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Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 October 1840

Source Note

General Conference Minutes, and JS, Discourse,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 3–5 Oct. 1840. Featured version published in “Minutes of the General Conference,” Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 185–187. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

JS presided over 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
of the
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
in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, from 3 to 5 October 1840. The conference originally was scheduled to begin on 2 October but was delayed due to inclement weather. Nevertheless, four to five thousand people attended the conference, according to estimates.
1

Editorial, Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:184; Benjamin Dobson, “The Mormons,” Peoria (IL) Register and North-Western Gazetteer, 30 Oct. 1840, [1]; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Peoria Register and North-Western Gazetteer. Peoria, IL. 1837–1843.

Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

One observer believed the conference was “the largest company of People that I ever saw together on a religious ocation [occasion].”
2

John Smith, Journal, 1840–1841, 2–10 Oct. 1840.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1.

The assembly likely met at the meeting grounds near
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...

View Full Bio
’s house in the southwest part of the Nauvoo peninsula.
3

Franklin D. Richards, Walnut Grove, IL, to Levi Richards, West Stockbridge, MA, 21 July 1840, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Richards, Franklin D. Letter, Walnut Grove, IL, to Levi Richards, East Stockbridge, MA, 21 July 1840. CHL.

The conference discussed business related to responding to crime in the area; constructing a
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
in Nauvoo; drafting a city charter; organizing church units and leadership in
Cincinnati

Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...

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and
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; and creating another committee to try to obtain redress for the Saints’ expulsion from
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
.
One of the conference’s significant participants was
John C. Bennett

3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...

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, who had recently arrived in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
after corresponding with JS and
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...

View Full Bio
in previous months.
4

See Letters from John C. Bennett, 25, 27, and 30 July 1840; Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840; and Letter from John C. Bennett, 15 Aug. 1840.


Although Bennett was a new convert, the conference placed a great deal of responsibility on him, especially by enlisting him to help obtain legal incorporation for the city of Nauvoo. Bennett held political clout 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
as the current quartermaster general of the Illinois militia and the former brigadier general of the Invincible Dragoons, a division of the Illinois militia.
5

Letter from John C. Bennett, 25 July 1840.


Hoping to capitalize on Bennett’s influence, the conference appointed him to support efforts to obtain a city charter for Nauvoo from the state legislature.
At the conference, JS spoke on a new church doctrine: members could be
baptized

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

View Glossary
on behalf of deceased persons. JS had mentioned this concept on 15 August 1840 during a funeral sermon for
Seymour Brunson

1 Dec. 1798–10 Aug. 1840. Farmer. Born at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York. Son of Reuben Brunson and Sally Clark. Served in War of 1812. Married Harriet Gould of Hector, Tompkins Co., New York, ca. 1823. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...

View Full Bio
.
6

See Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840. Brunson, a member of the Nauvoo high council and a lieutenant colonel in the Nauvoo Legion, died on 10 August 1840. (Obituary for Seymour Brunson, Times and Seasons, Sept. 1840, 1:176.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

On that occasion, according to reminiscent accounts, JS read from 1 Corinthians 15 and promised Jane Harper Neyman, a woman in attendance who was grieving the death of her unbaptized son, that she “shou[ld] have glad tidings in that thing,” “that thing” meaning vicarious baptism.
7

Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; see also Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

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

Although the following minutes of the conference do not preserve the details of JS’s instruction, two accounts confirm that JS provided the conference with additional guidance about baptism for the dead. Specifically, JS explained, “it is the privilege of this church to be baptised for all their kinsfolks that have died before this Gospel came forth; even back to their great Grandfather and Mother if they have ben personally acquainted with them.”
8

Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

The Saints were not to be baptized for their “acquaintances unless they [the deceased] send a ministering spirit to their friends on earth.”
9

Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. CHL. MS 19509.

When someone was baptized on behalf of the deceased, the deceased would be “released from prison and they [the living Latter-day Saint] can claim them in the resurrection and bring them into the celestial kingdom.”
10

Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. CHL. MS 19509.

