Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, [, Geauga Co., OH], 1 Mar. 1835. Featured version copied [not before 25 Feb. 1836] in Minute Book 1, pp. 172–186; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
Historical Introduction
On the morning of 1 March 1835, church members convened a meeting in , Ohio, apparently as a continuation of a meeting that had adjourned on 28 February. Several men appointed to the office of were given blessings in that 28 February meeting. The blessings continued in this 1 March 1835 meeting, and at least thirty-three individuals, including some not designated as seventies, were blessed. All those receiving ordinations and blessings in this meeting had participated in the expedition. According to later reminiscences, many of these blessings were performed by members of the church presidency, including JS, his , , and . The minutes indicate that several individuals who had recently been were also confirmed members of the church at the meeting, and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered. JS also gave instructions on the necessity of worthiness when partaking of the sacrament.
It is unclear who originally recorded the ordination blessings or the minutes of the meeting. later copied them into Minute Book 1.
For examples, see Hutchings, Journal, 15 Feb. 1835; Burgess, Autobiography, 4; and “Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 22.
Hutchings, Elias. Journal, Dec. 1834–Sept. 1836. CHL. MS 1445.
Burgess, Harrison. Autobiography, ca. 1883. Photocopy. CHL. MS 893. Also available as “Sketch of a Well-Spent Life,” in Labors in the Vineyard, Faith-Promoting Series 12 (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884), 65–74.
“Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 1845–1855. In Seventies Quorum Records, 1844–1975. CHL. CR 499.
You shall have heavenly visions and the ministry of Angels shall be your lot. You shall have great faith to perform your work. You shall go to Islands that are not troubled with Priests, and convert and depopulate them, and bring them to and join your brethren with great rejoicing. amen.
.
We you to be one of the and an in the . Your tongue shall be loosed and you shall have much knowledge & wisdom to teach all the revelations which you have received through others. You shall, if you diligently seek after wisdom, not be a whit behind your Brethren in this ministry. You shall have power to fill your days with usefulness and have favor in the eyes of God, and men and not be persecuted as some of your brethren. These blessings are for you and your offspring, and finally you shall return and rejoice (if faithful) with your Brethren & family upon this land. Amen
We you to be one of the You shall be a messenger to both civilized and uncivilized and you shall be sent and you shall proclaim the gospel to both poor & rich; you shall proclaim from kingdom to kingdom and from land to land and you shall have all the powers necessary to fill this ministry with dignity, with honor and much usefulness, and in the end you shall return to your own land and enjoy the rest of the saints. Amen.
Daniel Stevens [Stephens]
Tho[u] hast had many pronounced upon thee and we confirm them all upon thee, No man can fill this mission [p. 178]
Daniel Stephens was baptized in June 1832 in New York and was ordained an elder the following month. He spent a considerable amount of time after his baptism preaching in New York and Pennsylvania before accompanying the Camp of Israel expedition to Missouri. (Daniel Stephens, Report, 16 Feb. 1835, Missionary Reports, 1831–1900, CHL.)
Joseph Smith Sr. began giving patriarchal blessings after he was ordained a patriarch in December 1834. Oliver Cowdery started recording blessings into a patriarchal blessing book in September 1835, but there is no record of a blessing to Stephens in that book. Cowdery noted that “there were many blessings given previous” to that time, but he did not have a record of all of them, “as many retain their blessings in their own hands, not yet having handed them in to be recorded.” (Patriarchal Blessings, 1:9, 16.)