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.
your all to God, you shall be preserved if you keep his covenant and turn away from none of it. You shall have great power and wisdom & do great good before the Lord. You shall travel from land to land and from Kingdom to Kingdom. and you shall stand before and preach to Kings, and have power over great men, and poor men. & show forth signs and wonders to whom signs and wonders will be profitable, and in a good old age you shall return with rejoicing and bring many sheaves with you, Then shall you rest and your last days shall be your best days. Amen.
We you and set you apart to be one of the to preach the Gospel to the . If you seek with all your heart you shall go to other lands and preach the gospel to in other tongues & do a good and a great work. You shall have success in your ministry, and convert many in the nations who will hear you and lead the[m] to the Land of your home Amen.
We you to be an in the . You have seen affliction with the children of . You shall see many days & great events rolling one after another and many scenes rolling together. If you desire it with all your heart you shall stand on the land of Zion when the Lord descends. You shall have much strength. Your mind shall be filled with wisdom. You shall be as those who are raised up from infancy in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. You shall have the ministring of Angels to prepare you for your many duties Amen [p. 180]
Solomon Denton (1816–1864), who was baptized in 1831, began boarding with JS in December 1833 while he worked in the church’s printing shop in Kirtland. (Lancaster and Reed, Oakland County, Michigan, 71; Trial Proceedings, State of Ohio on Complaint of Grandison Newell v. JS, Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 9 June 1837, [2]; JS, Journal, 11 Dec. 1833.)
Lancaster, Beverly, and Russel Reed. Oakland County, Michigan: Oak Hill Cemetery (Older Sections), 1822–1991. Pontiac, MI: Pontiac Area Historical and Genealogical Society, 1992.
Denton apparently lived in Missouri before coming to Kirtland in December 1833 after the Saints were expelled from Jackson County, Missouri. (Trial Proceedings, State of Ohio on Complaint of Grandison Newell v. JS, Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 9 June 1837, [2].)