JS may have been familiar with the entry on “Baptism for the Dead” in Charles Buck’s theological dictionary, which stated that it was a “practice formerly in use, when a person dying without baptism” would depend upon another to be “baptized in his stead; thus supposing that God would accept the baptism of the proxy, as though it had been administered to the principal.”
11

Buck, Theological Dictionary, 38.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.

In
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
the first vicarious baptisms took place in the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
as early as 13 September 1840.
12

Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

According to
Vilate Murray Kimball

1 June 1806–22 Oct. 1867. Born in Florida, Montgomery Co., New York. Daughter of Roswell Murray and Susannah Fitch. Moved to Bloomfield, Ontario Co., New York, by 1810. Moved to Victor, Ontario Co., by 1820. Married Heber Chase Kimball, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon...

View Full Bio
, “During conference there were sometimes from eight to ten
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
in the river at a time baptiseing” for the dead. The Saints may have performed baptisms while the conference took place because JS encouraged them to “liberate their friends from bondage as quick as posable [possible].”
13

Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Robert B. Thompson

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
served as clerk of the conference and took the minutes, which were then published in the October 1840 issue of the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Editorial, Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:184; Benjamin Dobson, “The Mormons,” Peoria (IL) Register and North-Western Gazetteer, 30 Oct. 1840, [1]; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.

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

    Peoria Register and North-Western Gazetteer. Peoria, IL. 1837–1843.

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

  2. [2]

    John Smith, Journal, 1840–1841, 2–10 Oct. 1840.

    Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1.

  3. [3]

    Franklin D. Richards, Walnut Grove, IL, to Levi Richards, West Stockbridge, MA, 21 July 1840, CHL.

    Richards, Franklin D. Letter, Walnut Grove, IL, to Levi Richards, East Stockbridge, MA, 21 July 1840. CHL.

  4. [4]

    See Letters from John C. Bennett, 25, 27, and 30 July 1840; Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840; and Letter from John C. Bennett, 15 Aug. 1840.

  5. [5]

    Letter from John C. Bennett, 25 July 1840.

  6. [6]

    See Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840. Brunson, a member of the Nauvoo high council and a lieutenant colonel in the Nauvoo Legion, died on 10 August 1840. (Obituary for Seymour Brunson, Times and Seasons, Sept. 1840, 1:176.)

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

  7. [7]

    Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; see also Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

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

  8. [8]

    Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

  9. [9]

    Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. CHL. MS 19509.

  10. [10]

    Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. CHL. MS 19509.

  11. [11]

    Buck, Theological Dictionary, 38.

    Buck, Charles. A Theological Dictionary, Containing Definitions of All Religious Terms: A Comprehensive View of Every Article in the System of Divinity. . . . Philadelphia: W. W. Woodward, 1818.

  12. [12]

    Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.

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

  13. [13]

    Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 October 1840
History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 185

Minutes of the 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
of the
church of Jesus Christ of 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
, held in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock county, Ill. Oct., 3rd 1840.
The conference was opened by prayer by
President

An organized body of leaders over priesthood quorums and other ecclesiastical organizations. A November 1831 revelation first described the office of president over the high priesthood and the church as a whole. By 1832, JS and two counselors constituted ...

View Glossary
W[illiam] Marks

15 Nov. 1792–22 May 1872. Farmer, printer, publisher, postmaster. Born at Rutland, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of Cornell (Cornwall) Marks and Sarah Goodrich. Married first Rosannah R. Robinson, 2 May 1813. Lived at Portage, Allegany Co., New York, where he...

View Full Bio
.
1

Marks was designated as president of the Nauvoo stake on 5 October 1839 at a general conference of the church. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)


Joseph Smith jr. was then unanimously called to the chair, and
R[obert] B. Thompson

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
, chosen clerk.
A letter from
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
[Samuel] Bent

19 July 1778–16 Aug. 1846. Born in Barre, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joel Bent and Mary Mason. Married first Mary Kilburn, 3 Mar. 1805, in Wendell, Franklin Co., Massachusetts. Colonel in Massachusetts militia. Lived in Braintree, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts...

View Full Bio
and
[George W.] Harris

1 Apr. 1780–1857. Jeweler. Born at Lanesboro, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of James Harris and Diana (Margaret) Burton. Married first Elizabeth, ca. 1800. Married second Margaret, who died in 1828. Moved to Batavia, Genesee Co., New York, by 1830. Married...

