Administrative Records, Volume 1, Part 3 Introduction: September–October 1845
Part 3: September–October 1845
In early May 1845
conveyed to , who was
presiding in the eastern ,
an upbeat assessment of the Latter-day Saints’ present situation.
“All is peace in Zion,” Young wrote. “We never had better times, nor
better prospects, we do not anticipate any trouble at court, union
& peace in .” Young’s words to the church
in his Sunday sermon the same day he sent the letter painted a
similar picture: “We are blest, the L[or]d. smiles upon us . . . our prospects is better &
brighter now than ever they have been since this was a people.” But
he also urged those in Nauvoo to live faithfully—and to be prepared:
“Our enemies if they tho[ugh]t. we were
not prepared, wo[ul]d. be upon us.” Immediately after
the Council of Fifty reconvened on 9
September 1845, Young and other council members learned
that these preparations would be tested as violence erupted against
Mormons in areas outside Nauvoo. The Council of Fifty’s three
meetings in September and
October 1845 focused on advancing the council’s central
responsibility to find a place of safety for the Saints.
’s optimism in the spring reflected in part progress
on the
and
the , both structures that were mandated in a JS
revelation in 1841 and that
Young and other church leaders believed must be finished before the
Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo. In May the
Saints reached a milestone with the completion of stonework for the
temple, meaning that prospects were good for ordinance work later in
the year. A capstone ceremony on 24 May memorialized the
achievement. To minimize the risk of arrest of Young and others who
had kept largely out of sight, no public announcement was made, but
word quietly spread and “great numbers” gathered for the 6:00 a.m.
ceremony. After prayer Young slid the capstone into
place, then “led off with waiving his hat and shouting Hosanna,
Hosanna, Hosanna, Amen Amen, Amen.” Following music from the band,
Young gave a “little speech”: “The last stone is laid upon the
Temple and I pray the Almighty in the name of Jesus to defend us in
this place and sustain us untill the Temple is finished.” On 18
August the first brick was placed on the Nauvoo
House. Latter-day Saints continued to prioritize
the building of both structures over the summer months. On 28 August church leaders informed a
missionary that the temple was nearly completed and that “in a few
weeks we shall commence giving the endowment.” They also reported
that the exterior of the Nauvoo House was expected to be completed
in about six weeks.
On 4 May, the same day that gave his positive assessment of prospects for the
Saints in , , a member of both the
Quorum of the Twelve and the Council of Fifty, returned from his
many months of residence in the eastern to be ordained
as patriarch to the church. Following the murders of his brothers
Joseph and , Smith at first had affirmed that the Twelve “must
act in Joseph[’s] place on Earth as presiding officers & govern
the Church in all things temporaley & Spiritualy.” By the time of Smith’s
return to Nauvoo, however, the Twelve had received reports that he
had caused difficulties in the eastern branches of the church,
partly because of his involvement in unauthorized plural marriages.
Reports also circulated that Smith had come out in opposition to the
Twelve. Nevertheless, on 24 May
1845 Young ordained him as patriarch.
Tension between and other members of the
Twelve increased during summer 1845. A month after
the ordination, reported that Smith “seems to
think he ought to be president of the church, & since he was
ordained a Patriarch to the whole church he has endeavored to get up
an influence among the saints to persuade them that the office of
Patriarch necessarily makes him president.” On 17
August 1845 Smith openly discussed plural marriage and
“intimated in strong terms” that the other apostles, especially
Young and , “were
practising such things in secret but he was not afraid to do it
openly.” Despite all this, the
Twelve were about to publish a notice that Smith would be in the
East giving patriarchal blessings when returned to
following his
time in the eastern states. After Pratt provided details of harm
done in the eastern branches by Smith, the apostles withdrew their
support from Smith traveling there again to give blessings. At the church conference on 6 October 1845, Pratt objected to
Smith being sustained as one of the Twelve because he “aspires to
uproot and undermine the legal Presidency of the church, that he may
occupy the place himself.” After writing a pamphlet critical of the
Twelve, Smith was excommunicated on 19
October.
Among the other concerns of the Council of Fifty in May 1845 was that the upcoming trial of the men accused
of murdering JS would lead to renewed violence
in the region. Governor , fearing that anti-Mormons would interfere
with the trial, authorized Sheriff , the brigadier general over the local
militia, to call up his “whole Brigade including the Mormons” as
needed to defend the court and the witnesses. Responding to
rumors that the Mormons intended to attack during the
trial, the Council of Fifty agreed to send only those who had
business at court to Carthage. On 21
May, the day the trial opened, and even denied the urgent request of prosecuting
attorney for church leaders to
submit a list of witnesses for the trial, declaring that they
“wanted nothing to do with it,” as the trial was “between the and the prisoners or offenders,” not “the Mormons & anti Mormons.” In addition to questioning the impartiality
of the court, they expressed their fear that if they were “to enlist
in attempting to bring the murderers to justice, no matter how legal
in our movements, it would be construed into a persecution.”
