Footnotes
Historical Introduction to Declaration, 21 June 1834; Historical Introduction to Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105]; Historical Introduction to Letter to John Thornton et al., 25 June 1834.)
William W. Phelps, Liberty, MO, to Daniel Dunklin, Jefferson City, MO, 1 Aug. 1834, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL, underlining in original.
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.
A June 1834 revelation stated that the elders must be “endowed with power from on high” before Zion could be redeemed. Those assigned to go to Kirtland included David Whitmer, William W. Phelps, and John Whitmer, who were the three presidents of the high council. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:11]; Minutes, 23 June 1834; Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)
JS apparently gave this assignment to Wight before he left Missouri. A 12 July 1834 meeting of the Missouri high council referred to the “mission appointed” to Wight “by the seer” and assigned Amasa Lyman to go with Wight “to ascertain the strength of the Lord’s house.” According to Amasa Lyman’s journal, this meant visiting those who had been driven from Jackson County and determining how many Saints lived in “this land”—probably meaning either Clay County specifically or Missouri generally. (Minute Book 2, 12 July 1834; Lyman, Journal, 12 July 1834.)
Lyman, Amasa. Journals, 1832–1877. Amasa Lyman Collection, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 829, boxes 1–3.
Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21–22].
Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 16–18; Parkin, “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication,” 4–5.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
Parkin, Max H. “Zion’s Camp Cholera Victims Monument Dedication.” Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation Newsletter 15 (Fall 1997): 4–5.
Partridge, Corrill, and Morley constituted the bishopric in Missouri, but it is unclear why Wight, who was a member of the high council, was specifically mentioned. It may have been because Wight had served as the general of the Camp of Israel, or perhaps it was because JS gave him specific instructions in the letter. (Minutes, 3 July 1834; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 12.)
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
Minute Book 2, 10 Sept. 1834.
A council held on 11 August 1834 assigned Oliver Cowdery, Thomas Burdick, and Orson Hyde to compose an article stating that the council had found that JS had “acted in every respect in an honorable and proper Manner, with all monies and other properties entrusted to his charge.” This article was presented to another council on 23 August and took the form of a preamble and three resolutions. When it was published in the August 1834 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, it also contained a statement signed by fifteen individuals who affirmed their satisfaction with the investigation, as well as a declaration signed by Lyman Johnson and Heber C. Kimball that stated they agreed with the resolutions’ depiction of JS’s conduct on the expedition. (Minutes, 11 Aug. 1834; Minutes, 23 Aug. 1834; Resolutions, ca. 23 Aug. 1834; “Conference Minutes,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 182.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
The Missouri high council was to act in both judicial and administrative functions. (Historical Introduction to Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834.)
A June 1834 revelation declared that God’s elders needed to “wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion.” The redemption would not happen until the elders were “endowed with power from on high.” The revelation continued that JS was the one who would choose “by the voice of the Spirit” those who would receive the endowment. On 23 June 1834, “a council of High Priests,” including JS, chose “some of the first Elders.” There are no extant instructions about the duty of the Missouri high council to choose others to go to Kirtland, but JS’s statement here suggests that he had provided such direction to the high council. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:9–11, 35–36]; Minutes, 23 June 1834; see also Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834; and Minute Book 2, 6–7 Aug. 1834.)
A June 1834 revelation stated that God would “give unto” the Saints “favor and grace” in the eyes of the people in western Missouri so that church members could “rest in peace and safety, whilst [they] are saying unto the people execute judgment Justice for us according to law, and redress us of our wrongs.” (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:25].)
TEXT: This insertion is written vertically in the left margin.
Phelps had been selected as one of the first elders to travel to Kirtland for an endowment, but he did not leave for Kirtland until April 1835. On 10 September 1834, he presented the petition to the Missouri high council. The council accepted it at that meeting. (Minutes and Discourse, ca. 7 July 1834; Whitmer, History, 70; Minute Book 2, 10 Sept. 1834; for a copy of the petition, see Petition to Daniel Dunklin, 10 Sept. 1834, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL; and Whitmer, History, 68–70.)
Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.