The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...
View GlossaryA practice in which individuals place their hands upon a person to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, ordain to an office or calling, or confer other power, authority, or blessings, often as part of an ordinance. The Book of Mormon explained that ecclesiastical...
View GlossaryCowdery viewed this ordination as fulfillment of an angelic promise. According to JS’s history, in May 1829 John the Baptist announced that Cowdery would be second elder, next in authority to JS as first elder, in the church that was yet to be organized.a Beginning in April 1830, JS and Cowdery held the positions and titles the angel had specified. But Cowdery was away filling an assignment in Missouri when on 8 March 1832 a presidency was established in Kirtland to lead the church.b In Cowdery’s absence, Sidney Rigdon and Jesse Gause were appointed counselors to JS.c JS had previously been designated “president of the high priesthood of the church” in November 1831 and ordained to that position on 25 January 1832.d Frederick G. Williams replaced Gause as a counselor by January 1833.e In the history he was keeping for JS at the time, Cowdery recorded a more complete transcription of this 5 December 1834 blessing and reported that although Rigdon and Williams had seniority in office as counselors, Cowdery, in fulfillment of the angel’s promise, was now to be first among the three to “assist in presiding over the whole church, and to officiate in the absence of the President.” Following Cowdery’s ordination, Rigdon and Williams “confirmed the ordinance and blessings by the laying on of hands and prayer, after which each were blessed with the same blessings and prayer.” In a meeting the following day, Hyrum Smith and Joseph Smith Sr. were called as additional “assistant presidents,” or counselors.f (aJS History, vol. A-1, 17–18.bEntry for 5 Dec. 1834, in JS History, 1834–1836, 17.cRevelation Book 2, pp. 10–11.dRevelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B, in Doctrine and Covenants 3:31, 1835 ed. [D&C 107:59–67].eMinute Book 1, 22 Jan. 1833.fEntries for 5 and 6 Dec. 1834, in JS History, 1834–1836, 17–20.)
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
JS History, 1834–1836 / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1834–1836. In Joseph Smith et al., History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, back of book (earliest numbering), 9–20, 46–187. Historian's Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, box 1, vol. 1.
Revelation Book 2 / “Book of Revelations,” 1832–1834. Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835. Also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,” 1832–1837. CHL. Also available at josephsmithpapers.org.
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 GlossaryOliver Cowdery handwriting ends.