Ecclesiastical Officers and Church Appointees
The following charts show the general leadership of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as local
ecclesiastical officers in ,
Illinois, between 1839 and June
1844. The charts also identify several positions within the
church’s organization which individuals were appointed to fill,
including the temple recorder, the Nauvoo , and .
First Presidency,
Quorum of the Twelve, and Patriarch
The following chart shows the members of the First
Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the church patriarch,
with their dates of service. By 1839
the titles and offices of the First Presidency, which had varied in
earlier years, were relatively stable, consisting of a president and two
counselors; flexibility in its organization is evident, however, in
positions held by , , and . The
responsibilities of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
whose duties had been proselytizing and overseeing scattered branches of
the church, expanded in as they took on
significant administrative tasks. After the deaths of JS and on 27
June 1844, the First Presidency dissolved and the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles presided over the church until was sustained as church president in December 1847. For more information on the
following individuals and their terms of service, see the Biographical
Directory on the Joseph Smith Papers website.
| First Presidency | |
| President | |
| Joseph Smith Jr. | 6 Apr. 1830–27 June 1844 |
| Associate President | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–27 June 1844 | |
| Counselors | |
| 8 Mar. 1832–27 June 1844 | |
| 7 Nov. 1837–19 Jan. 1841 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–before 8 Jan. 1844 | |
| Ca. 4 Feb. 1843–27 June 1844 | |
| Assistant President | |
| 8 Apr. 1841–11 May 1842 | |
| Quorum of the Twelve | |
| President | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–27 Dec. 1847 | |
| Members | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–27 Dec. 1847 | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–4 May 1839; 27 June 1839–28 Nov. 1878 | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–13 May 1857 | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–4 May 1839; 25 May 1839–6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 14 Feb. 1835–20 Aug. 1842; 20 Jan. 1843–3 Oct. 1881 | |
| 19 Dec. 1838–9 Feb. 1846 | |
| 19 Dec. 1838–10 Oct. 1880 | |
| 26 Apr. 1839–7 Apr. 1889 | |
| 26 Apr. 1839–7 Oct. 1868 | |
| 14 Apr. 1840–27 Dec. 1847 | |
| 8 Apr. 1841–3 Dec. 1848 | |
| 20 Aug. 1842–20 Jan. 1843; 8 Aug. 1844–6 Oct. 1867 | |
| Church Patriarch | |
| 6 Dec. 1834–14 Sept. 1840 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–27 June 1844 | |
Presidents of the
Seventy
The following chart lists the individuals who presided over
the Quorum of the Seventy. Seventy was an office in the Melchizedek
Priesthood patterned after the seventy individuals referred to in the
New Testament (Luke 10:1–17) who were given certain powers and
authority. According to a JS
revelation, they were to “act in the name of the Lord, under
the direction of the twelve . . . in building up the church and
regulating all the affairs of the same, in all nations.” Unlike other
ecclesiastical organizations, over which a president and two counselors
presided, the Quorum of the Seventy was led by seven presidents.
| Presidents of the Seventy | |
| 28 Feb. 1835–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 6 Apr. 1837–6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 6 Apr. 1837–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 6 Apr. 1837–6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 28 Feb. 1835–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 6 Feb. 1838–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 6 Mar. 1838–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
Nauvoo Ecclesiastical
Officers
The following charts identify members of the stake presidency
and high council as well as bishops in Nauvoo. In 1834 the , Ohio, high council was organized and granted
appellate authority over the disciplinary decisions made by other high
councils and branches of the church. The high council of the church at
Nauvoo also exercised this power, overturning on appeal multiple
decisions that were first adjudicated by local branches outside of
Nauvoo. Note that this chart does not capture temporary service on the
high council due to deaths, resignations, transfers of position, or
members being away from Nauvoo.
On 20 August 1842 the
Nauvoo high council divided Nauvoo and the immediate surrounding area
into thirteen ecclesiastical wards and districts; the council also
appointed ten new bishops to join currently serving bishops , , and . , , and were not
ordained with the other appointed bishops on 21 August 1842, though Carn was serving as a bishop in
Nauvoo by December 1843. For a time,
Isaac Higbee and possibly Newel K. Whitney served as bishops of more
than one ward. In addition to the individuals named below, , Samuel Smith, and were appointed on 19 January 1841 to preside over the Nauvoo bishopric, though
it is unclear if they ever functioned in that capacity.
| Stake Presidency | |
| President | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–6 Oct. 1844 | |
| First Counselor | |
| 30 Mar. 1841–23 Sept. 1843 | |
| Second Counselor | |
| 30 Mar. 1841–after 18 Oct. 1845 | |
| High Council | |
| , President | 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–30 Mar. 1841 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–10 Aug. 1840 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–10 Mar. 1841 | |
| 5 Sept. 1840–6 Feb. 1841 | |
| 6 Feb. 1841–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 6 Apr. 1841–after 20 Jan. 1846 | |
| 6 Apr. 1841–8 Sept. 1844 | |
| Bishops | |
| 5 October 1839–20 August 1842 | |
| Upper Ward | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–27 May 1840 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| Middle Ward | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| Lower Ward | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–31 July 1842 | |
| Other | |
| 19 Feb. 1841–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 21 August 1842–June 1844 | |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| ?–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| David Evans | 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 19 Feb. 1841–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 21 Aug. 1842–after 6 Oct. 1844 | |
| 5 Oct. 1839–after 6 Oct. 1845 | |
Church
Appointees
The following chart lists non-ecclesiastical church
appointees. Members of the
temple committee were appointed at a church conference on 3 October 1840. The committee hired
laborers, oversaw the construction of the and the
disbursement of supplies and pay to laborers, and gave receipts to those
who made donations for building the temple. Trustees of the , who
oversaw the construction of the , were appointed by revelation on 19 January
1841. A month later, governor signed a bill incorporating the Nauvoo House
Association and authorizing its trustees to issue stock to the value of
$150,000 to finance the venture. The temple recorder was first appointed
in December 1841; his primary
responsibility was to record donations made by church members for the
construction of the Nauvoo temple.
| Temple Committee | |
| 3 Oct. 1840–after 6 Apr. 1845 | |
| 3 Oct. 1840–after 6 Apr. 1845 | |
| 3 Oct. 1840–8 June 1843 | |
| 23 Oct. 1843–27 June 1844 | |
| Nauvoo House Association Trustees | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–after 9 Aug. 1845 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–7 Apr. 1845 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–7 Apr. 1845 | |
| 19 Jan. 1841–after 9 Aug. 1845 | |
| Temple Recorder | |
| 13 Dec. 1841–3 Sept. 1842 | |
| 3 Sept. 1842–after 24 May 1845 | |