License for Stephen Abbott, circa 6 April 1841

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License for Stephen Abbott, circa 6 April 1841
Source Note

JS, License, for
Stephen Abbott
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,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 6 Apr. 1841; printed form with manuscript additions in handwriting of
Robert B. Thompson
1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...
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; one page, with certificate of recording on verso; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL.

One leaf, measuring 7⅝ × 3¼ inches (19 × 8 cm). The document has five major vertical folds and one horizontal fold. The document contains discoloration and archival marks. It has undergone conservation to strengthen folds and repair tears.

A statement was previously stapled to the license: “Certificate of Ordination to office of
High Priest
An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...
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of
Stephen Joseph Abbott
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, signed by the Prophet Joseph Smith— preserved by his wife Abigail Smith Abbott & brot to Utah, passed down thru their grand daughter Hannah Adelia Bunher Crosby to their great grand daughters Elida Crosby Haycock & Naomi Crosby Bliss of Salt Lake City present owners”.
1
Statement on Stephen Abbott License, no date, JS Collection (Supplement), CHL.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
The license was donated to the Church Historian’s Office, likely by 1967, when Elida Haycock died. Sometime between 1974 and 1984, the license was added to the JS Collection (Supplement) at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
Footnotes
[1]
Statement on Stephen Abbott License, no date, JS Collection (Supplement), CHL.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Historical Introduction
Around 6 April 1841, in connection with the business of the general
conference
A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...
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held 7–11 April 1841 in
Nauvoo
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, Illinois,
Stephen Abbott
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received a
license
A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...
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affirming his
ordination
The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...
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to the office of
high priest
An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...
View Glossary
in the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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...
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. The license was issued by a general conference of the church presided over by JS and was recorded in accordance with the established regulations for
priesthood
Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...
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licensing in the church.
1
See General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77; for more on regulations for priesthood licensing, see Minutes, 3 Mar. 1836; License, 21 Mar. 1836; and Resolution, ca. 8 Apr. 1838.

Abbott
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, then a resident of Perry, Pike County, Illinois, was
baptized
An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...
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in 1839 and ordained to the office of
elder
A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
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by April 1840.
2
Joseph Wood, Perry, IL, 26 Mar. 1840, Letter to the Editors, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87; Hadfield and Hadfield, George Wells Hadfield and Sylvia Abigail Beecher, 2:301, 309–310, 311, 320; Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Hadfield, Milton Gary, and Kathleen Halverson Hadfield, eds. George Wells Hadfield and Sylvia Abigail Beecher. 2 vols. Amelia, VA: By the authors, 2004.
In 1840 and 1841, Abbott served in leadership roles in church
branches
An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...
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in Brown and Pike counties in
Illinois
Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...
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before being ordained a high priest in April 1841; he moved to
Nauvoo
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the next year.
3
Moroni Branch, Brown Co., IL, Record, CHL; Joseph Wood, Perry, IL, 26 Mar. 1840, Letter to the Editors, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87; Hadfield and Hadfield, George Wells Hadfield and Sylvia Abigail Beecher, 2:311; Jacob Foutz, Nauvoo, IL, to Don Carlos Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 17 Jan. 1841, in Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:308. Stephen and his wife, Abigail Smith Abbott, deeded their land in Pike County, Illinois, to Mary Fielding Smith on 28 November 1842 after they moved to Nauvoo. (Stephen Abbott and Abigail Smith Abbott, Deed to Mary Fielding Smith, 28 Nov. 1842, Hyrum Smith Collection, CHL.)
Moroni Branch, Brown Co., IL, Record, 1841. CHL.
Smith, Hyrum. Collection, ca. 1839–1911. CHL.

Abbott
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’s license, one of few extant originals issued in 1841, is representative of more than one hundred licenses recorded in the church’s official record book of licenses from February 1841 through November 1841. Unlike earlier licenses issued in
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, Ohio, Abbott’s license does not attest to moral character and spiritual worthiness—it is more succinct.
4
See, for example, License for Frederick G. Williams, 20 Mar. 1833; and License, 21 Mar. 1836.
The exact dating of Abbott’s license is uncertain because it was issued on a form printed in 1840.
Robert B. Thompson
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, the church recorder, initially dated the license 7 April but then changed the date to 6 April, which was the first day of the April 1840 general conference. The April 1841 general conference that supposedly authorized Abbott’s ordination, however, did not begin until 7 April. Thompson may have been confused by the printed date on the license, which was the “sixth of April.” However, it is possible that Abbott was ordained at some point on 6 April 1841, when many church members gathered in
Nauvoo
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for the
temple
Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...
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cornerstone ceremony.
5
For more on the cornerstone ceremony, see Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841.
The record of the license in the official record book does not provide a date for the issuance of the license.
6
See General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77.
Footnotes
[1]
See General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77; for more on regulations for priesthood licensing, see Minutes, 3 Mar. 1836; License, 21 Mar. 1836; and Resolution, ca. 8 Apr. 1838.
[2]
Joseph Wood, Perry, IL, 26 Mar. 1840, Letter to the Editors, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87; Hadfield and Hadfield, George Wells Hadfield and Sylvia Abigail Beecher, 2:301, 309–310, 311, 320; Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.
[3]
Moroni Branch, Brown Co., IL, Record, CHL; Joseph Wood, Perry, IL, 26 Mar. 1840, Letter to the Editors, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87; Hadfield and Hadfield, George Wells Hadfield and Sylvia Abigail Beecher, 2:311; Jacob Foutz, Nauvoo, IL, to Don Carlos Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 17 Jan. 1841, in Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:308. Stephen and his wife, Abigail Smith Abbott, deeded their land in Pike County, Illinois, to Mary Fielding Smith on 28 November 1842 after they moved to Nauvoo. (Stephen Abbott and Abigail Smith Abbott, Deed to Mary Fielding Smith, 28 Nov. 1842, Hyrum Smith Collection, CHL.)
Moroni Branch, Brown Co., IL, Record, 1841. CHL.
Smith, Hyrum. Collection, ca. 1839–1911. CHL.
[4]
See, for example, License for Frederick G. Williams, 20 Mar. 1833; and License, 21 Mar. 1836.
[5]
For more on the cornerstone ceremony, see Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841.
[6]
See General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77.
Page [2]
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City of
Nauvoo
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April 7 <6>, 1841

I hereby certify that the within
License
A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...
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was this day recorded in Book A of License record on page 77—
5
This notation on the license’s verso was made in accordance with the first article of the regulations on licensing approved on 3 March 1836. That article required the recording clerk “to endorse a certificate under his own hand and signature on the back of said licences, specifying the time when & place where such license was recorded.” In the church’s official license record book, Robert B. Thompson wrote the following: “This certifies that Stephen Abbott has been received and ordained a High Priest.” (Minutes, 3 Mar. 1836; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77.)

R. B. Thompson
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Recorder [p. [2]]
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Document Information
Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
License for Stephen Abbott, circa 6 April 1841
ID #
1886
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:100–102
Handwriting on This Page
Printed text
Footnotes
[5]
This notation on the license’s verso was made in accordance with the first article of the regulations on licensing approved on 3 March 1836. That article required the recording clerk “to endorse a certificate under his own hand and signature on the back of said licences, specifying the time when & place where such license was recorded.” In the church’s official license record book, Robert B. Thompson wrote the following: “This certifies that Stephen Abbott has been received and ordained a High Priest.” (Minutes, 3 Mar. 1836; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 77.)