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31105
Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, 25 June 1835
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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 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 for the expulsion of members, in her unorgan ized condition. The high council has been expressly organized to administer in all her spiritual affairs; and the bish op and his council, are set over her [p. 137]
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...
View GlossaryA 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...
View GlossaryAlthough 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...
View GlossaryAn 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...
View GlossaryUsed 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.
View GlossaryJS, letter, Kirtland, OH, to Saints scattered abroad, June 1835; Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, June 1835, pp. 137–138.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
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