Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 February 1835
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Source Note
Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, , Geauga Co., OH, 14–15 Feb. 1835. Featured version copied [not before 25 Feb. 1836] in Minute Book 1, pp. 147–154; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
On 14 and 15 February 1835, JS presided over a meeting held in the church’s in , Ohio. At the meeting, he directed , , and —the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon—to call twelve men as . The concept of appointing twelve men as special proselytizing disciples is found in the New Testament account of Jesus Christ calling twelve apostles and in the Book of Mormon account of Christ calling twelve disciples when he visited the Nephites in the Americas after his resurrection. During JS’s time, the office of apostle did not exist in other churches in the , though the Catholic Apostolic Church in did call twelve apostles between 1832 and 1835. Some biblical commentators in JS’s day believed that “a distinguishing part” of an apostle’s role was his calling and by Christ himself, implying that apostles existed only in New Testament times.A June 1829 revelation had instructed and to “search out” twelve disciples who would preach the gospel “unto and unto Jew” and even “unto every creature.” According to Cowdery, since that time, his and Whitmer’s minds had “been on a constant stretch to find who these Twelve were.” They had “sought the Lord by fasting and prayer” and had at times received instruction from JS and others about the . For example, at an October 1831 , Cowdery stated that he and Whitmer had received directions that the Twelve “would be ordained & sent forth from the Land of .” However, Cowdery later noted that he had not known when the Twelve would be selected.By 1835, the time was apparently right for choosing the apostles. A later JS history states that on 8 February 1835, and his brother came to JS’s house and sang to him after a meeting. “The Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon us,” the history states, “and I [JS] told them I wanted to see those brethren together who went up to Zion in the , the previous summer, for I had a blessing for them.” The later reminiscences of Brigham and Joseph Young provide more detail. According to Brigham, while he and his brother were singing, JS received a revelation declaring that twelve apostles were to be called “from those who have been up to Zion.” Joseph Young later stated that JS told the brothers he had received a vision of the glorious reward of those members of the Camp of Israel who had perished from cholera. JS then asked Brigham to “notify all the brethren living in the branches, within a reasonable distance from this place, to meet at a General Conference on Saturday next.” At that conference, JS stated, he would “then and there appoint twelve special witnesses, to open the door of the gospel to foreign nations.” According to Joseph Young, JS then told Brigham that he would be one of the twelve selected.Although JS’s designation of as one of the apostles may have circumvented the process of having , , and select the Twelve, it is likely that the three worked together with JS to choose the apostles either before the 14–15 February meeting or during a one-hour recess that occurred during the 14 February session. In 1848, Cowdery told Brigham Young that he and Whitmer had originally chosen as a member of the Twelve but that JS made an “urgent request” that his brother be selected instead. “Brother David and myself yielded to his wish,” Cowdery told Brigham Young, “and consented for William to be selected.” In an 1885 interview, Whitmer gave a similar account, explaining that he and Cowdery “were appointed a committee” to select the apostles but that JS “insisted that his brother William Smith should be put in as it was the only way by which he could be saved.” The actual selection process of the Twelve, then, was likely a collaboration between JS, Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris.The minutes of the 14–15 February 1835 meeting in Minute Book 1 state that the meeting was called at God’s command so that “those who went to Zion, with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary” could be “ordained to the ministry.” A June 1834 revelation had told the members of the Camp of Israel that they would not redeem Zion at that time and explained that such redemption could not come until after the elders of the church were “endowed with power from on high.” They would then be able to teach God’s people “more perfectly, and have experience and know more perfectly concerning their duty.” The revelation went on to say that those who had gone on the expedition would receive “a great endowment and blessing” from God if they continued to be faithful. This endowment would be provided in the then under construction in . The revelation concluded with an admonition that it was now “a day of choosing” and that JS needed to select “worthy” individuals who would be sanctified “to accomplish all things partaining to Zion.”When the 14–15 February meeting convened, those who had participated in the 1834 expedition to Zion were recognized and promised that they would “be endowed with power from on high.” The meeting then adjourned for an hour. When it reconvened, JS instructed , , and “to choose twelve men from the church as Apostles to go to all nations, kindred toungs and people.” The three selected the Twelve Apostles, eight of whom had accompanied JS on the Camp of Israel expedition. Over the