Minutes, 20 June 1840

Source Note

Nauvoo high council, Minutes,
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, 20 June 1840. Featured version copied [between 14 Feb. 1842 and 1 Jan. 1843] in Nauvoo High Council Minutes, fair copy, pp. 60–63; handwriting of
Hosea Stout
18 Sept. 1810–2 Mar. 1889. Farmer, teacher, carpenter, sawmill operator, lawyer. Born near Pleasant Hill, Mercer Co., Kentucky. Son of Joseph Stout and Anna Smith. Moved to Union Township, Clinton Co., Ohio, 1819; to Wilmington, Clinton Co., fall 1824; to...
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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minutes, 27 Oct. 1839.
Historical Introduction
On 20 June 1840, 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....
More Info

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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met to consider a petition from JS requesting that the council relieve him from the responsibility of handling some of the
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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’s temporal affairs, especially those related to land sales in Nauvoo, Illinois.
1
See Historical Introduction to Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.
Although the high council met in JS’s office, it does not appear that JS attended; scribe
Robert B. Thompson
1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...
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presented the petition, apparently acting under JS’s direction. The high council considered JS’s request and appointed
Henry G. Sherwood
20 Apr. 1785–24 Nov. 1867. Surveyor. Born at Kingsbury, Washington Co., New York. Son of Newcomb Sherwood and a woman whose maiden name was Tolman (first name unidentified). Married first Jane J. McManagal (McMangle) of Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland, ca. 1824...
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to act as clerk of Nauvoo land sales. The high council then addressed two other matters relating to land in Nauvoo. They disciplined Ebenezer Black, who had apparently committed fraud while purchasing a Nauvoo lot in January 1840. The council also appointed a committee to investigate the acquisition of nearly sixty acres of land in the Nauvoo area purchased on behalf of the church by
George W. Robinson
14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...
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from
Isaac Galland
15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....
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in spring 1839. What exactly Black did and why the high council wanted to investigate the Galland purchase are unclear, but the subject matter of the meeting indicates that the continued development of Nauvoo raised pressing issues for the high council.

Hosea Stout
18 Sept. 1810–2 Mar. 1889. Farmer, teacher, carpenter, sawmill operator, lawyer. Born near Pleasant Hill, Mercer Co., Kentucky. Son of Joseph Stout and Anna Smith. Moved to Union Township, Clinton Co., Ohio, 1819; to Wilmington, Clinton Co., fall 1824; to...
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served as clerk pro tempore of the meeting and kept its minutes. At some point after 14 February 1842 and likely before the end of that year, Stout recorded the minutes into 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....
More Info

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...
View Glossary
record book.
2
Stout indicated that he had recorded minutes of earlier meetings on 14 February 1842. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 19 Apr. 1840, 56.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

Footnotes
1. 1
  See Historical Introduction to Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.
2. 2
  Stout indicated that he had recorded minutes of earlier meetings on 14 February 1842. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 19 Apr. 1840, 56.)
  
  Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

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appointed Elder to take charge of the City Plot and act as clerk in that buisness and also to attend to the disposing of the remaining lots and the buisness transactions which have heretofore rested upon him

was appointed steward to see that all the necessary wants of the be supplied, as well as, to provide sufficient means or appropriations for a clerk or clerks to aid Prest J. Smith jr in his important work.—

Page [blank] , for and in behalf of the , prefered a charge against Ebenezer A. Black, for a course of fraudulent proceedings and conduct by him practized on said Church, relative to a town lot and lots in , commencing in falshood continuing in error & eventuating in unchristian-like conduct, done and conducted within the last twelve months

Plead not Guilty. whereupon it was voted that 2. speak on each side to wit (9) (10) (11) (12) pro tem for . The charge was fully [p. 62]

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Document Information
Editorial Title
Minutes, 20 June 1840
ID #
9503
Total Pages
4
Handwriting on This Page
- Hosea Stout
Footnotes
1. 2
  On 21 October 1839, the high council appointed Sherwood to supervise the sale of Nauvoo town lots, subject to the approval of JS and Hyrum Smith. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 26.)
  
  Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.
2. 3
  Ripley was appointed bishop of a church branch in Iowa Territory by an October 1839 general conference. As outlined by earlier instructions, bishops were responsible for administering to the wants of the elders in the church, as well as caring for the poor. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–12].)
3. 4
  The rough draft of these minutes has the marginal notation “P 30” here. On page 30 of the rough draft minutes, there are minutes of a 28 May 1841 meeting in which Ebenezer Black asked to be restored to the church. There is a notation on page 30 referring back to the 20 June 1840 minutes. When Stout was copying the minutes into the Nauvoo high council record book, he apparently put in this marginal note, but not knowing on which page the 28 May 1841 minutes would appear, he left a blank space after “Page.” (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 10, 30.)
  
  Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
4. 5
  Sherwood was a member of the Nauvoo high council. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)
5. 6
  On 10 January 1840, Black purchased block 45, lot 2, of the Nauvoo plat for $350. Black was to pay $35 a year plus interest for ten years and signed ten promissory notes to that effect. (JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith to Ebenezer Black, Bond, Hancock Co., IL, 10 Jan. 1840; Ebenezer Black to JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, Promissory Notes, 10 Jan. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
6. 7
  When high councils judged cases, up to six individuals were to speak on a case, depending on its difficulty. According to earlier instructions given to the high council at Kirtland, Ohio, “the accused in all cases has a right to one half of the council to prevent insult or injustice.” (Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:13–15].)

Minutes, 20 June 1840

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