Minutes, 26 April 1835
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Source Note
Minutes, , Geauga Co., OH, 26 Apr. 1835. Featured version copied [between ca. 26 Apr. and May 1835] in “Record of the Transactions of the Twelve,” p. 5, in Patriarchal Blessing Book 2; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Record of the Twelve, 14 Feb.–28 Aug. 1835.
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Historical Introduction
On 26 April 1835, the and members of the met in the unfinished in , Ohio, to receive instructions from JS on their mission and duties. The meeting was one in a series called to prepare the Twelve for their service as and for their pending mission to the eastern and . It also marked the first time that all twelve of the apostles had met together since their appointment in February 1835. , the last apostle to come to Kirtland, entered the meeting late, having been summoned from a lengthy, multistate preaching assignment to meet with the other apostles in Kirtland. Many other church members also attended the meeting; Pratt wrote in his journal that “a large congregation” was present.The meeting had been planned for some time. In the March 1835 issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, a notice appeared requesting that and return to so they could “attend a meeting of the in this place on the 26th of April next.” The featured minutes, as recorded by in the Record of the Twelve, describe the meeting as a large gathering of people assembled to hear JS but then provide little detail about the meeting, ending abruptly after noting Pratt’s arrival. Other sources provide more information. A license dated 26 April 1835 for states it was “given by the direction of a conference of the elders of said church, assembled in Kirtland,” presumably referring to this same meeting. JS signed the license as “Chairman,” confirming his presence at the meeting, but no source clearly indicates that he delivered the expected instructions and charge referenced in the minutes. If he did, it is possible that the instruction provided was the Instruction on Priesthood, which he and likely prepared sometime that spring and which was later published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.’s journal also explains that preached to the group in the morning and four individuals were in the afternoon. Orson Pratt and then spoke, after which the two were apostles by and . Pratt and Marsh were the last two members of the Twelve to be ordained to that position. The two then “entered into a Covenant to keep the commandments of God in all things & do the work of the ministry where unto [they] were called.”Aside from this copy in the Record of the Twelve, no other copies of the minutes are extant.
Footnotes
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1
On 12 March 1835, the Twelve agreed to leave Kirtland on 4 May 1835 to go “through the eastern States to the Atlantic Ocean,” holding “conferences in the vicinity of the several branches of the church for the purpose of regulateing all things necessary for their welfare.” (Minutes, 12 Mar. 1835.)
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2
For more information about the appointment of the apostles, see Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.
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3
Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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4
Notice to Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Pratt, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1835, 1:90.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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5
Elder’s License for Parley P. Pratt, 26 Apr. 1835, JS Collection, CHL. Orson Pratt’s diary, for example, describes the meeting but says nothing about JS speaking. (Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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6
Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107].
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7
Lyman Johnson, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball were ordained on 14 February 1835; Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke Johnson, William E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and William Smith were ordained on 15 February; and Parley P. Pratt was ordained on 21 February. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835.)
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8
Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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