Regardless of the result of the trial, they pledged to maintain
peace. In
truth, church leaders held out little hope for a successful
prosecution. On 26 May, wrote to that “there is
every reason to suppose they [the murderers] will be acquitted, for
it would be a new thing under the sun for Satans Kingdom to bring to
justice a man who has murdered a prophet of God.” On 30
May the defendants were found not guilty and the trial
concluded peacefully.
The Council of Fifty’s project to unite the Indians and find a new home in
the West also moved forward during summer 1845. On 10 May, the same day as the final
meeting of the council before the summer break, church leaders
signed the letters prepared by the council for the governors of the
, as well as a
letter addressed to President James K. Polk,
asking for the recipients’ views on “what is called the GreatWesternMeasure, of colonizing the Latter Day
Saints in , the
North western Territory, or some
location, remote from the states.” A month earlier, in their 11 April 1845
session,
the council had assigned , , and to accompany , an Oneida Indian, to the expected pan-Indian
council in Indian Territory. On 9 May the missionaries visited a
group of Stockbridge Indians led by Thomas T.
Hendrick near . Hendrick, likely a relative of Dana,
had been visited as early as 1840 by
Dunham when he first accompanied Dana to Indian Territory. The missionaries remained among the
Stockbridge for ten days before continuing south to attend the
Indian council. Hendrick wrote a letter of
recommendation for the party to an acquaintance among the Cherokee,
noting that the men were “true friends to the Indian Nations” and
that “their mission to you, is of great benefit to you, and all
nations, both temperally and Spiritually.”
The missionaries arrived at Fort Gibson in Cherokee
territory on 31 May only to learn
the council they had hoped to attend had taken place earlier in
Creek territory and that a follow-up council was not expected for
another year. While and remained in Indian Territory,
and returned to , arriving on
18 June with reports about
visiting a number of tribes and their assessment that “the tribes
are endeavouring to unite and a number of tribes are already
united.” Nevertheless, the men had little
success in the region. Phineas Young later recalled the difficulties
they faced on their mission and stated that “when we had got among
them, we found that there was not an Indian who ever heard of the
word Mormon.” Not until
late summer did discussion of the West again become a central
priority for church leaders. In the meantime, Latter-day Saints
prepared by expanding the amount of land under cultivation and by
equipping the and the arsenal to store what
they expected to be an unprecedented harvest.
The return of to by 2 August prompted a series of
meetings involving , the Twelve, and
others that intensified discussions about the West and that provide
essential background for understanding the Council of Fifty’s
deliberations after it reconvened in early September. The council had
formally censured Emmett in February
1845 for leading an emigrant group away from the city
without authorization. His company
remained encamped at Fort Vermillion on the
in present-day
South Dakota. Meetings were held in
relation to Emmett’s return and to determine his status in the
church on 2, 4, and 7 August. Because the Quorum of the Twelve played a
central role in the Council of Fifty, and because meetings convened
by the Twelve often included others in addition to the apostles, it
is unclear if these meetings were considered ad hoc meetings to
advance the work of the Council of Fifty or if they were considered
Quorum of the Twelve business more narrowly. The usual scribe for
council business, , was dealing with a
sore finger and could “not write much” during these first few weeks
of August. Minutes of
these meetings with Emmett were thus kept by other scribes, such as
and , and remained
separate from Clayton’s council minutes.
The 2 August meeting among , , and others
occurred at ’s office. Emmett explained
that the letters had delivered to him
the previous spring were “frie[n]dly & good . . . & had
weght [weighed] on his mind,” causing him to return to . Speaking for
himself and those he led, Emmett said, “Tis my desire & I know
it is their desire to hold on with the church.” He further explained
that his company had halted where it had at the request of a Sioux
chief and described many of the resources in the area his company
occupied. Young responded that “if Emmet & his company would
take our council in all things we would receive him into fellowship—
& save them[.] if not [we] would not fellowship [them].” When
Emmett protested that he believed he and his company could be in
fellowship even if they were separated from the body of Saints,
Young made clear that it was Emmett’s defiance of church authority
that was at issue, telling him “he would cut off every man who
followed him if they did not obey coulcil [council]— & they
should be turned over to the buffitings of satan.”
Two days later, several members of the Quorum of the Twelve convened to
discuss ’s actions and determine his fate.
Emmett explained that he had not intended to alienate himself from
the church: “I did not go bec[ause] I had not the same faith as the
church— but I went to get rid of the surrounding Gentile world . . .
if I co[ul]d. have had the fellowship of
the church I wo[ul]d. have staid there.”
To convince the skeptical assembly, Emmett testified, “I respect the
auth[orit]y. of the church— as from
heaven I believe God sent an angel & ord[aine]d.
Joseph the Prophet and that Josh. ordd.
others, & to that authy. I bow to,
when nothing else will— I believe that authy. to be in this church & no where else.”
While may have been softened by ’s apparent penitence, others, such as , responded with skepticism. Taylor asserted
that Emmett “knew that he was going contrary to counsel” and “knew
he was doing wrong.” Nevertheless, Young proposed that Emmett, who
had in his absence been disfellowshipped from the church on 3 September 1844 and dropped from
the Council of Fifty on 4 February
1845, be restored to his place in the church after
agreeing to abide by the decisions of the authorities of the church.
