The grand council of church leaders that met in the attic of the on 13 January 1836 reconvened two days later in a council room on the third floor of the . The council discussed and voted on the rules and regulations that a committee led by JS had drafted the previous day. The church leaders at the meeting further organized the preparatory to the and the promised of power. were then appointed and to lead the various quorums of the priesthood. This structure—each quorum overseen by a presiding official—had been described in a November 1831 revelation that was later incorporated into the instruction on priesthood published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. The council also oversaw the bestowal of blessings on certain individuals and conducted other business concerning the House of the Lord.

There are two extant accounts of the 15 January meeting. took the official minutes, probably on loose paper, but that original version has not survived. copied the minutes into Minute Book 1 sometime in the spring of 1836. penned an alternate account in JS’s journal sometime shortly after the meeting took place. Because Minute Book 1 represents the official record of meetings of church governance in and both extant versions are contemporaneous, the Minute Book 1 version is presented here. Significant differences between the two versions are noted.