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Minutes, circa 1 June 1833

Source Note

Minutes,
Kirtland Township

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
, Geauga Co., OH, ca. 1 June 1833. Featured version copied [ca. 3 June 1833] in Minute Book 1, p. 12; handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.

Historical Introduction

Though the following minutes are dated 3 June 1833 in Minute Book 1, the meeting they describe was much more likely held on 1 June. The minutes refer to a revelation on the dimensions of the “hou[se] of worship,” later known as the
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
temple

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 that revelation is dated 1 June—rather than 3 June—in both manuscript revelation books.
1

Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95]; see also Revelation, 1 June 1833, in Revelation Book 1, p. 181 [D&C 95].


The minutes also describe the
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
participants’ inquiry that led to the revelation, as well as the actions they took as a result, indicating that JS dictated the revelation during the 1 June meeting. JS’s history also links this meeting to a subscription circular sent out by the building committee on 1 June to raise funds for the construction of the Kirtland temple.
2

The 1 June revelation chastised the committee for not taking steps to build the house of God, likely motivating its members to draft the circular. (Hyrum Smith et al., Kirtland, OH, to “the Churches of Christ,” 1 June 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 36–38; JS History, vol. A-1, 297–300.)


Still, a slight possibility exists that the events detailed in these minutes occurred on 3 June and that either the revelation was received in two parts, one portion on 1 June and the second on 3 June, or that the dates in the manuscript revelation books are incorrect.
The minutes also recount the
high priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
’ decision in the ecclesiastical trial of
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut

3 Feb. 1809–16 June 1883. Clergyman, farmer. Born at Chittenden Co., Vermont. “Doctor” was his given name. Preacher for Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamestown, Chautauque Co., New York. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832/1833...

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, who was accused of “unchristian conduct with the female sex while on a mission to the east.” Hurlbut had been
ordained

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...

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an
elder

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...

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by
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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on 18 March 1833, and he and
Daniel Copley

Ca. 1811–6 July 1862. Mechanic, farmer. Son of Leman Copley and Sally Cooley. Moved to Madison, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1815. Moved to Thompson, Geauga Co., by 1820. Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 31 Oct. 1832. Appointed to serve...

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were instructed by a conference held the following day to “Journey together to the east & proclaim by the way.”
3

Minute Book 1, 18 and 19 Mar. 1833.


On 5 April, after Copley and Hurlbut met up with several other missionaries in Conneaut, Ohio, a council of high priests was called “for the Purpose of Separating Doct Hurlburt [and] D. Copley,” suggesting the two men were experiencing difficulties working with one another. The council, headed by
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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, reassigned Hurlbut to travel instead with
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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“for the Cause of god.”
4

Hyrum Smith, Diary, 5 Apr. 1833, [12]–[13]; see also Coltrin, Diary and Notebook, 4–6 Apr. 1833.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.

Coltrin, Zebedee. Diary and Notebook, 1832–1833. Zebedee Coltrin, Diaries, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 1443, fd. 2.

The moral accusation leveled against Hurlbut apparently stemmed from incidents that occurred while he was Hyde’s traveling companion. Hyde later stated that when “Mr. Hurlbert was a member in our church, and an elder also, it fell to my lot to travel with him to preach the gospel; and it was at my instance that a charge was preferred against him before the Council of the Church for an attempt at seduction and crime. He was expelled.”
5

Orson Hyde, London, England, to George J. Adams, Bedford, England, 7 June 1841, in Winchester, Plain Facts, 26.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

Hurlbut was not present at this “
Bishops council

A governing body comprising a bishop and his counselors. The bishop’s council was charged with overseeing the temporal affairs of the church, administering goods under the law of consecration, and assisting the poor. The bishop’s council had authority to ...

View Glossary
of High Priests,” which cut him off from the church. Upon learning of his excommunication, Hurlbut returned 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...

More Info
, Ohio, and asked for his case to be reheard by JS and the court of the
president of the high priesthood

Both the office of the president of the high priesthood and the body comprising the president and his counselors; the presiding body of the church. In November 1831, a revelation directed the appointment of a president of the high priesthood. The individual...

