Church Officers in Nauvoo, Illinois, February–November 1841
On 6 May 1839, a conference of the church appointed a
and a president to oversee the church members in the ,
Illinois, area. These two positions were essential for
the organization of a , which formally took place on 5 October 1839
during a general conference of the church. A January 1841 revelation designated as
both a stake and a “cornerstone of Zion.”
Presidency
On 5 October 1839, a general conference of the church
approved the creation of a stake in (later )
and appointed as president. Marks continued to
serve in that capacity without counselors until 30 March 1841, when and were
appointed to serve in those roles.
| 1 February–30 March 1841 | 30 March–30 November 1841 |
| President | President |
| Counselors | |
High Council
On 5 October 1839, a general conference of the church
appointed twelve men to serve as members of the newly created Nauvoo
. When individual
members could not attend, alternates (or pro tempore members) were
appointed to participate in council meetings. These temporary
appointments are not reflected in the chart below. A few changes
to the membership of the high council occurred in the period between
February and November 1841. Although was appointed
to fill a vacancy in the Nauvoo high council on 5 September 1840, JS’s
19 January 1841 revelation specified that was to fill the position instead. Accordingly,
a 6 February 1841 meeting of the high council replaced Cowles with
Johnson.
’s death on 10 March 1841 left a vacancy in the high
council,
’s ordination as a
counselor in the Nauvoo stake presidency on 30 March 1841 left another
vacancy. At the April 1841
general conference of the church, and were appointed to fill these positions.
| 1 February–6 February 1841 | 6 February–7 April 1841 | 8 April–30 November 1841 |
Bishops
On 6 May 1839, a conference of the church appointed as
in
(later ). On 5 October 1839, a general conference
of the church designated three men, including Whitney, to serve as
bishops in Commerce, assigning each to be responsible for a specific
ward, a geographical subdivision of the city.
became the upper ward bishop following his call
in a January 1841 revelation to replace , who had died.
JS appointed as a bishop to
an unspecified ward on 19 February 1841.
| 1 February–30 November 1841 |
| Upper Ward |
| Middle Ward |
| Lower Ward |
| Unspecified ward |
| (appointed on 19 February 1841) |