Edward Partridge recorded that “the priests teachers & deacons [were] in one corner the vails having been let down, and the other officers occupied the rest of the lower room.” According to Partridge, “The washing of feet was performed by noon, then they began to prophecy and speak in tongues adding shouts of hosanna, to God and the Lamb with amen and amen this continued till dark.” Similarly, Stephen Post recorded that the men “prophesied, spake and sang in tongues” in the four parts of the curtained lower court. (Partridge, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836; Post, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836.)

Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

An allusion not only to Matthew 15:32–38—when Jesus fed the multitude bread and fish “lest they faint”—but also to the Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 490–491, 496 [3 Nephi 18:1–11; 20:1–9]—when Jesus administered bread and wine as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. A February 1833 revelation stated that homemade wine could be used for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.a William W. Phelps wrote that “the sacrament was administered, as the feast of the Passover for the first time in more than 1800 years.”b Stephen Post recorded that the men “partook of bread & wine in commemoration of the marriage supper of the Lamb,” a phrase mentioned in Revelation 19:9 as a symbolic representation of the second coming of Jesus Christ.c In November 1835, JS taught that after the completion of the temple, Latter-day Saints would “stand in holy places ready to meet the bride groom when he comes.”d

Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

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

Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

William W. Phelps wrote that the jubilee and Passover that began at the solemn assembly ended a week later on 6 April, which date was the sixth anniversary of the church’s organization and was “set apart as a day of prayer, to end The feast of the passover. and in honor of the Jubilee of the church.” However, Phelps also wrote that elders began leaving Kirtland on 1 April. (W. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836; see also Partridge, Journal, 6 Apr. 1836.)

Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:6]; and Revelation, 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61:35].

See 1 Corinthians 2:1–8.

John Corrill explained that JS told the elders, who were now “endowed with power to go forth [from Kirtland] and build up the Kingdom,” to act cautiously “and avoid contention, and not to meddle with other orders of Christians, nor proclaim against their doctrines, but to preach the gospel in its simplicity, and let others alone.” (Corrill, Brief History, 26.)

In response, many who attended the solemn assembly departed immediately to preach the gospel. William W. Phelps wrote, “On Friday, April 1, the elders began to go forth to bind up the [law] and seal up their testimony: and though the going was very hard, not a word was heard, every [one] was anxious to be in the field.” Erastus Snow, who left Kirtland on 16 April, reported that while “laboring entirely alone” he baptized fifty people and organized three branches of the church in Indiana, returning to Kirtland in December. Ebenezer Robinson departed on his mission 2 June 1836 and said that he “took leave of wife and home, and with valise in hand, started out on foot, without purse or script. (leaving the last penny at home.) being only twenty years and eight days old. trusting solely on the Lord.” (W. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836; Erastus Snow, Kirtland, OH, 30 Dec. 1836, Letter to the Editor, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1837, 3:440; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, June 1889, 90–91.)

Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

That is, to involve themselves in local ministry—see Acts 6:1–4. Jesus charged the seventy to preach the gospel in Luke 10:1–16.

The spring 1835 “Instruction on Priesthood” stated that the Seventy formed “a quorum equal in authority to that of the twelve” and under the direction of the Twelve were to be “especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world.” (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:25–26]; see also Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835.)