Minutes, 23 June 1834
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Source Note
Minutes, , MO, 23 June 1834. Featured version copied [between ca. 6 Apr. and 19 June 1838] in Minute Book 2, pp. 41–42; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 2.
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Historical Introduction
A council of , including JS, met on 23 June 1834 in , Missouri, to select to travel to , Ohio, to receive an of power in accordance with instructions given in a 22 June 1834 revelation. The 22 June revelation declared that the redemption of would not come until the elders of the church had been “endowed with power from on high”; it also stated that JS would know “by the voice of the Spirit, those who [were] chosen” to receive this endowment.An endowment of power was first promised to the Saints in a January 1831 revelation, which directed church members to move to . In December 1832, a revelation commanded the Saints in Ohio to build a , and a June 1833 revelation stated that in this house, God would “endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high.” This 23 June 1834 council designated several men to travel to to receive that endowment. Many of the men were also instructed to stand in the offices to which they had been appointed, to preach the gospel, and to help recruit church members to serve in a future expedition to redeem Zion.The council was probably held on church member John Cooper’s property, about four miles north of in Clay County, where the was camped. It is likely that many, or even most, members of the Camp of Israel were not involved in the council, as most extant reminiscences of the camp do not mention it. In fact, some of those chosen to travel to may not have been present at the meeting. , for example, noted in his daybook that he visited the camp on 22 June, but his entry for 23 June merely says, “Returned home,” with no mention of the council.Most of the men designated to receive the endowment followed the instructions to go to . Some, such as and , left in 1834 and stayed in Kirtland for at least a year and a half—until the was dedicated in March 1836—before returning to . Others, such as and , left for Kirtland in the spring of 1835 and stayed through the dedication. Most seem to have been in Kirtland for at least a year, and most were present on 30 March 1836 at a meeting designated as a , where participants described receiving spiritual manifestations in the House of the Lord, constituting “a penticost and enduement indeed.”As clerk of the council, took the minutes, but his original inscription is not extant. later copied the minutes into Minute Book 2, giving the date as simply 23 June. At some point, someone added "1834" to the date in pencil. Another version of the minutes, differing in minor details from the Minute Book 2 copy, was included in ’s recollections of the Camp of Israel, published in the 15 February 1845 issue of the Times and Seasons. That publication gives 23 June 1834 as the date of the council.
Footnotes
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1
Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:9–15, 33–37].
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2
Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32]. A December 1830 revelation had first directed the Saints to gather to Ohio. (Revelation, 30 Dec. 1830 [D&C 37:3].)
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3
Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:119]; Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:8].
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4
“Amasa Lyman’s History,” LDS Millennial Star, 12 Aug. 1865, 27:502.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
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5
One exception is Heber C. Kimball’s journal. (“Extracts from H. C. Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1845, 6:804–805.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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6
Whitmer, Daybook, 22 and 23 June 1834.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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7
Aside from Sidney Gilbert, who died in June 1834, and Christian Whitmer, who died in November 1835, all others listed here eventually went to Kirtland before the dedication of the House of the Lord in March 1836. (Partridge, Diary, 24 and 29 Apr. 1835; Whitmer, History, 70; Isaac Morley and Calvin Beebe, Report, ca. Apr. 1835, Missionary Reports, 1831–1900, CHL; Corrill, Brief History, 22; Oliver Cowdery, Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:3; Whitmer, Daybook, 17 Oct. 1835; Letters to John Burk, Sally Waterman Phelps, and Almira Mack Scobey, 1–2 June 1835; Knight, History, 791; JS, Journal, 2 Nov. 1835; Pratt, Autobiography, 125–126.)
Partridge, Edward. Diaries, 1818 and 1835–1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fds. 1–2.
Missionary Reports, 1831–1900. CHL. MS 6104.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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8
Whitmer’s exact departure date is not known. He was in Missouri on 24 August 1834 and in Kirtland by 16 October 1834. He stayed until the dedication of the House of the Lord and possibly longer. Pratt left for Ohio in October 1834 and was also present for the dedication services. (Whitmer, Daybook, 24 Aug. 1834; Oliver Cowdery, Editorial, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:3; JS, Journal, 27 Mar. 1836; Pratt, Autobiography, 125–126.)
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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9
Whitmer, History, 70; JS, Journal, 27 Mar. 1836.
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10
JS, Journal, 27 and 30 Mar. 1836; Pratt, Autobiography, 141; Knight, History, 879–881; Corrill, Brief History, 22.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.
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11
Robinson placed the minutes between minutes dated 26 September 1833 and minutes dated 3 July 1834.
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12
“Extracts from H. C. Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1845, 6:804–805.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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