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Minutes, 13 March 1843

Source Note

Macedonia branch, Minutes, , Hancock Co., IL, 13 Mar. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 13 Mar. 1843] in Macedonia Branch, Record, pp. 32–33; handwriting and signature of ; CHL.
The Macedonia Branch Record was kept in a commercially produced leather-bound ledger book measuring 12½ × 8¼ inches (32 × 21 cm). The ledger volume contains ten gatherings of 16 leaves each, with a total of 320 pages. Each leaf measures 11¾ × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm), and each page contains thirty-six faint blue horizontal lines, one faint red horizontal line, and three faint red vertical lines in a bookkeeping or accounting format. Eighty-eight pages in the ledger volume have been numbered; these pages contain minute entries and other writings that begin on 7 April 1839 and end on 28 April 1850. Entries are in the handwriting of , , W. W. Greene, J. M. Benson, , and James Fife. Pages 51 through 64 of these numbered pages are blank; 115 total leaves are blank. On the spine of the ledger are two labels likely placed there by employees of the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. One label reads “Record of the Ramus Branch”, and the other reads “1746”; both inscriptions are in unidentified handwriting.
By May 1852, members had departed and for the Salt Lake Valley and may have taken the record with them. The record was listed in inventories that were produced by the Church Historian’s Office in 1858 and in subsequent inventories. The labels on the record and the record’s inclusion in church inventories indicate continuous institutional custody since 1858.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Historian’s Office Inventory G. S. L. City March 19. 1858,” [3]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue Book March 1858,” [13]; “Index of Records and Journals in the Historian’s Office 1878,” [13], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

Historical Introduction

On 13 March 1843, JS presided over a meeting held in (formerly Ramus), Illinois, to settle difficulties relating to leadership in the there. A conflict had emerged between those who supported as the in Macedonia and those who preferred , who had recently arrived in the branch. Church member Benjamin Andrews wrote to on 5 March 1843, explaining the “somewhat extraordinary” circumstances. According to Andrews, a group of church members clamored to remove Lawson from his position and to have a “new President” appointed. and his brother , who led the group, started a petition to end Lawson’s tenure in favor of Babbitt. Joel Johnson previously served as the presiding authority in the branch but was discharged in winter 1842 by , a move that upset the Johnson brothers. Babbitt’s arrival emboldened them to foment a leadership change. Andrews expressed concern about the division in the community and asked Young, “Cannot there be something done for us better. Is it not possible to obtain a man from Nauvoo, There is no one here that can unite all parties, for Brother Lawson has tried, and the more he tries to enforce the keeping of the commandments of God the more some seem to brake them.” For his part, Andrews supported Lawson as “an honest faithful man” and did not want Babbitt as the branch leader. After Young received Andrews’s letter, he and JS went to Macedonia to settle the matter.
On 11 March 1843, JS and rode from , Illinois, to , where they lodged for the next two nights with . While in Macedonia, both JS and Young preached to the congregation during Sunday meetings, and JS pulled sticks and wrestled with the town’s strongest men. JS and Young attended an afternoon meeting on 13 March to help resolve the leadership issues in the branch.
During this meeting, JS gave his support to to lead the branch. Though Babbitt had a history of problems with church leaders and authority, he also had leadership experience. According to the minutes featured here, with JS’s support Babbitt was ultimately “Chosen to Preside in place of .” Following this business, the meeting adjourned until the evening, when the branch reconvened for JS to bless the children. The next day, he and returned to .
served as the clerk for the 13 March 1843 meeting and recorded the minutes in the Macedonia branch's official minute book. Given the narrative nature of the minutes, Johnson likely worked from notes or original minutes taken during the meeting to pen this entry. Any original minutes or notes, however, are apparently no longer extant.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The town of Ramus was incorporated under the name of Macedonia on 3 March 1843. (An Act to Incorporate the Town of Macedonia [3 Mar. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], pp. 304–307.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  2. [2]

    It is likely that Babbitt arrived between 23 January and 5 March 1843. His name does not appear in the Macedonia Branch records in entries prior to 13 March 1843, the previous entry being 23 January 1843, and the conflict arose on 5 March. (See Macedonia Branch, Record, 7 Apr. 1839–13 Mar. 1843.)

    Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

  3. [3]

    Benjamin Andrews, Ramus, IL, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 5 Mar. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL. Babbitt was a brother-in-law to the Johnsons. (Johnson, “Life Review,” 48.)

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

  4. [4]

    Johnson, Autobiographical Sketch, 30–31.

    Johnson, Joel H. Autobiographical Sketch, 1879. Typescript. CHL. MS 12931.

  5. [5]

    Benjamin Andrews, Ramus, IL, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 5 Mar. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 11–13 Mar. 1843; Young, Journal, 1840–1844, 11–13 Mar. 1843.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 14 Mar. 1843; Young, Journal, 1840–1844, 14 Mar. 1843.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

Page 32

Btween the time of this past meeting & the next The town of was Changed to the named of Macedonia Some Dificulty having Arisen Respecting the Jos. Smith was Called upon to Come out and settle Difficulties The Church being Called to gather Mar 13th. 1843 E[benezer] Page opened servise by prayer Pres Smith took the Chair and Stated the meeting to be for the purpose of Setling the Difficulties of this Branch
After Some Remarks President Smith spoke of the aspersions Cast & the Character of & stated that he was in Full Fellowship in the Church & said he was just such a person as should preside here that was not A Fit Person For the Station spoke in justification of his Conduct & Stated that Came here striving to make Division in the Church Corrected remarks & spoke of his bacctalking & Slandering in Public
After some remarks was nominated to Preside over this branc[h] Pres Smith then Said the Question was then open For Debate After some Considerable Deliberation was unanimously Chosen to Preside in place of [p. 32]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 32

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 13 March 1843
ID #
2683
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:40–43
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Johnson

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The previous meeting recorded in the branch record took place on 23 January 1843. (Macedonia Branch, Record, 23 Jan. 1843.)

    Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

  2. [2]

    For more on the difficulties in Macedonia, see Benjamin Andrews, Ramus, IL, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 5 Mar. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  3. [3]

    There may have been lingering questions about Babbitt’s standing in the church because of previous issues between Babbitt and JS. In summer 1840, church leaders withdrew fellowship from Babbitt before JS reconciled with him and appointed him president over the church in Kirtland, Ohio, in October 1840. As the presiding authority in Kirtland, Babbitt encouraged Latter-day Saints to stay in Kirtland, contrary to JS’s instructions that church members should gather to Nauvoo. At a general church conference in October 1841, the minutes of which were published in the Times and Seasons, church members voted to disfellowship Babbitt again. Perhaps some church members in Macedonia were not aware that Babbitt subsequently reconciled with JS and was restored to full fellowship. (Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841; Johnson, “Life Review,” 87–88; see also Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.)

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

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