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Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 October 1841

Source Note

General Conference of the Church, Minutes, and JS, Discourse, , Hancock Co., IL, 1–5 Oct. 1841. Featured version published in “Minutes of a Conference of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, vol. 2, no. 24, 576–580. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

In early October 1841 in , Illinois, JS presided over a general of the , the minutes of which were published in the Times and Seasons. The conference was supposed to commence on 1 October but was delayed due to inclement weather that prevented the congregation from assembling at the meeting ground near the Nauvoo . Over the next four days, the conference met each morning and afternoon. The first meeting of the conference, held on the morning of 2 October, was conducted without the members of the , who were attending the cornerstone ceremony for the . JS attended and presided over all the meetings that followed, in which church leaders and members conducted a variety of business. Among the many matters discussed and voted upon were filling vacant church leadership positions, the counsel to to the Nauvoo area and the neglect of some Saints to follow that counsel, and the petitioning of Congress regarding the Saints’ expulsion from .
On 3 October, JS gave a discourse at the conference on the church’s practice of for the dead, whereby church members were baptized on behalf of their deceased relatives. In accordance with a January 1841 revelation—which instructed that baptisms for the dead should be performed in the —JS announced, “There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the can be attended to in the font of the Lord’s House; and the church shall not hold another general conference, until they can meet in said house.” JS counseled church members to direct their energies to building the house of the Lord.
and were appointed as secretaries of the conference. Their notes were apparently combined to create the minutes that were then published in the 15 October 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more on the Nauvoo House cornerstone, see Memorandum, 2 Oct. 1841.

  2. [2]

    See Letter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841; and Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.

  3. [3]

    See Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:29–32].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 October 1841 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 577

his mission, which was listened to with intense interest; and the cenference, by vote, expressed their approbation of the style and spirit of said letter. The President then made remarks on the inclemency of the weather and the uncomfortable situation of the with regard to a place of worship, and a place of public entertainment.
The was then called upon by the President, to elect a general church Clerk in place of deceased. Conference made choice of . Br. then called upon the conference to elect a of the ’s , in place of , deceased. Br. was nominated and duly elected.
Br. then presented to the notice of the conference, the business commenced at a late special conference, with regard to the appointment of suitable and faithful men to the several important stations of labor in this and other countries.
Br. then addressed the conference on the importance of order and uniformity of instruction, and, of a unanimity of effort to spread the work of the kingdom. Joseph Smith then made some corrections of doctrine in quoting a passage from 1 Cor. 12, 28, showing it to be a principle of order or gradation in rising from one office to another in the .
Br. made remarks disapprobatory of the course pursued by some , in withstanding the efforts of the Presidency to the saints, and in enticing them to stop in places not appointed for the gathering; particularly the conduct of Elder of . Brs. and having travelled in places where Br. had been in his journeying eastward from his visit to , testified that he had in many places taught doctrine contrary to the revelations of God and detrimental to the interest of the church.
Moved, seconded and carried that Elder be disfellowshiped by the conference as an Elder till such time as he shall make satisfaction.
Closed with singing by the choir, Hymn 124—and prayer by Br. .
Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning, 9 o’clock.
Sunday 3rd, A. M. Conference assembled and was called to order by , and divine service commenced by the choir singing Hymn 274 and prayer by Br. .
President Joseph Smith, by request of some of the , gave instructions on the doctrine of for the Dead; which was listened to with intense interest by the large assembly. The speaker presented “Baptism for the Dead” as the only way that men can appear as saviors on mount Zion. The proclamation of the first principles of the gospel was a means of salvatien to men individually, and it was the truth, not men that saved them; but men, by actively engaging in rites of salvation substitutionally, became instrumental in bringing multitudes of their kin into the kingdom of God. He explained a difference between an angel and a ministering spirit; the one a resurrected or translated body, with its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits—the other a disembodied spirit, visiting and ministering to disembodied spirits. Jesus Christ became a minestering spirit, while his body laying in the sepulchre, to the spirits in prison; to fulfil an important part of his mission, without which he could not have perfected his work or entered into his rest. After his resurrection, he appeared as an angel to his disciples &c. Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death. Translated bodies are designed for future missions. The angel that appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos was a translated or resurrected body.— Jesus Christ went in body, after his resurrection, to minister to translated and resurrected bodies. There has been a chain of authority and power from Adam down to the present time. The only way to obtain truth and wisdom, is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer and obtain divine teaching. It is no more incredible that God should save the dead, than that he should raise the dead. There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. There is a way to release the spirit of the dead; that is, by the power and authority of the Priest[h]ood—by binding and loosing on earth [p. 577]
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Page 577

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 October 1841
ID #
8322
Total Pages
5
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:284–294
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [3]

    Orson Hyde sent two letters that could have been read at this conference. One was dated 15 June 1841 from London, England, and the second was dated 17 July 1841 from Ratisbon (Regensburg), Germany. Hyde’s 15 June 1841 letter was printed in the 1 October 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons in advance of this conference, but the later history of the church states that the letter JS read at this afternoon conference session was “dated Ratisbon July 17. 1841.” (Letter from Orson Hyde, 15 June 1841; Letter from Orson Hyde, 17 July 1841; JS History, vol. C-1, 1228.)

