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Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843

Source Note

Revised Minutes, and JS, Discourses, , Hancock Co., IL, [23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843]. Featured version published [ca. 8 May 1843] in “Special Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 May 1843, vol. 4, no. 12, 180–185. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

The 1 May 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons published a revised version of the minutes from the 6 April 1843 sessions of the ’s special , including discourses delivered by JS during the midday and afternoon sessions. In the first session, JS had announced his desire that “the conference minutes go forth, to inform all of the order of doing business.” In particular, JS hoped to inform church members that the had been “appointd to this spicial mission of collecting funds for the ” and that no others were authorized to receive donations. The minutes also recounted deliberations over other significant items of business and decisions made by the conference.
was appointed clerk of the and in that capacity sought to record the proceedings and the accounts of discourses as he heard them. He struggled in this endeavor, at times capturing only fragmentary sentences and failing to note contextual information such as openings and closings of meetings, the names of those offering prayers, and sometimes the identities of speakers. Simultaneously, another JS scribe, , kept notes of the proceedings, which he later copied into JS’s journal. Richards more successfully captured complete sentences and contextual information. After reviewing Clayton’s minutes, JS determined they were insufficient and directed that they be revised. Over the following weeks, several of JS’s scribes as well as editors working in the church’s prepared multiple drafts—ultimately amalgamating Clayton’s minutes with Richards’s notes—before eventually publishing the minutes.
The process began on 23 April 1843, when JS “heard read” the “minutes of special conference”—most likely ’s minutes and accounts of discourses—which JS determined “were not explicit enough.” He indicated that he would “dictate them over again.” Clayton, presumably taking dictation from JS, then produced a new set of minutes. The resulting text was just over two pages long and provided an abbreviated outline that tracked the structure of the 6 April 1843 midday and afternoon sessions and the 7 April morning session. On the second and third pages of the draft of the revised minutes, Clayton used the numerals 1 through 4 to mark specific places where JS delivered “further remarks” during the conference, as the actual remarks were not included in the outline. Clayton then inserted corresponding numerals on his original minutes to help place these additional comments.
Soon after, another JS scribe, , expanded ’s revised minutes beyond the brief outline and copied the “further remarks” marked with numerals in Clayton’s original minutes. Times and Seasons editor then revised Sloan’s expanded draft, canceling short passages. On the final leaf of the draft, Taylor inscribed replacement language for the canceled passages and numbered his revisions to correspond with the deleted portions. He then typeset and printed a draft of Sloan’s expanded minutes and made additional editorial changes to the printed proof. Subsequently, Taylor made a second printed draft that incorporated his emendations.
On 3 May 1843, JS “rev[i]ewed the m[i]nutes,” presumably in typeset form. JS apparently still found the revised minutes and discourses wanting. noted in his personal journal on 3 May that he spent part of the day working on the “conference minut[e]s.” Richards clipped portions of the first and second printed drafts and attached the clippings to blank pages with adhesive wafers. Around the clippings, Richards added handwritten expansions drawn largely from his notes, thereby amalgamating his account of the conference with ’s original minutes and subsequent drafts. Based on Richards’s amalgamated draft, typeset a third draft and made a new proof sheet, to which he added more emendations. Through each step of this revision process, JS’s words—as captured by Clayton and Richards—were changed, polished, and refined by his scribes, apparently without his direct involvement. Nevertheless, the scribes retained some of his distinctive phrases, such as the admonition that church members not “make a bridge of [his] nose.”
The final form of the 6 April 1843 revised conference minutes and accounts of discourses was published in the 1 May 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons. Evidence within the issue indicates that the paper was delayed and did not appear until 8 May or later. Although exact subscription numbers for the Times and Seasons are unknown for 1843, at least a few thousand copies of the issue were printed and circulated among church members, including Latter-day Saints living in branches outside of . Information in the published minutes that departs substantially from either Clayton’s minutes or Richards’s notes is identified in the annotation.
The survival of both the original minutes and multiple prepublication drafts makes the publication record of the April 1843 conference unique. For previous conferences held in , only the final, published versions of the minutes are extant. JS’s involvement in the publication process for the April 1843 minutes also seems to have been distinctive in comparison to earlier conference minutes.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  2. [2]

    See Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  3. [3]

    See JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; and Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Reported by Willard Richards.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 23 Apr. 1843.

  5. [5]

    Textual evidence does not conclusively reveal what sources Clayton and JS used to produce the revised minutes, but they probably drew on Clayton’s original minutes and their memories. It is unlikely that they utilized Willard Richards’s notes of the conference, given that the revised minutes differ from Richards’s version when recording the meetings’ openings and closings.

  6. [6]

    Revised Minutes Draft, ca. 23 Apr. 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6 Apr. 1843.

  7. [7]

    See Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  8. [8]

    Revised Minutes and Discourses Draft, 23 Apr.–ca. 3 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6 Apr. 1843. Sloan’s expanded draft covered the midday session and part of the afternoon session of 6 April, concluding with JS’s comments on Jacob Remick.

  9. [9]

    See Revised Minutes and Discourses Printed Draft, 23 Apr.–ca. 3 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–7 Apr. 1843. Two fragments of the first printed draft are extant. The first includes the 6 April 1843 midday session, and the second includes comments made during the afternoon session by Hyrum Smith and JS on stealing in Nauvoo.

  10. [10]

    See Revised Minutes and Discourses Printed Draft, ca. 3 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–7 Apr. 1843. Three fragments of the second printed draft are extant and include comments made during the afternoon session on 6 April 1843 by Hyrum Smith and JS on stealing in Nauvoo and JS’s comments on Jacob Remick and land in Iowa Territory. The first of these fragments is glued to the first fragment of the first printed draft. Portions of this printed draft were cut out. The second and third fragments of the second printed draft were used in the 1850s in compiling JS’s History; Thomas Bullock made emendations for the history to the text on these fragments.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 3 May 1843.