course of the next two days, nine of these individuals—, , , , , , , , and —received blessings; the other three—, , and —were apparently not in at this time and received their blessings later. The Twelve Apostles regarded the blessings they received as ordinations to the apostolic office. The blessings promised that they would perform remarkable feats in God’s name, especially in terms of converting individuals to the church and bringing them to Zion. As Heber C. Kimball later recalled, the blessings “predicted many things which should come to pass”—that individuals would have power “to heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, the blind should see, and have power to remove mountains” and have “all things” under their subjection “through the name of Jesus Christ.”The minutes do not clearly identify who participated in all of the ordination blessings or who pronounced them. According to one version of the minutes, was the voice for at least ’s ordination. A second version made by Hyde in a record book of the Twelve declares that the apostles were “ordained under the hands of the Three Witnesses.” Other accounts provide additional detail. , for example, remembered Cowdery and performing his ordination. stated in his diary that Cowdery and ordained him and on 26 April 1835. ’s ordination, which took place on 21 February 1835, was performed by JS, Cowdery, and Whitmer. Orson Hyde stated in December 1835 that his ordination was also performed under JS’s hand. According to , the ordinations were performed by Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris and then confirmed by the . These accounts indicate that JS was involved in at least some capacity with the actual ordinations, as were Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris.Though some of the blessings refer to the Twelve holding “the keys of the kingdom” and “the keys of this ministry,” the minutes of the 14–15 February meeting do not outline any administrative responsibilities for the Twelve. Instead, the instructions and blessings focus on the proselytizing responsibilities of the apostles. Up to this point, the term apostle had been used most frequently among church members to designate one who had been called to preach the gospel, although JS and were also referred to as apostles as part of their designation as leaders in the church. Those individuals selected as the Twelve Apostles had already served several proselytizing missions; some were still preaching in outlying areas at the time of their call. Over the next several weeks, JS designated the Twelve as a “traveling high council,” responsible for “presid[ing] over all the churches of the Saints among the Gentiles, where there is no presidency established.” The Twelve departed on 4 May 1835 to preach and hold conferences in the eastern and .It is not clear from this record who took the minutes of this 14–15 February meeting, but later wrote that he “was clerk of the conference in which the Twelve were chosen.” Two versions of the minutes exist. Sometime in 1836, entered minutes for the meeting into Minute Book 1, titling them “Ordination Blessings.” These minutes provide a record of the blessings for the nine who were ordained as apostles over the two days. Some of the recorded blessings appear to be verbatim accounts, while others appear to be summaries; all use extensive language from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS revelations. entered another account of the minutes into a “Record of the Transactions of the Twelve” that he and William E. McLellin kept as clerks of the Twelve Apostles. Hyde’s much shorter account does not provide any information about the recognition of and instruction to the participants in the Camp of Israel, nor does it include the ordination blessings of the Twelve. Hyde may have wanted to include only those items that he considered essential for a record of the Twelve’s proceedings, but the lack of detail in the minutes suggests he may have been reconstructing his summary from memory, rather than from loose minutes. In addition, Hyde’s summary indicates that all of the apostles received their ordinations on 14 February 1835, though the Minute Book 1 version demonstrates that this was not the case.
Footnotes
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1
Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 2. The schoolhouse was located in a two-story building with an attic on a lot west of where the House of the Lord was being constructed. The schoolhouse was on the lower level of the building, while the church’s printing office was on the upper level. (“Portion of Kirtland Township, Ohio, 12 January 1838;” Berrett, Sacred Places, 3:29.)
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
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2
Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris signed a statement in June 1829 indicating that an angel had shown them the gold plates from which JS translated the Book of Mormon. (Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829.)
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3
Luke 6:13–16; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 479 [3 Nephi 12:1].
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4
Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 271; M’Caine, History and Mystery of Methodist Episcopacy, 23.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
M’Caine, Alexander. The History and Mystery of Methodist Episcopacy; or, A Glance at “The Institutions of the Church, as We Received Them from Our Fathers.” Baltimore: Richard J. Matchett, 1827.
