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Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, 25 June 1835

 
TO THE SAINTS SCATTERED  ABROAD.
Dear Brethren:—It is a duty which  every saint ought to render to his bre thren freely—to always love them, and  ever succor them. To be justified be fore God we must love one another:  we must overcome evil; we must visit  the fatherless and the widow in their  affliction. and we must keep ourselves  unspotted from the world: for such vir tues flow from the great fountain of  pure religion. Strengthening our faith  by adding every good quality that adorns  the children of the blessed Jesus, we  can pray in the season of prayer; we  can love our neighbor as ourselves, &  be faithful in tribulation, knowing that  the reward of such is greater in the  kingdom of heaven. What a consola tion! What a joy! Let me live the  life of the righteous, and let my reward  be like his!
According to the order of the king dom begun in the last days, to prepare  men for the rest of the Lord, the elders

An administrative and ecclesiastical office not associated with age. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church.” The articles and covenants of the church directed...

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  in Zion, or in her immediate region,  have no authority or right, to meddle  with her spiritual affairs, to regulate  her concerns, or hold councils

A gathering of church leaders assembled “for consultation, deliberation and advice”; also a body responsible for governance or administration. As early as 9 February 1831, a revelation instructed that “the Elders & Bishop shall Council together & they shall...

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 for the  expulsion of members, in her unorgan ized condition. The high council

Although JS utilized councils of elders and high priests earlier in church government, the first standing high council of the church was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on 17 February 1834. The second high council was organized a few months later in Clay County...

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 has  been expressly organized to administer  in all her spiritual affairs; and the bish op

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, he functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

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 and his council

Used to designate a bishop and his assistants or counselors as they carried out ecclesiastical or administrative responsibilities. The term “bishop’s council” also denoted the officers who served in a bishop’s court.

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, are set over her [p. 137]

Facts

Editorial Title
Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, 25 June 1835
ID #
257