Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124]
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Source Note
Revelation, [, Hancock Co., IL], 19 Jan. 1841. Featured version copied [between 19 Jan. and 7 Apr. 1841] in Book of the Law of the Lord, pp. 3–15; handwriting of ; CHL.Book of the Law of the Lord, Record Book, 1841–1845; handwriting of , , , and ; 477 pages; CHL. Includes shorthand, redactions, and use marks.“The Book of the Law of the Lord” is a large, leather-bound blank book made with thick paper. The paper bears a star-shaped watermark in the middle of each leaf and was printed with forty-seven blue lines on each side. The text block was originally formed with thirty gatherings of eight leaves each. The second gathering, however, has only six leaves. This six-leaf gathering was the result of either a binding error or one sheet coming loose from the binding before the book was inscribed (the book’s inscription and pagination run through this gathering without any missing text or skipped page numbers). The gatherings were sewn all along. Each set of endpapers consisted of a gathering of four leaves of unlined paper, but only two leaves are now extant in the back gathering. The trimmed pages measure 16¼ × 10½ inches (41 × 27 cm). Headbands were sewn onto the text block. The exterior pages of the endpapers are joined to the pasteboards with strips of pink cloth. Marbled papers featuring a shell pattern with green body and veins of red and yellow are glued to the inside covers of the boards and to the exterior page of each gathering of endpapers. The leaf edges are stained green. The text block is bound in ledger style to the boards. The spine was constructed with four false raised bands demarcating five panels. The boards and spine are covered in suede with additional leather strips that cover the top and bottom of the book, including the first and fifth panels of the spine. The suede was blind tooled on the outside covers, the raised bands of the spine, and the turned-in edges on the inside cover. The additional leather strips are embossed with dual lines and vegetal designs along the borders and have gold line filling. The spine is further embossed with the number “6” in twenty-point type on the fifth panel. The second and fourth panels have black-painted squares of paper glued to them. These feature gold lining and decoration at the top and bottom. The completed volume measures 17 × 11 × 2¼ inches (43 × 28 × 6 cm) and includes 244 free leaves. A penciled inscription at the inside top corner of page [ii]—the verso of the front marbled flyleaf—gives what appears to be an expensive price for this high-quality blank book: “bth | 10.00”.inscribed nine revelations in the book on the first twenty-three pages of lined paper. made minor revisions to these revelation texts. Apparently either Richards or Thompson inscribed page numbers on pages 3–18, beginning at the first page of lined paper, in a stylized script. Richards inscribed page numbers on pages 19–25 as well as on the next several dozen pages. At some point, page [1], the recto of the last leaf of unlined endpaper in the front of the book, was inscribed with a title: “THE | BOOK | of the | LAW | of the | LORD”. Because these words are hand lettered in various ornate styles, the handwriting cannot be identified. A matching title appears on the spine of the volume: the square of black paper on the second panel of the spine bears a smaller rectangular label of white paper with a hand-lettered inscription: “LAW | — of the — | LORD.” Revelations were inscribed only on the first twenty-five pages of the volume, except in a couple of instances where they were copied into journal entries that were later inscribed in the volume. The bulk of the volume comprises records of donations in cash and in kind for the construction of the . Journal entries for JS are inscribed on intermittent pages from 26 to 215. Willard Richards inscribed pages 26–126 of the book, with help from on pages 27–28 and 72–87. Clayton inscribed the rest of the volume, pages 127–477, with help from on pages 168–171 and from on pages 189–190 and 192–201. These clerks and scribes generally paginated the book and inscribed dateline page headers along the way as they inscribed its texts.The “Law of the Lord” is listed as such in inventories of church records made in Salt Lake City in the 1850s. These show that the volume reposed for a time in the office of church president . At some point, the book was marked on the spine with an archival sticker, which was later removed. The book eventually was housed with the papers of Joseph Fielding Smith, apparently during his tenure as church historian and recorder (1921–1970), and then became part of the First Presidency’s papers when he became church president in 1970. In 2010 the First Presidency gave custody of the book to the Church History Library.
Footnotes
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1
“Inventory. Historian’s Office. 4th April 1855,” [1]; “Inventory. Historian’s Office. G. S. L. City April 1. 1857,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Inventory G. S. L. City March 19. 1858,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue Book March 1858,” [11], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
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2
“Inventory of President Joseph Fielding Smith’s Safe,” 23 May 1970, First Presidency, General Administration Files, CHL.
“Inventory of President Joseph Fielding Smith’s Safe,” 23 May 1970. First Presidency, General Administration Files, 1921–1972. CHL.