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5
Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:26–28, 37].
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9
For an overview of the selection of the Twelve Apostles from their point of view, see Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” 125–132.
Esplin, Ronald K. “The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1981. Also available as The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership, 1830–1841, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2006).
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10
JS History, vol. B-1, addenda, 1nA.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
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11
Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 7 May 1861, 9:89.
Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1855–1886.
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12
Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 1.
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
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13
Oliver Cowdery, Elk Horn, Wisconsin Territory, to Brigham Young, 27 Feb. 1848, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
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14
Gurley, “Questions Asked of David Whitmer,” 4.
Gurley, Zenos. “Questions Asked of David Whitmer at His Home in Richmond Ray County Mo,” 14–21 Jan. 1885. CHL. MS 4633.
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15
Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:9–13, 18, 35–37].)
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16
Between February and September 1835, more than seventy individuals were blessed for their participation in the Camp of Israel and more than sixty were ordained as either apostles or members of the Seventy, another organization with proselytizing responsibilities that was established around this same time. (See Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835; Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835; Minutes and Discourses, 7–8 Mar. 1835; Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835; and Minutes, 8 Aug. 1835.)
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17
The June 1829 revelation designated only Cowdery and Whitmer to select the Twelve, but Harris participated as well, probably because he, like Whitmer and Cowdery, was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
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18
John F. Boynton did not go on the expedition because he was preaching in Maine. David W. Patten, William E. McLellin, and Thomas B. Marsh were already living in Missouri at the time. (Sylvester Stoddard, Saco, ME, to Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, 15 June 1834, in The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 181; Patten, Journal, 4 Mar. 1834; “Affairs in the West,” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1834, 175; “T. B. Marsh,” [2], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Patten, David W. Journal, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 603.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
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19
Pratt, Autobiography, 127; Partridge, Diary, 24 Apr. 1835; Pratt, Diary, 20 Apr. 1835.
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.
Partridge, Edward. Diaries, 1818 and 1835–1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fds. 1–2.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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20
For example, Heber C. Kimball, William E. McLellin, Parley P. Pratt, Luke Johnson, William Smith, and Orson Pratt all referred to being ordained as apostles, rather than just blessed. (Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 22; William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Davis H. Bays, Lafayette, KS, 24 May 1870, in True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, 15 Sept. 1870, 553; Pratt, Autobiography, 127; “History of Luke Johnson,” [2], Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 27; Pratt, Diary, 26 Apr. 1835; see also Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835.)
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
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.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
Smith, William. William Smith on Mormonism. This Book Contains a True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. A Sketch of the History, Experience, and Ministry of Elder William Smith. . . . Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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21
Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 22.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
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22
Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 27.
Smith, William. William Smith on Mormonism. This Book Contains a True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. A Sketch of the History, Experience, and Ministry of Elder William Smith. . . . Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883.
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23
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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24
Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835; Pratt, Autobiography, 127–128.
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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25
JS, Journal, 17 Dec. 1835.
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26
Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 22.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
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27
Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:38]; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:63–64]; Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1, 10–12]. For more information on the use of the term apostle before February 1835, see “Apostle” in the glossary on the Joseph Smith Papers website, josephsmithpapers.org.
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28
Partridge, Diary, 24 Apr. 1835; Pratt, Diary, 20 Apr. 1835.
Partridge, Edward. Diaries, 1818 and 1835–1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fds. 1–2.
Pratt, Orson. Journal, 1833–1837. Orson Pratt, Autobiography and Journals, 1833–1847. CHL. MS 587, fds. 2–4.
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30
Esplin and Nielsen, “Record of the Twelve,” 13.
Esplin, Ronald K., and Sharon E. Nielsen. “The Record of the Twelve, 1835: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles’ Call and 1835 Mission.” BYU Studies 51, no. 1 (2012): 4–52.
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31
William E. McLellin, Independence, MO, to Davis H. Bays, Lafayette, KS, 24 May 1870, in True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, 15 Sept. 1870, 553.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
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