Minutes, 3 July 1834
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Source Note
Minutes, , MO, 3 July 1834. Featured version copied [between ca. 6 Apr. and 19 June 1838] in Minute Book 2, p. 43; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 2.
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Historical Introduction
On 3 July 1834, “the of ” organized a standing council in to handle “important business” that could not be resolved by the ’s council. Meeting participants approved the selection of , , and as presidents of this standing council, along with twelve other men as members of the council, which was subsequently referred to as a .The minutes do not name “the High Priests of Zion” who participated, but reminiscent accounts of individuals who were present suggest that JS took part in the meeting. Although some of these accounts may conflate the 3 July meeting with another organizational meeting that occurred circa 7 July 1834, they all indicate that JS played a large role in establishing the high council. For example, stated that the council was “established according to the will of God by his Servent Joseph about the first of July 1834 before his return to the east.” similarly declared in his history that “Joseph the seer began to set in order the Church in this country” and “commenced to organize a high counsel according to the Patron [pattern] received in Ohio.” recorded that at the 3 July meeting, JS expressed some misgivings about appointing first president of the council, fearing that Whitmer’s “wife, his boy, and his, corn will engross more of his attention than the welfare of Zion.” Although this evidence for JS’s attendance is somewhat ambiguous, it seems unlikely that he would have missed the meeting to organize the Missouri high council since he was in the area at the time.The organization of the Missouri high council followed the creation of the high council in February 1834, with JS, , and as and twelve other high priests as counselors. According to the revised minutes of that February meeting, the Kirtland high council was to serve not only as a court of original jurisdiction but also as an appellate court to settle “important difficulties which might arise in the church, which could not be settled by the Church, or the bishop’s council to the satisfaction of the parties.” The minutes of this 3 July meeting show that the high council in would similarly function as an appellate court for business that “could not be settled by the Bishop and his council” in Missouri.The high council could also function as an administrative body and deal with matters of church business. Minutes from a circa 7 July 1834 meeting state that through the council, “the will of the Lord” would “be known on all importent occasions in the building up of .” , who attended the 3 July organizational meeting, related, “It is the privilege of the Council to recieve the word of the Lord concerning all subjects that are brought before them to be decided or investigated that immediately concern the Church.”According to , the 3 July meeting occurred at ’s residence in , Missouri. As clerk of the meeting, took the minutes, but his original inscription has not been located. later copied the minutes into Minute Book 2. In his copy, however, the minutes seem more a record of action than a detailed account of all that transpired at the meeting. It is not clear whether Williams summarized the actions himself or whether Richards later summarized Williams’s minutes.
Footnotes
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1
See, for example, Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.
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2
Woodruff later crossed out “about the first” and replaced it with “on the 3d.” Woodruff also later added in his journal, “On the 3d day of July I attended the Meeting at Lyman Wights,” where “Joseph Smith the Prophet organized the High Council.” According to this later addition, JS “chastised David [Whitmore] & others for unfaithfolnes, said their hearts were not set upon the building up the kingdom of God as they should be” before setting Whitmer apart as president. However, Whitmer was not ordained until the circa 7 July 1834 meeting. (Woodruff, Journal, 1–3 July 1834; Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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3
Whitmer did not provide a date for these events in his history. In a daybook he was keeping, he did not mention a meeting on 3 July, though he did say he attended one on 8 July. (Whitmer, History, 68; Whitmer, Daybook, 8 July 1834.)
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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4
George A. Smith, Autobiography, 50.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
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5
Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834; Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102]. According to the minutes of the 17 February meeting, JS “said that this organization was an ensample to the high priests in their Councils abroad.” (Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834.)
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6
Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:2]. Although the Kirtland high council was designated as the court of appeal for those dissatisfied with the decisions of other councils of high priests outside of Kirtland, it is not clear if it would also hear appeals of those protesting a decision of the Missouri high council.
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7
See, for example, Minutes, 19 Feb. 1834; Minutes, 20 Feb. 1834; and Minutes, 24 Feb. 1834.
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9
Woodruff, Journal, 1 July 1834.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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10
Wight lived four miles south of Liberty on land owned by Michael Arthur, who was not a member of the church but who had employed Wight and others to build a brick house for him. (Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:173; Woodruff, Journal, 1–3 July 1834.)
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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