View Full Bio
2

Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840. Bent and Harris were appointed as “traveling agents, to make contracts and receive monies” for the church’s publication efforts. (“Books!!!,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:140; Minutes, 17 July 1840.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

and one from Elder
John E. Page

25 Feb. 1799–14 Oct. 1867. Born at Trenton, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Ebenezer Page and Rachel Hill. Married first Betsey Thompson, 1831, in Huron Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Emer Harris, 18 Aug. 1833, at Brownhelm...

View Full Bio
were then read by the
Clerk

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
, which gave very satisfactory accounts of their mission.
3

Letter from John E. Page, 23 Sept. 1840. Page and Orson Hyde, who were directed by an April 1840 general conference to preach to the Jews in Europe and the Holy Land, had been raising funds in Cincinnati for this mission. By the time of this conference, Hyde had departed Cincinnati, leaving Page in the city. (Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840; Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.)


On motion. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to
ordain

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

View Glossary
such as have recommends to this conference for ordination, and that elders
Jonathan [H.] Hale

1 Feb. 1800–4 Sept. 1846. Butcher, school director, assessor. Born in Bradford, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Soloman Hale and Martha Harriman. Married Olive Boynton, 5 Sept. 1825, in Bradford. Moved to Dover, Strafford Co., New Hampshire, between June...

View Full Bio
,
Elisha H. Groves

5 Nov. 1797–29 Dec. 1867. Farmer. Born in Madison Co., Kentucky. Son of John Groves and Mary Hurd. Moved to Indiana, 1819. Married first Sarah Hogue, ca. 1825, in Indiana. Member of Presbyterian church. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

View Full Bio
,
Charles C. Rich

21 Aug. 1809–17 Nov. 1883. Schoolteacher, farmer, cooper. Born in Campbell Co., Kentucky. Son of Joseph Rich and Nancy O’Neal. Moved to Posey Township, Dearborn Co., Indiana, ca. 1810. Moved to Tazewell Co., Illinois, 1829. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ...

View Full Bio
,
John Murdock

15 July 1792–23 Dec. 1871. Farmer. Born at Kortright, Delaware Co., New York. Son of John Murdock Sr. and Eleanor Riggs. Joined Lutheran Dutch Church, ca. 1817, then Presbyterian Seceder Church shortly after. Moved to Orange, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, ca. 1819....

View Full Bio
,
Simeon Carter

7 June 1794–3 Feb. 1869. Farmer. Born at Killingworth, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. Son of Gideon Carter and Johanna Sims. Moved to Benson, Rutland Co., Vermont, by 1810. Married Lydia Kenyon, 2 Dec. 1818, at Benson. Moved to Amherst, Lorain Co., Ohio, by ...

View Full Bio
4

Groves, Murdock, and Carter had served as members of the high council at Far West, Missouri. (Minute Book 2, 17 Mar. 1838; Minutes, 24 Mar. 1838.)


compose said committee, and report their proceedings before the conference closes.
The president arose and stated that there had been several depredations committed on the citizens of
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, and thought it expedient that a committee be appointed, to search out the offenders, and bring them to justice.
5

One month later, the Times and Seasons reported that Nauvoo had become “infested of late with a gang of thieves, insomuch that property of almost all kinds, has been unsafe unless secured with bolts and bars; cattle and hogs have been made a free booty.” (“Look Out for Thieves!!,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1840, 2:204, italics in original.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Whereupon it was resolved, that,
Joseph Smith,
Elias Higbee

23 Oct. 1795–8 June 1843. Clerk, judge, surveyor. Born at Galloway, Gloucester Co., New Jersey. Son of Isaac Higbee and Sophia Somers. Moved to Clermont Co., Ohio, 1803. Married Sarah Elizabeth Ward, 10 Sept. 1818, in Tate Township, Clermont Co. Lived at ...

View Full Bio
,
William Marks

15 Nov. 1792–22 May 1872. Farmer, printer, publisher, postmaster. Born at Rutland, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of Cornell (Cornwall) Marks and Sarah Goodrich. Married first Rosannah R. Robinson, 2 May 1813. Lived at Portage, Allegany Co., New York, where he...

