On 21 October 1839, the high council appointed Sherwood to supervise the sale of Nauvoo town lots, subject to the approval of JS and Hyrum Smith. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 26.)

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

Ripley was appointed bishop of a church branch in Iowa Territory by an October 1839 general conference. As outlined by earlier instructions, bishops were responsible for administering to the wants of the elders in the church, as well as caring for the poor. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–12].)

The rough draft of these minutes has the marginal notation “P 30” here. On page 30 of the rough draft minutes, there are minutes of a 28 May 1841 meeting in which Ebenezer Black asked to be restored to the church. There is a notation on page 30 referring back to the 20 June 1840 minutes. When Stout was copying the minutes into the Nauvoo high council record book, he apparently put in this marginal note, but not knowing on which page the 28 May 1841 minutes would appear, he left a blank space after “Page.” (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 10, 30.)

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.

Sherwood was a member of the Nauvoo high council. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)

On 10 January 1840, Black purchased block 45, lot 2, of the Nauvoo plat for $350. Black was to pay $35 a year plus interest for ten years and signed ten promissory notes to that effect. (JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith to Ebenezer Black, Bond, Hancock Co., IL, 10 Jan. 1840; Ebenezer Black to JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, Promissory Notes, 10 Jan. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)

When high councils judged cases, up to six individuals were to speak on a case, depending on its difficulty. According to earlier instructions given to the high council at Kirtland, Ohio, “the accused in all cases has a right to one half of the council to prevent insult or injustice.” (Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:13–15].)