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3
Letter of Transfer, Salt Lake City, UT, 8 Jan. 2010, CHL.
Letter of Transfer, Salt Lake City, UT, 8 Jan. 2010. CHL.
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1
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Historical Introduction
On 19 January 1841, JS dictated a revelation in , Illinois, designating the city as the new place for the . The revelation initially addressed JS personally before instructing other individuals and the Saints generally. Over the coming years, the lengthy revelation would function as a sort of sacred charter for the Saints in Nauvoo in much the same way as the recently passed act to incorporate the city served as a secular charter.Since their expulsion from northern in winter 1838–1839, the Saints had devoted much of their time to resettling in the area of , Illinois, where they cleared the heavily forested peninsula, drained the swampy flats along the , planted crops, and built homes for the rapid influx of church members. Consequently, winter 1840–1841 provided church leaders the first real opportunity after the disruptive expulsion from Missouri to formally organize the new community and to restructure the church. The timing and content of the January revelation came after a series of efforts over the preceding months to seek incorporation of both the city and church from the legislature.While the city charter signaled the church’s lasting presence in , this revelation assured church members that relocating to did not entail abandoning their efforts to establish in . The revelation stated that Nauvoo was to be “a corner stone of Zion” (or a “” of Zion) but not Zion itself. The city was not intended to be merely a temporary refuge either, as indicated by the revelation’s commandment to build a there. The revelation directed that a proclamation be written to the “kings of the world” inviting them to come to Nauvoo “with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people.” The proclamation’s prescribed contents (references to the “glory” of Zion and the invitation to leaders of the earth to come bearing gold, silver, and other precious materials), along with other elements of the revelation regarding the welcoming of visitors to the city, directly echoes the prophetic language in Isaiah chapters 60 and 62.In order to have somewhere to host the anticipated distinguished visitors, the “weary traveler,” or anyone coming to to “contemplate the word of the Lord,” the revelation directed that a boardinghouse be built. The revelation devoted more space to the subject of building this “” than to any other topic. Because JS and were to donate the land on which the hotel would be built, the Smith family was to live there and serve as the hosts, a role in which JS and Emma had been serving since their arrival in the area. The revelation gave specific instructions to a number of individuals in Nauvoo, frequently recommending that they donate to the construction of the Nauvoo House by buying shares of stock. It concluded by officially reorganizing the church’s government, naming appointments to various ecclesiastical offices and quorums.In some cases, rather than giving new instruction, the revelation provided formal approval and authority to earlier decisions and actions. The commandment to build a in , for instance, gave divine mandate to an instruction that JS had been voicing publicly for over half a year. The revelation underscored the importance of building a temple in Nauvoo by declaring that certain —like for the dead—were appropriately performed only in the temple. The revelation described Nauvoo as the cornerstone of Zion; an October 1839 of the church had already designated the city as a new gathering place for the Saints. Similarly, most of the church leadership assignments identified in the revelation reflected prior appointments.One of the few revelations from the period to be later canonized by the church, the 19 January revelation served as divine direction for the Saints for the duration of their time in . Mayor read it at the general conference of the church in Nauvoo on 7 April 1841. The text was published in the 1 June issue of the church’s Nauvoo newspaper, Times and Seasons, as well as in the September 1841 issue of the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, printed in , England. The Saints in Illinois referred to the revelation frequently in print and in public settings.The version featured here is the earliest extant copy of the revelation, inscribed by in the Book of the Law of the Lord sometime between 19 January and 7 April 1841, when read the revelation publicly from this source. The absence of editorial revisions and the presence of some inadvertently duplicated passages indicate that Thompson was copying the version in the Book of the Law of the Lord from an earlier draft that is no longer extant.
Footnotes
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2
Scribe Willard Richards recorded in JS’s history that when the Saints arrived in Hancock County, Illinois, in early June 1839, “there were 1 stone house 3 frame hou[s]es & two block hou[s]es which constitu[t]ed the whole city of commerce. Between Commerc[e] And Mr Davi[d]son Hibbards there was 1 stone & 3 Log houses, including the one I live in, & these were all of the houses in this vicinity, & the place was literally a wilderness.” JS later estimated that Nauvoo had three thousand citizens by early August 1840. (Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 11 June 1839, 58–59; Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840.)
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3
Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Bill to Incorporate the Church, 14 Dec. 1840.