View Full Bio
,
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
,
William Law

8 Sept. 1809–12/19 Jan. 1892. Merchant, millwright, physician. Born in Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Son of Richard Law and Ann Hunter. Immigrated to U.S. and settled in Springfield Township, Mercer Co., Pennsylvania, by 1820. Moved to Delaware Township, Mercer Co...

View Full Bio
,
Charles C. Rich

21 Aug. 1809–17 Nov. 1883. Schoolteacher, farmer, cooper. Born in Campbell Co., Kentucky. Son of Joseph Rich and Nancy O’Neal. Moved to Posey Township, Dearborn Co., Indiana, ca. 1810. Moved to Tazewell Co., Illinois, 1829. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ...

View Full Bio
,
Dimick [B.] Huntington

26 May 1808–1 Feb. 1879. Farmer, blacksmith, shoemaker, constable, coroner, deputy sheriff, Indian interpreter. Born at Watertown, Jefferson Co., New York. Son of William Huntington and Zina Baker. Married Fannie Maria Allen, 28 Apr. 1830. Baptized into Church...

View Full Bio
,
compose said committee.
On motion. Resolved, that
R. B. Thompson

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 the general church clerk in the room of
Geo. W. Robinson

14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...

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, who intends to remove to
Iowa

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
.
6

Robinson had served as “general Clerk & recorder of the whole Church” since September 1837. Thompson was appointed as a secretary in late 1839. (Minutes, 17 Sept. 1837–A; Letter from Emma Smith, 6 Dec. 1839.)


It having been requested by
Elder Page

25 Feb. 1799–14 Oct. 1867. Born at Trenton, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Ebenezer Page and Rachel Hill. Married first Betsey Thompson, 1831, in Huron Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Emer Harris, 18 Aug. 1833, at Brownhelm...

View Full Bio
that the conference would appoint an elder to take charge of the church which he and
Elder [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, ...

View Full Bio
had raised up in
Cincinnatti

Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...

More Info
.
7

John E. Page had requested that the conference “send some faithful and competent elder to this place to nurse the seed or word that has [been] sown here.” Page had already baptized thirteen new converts. (Letter from John E. Page, 23 Sept. 1840.)


On motion. Resolved, that Elder
Samuel Bennett

Ca. 1810–May 1893. Market inspector, barometer manufacturer, physician. Born in England. Married Selina Campion, 9 Aug. 1836. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1839, in U.S. Ordained an elder, 23 Dec. 1839, in Philadelphia. Served...

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, be appointed to preside over the church in
Cincinnatti

Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...

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.
8

Bennett had previously served as the presiding elder of the branch in Philadelphia. (Minutes and Discourse, 13 Jan. 1840.)


The president then rose, and stated that it was necessary that something, should be done with regard to
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...

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, so that it might be built up;
9

Oliver Granger, Levi Richards, and Thomas Burdick had complained in letters about the conduct of some of the Saints in Kirtland. Granger was then serving as a church agent in Kirtland and working to resolve outstanding debts of church leaders. In a July 1840 letter to Granger, JS wrote that “under such circumstances Kirtland cannot rise and free herself from the captivity in which she is held and become a place of safety for the saints nor can the blessings of Jehovah rest upon her.” (Minutes, 5–6 Sept. 1840; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840.)


and gave it as his opinion, that the brethren from the east might
gather

As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land...

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there,
10

In November 1839, a First Presidency and high council statement condemned a rumored plan of some Saints, who had already abandoned Kirtland for the West, to return to Kirtland without the permission of church leaders. In July 1840, JS specifically lamented that recent converts “should be led to Kirtland instead of to this place [Nauvoo] by Elder Babbit.” In August 1840, Parley P. Pratt also instructed Saints in New York and Philadelphia to gather to the designated locations in the West and not to Kirtland. “When the Lord wants the people to gather to Kirtland and build it up,” he declared, “his servants the Presidency, will advise you by such authority as you will not have any reason to doubt.” Following this October conference, JS and Hyrum Smith announced a plan to “advise the Eastern brethren who desire to locate in Kirtland, to do so.” (“To the Saints Scattered Abroad,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:29; Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840; Parley P. Pratt, New York, to “the Elders and Brethren of the Church . . . in New York, Philadelphia and the Regions Round About,” 25 Aug. 1840, in Foster, History of the New York City Branch, [13]; Letter to the Saints in Kirtland, OH, 19 Oct. 1840.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Foster, Lucian R. History of the New York City Branch, 1837–1840. High Priests Quorum Record, 1841–1845. CHL.

and also, that it was necessary that some one should be appointed from this conference to preside over that
stake

Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...

