Minutes, 23 June 1833

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Minutes, 23 June 1833
Source Note

Minutes, [
Kirtland Township
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, Geauga Co., OH], 23 June 1833. Featured version copied [ca. 23 June 1833] in Minute Book 1, p. 22; handwriting of
Orson Hyde
8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...
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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
Historical Introduction
These minutes contain the final decision regarding the church membership of
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut
3 Feb. 1809–16 June 1883. Clergyman, farmer. Born at Chittenden Co., Vermont. “Doctor” was his given name. Preacher for Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamestown, Chautauque Co., New York. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832/1833...
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, who was cut off from the church on 1 June 1833 for alleged indiscretions with women while serving a mission in
Pennsylvania
Area first settled by Swedish immigrants, 1628. William Penn received grant for territory from King Charles II, 1681, and established British settlement, 1682. Philadelphia was center of government for original thirteen U.S. colonies from time of Revolutionary...
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.
1
Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833.
Hurlbut appealed to JS and the
president
Both the office of the president of the high priesthood and the body comprising the president and his counselors; the presiding body of the church. In November 1831, a revelation directed the appointment of a president of the high priesthood. The individual...
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’s court on 21 June, requesting they reconsider the decision to excommunicate him. Though the court ruled that his excommunication had been warranted and that the
bishop’s council
A governing body comprising a bishop and his counselors. The bishop’s council was charged with overseeing the temporal affairs of the church, administering goods under the law of consecration, and assisting the poor. The bishop’s council had authority to ...
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had ruled correctly against him, it ultimately determined that Hurlbut “should be forgiven because of the liberal confession which he made.”
2
Appeal and Minutes, 21 June 1833.
Hurlbut apparently departed immediately again for Pennsylvania but stopped en route in
Thompson
Located about sixteen miles northeast of Kirtland, Ohio. Settled 1800. Surveyed 1809. Incorporated 1817. Population in 1830 about 700. Population in 1840 about 1,000. Latter-day Saints from Colesville, New York, were directed to settle in area on 759 acres...
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, Ohio, where he publicly flaunted his reinstatement in the church.
George A. Smith
26 June 1817–1 Sept. 1875. Born at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York. Son of John Smith and Clarissa Lyman. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Joseph H. Wakefield, 10 Sept. 1832, at Potsdam. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio,...
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, who was present at the council on 21 June, later explained, “Hurlbut stated to the
Branch
An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...
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in Thompson, Ohio that he had deceived Joseph Smith’s God or the spirit by which he is actuated, I have proved that Council has no wisdom, I told them I was sorry I confessed and they believed it to be an honest confession. I deceived the whole of them and made them restore me to the Church.”
3
George A. Smith, in Journal of Discourses, 15 Nov. 1864, 11:8; see also George A. Smith, Discourse, 15 Nov. 1864, in George D. Watt, Discourse Shorthand Notes, 15 Nov. 1864, Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, CHL; and Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 597. Benjamin Winchester, in a pamphlet designed to discredit Hurlbut’s accusations against the church, claimed, “In returning into Pennsylvania, he stopped at Thompson, Geauga county, Ohio, and immediately commenced his old practices, in attempting to seduce a young female, but Providence interposing, frustrated his diabolical designs. For this crime he was immediately expelled from the church, and his license was called for, but he refused to give it up. On discovering he had irretrievably ruined himself with the church, his tactics were changed, and he now determined to demolish, as far as practicable, what he had once endeavoured to build up.” (Winchester, Plain Facts, 6.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1855–1886.
Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, 1998–2013. CHL.
Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.
Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

