First Presidency
Summary
The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two counselors to himself; by March 1833, JS and his counselors were functioning as the presidency of the high priesthood. The term “first presidency” was occasionally used to describe the presidency of the high priesthood by 1835. In spring 1835, the “Instruction on Priesthood” indicated that the Melchizedek priesthood held the right to preside over all church offices. The instruction also stated that three presidents of the high priesthood constituted a “quorum of the presidency of the church,” though the First Presidency sometimes consisted of more than three presidents. A president was appointed over the quorum of high priests in 1836, but the office remained distinct from JS’s role as president of the high priesthood. The First Presidency appointed church leaders, organized stakes, and provided spiritual leadership for the church. It also served as the ultimate authority in matters of church discipline, finances, and administration. Revelations in 1831 and 1838 established disciplinary procedures for trying members of the First Presidency.
Links
- History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]
- Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 8 April 1831
- Letter from Thomas Burdick, 28 August 1840
- Elders’ Journal, August 1838
- Account of Meeting and Discourse, 5 January 1841, as Reported by William P. McIntire
- Account of Meetings, Revelation, and Blessing, 5–6 December 1834
- Affidavit, 5 September 1838 [ State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Riot ]
- Affidavit, 8 September 1838
- Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson and Don Carlos Smith, 14 December 1840
- Agreement with George W. Robinson, 30 April 1839
- Agreement with Mead & Betts, 2 August 1839
- Agreement with Oliver Granger, 29 April 1840
- Appendix 5, Document 8. Blessing to Sidney Rigdon, 2 October 1835
- Authorization for John P. Greene, circa 6 May 1839
- Authorization for Oliver Granger, 13 May 1839
- Authorization for Oliver Granger, 6 May 1839
- Bill to Incorporate the Church, 14 December 1840
- Blessing to Alvin Winegar, 7 February 1836
- Blessing to James Ivins, 7 January 1840
- Blessing to Lorenzo Barnes, 3 January 1836
- Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 August 1839–A
- Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 August 1839–B
- Bond to Elijah Able, 8 December 1839
- Bond to Jane Miller, 6 March 1840
- Bond to John L. Butler, 1 November 1839
- Charges against Asahel Perry and Job Lewis Preferred to the Church Presidency, circa 23 May 1836
- Charges against Joseph Smith Preferred to Bishop’s Council, 29 May 1837
- Charges against William Smith Preferred to the Church Presidency, 29 December 1835
- Deed to Samuel F. Whitney, 8 July 1838
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by William Clayton
- Discourse, 1 June 1839
- Discourse, 1 March 1835
- Discourse, 12 August 1838
- Discourse, 13 January 1840
- Discourse, 2 July 1839, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff–A
- Discourse, 2 May 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin–B
- Discourse, 29 July 1838
- Discourse, 5 January 1841, as Reported by William P. McIntire
- Discourse, 6 April 1837
- Discourse, 6 March 1840, as Reported by Elias Smith
- Discourse, 6 May 1838
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by Willard Richards
- Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–A
- Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account
- Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account, Draft
- Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107]
- Instruction on Priesthood, circa 5 October 1840
- Introduction to Commercial Bank of Lake Erie v. Cahoon et al.
- Journal, 1832–1834
- Journal, 1835–1836
- Journal, 1839
- Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843
- Journal, March–September 1838
- Letter from Abel Lamb and Others, circa 28 May 1837
- Letter from Alanson Ripley, 10 April 1839
- Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 September 1840
- Letter from Brigham Young, 29 April 1840
- Letter from Brigham Young, 7 May 1840
- Letter from Don Carlos Smith, circa Late May 1838
- Letter from Edward Partridge, 5 March 1839
- Letter from Elias Higbee, 16 April 1839
- Letter from Elias Higbee, 20 February 1840–A
- Letter from Elias Higbee, 22 February 1840
- Letter from Elias Higbee, 9 March 1840
- Letter from Emma Smith, 3 May 1837
- Letter from Emma Smith, 6 December 1839
- Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Others, 25 May 1840
- Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840
- Letter from Hyrum Smith, 2 January 1840
- Letter from Isaac Galland, 24 July 1839
- Letter from John E. Page, 23 September 1840
- Letter from John P. Greene, 30 June 1839
- Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 21 January 1838
- Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 1 May 1840
- Letter from Orson Hyde, 15 December 1835
- Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 22 November 1839
- Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 23 May 1837
- Letter from Parley P. Pratt, between 23 and 27 September 1842
- Letter from Robert B. Thompson, 13 May 1839
- Letter from Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, 23 September 1840
- Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 10 April 1839
- Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 February 1838
- Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Others, 9 March 1838
- Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837
- Letter from William W. Phelps, with Appended Letter from Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 29 June 1840
- Letter from the Presidency of Elders, 29 January 1836
- Letter from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 28 March 1836
- Letter to Crooked Creek, Illinois, Branch, circa 7 or 8 July 1840
- Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, circa 22 March 1839
- Letter to Elias Higbee, 7 March 1840
- Letter to Emma Smith, 12 November 1838
- Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 January 1839
- Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 December 1839
- Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 March 1839
- Letter to John Corrill and the Church in Missouri, 4 September 1837
- Letter to John Thornton and Others, 25 July 1836
- Letter to Lyman Wight, 27 May 1839
- Letter to Newel K. Whitney, 24 May 1839
- Letter to Oliver Granger, 26 January 1841
- Letter to Oliver Granger, between circa 22 and circa 28 July 1840
- Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840
- Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 4 August 1835
- Letter to Robert B. Thompson, 25 May 1839
- Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, 8 December 1839
- Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, September 1840
- Letter to Stephen Post, 17 September 1838
- Letter to Wilford Woodruff, circa 18 June 1838
- Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838
- Letter to William W. Phelps and Others, 25 July 1836
- Letter to William W. Phelps, 22 July 1840
- Letter to the Church in Caldwell County, Missouri, 16 December 1838
- Letter to the Editors, 17 May 1839
- Letterbook 1
- Letterbook 2
- License for Gardner Snow, 19 January 1839
- License for Hosea Stout, 20 April 1840
- Marriage Certificate for Jesse K. Nichols and Caroline Pinkham, 7 May 1842
- Marriage Certificate for Wilson Law and Elizabeth Sikes, 25 December 1842
- Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840
- Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, circa 30 October 1839–27 January 1840
- Minutes and Blessings, 28 February–1 March 1835
- Minutes and Discourse, 13 January 1840
- Minutes and Discourse, 1–2 June 1839
- Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin–A
- Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin–B
- Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 October 1840
- Minutes and Discourse, 6 March 1840
- Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 April 1840
- Minutes and Discourses, 17 March 1842
- Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Reported by Oliver Cowdery
- Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 October 1839
- Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1843
- Minutes and Discourses, 7–8 March 1835
- Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836 [D&C 109]
- Minutes, 10 November 1837
- Minutes, 11 July 1840
- Minutes, 12 April 1838
- Minutes, 12 April 1840
- Minutes, 13 April 1838
- Minutes, 13 January 1836
- Minutes, 14 April 1838
- Minutes, 14 February 1835
- Minutes, 15 January 1836
- Minutes, 16 January 1836
- Minutes, 16 March 1835
- Minutes, 16 September 1835
- Minutes, 17 August 1835
- Minutes, 17 August 1840
- Minutes, 17 February 1834
- Minutes, 17 September 1837–A
- Minutes, 17 September 1837–B
- Minutes, 18 March 1833
- Minutes, 19 September 1835
- Minutes, 2 January 1836
- Minutes, 20 December 1840
- Minutes, 20 June 1840
- Minutes, 21 April 1838
- Minutes, 22 December 1836
- Minutes, 23 May 1836
- Minutes, 24 April 1839
- Minutes, 26 July 1838
- Minutes, 27 June 1840
- Minutes, 27 October 1839
- Minutes, 28 April 1838, as Reported by Ebenezer Robinson
- Minutes, 28 December 1835
- Minutes, 28 June 1838
- Minutes, 28–29 August 1834
- Minutes, 3 July 1840
- Minutes, 3 September 1837
- Minutes, 30 January 1836
- Minutes, 30 March 1836
- Minutes, 4–5 May 1839
- Minutes, 5–6 September 1840
- Minutes, 6 April 1838
- Minutes, 6 June 1833
- Minutes, 6 May 1839
- Minutes, 6 November 1837
- Minutes, 7 November 1837
- Minutes, 7–8 April 1838
- Minutes, 8 March 1840
- Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 March 1835
- Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 February 1835
- Nauvoo Marriage Record, February 1842–January 1846
- Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book
- Note, 16 September 1835
- Note, circa 24 May 1839
- Notice, circa Late August 1837
- Ordinance, 14 December 1844–C
- Ordination and Blessing of Cyrus Smalling, 30 June 1835
- Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 February 1838–A
- Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 September 1840
- Pay Order to Oliver Granger, 15 April 1840
- Petition to George O. Tompkins, between 9 and 15 March 1839 [ State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason ]
- Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836 [D&C 109]
- Proclamation, 15 January 1841
- Promissory Note to Horace Hotchkiss, 12 August 1839–W
- Promissory Note to Horace Hotchkiss, 23 October 1840
- Promissory Note to John Gillet and Smith Tuttle, 12 August 1839–T
- Prospectus for Elders’ Journal, 30 April 1838
- Receipt from Sarah Burt Beman, 26 January 1839
- Recognizance, 7 September 1838 [ State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Riot ]
- Recommendation for Brigham Young, 3 June 1839
- Recommendation for George A. Smith, 21 September 1839
- Recommendation for Heber C. Kimball, between 2 and 13 June 1837
- Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 November 1839
- Recommendation for Samuel Bent and George W. Harris, between circa 17 and circa 28 July 1840
- Recommendation for Willard Richards, between 11 and 13 June 1837
- Record of the Twelve, 14 February–28 August 1835
- Report of Agents, circa 30 January 1841
- Report of the First Presidency, 4 October 1840
- Resolution, circa 8 April 1838
- Revelation Book 1
- Revelation Book 2
- Revelation, 11 April 1838 [D&C 114]
- Revelation, 12 January 1838–A
- Revelation, 12 January 1838–B
- Revelation, 12 January 1838–C
- Revelation, 14 November 1835
- Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124]
- Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112]
- Revelation, 26 April 1838 [D&C 115]
- Revelation, 4 September 1837
- Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111]
- Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118]
- Revelation, 8 July 1838–B
- Revelation, 8 July 1838–C [D&C 119]
- Revelation, 8 July 1838–D [D&C 120]
- Revelation, 8 July 1838–E [D&C 117]
- Revelation, circa June 1835 [D&C 68]
- Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836
- Revised Minutes, 18–19 February 1834 [D&C 102]
- Rules and Regulations, 14 January 1836
- Statement, circa 1 November 1839–B
- Travel Account and Questions, November 1837
- Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&C 137]
- Visions, 3 April 1836 [D&C 110]