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Minutes, 26 April 1835

Source Note

Minutes, , Geauga Co., OH, 26 Apr. 1835. Featured version copied [between ca. 26 Apr. and May 1835] in “Record of the Transactions of the Twelve,” p. 5, in Patriarchal Blessing Book 2; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Record of the Twelve, 14 Feb.–28 Aug. 1835.

Historical Introduction

On 26 April 1835, the and members of the met in the unfinished in , Ohio, to receive instructions from JS on their mission and duties. The meeting was one in a series called to prepare the Twelve for their service as and for their pending mission to the eastern and . It also marked the first time that all twelve of the apostles had met together since their appointment in February 1835. , the last apostle to come to Kirtland, entered the meeting late, having been summoned from a lengthy, multistate preaching assignment to meet with the other apostles in Kirtland. Many other church members also attended the meeting; Pratt wrote in his journal that “a large congregation” was present.
The meeting had been planned for some time. In the March 1835 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, a notice appeared requesting that and return to so they could “attend a meeting of the in this place on the 26th of April next.” The featured minutes, as recorded by in the Record of the Twelve, describe the meeting as a large gathering of people assembled to hear JS but then provide little detail about the meeting, ending abruptly after noting Pratt’s arrival. Other sources provide more information. A license dated 26 April 1835 for states it was “given by the direction of a conference of the elders of said church, assembled in Kirtland,” presumably referring to this same meeting. JS signed the license as “Chairman,” confirming his presence at the meeting, but no source clearly indicates that he delivered the expected instructions and charge referenced in the minutes. If he did, it is possible that the instruction provided was the Instruction on Priesthood, which he and likely prepared sometime that spring and which was later published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
’s journal also explains that preached to the group in the morning and four individuals were in the afternoon. Orson Pratt and then spoke, after which the two were apostles by and . Pratt and Marsh were the last two members of the Twelve to be ordained to that position. The two then “entered into a Covenant to keep the commandments of God in all things & do the work of the ministry where unto [they] were called.”
Aside from this copy in the Record of the Twelve, no other copies of the minutes are extant.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    On 12 March 1835, the Twelve agreed to leave Kirtland on 4 May 1835 to go “through the eastern States to the Atlantic Ocean,” holding “conferences in the vicinity of the several branches of the church for the purpose of regulateing all things necessary for their welfare.” (Minutes, 12 Mar. 1835.)

  2. [2]

    For more information about the appointment of the apostles, see Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.

  3. [3]

    Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.

    Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.

  4. [4]

    Notice to Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Pratt, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1835, 1:90.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  5. [5]

    Elder’s License for Parley P. Pratt, 26 Apr. 1835, JS Collection, CHL. Orson Pratt’s diary, for example, describes the meeting but says nothing about JS speaking. (Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.)

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

    Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.

  6. [6]

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107].

  7. [7]

    Lyman Johnson, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball were ordained on 14 February 1835; Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke Johnson, William E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and William Smith were ordained on 15 February; and Parley P. Pratt was ordained on 21 February. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835.)

  8. [8]

    Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.

    Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes, 26 April 1835
Record of the Twelve, 14 February–28 August 1835

Page 5

April 26, 1835.
This day, pursuant to previous appointment, the and the (a part of whom had already been chosen,) assembled in the (altho’ unfinished.) with a numerous concourse of people in order to receive our charge and instructions from President Joseph Smith Jun relative to our mission and duties. The congregation being assembled, arrived from the south part of the , makeing our number complete, Elder haveing arrived the day before.— [p. 5]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 5

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 26 April 1835
ID #
7862
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:293–295
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Forty-four individuals were appointed members of the Seventy at meetings held on 28 February and 1 March 1835. Another fourteen were ordained thereafter. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835; Minutes and Discourses, 7–8 Mar. 1835.)

  2. [2]

    Joseph Young later recalled that in February 1835, the walls of the House of the Lord were “up to the square and the roof was being put on.” Nearly two months later, the roof was close to being finished; the July 1835 issue of the Messenger and Advocate reported its completion. Some work had been done in the interior of the building as well, although it is unclear how much was finished by the end of April. (Joseph Young, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Lewis Harvey, 16–18 Nov. 1880, CHL; “The House of God,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 1:147; Robison, First Mormon Temple, 56, 59–63.)

    Young, Joseph. Letter, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Lewis Harvey, 16–18 Nov. 1880. CHL. MS 2304.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Robison, Elwin C. The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997.

  3. [3]

    Pratt had been preaching for some time in various states and was not aware of the notice requesting his presence in Kirtland until he reached Columbus, Ohio, around 23 April. While staying with a member of the church there, he saw the announcement in the Messenger and Advocate and left directly for Kirtland. According to his journal, he arrived there “on the 26th. of April about 10 o. clock & found a large congregation collected in the stone meeting house I was invited to take my seat as one of the 12.” Heber C. Kimball later recalled that Pratt arrived while the congregation was “praying, and wishing for his arrival.” (Pratt, Diary, 20–26 Apr. 1835; Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 54.)

    Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.

    Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

  4. [4]

    Marsh had been preaching with Edward Partridge since January 1835. He left Partridge in Cleveland on 24 April to return to Kirtland. (Partridge, Diary, 28 Jan. and 24 Apr. 1835.)

    Partridge, Edward. Diaries, 1818 and 1835–1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fds. 1–2.

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