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Ordination and Blessing of Cyrus Smalling, 30 June 1835

Source Note

JS, , and , and Blessing of , , Geauga Co., OH, 30 June 1835. Featured version copied 21 Dec. 1835 in Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, pp. 24–25; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information on Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, see the source note for Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 Dec. 1834.

Historical Introduction

On 30 June 1835, JS, , and to the “apostleship of the first .” As with other ordination blessings given to members of the Seventy, Smalling’s blessing instructed him to preach throughout the world, specifically stating that he would preach in Europe and testify before “bishops, archbishops and lord bishops, and even the pope himself.” Unique to this ordination is JS’s declaration of Smalling’s Abrahamic lineage; JS both identified the branch of the scattered to which Smalling belonged and also offered him a direct connection to the promises given to the Israelites in the Old Testament. At the time, none of the other contemporary ordinations of seventies or and only a small number of given by included such statements. Following the ordination, Smalling served as a seventy, presided over a church in during fall 1836, and served as a substitute on the in 1836 and 1837. Soon thereafter, however, he became disaffected from the church and was excommunicated in late 1837.
The Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 copy of ’s ordination blessing, featured here, does not include Smalling’s name. The recipient’s name was erased throughout this blessing and in the 24 June patriarchal blessing that immediately precedes it in the volume. The name was removed from both blessings by knife erasure, in which the top layer of paper was physically scraped away. A similar erasure appears in the alphabetical index at the front of the volume where Smalling’s name would have appeared. However, Smalling can be positively identified as the recipient of the ordination and patriarchal blessings because of ’s clerk records. In an account book where he kept track of the blessings he recorded, Cowdery listed the blessings of , Cyrus Smalling, and Marcellus M. McKoun in succession. In Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, Morley’s blessing precedes the nameless blessings, and McKoun’s blessing follows them, indicating that Smalling was the recipient whose name was erased.
The erasure of ’s name from Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 likely occurred following his excommunication and may have been done by Smalling himself, who had the volume in his possession for two years. It is unclear how Smalling obtained the book, but later swore before JS that Smalling stole it, apparently sometime between summer 1837 and 7 May 1838. An 1843 affidavit used in the issuing of a warrant to reclaim the book places the date of the theft around August 1837. However, the custodial history recorded by and indicates it was stolen at the time left , Ohio, for , which, according to , occurred on 7 May 1838. If Smalling erased his own name from the record during the time he had it in his possession, he may have done so as part of an attempt to more fully disassociate himself from the church. He publicly disavowed the church a few years later and provided a scathing report of church finances and the for E. G. Lee’s 1841 The Mormons, or, Knavery Exposed.
The patriarchal blessing given by to and his wife, Ruth, was recorded by in Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 on 19 December 1835. Two days later, on 21 December, Cowdery recorded this ordination blessing in the volume.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For examples of other ordinations, see Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835.

  2. [2]

    In the early 1830s, JS and the church demonstrated an awareness of the promises given to Abraham. For example, a September 1832 revelation directly linked the proper exercise of priesthood authority to the reception of promises given to Abraham. Individual lineages—some of which were given as early as 1831—added depth to this concept. An October 1831 revelation directed to William E. McLellin stated that he was “a true descendant from Joseph who was sold into Egypt down through the loins of Ephraim his Son.” The following month, another revelation explained that “the Children of Ephraim” were God’s servants who would help gather Israel to Zion. (McLellin, Journal, 29 Oct. 1831; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:33–44]; Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:30–34]; see also Genesis 17:5–6.)

    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).

  3. [3]

    Elder’s Certificate for Cyrus Smalling, 1 Apr. 1836, in Kirtland Elders’ Certificates, 42; “Minutes of Conference,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1836, 3:399; Minute Book 1, 23 May and 16 June 1836.

    Kirtland Elders’ Certificates / Kirtland Elders Quorum. “Record of Certificates of Membership and Ordinations of the First Members and Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Dating from March 21st 1836 to June 18th 1838 Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838. CHL. CR 100 401.

