Footnotes
Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:3].
Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831; Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–A [D&C 69].
Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70]. At a conference held the same day, JS, Cowdery, Whitmer, and Rigdon were appointed to manage the revelations. (Minutes, 12 Nov. 1831.)
Minutes, 26–27 Apr. 1832; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82].
JS History, vol. A-1, 213.
The minutes of the Literary Firm meeting bear a 30 April date. A later JS history recounts, however, that the meeting was held 1 May. A United Firm meeting that followed the meeting of the Literary Firm may have been held on 1 May, and in his history JS may have confused the date of the United Firm meeting with the date of the Literary Firm meeting. (JS History, vol. A-1, 214.)
The minutes of 30 April 1832 are the first known instance in which the appointed stewards were referred to as the Literary Firm. Since Whitmer and Cowdery left for Independence soon after the November 1831 conferences ended, and since this April trip was the first time JS and Rigdon traveled to Missouri after those conferences, the firm likely did not meet before this meeting.
| Present | |
| Joseph Smith jr. , | |
| , one of the President’s counsellors. | |
This title probably refers to JS’s role as president of the high priesthood. The revelation appointing the “stewards” of the revelations provided no hierarchy for the Literary Firm. (See Revelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70].)
It is possible that the identification of Gause as one of JS’s counselors was added at a later time. Because Gause was apparently excommunicated within a few months of this meeting, the position he had held in the church may have been added to the record for the benefit of later readers to whom he would be increasingly unfamiliar.a Minutes of other meetings copied by Ebenezer Robinson include such redactive identifications.b However, the explicit designation of Gause as one of JS’s counselors may have been included in the original minutes because church members in Missouri at the time were unfamiliar with Gause, who had apparently only recently been baptized in Ohio.c For example, John Whitmer described Gause as “one Jesse Gause” in the historical record he was keeping, which suggests that church members were unfamiliar with Gause.d It is also possible that Gause was designated as a counselor in the original minutes because he attended the meeting in that capacity. There is no record that Gause was ever appointed to the Literary Firm. In contrast, Rigdon, who was previously appointed as one of the “stewards” of the revelations, is listed in attendance but not designated as one of JS’s counselors. Gause may also have been standing in for Martin Harris, who was one of the stewards over the revelations.e A 20 March 1832 revelation indicated that Harris should not travel to Missouri with JS in the spring of 1832.f
(aJS, Journal, 3 Dec. 1832. bSee, for example, Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831. cJennings, “Consequential Counselor,” 198–199. dWhitmer, History, 38. eRevelation, 12 Nov. 1831 [D&C 70:1–3]; Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82:11]. fSee Revelation, 20 Mar. 1832.)Jennings, Erin B. “The Consequential Counselor: Restoring the Root(s) of Jesse Gause.” Journal of Mormon History 34 (Spring 2008): 182–227.
In a January 1832 letter to JS, Cowdery reported that the plan to print ten thousand copies would require twice “the amount of the first mentioned Ream[s].” This calculation probably factored into the firm’s new plan for a reduced print run of the “first edition,” while allowing for the prospect of one or more subsequent editions. (Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 Jan. 1832.)