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Minutes, 30 March 1836

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Minutes, 30 March 1836

Source Note

Solemn Assembly, Minutes, , Geauga Co., OH, 30 Mar. 1836. Featured version copied [ca. 30 Mar. 1836] in JS, Journal, 1835–1836, pp. 187–190; unidentified handwriting; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, 1835–1836.

Historical Introduction

On 30 March 1836, men in the attended the long-anticipated in the in , Ohio. At the dedication of the House of the Lord three days earlier, church members had experienced spiritual outpourings, which continued in the hours and days leading up to the solemn assembly. For the men in attendance, the 30 March meeting was the pinnacle of a progression of , , and blessings in preparation for the promised of “power from on high.” At the solemn assembly, JS and the church’s participated in a ritual , prophesied, and received blessings that empowered them to go forth and preach the gospel.
In the unfinished on 12 November 1835, JS informed the that he wanted to make “the foundation of this church complete and permanent,” a process that included administering the of “washing of feet.” JS desired that “all the ” of the church, or men who held office, participate in this ordinance. Furthermore, he told the Twelve on that November day that the washing of feet was “necessary now as much as it was in the days of the Saviour.” JS instructed them, however, that “the house of the Lord must be prepared, and the solem assembly called” so that the ordinance could be administered there, “aside from the world.” He admonished that the ordained men needed a heavenly enrichment, an instruction or endowment of power at the solemn assembly to help them preach the gospel and “overcome all things” while on their future missions.
On Tuesday, 29 March 1836, two days after the dedication of the , JS and a select group of church leaders met in the House of the Lord to finalize preparations for the solemn assembly. Participants included the church —JS, , , , , and —the presidency of (), and the two of the church. At this, the first of two days and nights of meetings, the church leaders received instruction about their going to Zion, and they also ceremoniously washed one another’s feet in what described as “a solemn scene.” They then partook of the of bread and wine and spent the night in the House of the Lord “prophesying and giving glory to God.”
Early the following morning, the Twelve, the , and other priesthood gathered for the solemn assembly. They joined JS and the other church leaders in the and participated in the washing of feet, which one participant referred to as “the last ordinance of the endowment.” In the afternoon, the church leaders “commenced prophesying” and “the Spirit of prophecy was poured out upon the congregation,” including “shouts of hosanna, to God and the Lamb with amen and amen.”
During the meeting, JS stated that he “had now completed the organization of the church” and that the church leaders and official members “had passed through all the necessary ceremonies.” Soon after this 30 March session, JS declared that those ordained men, armed with new knowledge and divinely empowered, “now were at liberty . . . to go forth and build up the kingdom of God.” In the weeks following the meeting featured here, most of the ordained men left to proselytize and to “raise Money to purchase land” for the church in .
The proceedings of the solemn assembly as featured here were recorded in JS’s journal. The scribe is not known, and no other version of the minutes is known to exist.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historical Introduction to Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109].

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:32]; Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:16]; Luke 24:49; Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:8–9]; see also Revelation, 2 Aug. 1833–A [D&C 97:12–16]; Minutes, 3 Mar. 1836; Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109]; and Corrill, Brief History, 23.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 12 Nov. 1835; Discourse, 12 Nov. 1835.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836; Partridge, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836; William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, Apr. 1836, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.

    Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836; Post, Journal, 29 Mar. 1836.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  6. [6]

    Post, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836; Partridge, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

    Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

  7. [7]

    This declaration on 30 March fulfilled the instruction JS gave on 12 November 1835 that after ordained men were endowed with power they would be prepared to go forth to “preach the gospel to all nations kindred and toungs in there own languages.” (Discourse, 12 Nov. 1835.)

  8. [8]

    W. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836.

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes, 30 March 1836 Journal, 1835–1836 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”
upon each others heads, and cursings upon the enimies of Christ who inhabit Missouri[.] continued prophesying and blessing and sealing them with and Amen until nearly 7 o clock P.M. the was then brought in, and I observed that we had fasted all the day; and lest we faint; as the Saviour did so shall we do on this occasion, we shall bless the bread and give it to the and they to the multitude, after which we shall bless the wine and do likewise; while waiting for the wine I made the following remarks, that the time that we were required to tarry in to be would be fulfilled in a few days, and then the would go forth and each must stand for himself, that it was not necessary for them to be sent out two by two as in former times; but to go in all meekness in sobriety and preach Jesus Christ & him crucified not to contend with others on the account of their faith or systems of religion but pursue a steady course, this I delivered by way of , and all that observe them not will pull down persecution upon your <​thier​> heads, while those who do shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost, this I pronounced as a prophesy, sealed with a & amen. Also that the are not called to serve tables or preside over churches to settle difficulties, but to preach the gospel and build them up, and set others who do not belong to these to preside over them who are — the twelve also are not to serve tables, but to bear the to all nations, and unlock them and call upon the seventies to follow after them and assist them. The 12 are at liberty to go wheresoever they will [p. 188]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 30 March 1836
ID #
5778
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:216–221
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [3]