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4
The revelation’s injunction to rulers of the world to come and “give heed to the light and glory of Zion, for the set time has come, to favor her” closely mirrored Isaiah’s prophetic statements: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. . . . And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” The revelation specifically directed rulers to bring “the box tree, and the fir tree, and the pine tree,” paralleling Isaiah’s statement that “the glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together.” A circa 1841 draft of the proclamation by Robert B. Thompson contains the parenthetical note “(Isaiah—LX, LXI, LXII.),” indicating that the Nauvoo Saints recognized the connection between Isaiah’s prophecy and the 19 January revelation. (Isaiah 60:1, 3, 13; “A Religious Proclamation,” JS Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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5
JS spoke of the need to build a temple in Nauvoo in a discourse around 19 July 1840 and reportedly made similar comments in April and May.
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7
“Minutes of the General Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:386.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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8
“Extracts,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1841, 2:424–429; “Revelation to J. Smith,” LDS Millennial Star, Sept. 1841, 2:67–69.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
See Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:17–19].
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2
See Psalm 144:12.
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3
President-elect of the United States, William Henry Harrison.
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4
Later in the revelation, general church clerk Robert B. Thompson was instructed to assist with writing the proclamation. Though he began a draft of the proclamation, it was not complete by the time of his death in August 1841. In November 1843, JS renewed the instruction, directing Willard Richards, Orson Hyde, John Taylor, and William W. Phelps to write a proclamation “to the Kings &c of the earth.” The proclamation was not published prior to JS’s death and was eventually written by Parley P. Pratt and published in 1845 as Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints. To All the Kings of the World; To the President of the United States of America; To the Governors of the Several States; And to the Rulers and People of All Nations. (“A Religious Proclamation,” JS Collection, CHL; “Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519; JS, Journal, 21 Nov. 1843; Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles, [1]; see also Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:294–296.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
[Pratt, Parley P.] Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-Day Saints. New York: Samuel Brannan and Parley P. Pratt, 1845.
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.
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5
See Psalm 102:13; and Isaiah 60:1–3, 14.
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6
See 1 Peter 1:24.
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7
See 1 Peter 2:12.
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8
See Matthew 24:51.
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9
See Matthew 24:42.
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10
Bennett assisted JS with crafting Nauvoo’s charter and had recently been in Springfield, Illinois, lobbying to secure its passage by the state legislature. (See Historical Introduction to Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)
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11
See Exodus 19:4.
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12
On 25 October 1838, apostle David W. Patten was mortally wounded during a skirmish at Crooked River near the border of Ray County, Missouri, and died the same day. (JS History, vol. B-1, 839–840; Edward Partridge et al., Petition, 10 Dec. 1838, copy, Edward Partridge, Papers, CHL.)
Partridge, Edward. Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892.
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13
Nauvoo bishop Edward Partridge died on 27 May 1840. (Obituary for Edward Partridge, Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127–128.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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14
JS’s father, Joseph Smith Sr., died in Nauvoo on 14 September 1840. (Eliza R. Snow, “Elegy,” Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:190–191.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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15
By December 1841, church leaders had decided that all donations for the construction of the temple would be directed to JS, who was the church’s trustee-in-trust, and would be recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord. The donations were then directed to the temple building committee. (Brigham Young et al., “Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1841, 3:626–627; Book of the Law of the Lord, 27.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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16
Miller, Wight, Snider, and Peter Haws were the trustees named when the Nauvoo House Association was incorporated on 23 February 1841. (An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], pp. 131–132, sec. 2; “Charter for the Nauvoo House,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1841, 2:370.)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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17
The “governor,” or hotelier, of the Nauvoo House was to be JS.
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18
See Isaiah 60:9.
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19
See Isaiah 60:13.
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20
After construction began on the temple, one of the first priorities was building a baptismal font. A temporary, wooden baptismal font was dedicated in the basement of the unfinished temple on 8 November 1841 and was one of the earliest uses of the temple space. (Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 20–21.)
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
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21
See 1 Corinthians 15:29.
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22
JS first taught the doctrine of baptism for the dead publicly in a funeral sermon for Seymour Brunson on 15 August 1840. By the following month, these baptisms were being performed in the Mississippi River. (Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; see also Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
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23
See Exodus chaps. 25–30.
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24
See Numbers 3:25; and 1 Chronicles 6:1, 48.
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25
See Ephesians 3:9.
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26
See Ephesians 1:10.
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27
The temple site was located at the top of the bluffs above the peninsula, between Knight and Mulholland streets and on the east side of Wells Street. The location was probably determined sometime after March 1840. Unlike on later maps, block 20 on the original plat of Wells’s Addition to Nauvoo, on which the temple would be built, was subdivided into four lots, along with all other blocks in the addition. These partitions suggest that the space had not yet been designated for the temple property, which would transect the lot boundaries. (Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, 1836–1938, vol. 1, p. 43, Wells’s Addition to Nauvoo, 4 Apr. 1840, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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28
See Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:17].
