Minutes, 12 March 1835
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Source Note
Minutes, [, Geauga Co., OH], 12 Mar. 1835. Featured version copied [between ca. 12 Mar. and May 1835] in “Record of the Transactions of the Twelve,” p. 4, in Patriarchal Blessing Book 2; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Record of the Twelve, 14 Feb.–28 Aug. 1835.
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Historical Introduction
On 8 March 1835, the convened to consider “pressing requests” from church branches in the eastern to hold that year. On 12 March 1835, the Twelve, along with JS, met again and continued the discussion, refining plans established on 8 March. A schedule of dates and locations approved at the 8 March meeting was presented, along with an additional conference date for , Ohio, and accepted. The unanimous decision was for the Twelve to commence their mission to the eastern branches on 4 May 1835. Conferences were to be held from May to October 1835 at existing branches in ; , , Lyonstown, and Pillar Point, New York; West Loughborough, Upper Canada (near Kingston, Ontario); St. Johnsbury, Vermont; Bradford, Massachusetts; Dover, New Hampshire; and and Farmington, Maine.The 12 March council also assigned to “open a door to the remnants of Joseph who dwelt among the ,” believed by church members to be the American Indians. This was not the first call to preach to the American Indians. The “ Mission” of 1830–1831 was part of a larger effort to establish the Saints in , which was thereafter identified as a “land of promise.” A September 1830 revelation had indicated that the city of would be built “among the Lamanites,” and the subsequent mission both evangelized the American Indians and sought to locate a site where “the Temple of God shall be built, in the glorious .” During the course of the mission, and others preached to the Senecas of the Iroquois Confederacy (Cattaraugus) near , New York; the Wyandots in ; and the Delawares west of the . Brigham Young’s appointment to preach to the Indians may have differed somewhat from these previous efforts, as the call seemed to distinguish the indigenous populations in the East from the Indian nations in the West. After centuries of contact, Christianization, and commercial enterprise, some eastern Indians did, as the minutes suggest, live “among the Gentiles.” Young’s appointment could be read as an attempt to build connections with the assimilated Indians living in Anglo society or, more broadly, as part of the Twelve’s commission to “unlock the door of the kingdom of heaven unto all nations,” including Indian nations.and served as clerks of this 12 March 1835 meeting. Hyde later recorded the minutes of the meeting in the Record of the Twelve that he and McLellin compiled.
Footnotes
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1
The Twelve had been appointed as apostles, or to the “office of traveling high council,” on 14 February 1835. (See Minutes and Discourses, 27 Feb. 1835; Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.)
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2
Orson Hyde and William E. McLellin, Kirtland, OH, 8 Mar. 1835, Letter to the Editor, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1835, 1:90. Neither Thomas B. Marsh nor Orson Pratt were aware of their calls as apostles, so a public notice requesting their immediate return to Kirtland was placed in the March issue of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. They had not yet returned by the date of this meeting. Parley P. Pratt was likely not at this meeting either, as his autobiography indicates he returned to New Portage, Ohio, after his ordination on 21 February 1835. (Notice to Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Pratt, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1835, 1:90; Pratt, Autobiography, 137.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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3
See Orson Hyde and William E. McLellin, Kirtland, OH, 8 Mar. 1835, Letter to the Editor, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1835, 1:90.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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4
Various passages in the Book of Mormon use the phrases “remnant of the seed of Joseph,” “remnant of the house of Joseph,” or “remnant of Joseph” to refer to Nephites and Lamanites, and some passages specifically refer to the gospel being brought to these peoples in the last days. The link between the Book of Mormon peoples and the American Indians appears in connection with the mission of Oliver Cowdery and others to preach to the “Lamanites” in 1830–1831. According to a later JS history, in 1830 “great desire was manifest by several of the Elders” to preach to “the remnants of the house of Joseph—the Lamanites residing in the west.” (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 352, 464, 475, 566–567 [Alma 46:23–27; 3 Nephi 5:21–23; 10:17; Ether 13:6–10]; JS History, vol. A-1, 60.)
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
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5
For an overview of efforts among American Indians during this time period, see Walker, “Seeking the ‘Remnant,’” 1–33.
Walker, Ronald W. “Seeking the ‘Remnant’: The Native American during the Joseph Smith Period.” Journal of Mormon History 19 (Spring 1993): 1–33.
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6
Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:2].
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7
Revelation, Sept. 1830–B [D&C 28:8–10, 14].
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8
Revelation, Sept. 1830–D [D&C 30:5–6]; Revelation, Oct. 1830–A [D&C 32:1–3]; Covenant of Oliver Cowdery and Others, 17 Oct. 1830.
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9
Pratt, Autobiography, 61.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
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10
Previous missionaries of the church had made contact with assimilated Indians, such as famed Methodist Pequot preacher Rev. William Apes (Apess after 1836). Samuel Smith met Apes in 1832 and was invited to preach to his Indian congregation while in Massachusetts. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 10 July 1832.)
Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.
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11
Minutes and Discourses, 27 Feb. 1835. Eventually, John P. Greene, Amos Orton, Lorenzo Young, and Phineas Young were ordained along with Brigham Young as “missionar[ies] to the Lamanites.” At a meeting of the Twelve on 25 May 1835 in Freedom, New York, it was resolved that Brigham Young, Greene, and Orton would travel southeast to the Seneca Indians. Between 25 and 31 May, the three preached to the “seed of Joseph,” including some who were Presbyterians and one who was “Pagon [Pagan].” The three missionaries left the Book of Mormon with those they preached to. (Minutes and Discourses, 7–8 Mar. 1835; Record of the Twelve, 25 May 1835; Young, Journal, 25–31 May 1835; see also John P. Greene, Freedom, NY, to Rhoda Young Greene, 24 May 1835, CHL; and Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835.)
Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.
Greene, John P. Letter, Freedom, NY, to Rhoda Young Greene, 24 May 1835. CHL. MS 9871.
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