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Minutes, 5–6 September 1840

Source Note

Nauvoo high council, Minutes, [, Hancock Co., IL], 5–6 Sept. 1840. Featured version copied [between 14 Feb. 1842 and 1 Jan. 1843] in Nauvoo High Council Minutes, fair copy, pp. 76–78; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minutes, 27 Oct. 1839.

Historical Introduction

On 5–6 September 1840, JS met with the and made formal charges against , a member of the living in , Ohio, who had reportedly made disparaging comments about JS and other leaders. Complaints about Babbitt’s conduct had reached JS through letters from , who had heard reports about Babbitt while in the eastern ; and , who had written to JS from ; and , another Kirtland church member. After JS received Granger and Richards’s letter in mid- to late July and before he responded to Granger near the end of July, a church meeting was held in which “it was unanimously resolved” to withdraw fellowship from Babbitt “until he make satisfaction for the conduct he has pursued.” Babbitt apparently thereafter traveled from Kirtland to Nauvoo, Illinois, so that he could attend this 5–6 September meeting of the high council, held in JS’s . After both sides spoke, JS withdrew the charges and he and Babbitt reconciled.
As the clerk pro tempore of the meeting, took the minutes. Sometime after 14 February 1842 and likely before the end of that year, Stout recorded the minutes into the high council record book.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Except for the letter from Rigdon, these letters are apparently not extant. (See Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 3 Apr. 1840.)

  2. [2]

    Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840.

  3. [3]

    Stout indicated that he had recorded minutes of earlier meetings on 14 February 1842. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 19 Apr. 1840, 56.)

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes, 5–6 September 1840 History Draft [1 January–31 December 1840] History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 77

purchased four suits at the same place, besides dresses and cloths for their families in profusion.
2nd For having stated that Joseph Smith jr— , and had stated that they were worth $100.000 each while they were at & that Joseph Smith jr had reported <​repeated​> the same thing statement while at and for stating that had stated that he also, was worth as much as they (iE) 100,000
3nd For holding secret Council in the , in , and for locking the doors of the , for the purpose of prohibiting certain brethren, in good standing, in the , from being in the Council. thereby depriving them the use of the .
Two were appointed to speak on the case, namely (7) (8) .
adjourned till the 6th of Sept at 2’ o’clock
Sept. 6th 1840. Council met according to adjournment. When the evidences were all heard on the case pending and the council closed on both sides the parties spoke at length after which J. Smith jr withdrew the [p. 77]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 77

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 5–6 September 1840
ID #
9578
Total Pages
3
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:395–397
Handwriting on This Page
  • Hosea Stout

Footnotes

  1. [2]

    Because JS and the delegation to Washington DC had limited funds, it seems unlikely that JS and Rigdon had purchased clothing “in profusion.” For example, JS informed the Nauvoo high council in December 1839 that he and Elias Higbee had taken “as cheap boarding as can be had” in Washington. (Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839.)

  2. [3]

    TEXT: Double underlined.

  3. [4]

    Babbitt, who was sent on a mission to the eastern United States in fall 1839, may have been in Washington DC at the same time as JS and was likely in Philadelphia when JS was there in January 1840. (Johnson, “A Life Review,” 58, 62; “Important Church News,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:109.)

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [5]

    JS informed Granger in July 1840 that “it was something new to me when I heard there had been secret meetings held in the Lords house” in Kirtland. JS was also unaware “that some of my friends—faithful brethren, men enjoying the confidence of the church should be locked out.” (Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840.)

  5. [6]

    The numbers before Grover’s and Cowles’s names likely refer to the way that the high council had been ordered. Members of the high council were directed “to cast lots” to order themselves before considering cases. When two counselors were appointed to speak, one was assigned to speak on behalf of the accused. (Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:12, 17].)

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