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29
An 1831 revelation designated Missouri as the “land of promise” and identified Independence, Jackson County, as the “centre place” of Zion at which to build a temple. Alarmed by the increasing numbers of Saints moving into the area and disturbed by some of their beliefs, early Jackson County settlers took action against the Saints, violently expelling them from the county in November 1833. (Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:2–3]; Corrill, Brief History, 19–20.)
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30
Earlier revelations dealing with the Saints’ troubles in Missouri also declared that God would unleash divine judgments against the Saints’ enemies “unto the third and fourth generations.” (See Revelation, 6 Aug. 1833 [D&C 98:45–46]; Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:26]; and Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:30].)
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31
Section 10 of “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association” stated: “Whereas Joseph Smith has furnished the said association with the ground whereon to erect said house, it is further declared that the said Smith and his heirs shall hold by perpetual succession a suit of rooms in the said house, to be set apart and conveyed in due form of law, to him and his heirs by the said trustees as soon as the same are completed.” (An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 132, sec. 10.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
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32
JS and Oliver Cowdery reported that they experienced a vision in the House of the Lord in Kirtland, Ohio, on 3 April 1836 in which Moses, Elias, and Elijah each conferred “keys” on them. JS’s journal entry of that day recorded that “Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in them and their seed all generations after them should be blessed.” (JS, Journal, 3 Apr. 1836.)
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33
See Ezekiel 34:29.
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34
See Isaiah 62:6.
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35
This same term, “quorum,” was used at a 5 February 1841 meeting of the trustees of the newly formed Nauvoo House Association, the minutes of which report that Miller was elected “president of the Quorum of the Nauvoo boarding house.” (Nauvoo House Association, Minutes, 5 Feb. 1841.)
Nauvoo House Association. Minutes, 5 and 7 Apr. 1845. Nauvoo House Association, Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375, box 5, fd. 16.
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36
This instruction to formally organize with a constitution was immediately followed. A bill to organize the Nauvoo House Association, apparently first introduced to the Illinois Senate, was considered and then approved by the House of Representatives on 19 February. The senate was informed of the house’s ratification on 20 February, and the act was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, going into effect 23 February 1841. The incorporating act closely followed the revelation’s language regarding stock management. (“A Bill for an Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 12th General Assembly, House Bill no. 352 [Senate Bill no. 160], Illinois General Assembly, Bills, Resolutions, and Related General Assembly Records, 1st–98th Bienniums, 1819–2015, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Journal of the House of Representatives . . . of Illinois, 19 Feb. 1841, 444; Journal of the Senate . . . of Illinois, 20 Feb. 1841, 359; An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], pp. 131–132; “Charter for the Nauvoo House,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1841, 2:370–371.)
Illinois General Assembly. Bills, Resolutions, and Related General Assembly Records, 1st–98th Bienniums, 1819–2015. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Twelfth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, Convened By Proclamation of the Governor, Being Their First Session, Begun and Held in the City of Springfield, November 23, 1840. Springfield, IL: Wm. Walters, 1840.
Journal of the Senate of the Thirteenth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their Regular Session, Begun and Held at Springfield, December 5, 1842. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1842.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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37
Section 4 of “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association” stated that “no individual shall be permitted to hold more than three hundred” shares of stock, valued at fifty dollars each. (An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 131, secs. 3–4.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
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38
See Genesis 4:1–5.
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39
On 1 February 1841, JS gave a power of attorney to Isaac Galland and Hyrum Smith to buy or sell goods or property in an effort to pay the church’s debts. Within a few months, Galland and Smith departed for the eastern United States. The 1 May 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons reported Smith’s return to Nauvoo, noting that “Dr. Galland will continue in the east some time longer.” (JS to Isaac Galland and Hyrum Smith, Power of Attorney, 1 Feb. 1841, Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, p. 96, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; News Items, Times and Seasons, 1 May 1841, 2:403.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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40
See Exodus 32:1–4. Babbitt moved to Kirtland by summer 1840, when JS received written complaints from church members regarding Babbitt’s conduct and leadership. Whether the eastern Saints should be encouraged to settle in Kirtland or to go west to Nauvoo was an ongoing concern. Despite JS’s intermittent criticism of Babbitt’s actions, a general conference of the church in October 1840 appointed Babbitt to preside over the Kirtland stake. (Letter to Oliver Granger, between ca. 22 and ca. 28 July 1840; Minutes, 5–6 Sept. 1840; Letter to the Saints in Kirtland, OH, 19 Oct. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840.)
