–7 Oct. 1839, in Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30–31.)

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