Young instructed to rebaptize Emmett
immediately and determined to send some men back with Emmett to his
company to deliver the instructions of church leaders.
At nearly the same time returned with a favorable report
of his company’s relations with the Sioux, two American Indians from
, Joseph Herring and his
nephew Moses Otis, visited . recorded that the two Mohawks
stopped at his office on 22 July
on their way from to southwestern to visit friends. After less than two weeks in
Nauvoo, both men were baptized by on 3 August and confirmed by him and
other members of the Twelve.
immediately saw the potential of these two converts
to serve as missionaries and envoys to the Indians whom
Herring and Otis had
been intending to visit in the West. He assigned council members
and to leave the next day
with them on a mission. Young personally “furnished these Lamanites
bro’s with guns clothing and money to bear their Expenses.” The four
men—Herring, Otis, Spencer, and Shumway—departed the afternoon of
4 August. On 1
September 1845 Spencer and Shumway returned carrying with
them not only a report of their own mission to the American Indians
but also that of . When the council
reconvened on 9 September,
Spencer reported on his mission and on Dana’s accomplishments.
In late August
another series of meetings addressed the vital council objective of
finding a new home for the Latter-day Saints. Although there are no
extant minutes for these sessions, several diaries mention them.
Discussion on 14 August appears
to have set the stage for what followed. As church leaders assembled
that afternoon for prayer, they “had conversation on various
subjects particularly about removing to a healthy climate after we
have done the work appointed us in ,” likely meaning the completion of the and
the . A council convened on 27 August in part to hear the
report of . To Pratt’s
report that the eastern branches were “weak in men & means &
growing weaker,” “said it is all good” and began
talking about the prospects of becoming an
independent country with a “regular governor” sometime the following
year. On 28
August, recorded in
his journal another meeting of Young and other church leaders who
“voted to select three thousand men who are able to bear arms to
prepare this winter to start to California next spring with their
families.” added that they were to
“begin preparing immediately.” Three days later, church leaders
again discussed “the
expedition,” likely labeling it this way to disguise the intended
location. According to Clayton, “The Twelve seem to think it
important that they should go with the company to select a location
and plant the standard. They would leave their families here and
return when they had succeeded in finding a place.” Richards
recorded a “vote” that Young be the next governor of California and
the vice
governor.
Although the diary entries lack details, by 28
August
and other church leaders had
identified a specific area of the immense region of as the location of their future home. In a
letter that day, church leaders instructed , a missionary in the , to direct any possible emigrants to the mouth of
the Columbia River in , to
San Francisco, or to Monterey
Bay in Alta California. From there they could make
their way inland to the main settlement of the Saints, which would
be located “in the neighborhood of Lake
Tampanagos as that is represented as a most
delightful district and [there are] no settlement[s] near
there.” Lake Tampanagos was the anglicized name
Zebulon Pike gave to the large body of
water described by the Domínguez-Escalante expedition of 1776. Believing the
Great Salt Lake to be an appendage of
Utah Lake, the expedition christened both
as Lake Timpanogó or Laguna de los
Timpanogos, after the American Indians living in the
region. In the September meetings of the Council of Fifty, Young stated
that his interest in this region was generated by the favorable
report of fur traders relayed by . In
addition, Captain ’s report on his 1843–1844 exploration of
Oregon and Upper California, published by early August,
likely played a major role in the church leaders’ decision. Throughout September the Nauvoo Neighbor reprinted
several excerpts of Frémont’s report, including lengthy passages on
the region around what Frémont named the Great Salt Lake. In an
editorial the Neighbor praised the description of the
Great Salt Lake, the Bear River Valley, and
the Great Basin—areas identified in council
minutes as potential gathering sites. According to a letter wrote on 6 September, church leaders planned
on sending the first company west sometime around 1 May 1846 and then stopping “near
the ,” where
the Saints could “make a stand, until we are able to enlarge and to
extend to the coast.” “When we arrive there,” Pratt stated, “we will
have land without buying it. And we will have liberty without asking
a set of corrupt office holders for it.” On 9
September, Young relayed these plans to settle “somewhere
near the Great Salt Lake” to the Council of Fifty and the council
began preparing for the overland journey.
Part 3 of the record of the Council of Fifty comprises only three meetings, those held 9 September, 30 September, and 4 October 1845. The day following the 9 September meeting, violence erupted in after months of threats and rising tension. With outlying settlements under attack, attention necessarily shifted for a time from planning for the emigration to the immediate exigency of aiding and defending church members in Hancock County. The final two fall meetings were held a few days before the October general conference and served as a preparation for the conference and the public discussion in conference of plans for emigrating. Rather than the partial exodus to the West envisioned by in the 28 August meeting, the plans shifted after the vigilantism against the Saints in September to a complete withdrawal of the Saints from . Following the adjournment of the 4 October meeting, planning for the exodus shifted to more public forums and the council did not reconvene until 11 January 1846.