The minutes of the last three councils were read and accepted.
begged leave of absence on account of a press of business. He was excused.
Er moved that the committee appointed to examine the law relative to this division of the Millitia of the make their report.
Coun. of the committee stated that they had examined the law on the subject and found that we, as a people, are not liable to be compelled to serve in the Militia, and if we do serve it will be by virtue of the commissions we hold.
On motion the report of the committee was accepted, and they discharged. [p. [5]]
On 22 April 1845 Amasa Lyman “moved that the reading of the minutes of the last meeting be dispensed with.” Though George A. Smith objected to this measure because reading the minutes was “a law of the council,” he was overruled and the minutes of the previous meeting were not read. A similar resolution was passed on 6 May 1845. There is no record of a similar vote taking place on 29 April, yet it appears that the council likewise decided to forgo reading the minutes on that occasion. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 and 29 Apr. 1845; 6 May 1845.)
Brigham Young had earlier suggested to Governor Thomas Ford that most Mormons were legally excused from service in the militia because of age or because they were licensed ministers of the gospel. Phelps’s statement about not being compelled to serve likely refers to these legal exemptions. His statement about the status of the Nauvoo Legion officers’ commissions was likely drawn from the provision on dividing regiments in the Illinois militia statute, which stated that when new regiments were created or divided, “commissioned officers, living in the bounds of any regiment so created, or of the old regiment, shall continue to hold their respective offices as though no such division had been made.” (Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, 31 Mar. 1845, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Militia [3 Mar. 1845], Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois [1844–1845], p. 358, sec. 6.)
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois, Adopted by the General Assembly of Said State, at Its Regular Session, Held in the Years, A. D., 1844–’5. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1845.