Traveling Church Officers
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles originally had
jurisdiction over all of the church outside of and
its . In 1838, was centered in , Missouri. During early 1839, Zion and the
stake were disbanded because church members were migrating out of the
state under the terms of the expulsion order issued by Governor . On 16 January, the members of the , who were imprisoned in , Missouri, acknowledged
in a letter to apostles and
that “the gathering of
necessity stopt” and stated that the “management of the affairs of the
[entire] church” temporarily fell to the quorum.
Dissent and disaffection, combined with the 1838 conflict
between the Latter-day Saints and other Missourians, reduced the number
of functioning apostles throughout 1838, but by the end of the year,
quorum leaders began to ordain new apostles under the direction of the
First Presidency. The quorum continued to stabilize in early and
mid-1839, and its members embarked on a mission to
Europe by the end of the year.
The original members of the quorum were ranked in seniority
based on age. Newer members also were ordered by age, ranked below the
original members. On 16 January 1839, the First Presidency instructed
and to appoint the oldest of the original members to be the
president of the quorum.
Young, who was the oldest, acted as president of the quorum, although he
was not sustained as president until April 1840.
The following are notable events that occurred relative to
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 7 November 1837 to 8 July
1839:
• Late December 1837: and excommunicated; and appointed (but not
ordained).
• 13 April 1838:
excommunicated.
• 11 May 1838:
removed.
• 8 July 1838: and reappointed (but not ordained); and
appointed (but not ordained).
• Circa 20 October 1838: and
disaffected.
• 25 October 1838:
killed.
• 19 December 1838: and ordained.
• 16 January 1839: appointed as
acting president.
• 26 April 1839:
ordained.
• 4 May 1839: and suspended;
ordained.
• 25 May 1839:
restored.
• 27 June 1839: restored.
• 8 July 1839:
reappointed (but not ordained).
7 November 1837–19 December 1838
| 7 November 1837 | Late December 1837 | 13 April 1838 | 11 May 1838 | 8 July 1838 | Circa 20 October 1838 | 25 October 1838 | 19 December 1838 |
| President | President | President | President | President | President | President | President |
| Members | Members | Members | Members | Members | Members | Members | Members |
16 January 1839–8 July 1839
| 16 January 1839 | 26 April 1839 | 4 May 1839 | 25 May 1839 | 27 June 1839 | 8 July 1839 |
| Acting President | Acting President | Acting President | Acting President | Acting President | Acting President |
| Members | Members | Members | Members | Members | Members |
Presidency of the Seventy
A quorum of seventy traveling elders was organized in 1835.
The seventy were responsible for proselytizing and for administering to
church members in outside of and
established , under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. Unlike other
quorums in the church, which were generally presided over by one
president and two counselors, the First Quorum of the Seventy was
presided over by seven presidents. It is unclear whether
there was an order of seniority among the presidents. The Presidency of
the Seventy had authority to organize further quorums of seventy “until
seven times seventy” and was to preside over each quorum, functioning as
a distinct group. Second and third quorums
were organized in 1836. The members of the quorums
occasionally met in general meetings for all seventies; there are no
known records of members of an individual quorum meeting together in
1838 or 1839. The Presidency of
the Seventy organized the “Kirtland Camp” of
Saints migrating to in 1838 and renewed proselytizing
efforts in 1839.
The following are notable events that occurred relative to
the Presidency of the Seventy from circa 13 January to 13 March
1838:
• Circa 13 January 1838:
excommunicated.
• 6 February 1838:
appointed.
• 6 March 1838: rejected; ordained.
• 13 March 1838: and appointed pro
tempore presidents to fill in for and
, who apparently had
relocated from to .
| By September 1837 | Circa 13 January 1838 | 6 February 1838 | 6 March 1838 | 13 March 1838 | October 1838 | 31 August 1839 |
| Presidents | Presidents | Presidents | Presidents | Presidents | Presidents | Presidents |
| Presidents pro tempore | Presidents pro tempore | |||||