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Minutes, 25–26 October 1831

Source Note

Minutes, , Cuyahoga Co., OH, 25–26 Oct. 1831. Featured version copied [between ca. 6 Apr. and 19 June 1838] in Minute Book 2, pp. 10–15; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 2.

Historical Introduction

On 25–26 October 1831, the church held a general in ’s house in , Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The participants included twelve men who had previously been to the , seventeen , four , three , four , and according to a later JS history, “a large congregation” of additional members of the church. The business of the conference included ordinations to various offices, preaching by some of the participants, and the sharing of testimonies of the Book of Mormon. JS himself declined during the meeting to give details of “the coming forth” of the Book of Mormon. The conference also provided new converts a chance to meet JS and other prominent elders. , for example, wrote in his journal that he “first saw brother Joseph the Seer, also brothers , & and a great many other Elders” at the conference. Many of those present publicly declared their commitment to the church and to God, which, according to McLellin, provided “much spiritual edification & comfort.” recounted that he “received much instruction and was highly edified and blessed of the Lord during the conference.”
This was the first general conference since members of the church had been ordained to the high priesthood in June 1831, and it provided an opportunity for JS and to offer instruction concerning the power of that priesthood. Minutes of the June 1831 meeting do not provide much information about what was said to those ordained to the high priesthood, making it difficult to assess how the ordination was understood at that time. But , who was present at the June conference, later recalled a conversation he had in January 1832 with , who ordained several individuals to the high priesthood at the June conference. Speaking about the priesthood, Hancock remarked that “neither of us understood what it was.” “I did not understand it,” wrote Hancock, “and he [Wight] could give me no light.”
Although no lengthy discussion on high priesthood is captured in the record, the 25–26 October minutes show that JS and provided some instruction to conference attendees. According to the minutes, JS and Rigdon viewed those elders holding the high priesthood as having powers that other elders did not have. The minutes suggest that willingness to relinquish all to God may have been a requirement to obtain the high priesthood and its power “to seal up the Saints unto eternal life.” Accordingly, some participants in the 25–26 October conference made or renewed a covenant to consecrate all to God. Nearly all who did so had been previously ordained to the high priesthood or were ordained at the conference.
The conference also considered business discussed in prior meetings. At an 11 October gathering, for example, had moved that six elders be appointed “to visit the several branches of this church setting them in order” and to raise money for JS and so they could devote themselves to the Bible revision. and had been assigned to these tasks, and this 25–26 October conference appointed four others to assist. The conference provided instructions on proselytizing as well, perhaps as a result of a declaration in a 1 October conference that the elders were “to go forth and warn the inhabitants of the earth of the things known in the Church of Christ in these last days.” Several elements of the conference—including ordinations, discussions of how the needs of missionaries’ families would be met, and instruction on the high priesthood and consecration—seemed to foreshadow an increase in missionary labor. The conference was followed by a public preaching meeting, as the concluding minutes indicate.
served as clerk of the conference and took the minutes. entered these minutes into Minute Book 2 in 1838.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 156. Although the minutes list four priests in attendance, John Whitmer wrote that five priests were present. (Whitmer, History, 38.)

  2. [2]

    McLellin, Journal, 25–26 Oct. 1831; Whitmer, History, 38; “History of Luke Johnson,” 3, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, ca. 1858–1880, CHL. Luke Johnson’s history states that the eleven witnesses to the Book of Mormon, “with uplifted hands, bore their solemn testimony to the truth of that book; as did also the Prophet Joseph.” Although the conference clearly included testimonies of the Book of Mormon, and although many of the eleven witnesses who attested to the existence of the gold plates were present, the minutes of the conference do not reflect the particular event Johnson describes. Of the eleven, neither Christian Whitmer, who held the office of elder, nor Hiram Page, who held the office of teacher, was present at the commencement of the conference when the names of attending priesthood officers were recorded. There is no indication that Jacob Whitmer, another of the eleven witnesses, attended. (Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831; Minutes, 6 Sept. 1831.)

    McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  3. [3]

    McLellin, Journal, 25–26 Oct. 1831. Joel Johnson also recounted that he first saw JS at the conference. (Johnson, Autobiography, 2.)

    McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).

    Johnson, Joel H. Autobiography, ca. 1882. Photocopy. CHL. MS 15025.