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Page 185

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 October 1840
ID #
7359
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:418–427
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Marks was designated as president of the Nauvoo stake on 5 October 1839 at a general conference of the church. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)

  2. [2]

    Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 Sept. 1840. Bent and Harris were appointed as “traveling agents, to make contracts and receive monies” for the church’s publication efforts. (“Books!!!,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:140; Minutes, 17 July 1840.)

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

  3. [3]

    Letter from John E. Page, 23 Sept. 1840. Page and Orson Hyde, who were directed by an April 1840 general conference to preach to the Jews in Europe and the Holy Land, had been raising funds in Cincinnati for this mission. By the time of this conference, Hyde had departed Cincinnati, leaving Page in the city. (Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840; Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.)

  4. [4]

    Groves, Murdock, and Carter had served as members of the high council at Far West, Missouri. (Minute Book 2, 17 Mar. 1838; Minutes, 24 Mar. 1838.)

  5. [5]

    One month later, the Times and Seasons reported that Nauvoo had become “infested of late with a gang of thieves, insomuch that property of almost all kinds, has been unsafe unless secured with bolts and bars; cattle and hogs have been made a free booty.” (“Look Out for Thieves!!,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1840, 2:204, italics in original.)

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

  6. [6]

    Robinson had served as “general Clerk & recorder of the whole Church” since September 1837. Thompson was appointed as a secretary in late 1839. (Minutes, 17 Sept. 1837–A; Letter from Emma Smith, 6 Dec. 1839.)

  7. [7]

    John E. Page had requested that the conference “send some faithful and competent elder to this place to nurse the seed or word that has [been] sown here.” Page had already baptized thirteen new converts. (Letter from John E. Page, 23 Sept. 1840.)

  8. [8]

    Bennett had previously served as the presiding elder of the branch in Philadelphia. (Minutes and Discourse, 13 Jan. 1840.)

  9. [9]

    Oliver Granger, Levi Richards, and Thomas Burdick had complained in letters about the conduct of some of the Saints in Kirtland. Granger was then serving as a church agent in Kirtland and working to resolve outstanding debts of church leaders. In a July 1840 letter to Granger, JS wrote that “under such circumstances Kirtland cannot rise and free herself from the captivity in which she is held and become a place of safety for the saints nor can the blessings of Jehovah rest upon her.” (Minutes, 5–6 Sept. 1840; Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840.)

  10. [10]

    In November 1839, a First Presidency and high council statement condemned a rumored plan of some Saints, who had already abandoned Kirtland for the West, to return to Kirtland without the permission of church leaders. In July 1840, JS specifically lamented that recent converts “should be led to Kirtland instead of to this place [Nauvoo] by Elder Babbit.” In August 1840, Parley P. Pratt also instructed Saints in New York and Philadelphia to gather to the designated locations in the West and not to Kirtland. “When the Lord wants the people to gather to Kirtland and build it up,” he declared, “his servants the Presidency, will advise you by such authority as you will not have any reason to doubt.” Following this October conference, JS and Hyrum Smith announced a plan to “advise the Eastern brethren who desire to locate in Kirtland, to do so.” (“To the Saints Scattered Abroad,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:29; Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840; Parley P. Pratt, New York, to “the Elders and Brethren of the Church . . . in New York, Philadelphia and the Regions Round About,” 25 Aug. 1840, in Foster, History of the New York City Branch, [13]; Letter to the Saints in Kirtland, OH, 19 Oct. 1840.)

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

    Foster, Lucian R. History of the New York City Branch, 1837–1840. High Priests Quorum Record, 1841–1845. CHL.

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