  12. [12]

    Willard Richards, Journal, 3 May 1843.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  13. [13]

    Revised Minutes and Discourses Draft, 3 May–ca. 8 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6 Apr. 1843. Some of the clippings attached to Richards's draft match holes in the first and second printed drafts. Richards made his draft on printed sheets that included Book of Abraham facsimiles. (See Revised Minutes and Discourses Printed Draft, ca. 3 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–7 Apr. 1843.)

  14. [14]

    The extant portion of the third printed draft includes only the 6 April 1843 midday session. (See Revised Minutes and Discourses Printed Draft, 3 May–ca. 8 May 1843, in Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–7 Apr. 1843.)

  15. [15]

    See Notice, 8 May 1843, in Times and Seasons, 1 May 1843, 4:185.

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

  16. [16]

    Tanner, “Mormon Press in Nauvoo,” 102.

    Tanner, Terrence A. “The Mormon Press in Nauvoo, 1839–46.” In Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited: Nauvoo in Mormon History, edited by Roger D. Launius and John E. Hallwas, 94–118. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

  17. [17]

    For full annotation of Clayton’s minutes and Richards's notes, see Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843; and JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.

  18. [18]

    See, for example, Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841; and Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1842.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by Franklin D. Richards *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by James Burgess Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, First Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Published in Times and Seasons Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History Draft [1 March–31 December 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] *Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton *Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft *Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Published in Times and Seasons Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] *Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, William Clayton Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, First Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Second Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, Third Printed Draft *Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History Draft [1 March–31 December 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 182

an account of the same immediately to the Trustee in Trust; and let no man but the have authority to act as for the and .
I would suggest the propriety of your saying that no money should ever be sent by any man except it be some one whom you have appointed as agent, and stop every other man from receiving moneys. It has been customary for any to receive moneys for the when he is travelling, but this system of things opens a wide field for every kind of imposition, as any man can assume the name of a Mormon elder, and gather his pockets full of money and go to . Many complaints have come to me of money being sent that I have never received. I will mention one case. He is a good man; his name is , from Akron, New York. His brother had been east on business for him, and there received twenty or twenty-five dollars, as a donation to the , which he put in ’s bag, with his money, and forgot to take it out before he returned the bag. Two or three days after his return, he called on his for the money belonging to the church; but thought his brother had paid out too much of his money, and he would keep the ’s money to make good his own. I called to see about the money, and he treated me very politely, but did not give me to understand he ever meant to pay it. He said he did not know at the time, that there was any church money in the bag; that he had paid it out, and he had none now.
-[The brother who brought the money from the east, stated to the , that he did not think it was because his was short of funds, that he kept it, for he had money enough. He had told him that he should not be out of funds again; that his had twenty dollars of the church funds, and some dried fruit for the president.]-
President Joseph resumed. I give this as a sample of a thousand instances. We cannot give an account to satisfy the people, on the church books, unless something is done. I propose that you send your moneys for the by the Twelve, some one or all; or some agent of your own choosing, and if you send by others, and the money is lost, ’tis lost to yourselves; I cannot be responsible for it.— Every thing that falls into my hands shall be appropriated to the very thing it was designed for.
Next, it is wrong for the church to make a bridge of my nose, in appropriating church funds. The incorporation required of me securities, which were lodged in the proper hands as the law directs; and I am responsible for all that comes into my hands.
Next, the are bound to me in the sum of $2000, with good securities. If they appropriate any property where they ought not, they are liable to me for it; and the church are running to them, with funds every day, and thus make a bridge over my nose. I am not responsible for it. If you put it into the hands of the Temple Committee, I, nor my , know nothing of it.
So long as you consider me worthy to hold this office, it is your duty to attend to the legal forms belonging to the business; and if not, put some other one in my place. My desire is that the conference minutes may go forth in such form, as those abroad may learn the order of doing business; and that the Twelve be appointed to this special mission, of collecting funds for the ; so that all may know how to send their funds safe, or bring them themselves, and deliver them to the Trustee in Trust, or my , who can always be be found in my . Who are the Temple Committee that they should receive the funds? They are nobody.
When I went to the White House, at , and presented letters of introduction, from , Governor of , to , he looked at it very insignificantly and said, ‘! !! who’s ? ’s nobody.” I erred in spirit. I confess my mistake; and I here make my apology to all the world, and let it be recorded on earth and in heaven, that I am clear of the sin of being angry with for saying that “’s nobody.” I have been sorry for it ever since. All property ought to go through the hands of the Trustee in Trust.
There have been complaints against the Temple Committee for appropriating church funds more freely for the benefit of their own children, than to others, who need assistance more than they do; and the parties may have till Saturday to prepare for trial.
It was then voted unanimously that the Twelve be appointed a committee to collect funds to build the , and receive moneys for the , with this proviso:
That the Twelve give bonds for the safe delivery of all funds, coming into their hands belonging to the and , to the Trustee in Trust, and that the payor, also, make immediate report to the Trustee in Trust, of all moneys paid by him to the Twelve; and that the instructions of President Joseph Smith, to the conference, be carried into execution. [p. 182]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843
ID #
1033
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:282–293
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [3]

    Samuel Russell. (Historical Introduction to Letter from James M. Adams, 16 Nov. 1842; JS, Journal, 13 Jan. 1843.)

  2. [4]

    William Clayton. (Clayton, Diary, 10 Feb. 1842; JS, Journal, 29 June 1842.)

    Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.

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