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41
See John 14:15.
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42
Burlington, Iowa Territory.
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43
Between 1830 and 1833, JS worked on a “New Translation” of the King James Version of the Bible, revising and clarifying the text. In a June 1840 memorial to the Nauvoo high council, JS stated he intended to resume work on the project. (Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 3–6; Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.)
Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
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44
See Psalm 37:25.
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45
On his deathbed on 13 September 1840, Joseph Smith Sr. designated Hyrum Smith as his successor as church patriarch. (Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840; Address, Times and Seasons, Sept. 1840, 1:173; Eliza R. Snow, “Elegy,” Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:190–191.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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46
See Matthew 16:19.
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47
A June 1829 revelation directed to Cowdery and David Whitmer referred to the apostle Paul and declared, “You are called even with that same calling with which he was called.” Cowdery was ordained as the second elder of the church on 6 April 1830 and served as a member of the church’s presidency from December 1834 to April 1838. (Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:9]; JS History, 1834–1836, 17–19; JS History, vol. A-1, 18, 27, 37; JS, Journal, 5 Dec. 1834; Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837; Minutes, 12 Apr. 1838.)
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48
See Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:71].
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49
See Luke 12:12.
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50
See Mark 16:17–18.
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51
See Isaiah 40:31.
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52
See Psalm 47:6–8; and Revelation 7:10.
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53
JS ordained Rigdon as one of his counselors on 8 March 1832. (Note, 8 Mar. 1832.)
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54
A 12 October 1833 revelation stated that Rigdon would be a “spokesman unto this people” and ordained him to be a “spokesman unto my servant Joseph.” (Revelation, 12 Oct. 1833 [D&C 100:9].)
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55
See Matthew 3:7; and Luke 3:7.
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56
At this time, Rigdon was residing in the “lower stone house”—a two-story home in Nauvoo on the bank of the Mississippi River, purchased in 1839 from Isaac Galland. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; “List of Property in the City of Nauvoo,” 1841, Nauvoo block 132, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 2 Aug. 1841, 2:502.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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57
It is unclear to which house this instruction refers. Whether it was an alternative residence for JS and his family that was never built or an earlier iteration of the project that became the Nauvoo House, no preexisting contract with Foster has been located.
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58
See Isaiah 1:16.
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59
JS had earlier prepared an “Instruction on Priesthood” outlining the duties and functions of different offices of the Melchizedek and Aaronic priesthoods. (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107].)
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60
See Ephesians 1:13; Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:53]; and Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:3].
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61
See Revelation 3:10.
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62
Young was the de facto leader of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after David W. Patten’s death and Thomas B. Marsh’s excommunication. He was formally appointed as president by a vote of the quorum on 14 April 1840. (“Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15; Heber C. Kimball, Clitheroe, England, to Vilate Murray Kimball, Commerce, IL, 2 May 1840, CHL.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Kimball, Heber C. Letter, Clitheroe, England, to Vilate Kimball, Commerce, IL, 2 May 1840. CHL. MS 22018.
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63
In a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve on 27 February 1835, JS instructed that the “twelve apostles who are called to a travelling high council” were to “hold the keys of this ministry— to unlock the door of the kingdom of heaven unto all nations and preach the Gospel unto every creation.” (Minutes and Discourses, 27 Feb. 1835; see also Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:21].)
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64
At a 5 September 1840 meeting, the Nauvoo high council appointed Austin Cowles to replace Brunson on the council. Based on this January 1841 revelation, the high council replaced Cowles with Johnson at their 6 February 1841 meeting. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 5 Sept. 1840; 6 Feb. 1841, 17, 25.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
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65
With the exception of Johnson’s appointment in place of the deceased Brunson, these men were the same as those appointed to the Nauvoo high council at the October 1839 general conference of the church. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)
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66
Don Carlos Smith was appointed to this position in 1836. (Minutes, 15 Jan. 1836.)
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67
In early 1835, JS instructed the twelve apostles on church governance, stating that the Seventy were to “act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the twelve, or the travelling high council, in building up the church and regulating all the affairs of the same, in all nations.” (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:34].)
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68
Responsibilities of bishops and bishoprics were described in sections 13, 61, and 89 of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–35]; Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831 [D&C 41:9–12]; Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–23].)
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69
William Marks was president of the Nauvoo stake. On 30 March 1841, at a meeting of the Nauvoo high council, Marks selected Austin Cowles and Charles C. Rich as his counselors. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 30 Mar. 1841, 26–27.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.