Footnotes
See Historical Introduction to Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102].
See Letter, 30 Oct. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 Nov. 1833; Letter from John Corrill, 17 Nov. 1833; Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 15 Dec. 1833; Letter to Edward Partridge, 5 Dec. 1833; and Letter to Edward Partridge et al., 10 Dec. 1833.
Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:17, 55–57].
William E. McLellin, who was likely present at this conference, later remembered the conference being held on 1 January 1834. (Larson and Passey, William E. McLellin Papers, 418.)
Larson, Stan, and Samuel J. Passey, eds. The William E. McLellin Papers, 1854–1880. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2007.
Pratt, Autobiography, 114.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:2].
Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:21–22, 30, 37–40].
A later history of JS indicates the council was held after the revelation was dictated and does not provide any other contextual information. (JS History, vol. A-1, 437–441, addenda, 3nD.)
JS, Journal, 26–28 Feb. 1834; Pratt, Autobiography, 116–122; Minutes, 17 Mar. 1834; Backman, Profile, appendix E; Woodruff, Journal, 1 May 1834; Account with the Church of Christ, ca. 11–29 Aug. 1834.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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JS had on multiple occasions instructed Missouri church members to retain their Jackson County lands. On 18 August 1833, he told Missouri church leaders that “it is the will of the Lord that . . . not one foot of land perchased should be given to the enimies of God or sold to them.” He reiterated this counsel to Edward Partridge on 5 December 1833: “I would inform you that it is not the will of the Lord for you to sell your Lands in Zion if means can possably be procured for their sustenance without.” In addition, a 16–17 December 1833 revelation stated, “Therefore it is my will that my people should claim and hold claim upon that which I have appointed unto them though they should not be permited to dwell thereon.” (Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833; Letter to Edward Partridge, 5 Dec. 1833; Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:99].)
On 14 December 1833, McLellin sold nearly seven acres, which he had purchased on 15 August 1833, in Jackson County to James Newberry, a member of the church, for eighty-five dollars. This land was located just west of Independence, Missouri. Where the other thirty acres were located is not clear, as there is no extant record of McLellin making another sale in late 1833 or early 1834. Part of the land may have been two lots off of Independence’s Main Street that McLellin had purchased in 1832 after moving to Jackson County. (Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, 1827–1909, vol. C, p. 34, 14 Dec. 1833, microfilm 1,017,979, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 593; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, 1827–1909, vol. B, pp. 328–329, 15 Aug. 1833, microfilm 1,017,978, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; William E. McLellin, Jackson Co., MO, to Samuel McLellin, Carthage, TN, 4 Aug. 1832, in Shipps and Welch, Journals of William E. McLellin, 83.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Johnson, Clark V., ed. Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict. Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992.
McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to Samuel McLelin, Carthage, TN, 4 Aug. 1832. Photocopy. Private possession. Copy at CHL. MS 617.
Even though this meeting was a meeting of the high council, other church members apparently attended. At the formation of the high council on 17 February 1834, nine high priests, seventeen elders, four priests, and thirteen “private members” were present. High priests, elders, priests, teachers, and “private members” also attended a 19 February high council meeting. (Minutes, 17 Feb. 1834; Minutes, 19 Feb. 1834.)
Because traveling by water was faster than traveling by land, it is unclear why the meeting attendees would have decided to travel by land. It is possible they made this decision in order to save money. A guidebook from the 1830s stated that to get from Cleveland to Cincinnati (presumably by water) would cost roughly four and a half to six cents per person per mile. Then, traveling from Cincinnati to Louisville by steamboat would cost three dollars, and from Louisville to St. Louis would cost twelve dollars per person. Such costs could be prohibitive, especially for a large group. In addition, an August 1831 revelation had told JS and a group of elders traveling from Independence to Kirtland that “there are many dangers upon the waters” and that “it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters but he that is upright in heart.” ([Baird], View of the Valley of the Mississippi, 363; Revelation, 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61:4, 16].)
[Baird, Robert]. View of the Valley of the Mississippi; or, The Emigrant’s and Traveller’s Guide to the West. . . . 2nd ed. Philadelphia: H. S. Tanner, 1834.
An August 1833 article in the Painesville Telegraph hinted that the Mormons in Jackson County might be aided by a church military force: “We learn that some Davids or Goliaths are to be dispatched immediately by the prophet to the relief of the brethren in the wilderness.” William E. McLellin, who was living in Missouri at this time and who was not present at this high council meeting, later recounted that Lyman Wight “was fully imbued with the war spirit, and inspired Smith and company with the idea of redeeming Zion, viz the Church of Zion with men of War!!” (Report, Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 16 Aug. 1833, [3]; McLellin, “Some of My Thoughts in 1878,” [5], underlining in original.)
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.
McLellin, William E. “Some of My Thoughts in 1878, Why I Am Not an L. D. Saint of Any Click or Party,” 1878. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 9. Also available in Stan Larson and Samuel J. Passey, eds., The William E. McLellin Papers, 1854–1880 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2007).