  2. [4]

    Thompson served as scribe for JS and as clerk for the church before he died on 27 August 1841. He had also assisted in editing the church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons. Thompson’s obituary stated that he “wrote from the mouth of the Prophet, those sacred revelations recently received, and in his dying hour gave a fearless testimony as to the truth of those things in which we believe.” (“Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519–520; see also Letter to Oliver Granger, 30 Aug. 1841.)

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

  3. [5]

    Sloan had been serving as recorder for the Nauvoo City Council. (See Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841.)

  4. [6]

    On 7 August 1841, Don Carlos Smith died unexpectedly at the age of twenty-five. According to Hyrum Smith, his death was caused by “a q[u]ick Consumption.” (Letter to Oliver Granger, 30 Aug. 1841; see also “Death of General Don Carlos Smith,” Times and Seasons, 16 Aug. 1841, 2:503; and Ebenezer Robinson, “To the Patrons of the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, 16 Aug. 1841, 2:511.)

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

  5. [7]

    George Miller had served as a bishop in Nauvoo and as trustee and president of the Nauvoo House Association. (See Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:62]; Agreement with William Law, 26 Apr. 1841; and Minutes, 16 Aug. 1841.)

  6. [8]

    See Minutes, 16 Aug. 1841.

  7. [9]

    A November 1831 revelation presented a hierarchy of priesthood offices ranging from the office of deacon, the lowest office in the priesthood, to the office of high priest. (Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107:63–64].)

  8. [10]

    JS had earlier instructed the Saints to gather to locations in Hancock County, Illinois, and Lee County, Iowa Territory. (See Letter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841.)

  9. [11]

    Church leaders in Nauvoo had heard that Almon Babbitt was, among other things, encouraging Saints to gather to Kirtland, Ohio, contrary to the counsel of JS. (See Historical Introduction to Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.)

  10. [12]

    The church withdrew fellowship from Almon Babbitt in July 1840 for making disparaging comments about JS and Sidney Rigdon. Babbitt was restored to fellowship in August 1840. (See Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840; and Minutes, 5–6 Sept. 1840.)

  11. [13]

    Hymn 124 begins with the lines, “O’er the gloomy hills of darkness, / Look, my soul, be still, and gaze; / All the promises do travail / With a glorious day of grace; / Blessed Jubilee!” (Hymn 124, Collection of Sacred Hymns [1841], 134.)

    A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Edited by Emma Smith. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835.

  12. [14]

    Hymn 274 begins with the lines, “Come, let us anew our journey pursue, / Roll round with the year, / And never stand still till our Master appear. / His adorable will let us gladly fulfill, / And our talents improve / By the patience of hope and the labor of love.” (Hymn 274, Collection of Sacred Hymns [1841], 301–302.)

    A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Edited by Emma Smith. Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835.

  13. [15]

    For more information on baptism for the dead, see Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; and Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:29–32]. The most recent issue of the Times and Seasons contained a poem on baptism for the dead that treated similarly the doctrinal tenets JS spoke about here. (J. H. Johnson, “Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1841, 2:555; see also Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, London, England, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, CHL; and Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Manchester, England, 6–19 Oct. 1840, Wilford Woodruff Collection, CHL; “Joseph Smith Documents from February through November 1841.”

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

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. CHL. MS 19509.

  14. [16]

    See Obadiah 1:21.

  15. [17]

    In a 4 January 1833 letter to Noah C. Saxton, JS enumerated the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ: “Repent of all your sins and be baptized in water for the remission of them, in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost, and receive the ordinance of the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power, that ye may receive the holy spirit of God, and this according to the holy scriptures, and of the Book of Mormon; and the only way that man can enter into the Celestial kingdom.” In 1837 the church newspaper Messenger and Advocate identified “faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sin, and . . . the reception of the Holy Ghost” as the five “first principles of the gospel.” (Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 Jan. 1833; A. Cheney, “The Gospel,” Messenger and Advocate, May 1837, 3:498–500; see also Letter to the Elders of the Church, 2 Oct. 1835; Acts 2:38; 19:1–6; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 118–119, 508, 514 [2 Nephi 31:5–13; 3 Nephi 27:20; 4 Nephi 1:1].)

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

  16. [18]

    See Hebrews 1:14; and Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:88]. In June 1839, JS taught Wilford Woodruff and other apostles how to detect the difference between the devil and angels of light. JS made similar remarks in a December 1840 discourse. (Discourse, 27 June 1839; Discourse, Dec. 1840.)

  17. [19]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 476–479 [3 Nephi chap. 11]; John 20:11–29; and Luke 24:13–43; see also 1 Peter 3:19.

  18. [20]

    See Revelation 1:1. Robert B. Thompson read JS’s explanation of the concept of translated beings at a general church conference a year earlier. (See Instruction on Priesthood, ca. 5 Oct. 1840.)

  19. [21]

    A year earlier, JS prepared instructions that included information regarding Adam’s role in the chain of priesthood authority, which were then read at the October 1840 general conference. (See Instruction on Priesthood, ca. 5 Oct. 1840; see also Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A.)

  20. [22]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 142, 332 [Jacob 7:19; Alma 39:6].

  21. [23]

    See Visions, 3 Apr. 1836 [D&C 110]; and Matthew 16:19.

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