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

  4. [4]

    On 1 January 1838, John Smith wrote to George A. Smith that during the previous week he had convened a high council meeting in which twenty-eight dissenters, including Smalling and a number of other prominent leaders, were excommunicated. (John Smith, Kirtland, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 1 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL.)

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

  5. [5]

    Cowdery, “Account Book of Writing,” 2.

    Cowdery, Oliver. “Account Book of Writing,” 1835–1836. CHL. MS 2314.

  6. [6]

    Oliver Cowdery’s name is also knife-erased from the volume and alphabetical index, but that may have been done on a different date and not by Smalling. By the time the book was recovered and copied by Thomas Bullock, Cowdery had left the church. A number of other dissidents’ names were preserved, however, so it is unclear why Cowdery’s name was singled out for erasure, especially since his name as clerk was preserved throughout. (Blessing to Oliver Cowdery, 2 Oct. 1835, in Patriarchal Blessings, 1:12; Patriarchal Blessings, vol. 1, Index.)

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

  7. [7]

    Jonathan H. Holmes, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 7 Feb. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; George A. Smith and Wilford Woodruff, Statement, 1859, CHL; JS, Journal, 6 July 1838. The erasure is maintained in Patriarchal Blessing Book 2, which was copied from Patriarchal Blessing Book 1 by Thomas Bullock sometime between January and June 1845, indicating that the original erasure was made sometime before then. (Patriarchal Blessings, 2:47–48; Historian’s Office, Journal, 24 Jan. and 13–26 June 1845.)

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

    Smith, George Albert, and Wilford Woodruff. Statement, 1859. CHL. MS 4159.

    Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–. CHL. CR 500 2.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

  8. [8]

    Lee, Mormons, or, Knavery Exposed, 12–15.

    Lee, E. G. The Mormons; or, Knavery Exposed, Giving an Account of the Discovery of the Golden Plates. . . . Frankford, PA: By the author, 1841.

Page 24

[] blessing which he received under the hands of Joseph Smith, jr. and , in , Geauga County; Ohio, June 30, 1835, when he was set apart by prophecy to the apostleship of the first , in the place of , who had left the and the apostleship.
in the name of the Lord Jesus we lay our hands upon you, and ordain you to be one of the first Seventy, and to stand in the office of , who by transgression fell, for thou, by the prayer of faith, has obtained his mission and taken his bishopric. We therefore set [p. 24]
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Source Note

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Page 24

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Ordination and Blessing of Cyrus Smalling, 30 June 1835
ID #
6731
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:349–353
Handwriting on This Page
  • Oliver Cowdery

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    TEXT: In this and the following paragraph, Cyrus Smalling’s name was knife erased.

  2. [2]

    The term apostleship seems to be used here in a generic sense, indicating someone with a responsibility to preach, not someone serving as one of the church’s Twelve Apostles. Ezra Thayer was suspended as “an Elder and member” of the church on 2 May 1835, pending an investigation by a bishop’s court. No further documentation of such proceedings or details of Thayer’s transgression are extant. (Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835.)

  3. [3]

    Thayer was blessed at meetings held on 28 February and 1 March 1835 and told “thou art one of the 70.” By 1836, a broadside listing “the first seventy elders” already reflected his replacement, including Smalling’s name instead of Thayer’s. Joseph Young’s 1878 list of those ordained in the 1835 meetings also omits Thayer as one of the first members of the Seventy, possibly because he held the position for such a short period of time. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835; “The Twelve Apostles,” 7 Apr. 1836; Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 2–3; see also Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831; and “Anniversary of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:486.)

    The Twelve Apostles. [Kirtland, OH: ca. Apr. 1836]. Copy at CHL.

    Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.

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

  4. [4]

    Generic term referencing his ecclesiastical jurisdiction, rather than a specific office. (See Acts 1:20.)

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