A later entry in JS’s journal indicates that
Hurlbut
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“was finally cut off from the church a few days after having his
license
A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...
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restored, on the 21st of June. and then saught the distruction of the sainst [Saints] in this place and more particularly myself and family.”
4
JS, Journal, 28 Jan. 1834.
Hurlbut was likely absent for this second excommunication hearing and his initial response to the verdict is not known, but he soon traveled to the region of
Palmyra
Known as Swift’s Landing and Tolland before being renamed Palmyra, 1796. Incorporated, Mar. 1827, two years after completion of adjacent Erie Canal. Population in 1820 about 3,700. Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family lived in village briefly, beginning ...
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, New York, and elsewhere in an effort to collect damaging information, including affidavits, about JS. By mid-August 1833 JS wrote to church leaders in
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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that
Ohio
French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...
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members of the church were “suffering great persicution on account of one man by the name of Docter Hurlburt who has been expeled from the chirch for lude and adulterous conduct and to spite us he is lieing in a wonderful manner and the peapl [people] are running after him and giveing him mony to b[r]ake down mormanism which much endangers our lives at preasnt [present].”
5
Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833.
By January 1834, JS had filed a suit against Hurlbut because “he became afraid of bodily injury from the defendant.” A judge ruled in JS’s favor, and Hurlbut was ordered to post a $200 bond ensuring that he would keep the peace for the next six months.
6
“Mormon Trial,” Chardon (OH) Spectator and Geauga Gazette, 12 Apr. 1834, [3]; Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Court Records, 1807–1904, Final Record Book P, pp. 431–432, 31 Mar. 1834, microfilm 20,278, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
Chardon Spectator and Geauga Gazette. Chardon, OH. 1833–1835.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Many of the affidavits Hurlbut collected, along with other accusations against JS and the
Church of Christ
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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, were eventually published by
Eber D. Howe
9 June 1798–10 Nov. 1885. Newspaper editor and publisher, farmer, wool manufacturer. Born at Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., New York. Son of Samuel William Howe and Mabel Dudley. Moved with family to Ovid, Seneca Co., New York, 1804. Located at Niagara District...
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in his exposé, Mormonism Unvailed, in 1834.
7
Eber D. Howe, Statement, 8 Apr. 1885, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum.
Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954. Chicago History Museum.
Footnotes
[1]
Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833.
[2]
Appeal and Minutes, 21 June 1833.
[3]
George A. Smith, in Journal of Discourses, 15 Nov. 1864, 11:8; see also George A. Smith, Discourse, 15 Nov. 1864, in George D. Watt, Discourse Shorthand Notes, 15 Nov. 1864, Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, CHL; and Staker, Hearken, O Ye People, 597. Benjamin Winchester, in a pamphlet designed to discredit Hurlbut’s accusations against the church, claimed, “In returning into Pennsylvania, he stopped at Thompson, Geauga county, Ohio, and immediately commenced his old practices, in attempting to seduce a young female, but Providence interposing, frustrated his diabolical designs. For this crime he was immediately expelled from the church, and his license was called for, but he refused to give it up. On discovering he had irretrievably ruined himself with the church, his tactics were changed, and he now determined to demolish, as far as practicable, what he had once endeavoured to build up.” (Winchester, Plain Facts, 6.)
Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1855–1886.
Pitman Shorthand Transcriptions, 1998–2013. CHL.
Staker, Mark L. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009.
Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.
[4]
JS, Journal, 28 Jan. 1834.
[5]
Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833.
[6]
“Mormon Trial,” Chardon (OH) Spectator and Geauga Gazette, 12 Apr. 1834, [3]; Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Court Records, 1807–1904, Final Record Book P, pp. 431–432, 31 Mar. 1834, microfilm 20,278, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
Chardon Spectator and Geauga Gazette. Chardon, OH. 1833–1835.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
[7]
Eber D. Howe, Statement, 8 Apr. 1885, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum.
Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954. Chicago History Museum.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes, 23 June 1833 Minute Book 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”
Page 22
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Bro
D. P. Hulberts [Doctor Philastus Hurlbut’s]
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case was called in question this day befor a general
Council
A gathering of church leaders assembled “for consultation, deliberation and advice”; also a body responsible for governance or administration. As early as 9 February 1831, a revelation instructed that “the Elders & Bishop shall Council together & they shall...
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and upon the testimony of Bro Gee of
Thompson
Located about sixteen miles northeast of Kirtland, Ohio. Settled 1800. Surveyed 1809. Incorporated 1817. Population in 1830 about 700. Population in 1840 about 1,000. Latter-day Saints from Colesville, New York, were directed to settle in area on 759 acres...
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,
1
Probably Salmon Gee, who had been appointed to preside over the church in Thompson in February. (Letter to the Church in Thompson, OH, 6 Feb. 1833.)
who testified that Bro
D.P.H
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said that he had deceived Joseph Smith’s God, or the Spirit by which he is actuated &c &c The council proceeded to cut him off from the Church; There was also corrobberating testimony brought against him by Bro. Hodges
2
Probably Curtis Hodges Sr., a resident of Girard Township, Pennsylvania. Mormon missionaries in Pennsylvania stayed at Hodges’s home several times in 1833, and Hurlbut may have been among them. (Hyrum Smith, Diary, 4 and 5 Apr. 1833, [12]–[13]; Coltrin, Diary and Notebook, 4 Apr. 1833.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Diary and Notebook, 1832–1833. Zebedee Coltrin, Diaries, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 1443, fd. 2.
23 June 1833—— [p. 22]
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Footnotes
[1]
Probably Salmon Gee, who had been appointed to preside over the church in Thompson in February. (Letter to the Church in Thompson, OH, 6 Feb. 1833.)
[2]
Probably Curtis Hodges Sr., a resident of Girard Township, Pennsylvania. Mormon missionaries in Pennsylvania stayed at Hodges’s home several times in 1833, and Hurlbut may have been among them. (Hyrum Smith, Diary, 4 and 5 Apr. 1833, [12]–[13]; Coltrin, Diary and Notebook, 4 Apr. 1833.)
Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Diary and Notebook, 1832–1833. Zebedee Coltrin, Diaries, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 1443, fd. 2.