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.
6

Appeal and Minutes, 21 June 1833.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95]; see also Revelation, 1 June 1833, in Revelation Book 1, p. 181 [D&C 95].

  2. [2]

    The 1 June revelation chastised the committee for not taking steps to build the house of God, likely motivating its members to draft the circular. (Hyrum Smith et al., Kirtland, OH, to “the Churches of Christ,” 1 June 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 36–38; JS History, vol. A-1, 297–300.)

  3. [3]

    Minute Book 1, 18 and 19 Mar. 1833.

  4. [4]

    Hyrum Smith, Diary, 5 Apr. 1833, [12]–[13]; see also Coltrin, Diary and Notebook, 4–6 Apr. 1833.

    Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.

    Coltrin, Zebedee. Diary and Notebook, 1832–1833. Zebedee Coltrin, Diaries, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 1443, fd. 2.

  5. [5]

    Orson Hyde, London, England, to George J. Adams, Bedford, England, 7 June 1841, in Winchester, Plain Facts, 26.

    Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

  6. [6]

    Appeal and Minutes, 21 June 1833.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes, circa 1 June 1833
Minute Book 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 12

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
, 18th March 1833
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
3 June 1833——
A
Conferen[c]e

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
high Priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

View Glossary
convened in
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
at the Translating room
Bro 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
opened the conference by prayer first case before the confernce was that of
Doctor [Philastus] Hurlbut

3 Feb. 1809–16 June 1883. Clergyman, farmer. Born at Chittenden Co., Vermont. “Doctor” was his given name. Preacher for Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamestown, Chautauque Co., New York. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832/1833...

View Full Bio
who was accused of unchristian conduct with the female sex while on a mission to the east it was decided that his commission be taken from him and that he be no longer a member of the
Church of the Church of Christ

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
1

Benjamin Winchester, in a pamphlet designed to discredit Hurlbut and his research regarding JS and the Book of Mormon, wrote: “He [Hurlbut] made several converts in Crawford county, Pa. He frequently called, and stayed over night, at my father’s, which afforded me an opportunity of forming a correct estimate of the man. The church ultimately lost their confidence in him, in consequence of . . . numerous peccadillos, disgraceful to the man, and calculated to bring upon him the reproach of every lover of virtue and correct morals; so much so, that he was cast off from the church, and his license taken from him by the conference.” George A. Smith later explicitly stated that Hurlbut had been “expelled from the Church for Adultery.” (Winchester, Plain Facts, 6; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 11.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

The next case before the conference was to assertain what should be the dimention or size of the
house

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
that is to be built for a hou[se] of worship and the
school of the prophet

A term occasionally used to refer to a Protestant seminary; specifically used by JS to refer to a school to prepare elders of the church for their ministry. A December 1832 revelation directed JS and the elders of the church in Kirtland, Ohio, to establish...

View Glossary
and received a revelation
2

Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:14–17].


on th[e] size of the
house

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
the word of the lord was that it shall be fifty five feet wide and sixty five feet long— in the inner court and the conferen[c]e appointed Bro Joseph Smith Jr
Sidny 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
and
Frederick [G.] Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
to obtain a draft or construction of the inner court of the house
3

See Historical Introductions to Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95]; and to Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833.


<​
F. G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
Clk P T. [pro tempore]​> [p. 12]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 12

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, circa 1 June 1833
ID #
6588
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:102–104
Handwriting on This Page
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Benjamin Winchester, in a pamphlet designed to discredit Hurlbut and his research regarding JS and the Book of Mormon, wrote: “He [Hurlbut] made several converts in Crawford county, Pa. He frequently called, and stayed over night, at my father’s, which afforded me an opportunity of forming a correct estimate of the man. The church ultimately lost their confidence in him, in consequence of . . . numerous peccadillos, disgraceful to the man, and calculated to bring upon him the reproach of every lover of virtue and correct morals; so much so, that he was cast off from the church, and his license taken from him by the conference.” George A. Smith later explicitly stated that Hurlbut had been “expelled from the Church for Adultery.” (Winchester, Plain Facts, 6; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 11.)

    Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

    Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:14–17].

  3. [3]

    See Historical Introductions to Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95]; and to Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833.

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