Remarks, 25 November 1843

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Remarks, 25 November 1843
Source Note

JS, Remarks, [
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL, 25 Nov. 1843]. Featured version inscribed [ca. 25 Nov. 1843] in Wilford Woodruff, Journal, vol. 5, 1 Jan. 1843–31 Dec. 1844, pp. [166]–[167]; handwriting of
Wilford Woodruff
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...
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; Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Discourse, 17 Jan. 1843, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff.

Historical Introduction
On the evening of 25 November 1843, JS delivered remarks to the
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Illinois,
high council
A governing body of twelve high priests. The first high council was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on 17 February 1834 “for the purpose of settling important difficulties which might arise in the church, which could not be settled by the church, or the bishop...
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and members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...
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at the conclusion of the trial of
church
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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member
Harrison Sagers
3 May 1814/1815–19 June 1886. Painter, farmer. Born in LeRoy, Genessee Co., New York. Son of John Sagers and Amy Sweet. Moved to Elk Creek Township, Erie Co., Pennsylvania, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 27 Jan. 1833. ...
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. Four days earlier, JS had preferred charges against Sagers for trying to seduce Phebe Madison, a young woman living in Sagers’s home. Sagers had evidently been teaching the doctrine of plural marriage prior to JS’s charges.
1
Charges against Harrison Sagers Preferred to William Marks, 21 Nov. 1843.
On 25 November, the high council met in the upper room of
JS’s store
Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. Completed 1841. Opened for business, 5 Jan. 1842. Owned by JS, but managed mostly by others, after 1842. First floor housed JS’s general store and counting room, where tithing...
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to deliberate on this and several other cases.
2
Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 25 Nov. 1843; JS, Journal, 25 Nov. 1843.
During the meeting, JS presented his charges against Sagers, and Sagers pleaded not guilty. After the appointed council members spoke on behalf of and against the defendant, the council ruled that the charge was “not sustained” and, as stated in JS’s journal, the high council took “no action” against Sagers.
3

Following the council’s verdict, JS told those gathered that he did not condone fornication or adultery and warned that those who used his name to justify engaging in such practices would be condemned.
Wilford Woodruff
1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...
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later recorded JS’s comments in his journal. This text appears to be the only detailed account of JS’s remarks.
4
The account recorded in the Nauvoo high council minutes simply states that Sagers “taught false doctrine which was corrected by President Joseph Smith.” (Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 25 Nov. 1843.)
Following the trial, Sagers taught the doctrine of plural marriage and may have engaged in the practice.
5
In April 1844, Lucinda Madison Sagers, Harrison Sagers’s wife, lodged a complaint with church leaders stating that her husband was teaching the “doctrine of spiritual wives” and implying that he was practicing it. She also stated that he abandoned his family shortly after the November 1843 trial. Harrison Sagers was again summoned to appear before the high council, which determined that because it had already ruled on the case it had “no right to deal with him on that item.” (Lucinda Madison Sagers to “the Presidency and the Twelve,” no date; Minutes, no date, Nauvoo High Council Papers, [Apr. 1844], JS Collection [Supplement], CHL; see also Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 13 Apr. 1844.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.
Footnotes
[1]
Charges against Harrison Sagers Preferred to William Marks, 21 Nov. 1843.
[2]
[3]
[4]
The account recorded in the Nauvoo high council minutes simply states that Sagers “taught false doctrine which was corrected by President Joseph Smith.” (Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 25 Nov. 1843.)
[5]
In April 1844, Lucinda Madison Sagers, Harrison Sagers’s wife, lodged a complaint with church leaders stating that her husband was teaching the “doctrine of spiritual wives” and implying that he was practicing it. She also stated that he abandoned his family shortly after the November 1843 trial. Harrison Sagers was again summoned to appear before the high council, which determined that because it had already ruled on the case it had “no right to deal with him on that item.” (Lucinda Madison Sagers to “the Presidency and the Twelve,” no date; Minutes, no date, Nauvoo High Council Papers, [Apr. 1844], JS Collection [Supplement], CHL; see also Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 13 Apr. 1844.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Remarks, 25 November 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
Page [167]
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the principle in toto & warned those present against going into those evils, for they would shurely bring a course <Curse> upon their heads [p. [167]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Remarks, 25 November 1843
ID #
3442
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:284–285
Handwriting on This Page
Wilford Woodruff