    Edward Partridge recorded that “the priests teachers & deacons [were] in one corner the vails having been let down, and the other officers occupied the rest of the lower room.” According to Partridge, “The washing of feet was performed by noon, then they began to prophecy and speak in tongues adding shouts of hosanna, to God and the Lamb with amen and amen this continued till dark.” Similarly, Stephen Post recorded that the men “prophesied, spake and sang in tongues” in the four parts of the curtained lower court. (Partridge, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836; Post, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836.)

    Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  2. [4]

    An allusion not only to Matthew 15:32–38—when Jesus fed the multitude bread and fish “lest they faint”—but also to the Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 490–491, 496 [3 Nephi 18:1–11; 20:1–9]—when Jesus administered bread and wine as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. A February 1833 revelation stated that homemade wine could be used for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.a William W. Phelps wrote that “the sacrament was administered, as the feast of the Passover for the first time in more than 1800 years.”b Stephen Post recorded that the men “partook of bread & wine in commemoration of the marriage supper of the Lamb,” a phrase mentioned in Revelation 19:9 as a symbolic representation of the second coming of Jesus Christ.c In November 1835, JS taught that after the completion of the temple, Latter-day Saints would “stand in holy places ready to meet the bride groom when he comes.”d

    (aRevelation, 27 Feb. 1833 [D&C 89:5–6]. bW. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836; compare Snow, Journal, 1835–1837, [24]. cPost, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836. dJS, Journal, 12 Nov. 1835.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

    Post, Stephen. Journals, 1835–1879. Stephen Post, Papers, 1835–1921. CHL. MS 1304, box 6.

  3. [5]

    William W. Phelps wrote that the jubilee and Passover that began at the solemn assembly ended a week later on 6 April, which date was the sixth anniversary of the church’s organization and was “set apart as a day of prayer, to end The feast of the passover. and in honor of the Jubilee of the church.” However, Phelps also wrote that elders began leaving Kirtland on 1 April. (W. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836; see also Partridge, Journal, 6 Apr. 1836.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

    Partridge, Edward. Journal, Jan. 1835–July 1836. Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892, box 1, fd. 2.

  4. [6]

    See Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:6]; and Revelation, 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61:35].

  5. [7]

    See 1 Corinthians 2:1–8.

  6. [8]

    John Corrill explained that JS told the elders, who were now “endowed with power to go forth [from Kirtland] and build up the Kingdom,” to act cautiously “and avoid contention, and not to meddle with other orders of Christians, nor proclaim against their doctrines, but to preach the gospel in its simplicity, and let others alone.” (Corrill, Brief History, 26.)

  7. [9]

    In response, many who attended the solemn assembly departed immediately to preach the gospel. William W. Phelps wrote, “On Friday, April 1, the elders began to go forth to bind up the [law] and seal up their testimony: and though the going was very hard, not a word was heard, every [one] was anxious to be in the field.” Erastus Snow, who left Kirtland on 16 April, reported that while “laboring entirely alone” he baptized fifty people and organized three branches of the church in Indiana, returning to Kirtland in December. Ebenezer Robinson departed on his mission 2 June 1836 and said that he “took leave of wife and home, and with valise in hand, started out on foot, without purse or script. (leaving the last penny at home.) being only twenty years and eight days old. trusting solely on the Lord.” (W. Phelps to S. Phelps, Apr. 1836; Erastus Snow, Kirtland, OH, 30 Dec. 1836, Letter to the Editor, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1837, 3:440; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, June 1889, 90–91.)

    Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

  8. [10]

    That is, to involve themselves in local ministry—see Acts 6:1–4. Jesus charged the seventy to preach the gospel in Luke 10:1–16.

  9. [11]

    The spring 1835 “Instruction on Priesthood” stated that the Seventy formed “a quorum equal in authority to that of the twelve” and under the direction of the Twelve were to be “especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world.” (Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:25–26]; see also Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835.)

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