Church Officers in Nauvoo, Illinois, May–August 1842
In 1839, a church conference organized a stake in
(later ), Illinois. The
stake leadership consisted of a president, a high council, and three
bishops. A January 1841 revelation designated the Nauvoo stake as a “corner stone of
Zion.”
Presidency
In 1839, a general conference of the church appointed as president of the stake in
(later ), Illinois. On 30 March 1841, Marks informed the
Nauvoo high council that he had chosen and as
his counselors. Cowles and Rich were ordained the same day and
served in those roles throughout the period from May through August
1842.
| 1 May–31 August 1842 |
| , president |
| , first counselor |
| , second counselor |
High Council
In 1839, a general conference of the church appointed
twelve men to serve as members of the in
(later ), Illinois. Though council
members changed over the years, the council remained the same for the
period from May through August 1842. When individual
members could not attend, alternates (or members pro tempore) were
appointed to participate in council meetings. These temporary appointments are not
reflected in this chart.
| 1 May–31 August 1842 |
Bishops
In 1839, a general conference of the church designated
three men—, , and —as , assigning each to be responsible for a specific
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or ward, in
(later ), Illinois. Partridge died in May 1840, and in
January 1841 replaced him as bishop. During the next month, JS appointed as bishop of an
unspecified ward. On 20 August 1842, the
Nauvoo high council appointed as
bishop of the third ward to replace Vinson Knight, who had died
weeks before. This suggests that the original upper,
middle, and lower wards may have become known as the first, second, and
third wards, respectively. At the same meeting, the high council divided
Nauvoo into ten ecclesiastical wards and the immediate surrounding area
into three districts (one of which was also called a ward). Furthermore,
they appointed nine new bishops, in addition to Samuel Smith, and
assigned them to specific wards. Seven of the newly appointed
bishops, listed below, were ordained the following day. Although Samuel Smith, , and were
appointed, it is unclear whether they were ordained. Extant records do
not indicate whether or when the high council called bishops for the
remaining wards.
| 1 May–21 August 1842 | 21–31 August 1842 |
| (Upper Ward) | (First Ward?) |
| (Middle Ward) | (Second Ward?) |
| (Lower Ward) | (unspecified ward) |
| (unspecified ward) | (Fourth Ward) |
| (Fifth Ward) | |
| (Eighth Ward) | |
| (Ninth Ward) | |
| (Tenth Ward) | |
| David Evans (Eleventh Ward) | |
| (southeast district) |