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License for William Smith, 5 October 1831

Source Note

License, , OH, for , 5 Oct. 1831; handwriting of ; signatures of and JS; one page; CCLA.
Leaf measuring 3–3½ × 7¾ inches (8–9 × 20 cm). This document has been folded, possibly for travel. The folds are weakened, partially broken, or separated—with a loss at one fold. The license was pasted onto backing paper at some point, likely because the leftmost quarter had become separated. There appear to be no inscriptions on the verso of the actual license, but the backing makes it impossible to be certain.
The license was received by the RLDS church (now Community of Christ) in July 1965. The document passed from to Isaac Sheen, early supporter to William Smith’s later claims to lead the church. Sheen gave the certificate to his son who gave it to his brother-in-law, Oliver Ira Babbitt. Babbitt presented this certificate with other books to his friend Alvin Smith of Miami, Oklahoma, who gave them to his daughter. She, in turn, donated them to the RLDS Church.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Richard P. Howard, Independence, MO, to Paul Wellington, 16 July 1965, in “Record of Accession,” bk 4, CCLA.

Historical Introduction

and JS issued a ’s to in , Ohio, on 5 October 1831. The license was issued in accordance with the “Articles and Covenants” of the church, which directed that a or teacher receive a license from an , “which shall authorize him to perform the duty of his calling.” This practice also helped fulfill an injunction in a February 1831 revelation that no one should “go forth to preach my gospel or to build up my church” unless “ by some one that hath authority & it is known to the church that he hath authority & have been regularly ordained by the leaders of the church.”
held the office of by at least 3 June 1831. The issuance of the license in October may have been necessary because, as Smith later remembered, he was “exclusively engaged in the business of my office” at that time. This involvement included “attending the numerous conferences and visiting the to see that the members were all faithful and that there was no quarreling, or backbiting among the brethren.” It is possible, though less likely, that Smith obtained a license at the time of his ordination and received this 5 October 1831 license as a replacement or renewal of the original.
, who was assigned to historical and clerical responsibilities, wrote out the license, which he and JS signed as elders.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:64]. If a priest or a teacher was ordained to his office by a priest, he was to receive a certificate at the time of ordination that he would then show to an elder in order to receive his license.

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:11].

  3. [3]

    The minutes of a conference held circa 3–4 June 1831 in Kirtland, Ohio, list William Smith as one of the teachers in attendance. Smith himself recollected in 1883 that he became a teacher around October 1830. In her history, Lucy Mack Smith implied that William was already a teacher when JS relocated to Kirtland early in 1831. (Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831; Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 17–18; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 11, [2].)

    Smith, William. William Smith on Mormonism. This Book Contains a True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. A Sketch of the History, Experience, and Ministry of Elder William Smith. . . . Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883.

  4. [4]

    Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 20.

    Smith, William. William Smith on Mormonism. This Book Contains a True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. A Sketch of the History, Experience, and Ministry of Elder William Smith. . . . Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883.

  5. [5]

    Whitmer was called in a March 1831 revelation to “write & keep a regulal [regular] history & assist my servent Joseph in Transcribing all things which shall be given him.” He was appointed in an April 1831 conference to “keep the Church record & history.” (Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–B [D&C 47:1]; Minute Book 2, 9 Apr. 1831.)

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
License for William Smith, 5 October 1831
ID #
1624
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:71–74
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