  4. [4]

    McLellin, Journal, 25–26 Oct. 1831.

    McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).

  5. [5]

    Johnson, Reminiscenses and Journals, vol. 1, p. 16.

    Johnson, Joel Hills. Reminiscences and Journals, 1835–1882. 3 vols. Joel Hills Johnson, Papers, 1835–1882. CHL. MS 1546, fds. 1–3.

  6. [6]

    See Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831.

  7. [7]

    “Autobiography of Levi Ward Hancock,” ca. 1896, 43.

    Hancock, Mosiah Lyman. "Autobiography of Levi Ward Hancock," ca. 1896. CHL. MS 570.

  8. [8]

    Cahoon, Diary, 9 Nov. 1831; Minutes, 11 Oct. 1831.

    Cahoon, Reynolds. Diaries, 1831–1832. CHL. MS 1115.

  9. [9]

    Minutes, 1 Oct. 1831.

  10. [10]

    The minutes include parenthetical redactions that were probably added after the creation of the original document. (See the source note for Minute Book 2.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes, 25–26 October 1831 Minute Book 2

Page 12

Br. said, ever since I my beloved brethren, ever since I have had an acquaintance with the writing of God I have [blank] eternity with perfect confidence
Br. said that ever since he had set out to serve the Lord, not to regard the favor of man but the favor of Heaven.
Br. said that he was anxious that all should be saved &c. also read two verses in the book of Revelations, also covenanted to give all for Christ’s sake.
Br. John Smith said that he felt through grace to do the will of the Lord notwithstanding his extreme old age, also felt to covenant to give all to the Lord.
Br. said that he had a long time since covenanted to do the will of God in all things, and also said that it was his desire to be with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Br. said that he felt to declare to this that he had all that was his to the Lord, and also was desirous to do all for the glory of God.
Br. said that he was thankful that he had been spared & preserved to go to the land of according to the of the Lord, for he received it as from his mouth & also thanked the Lord that his feet had troden upon the consecrated ground which was the of the Saints. Testified that the book of Mormon was true, Mourned because of the falling away since he took his journey to the Land of .
Br. said that he blessed the name of the Lord that he could bear testimony of the truth of the book of Mormon, and also consecrated all to God before he was , he was also determined to go on to the end of his life
Br. said he gave all his ability to do the work of the Lord.
Br. said that it was by the help of the Lord that he had been preserved, yet his greatest fear was for those who were weak in the faith.
Br. said that he rejoiced while he heard those give their testimony who had been up to the land of , said he had many times been directed by the Spirit of God, also felt to do the will of the Lord in all things, &c.
Br. said that he had professed religion for a number of years, also felt to bear testimony of the goodness of God, and to consecrate all to the Lord. [p. 12]
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Page 12

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 25–26 October 1831
ID #
6524
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:78–87
Handwriting on This Page
  • Ebenezer Robinson

Footnotes

  1. [13]

    John Smith (no relation to JS), who was from Northampton, Ohio, wrote that he came to the conference with his sons Eden, Micah, and Yeats, as well as with JS’s brothers Samuel and William Smith. (John Smith, Journal, 25–26 Oct. 1831.)

    Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.

  2. [14]

    See Ephesians 1:13–14.

  3. [15]

    Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52:27].

  4. [16]

    An April 1830 revelation instructed church members to receive the “words & commandments” given to them by JS “as if from mine [the Lord’s] own mouth.” (Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:4–5].)

  5. [17]

    When JS and other elders returned from Missouri in August 1831, they discovered that in their absence, “many” in Ohio had “apostitized.” Conferences in September and October 1831 took disciplinary action against several members of the church in Ohio. (Whitmer, History, 33; see, for example, Minutes, 1 Sept. 1831; Minutes, 12 Sept. 1831; and Minutes, 21 Oct. 1831.)

  6. [18]

    Johnson had been baptized a Free Will Baptist in 1825 before converting to Mormonism in June 1831. (Johnson, Reminiscences and Journals, vol. 1, pp. 6, 10.)

    Johnson, Joel Hills. Reminiscences and Journals, 1835–1882. 3 vols. Joel Hills Johnson, Papers, 1835–1882. CHL. MS 1546, fds. 1–3.

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