Minutes, 24 February 1834
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Source Note
Minutes, , Geauga Co., OH, 24 Feb. 1834. Featured version copied [ca. 24 Feb. 1834] in Minute Book 1, pp. 41–42; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
On 24 February 1834, the , Ohio, —formed just the week before—met to hear a report from and about the condition of church members who had been driven from their homes in , Missouri, in November 1833. Church leaders in had sent several letters to JS and others reporting on the attacks that had led to their expulsion and requesting guidance; JS replied with counsel concerning their situation and instructions to maintain ownership of their Jackson County lands. On 16–17 December 1833, JS dictated a revelation declaring that “ shall not be moved out of her place notwithstanding her children are scattered.” Through a parable of a nobleman and his vineyard, the revelation explained that “the strength of mine house which are my wariors my young men and they that are of middle age” were to “break down the walls of mine enemies th[r]ow down their tower and scatte[r] their watchmen,” thereby redeeming the Lord’s vineyard, or Zion. JS sent a copy of this revelation, along with other instructions, to Missouri church leaders on 22 January 1834.Before they received the December 1833 revelation, church members held a in early January 1834, where they determined to send two individuals to . and volunteered. According to a later recollection of Pratt, the conference instructed them “to counsel with President Smith and the Church at Kirtland, and take some measures for the relief or restoration of the people thus plundered and driven from their homes.” As the body tasked with “settleing important difficulties which might arise in the church,” the Kirtland high council, over which JS presided, heard Pratt and Wight’s report on 24 February 1834. The two men also asked how and when church members would return to . JS then declared his intention to travel to Missouri to assist in redeeming , and between thirty and forty conference attendees volunteered to go with him.JS may have volunteered to go to because of instructions given in a revelation dictated the same day as this high council meeting was held. That revelation specifically designated JS as the “servant” mentioned in the 16–17 December 1833 revelation who was supposed to raise the group that would redeem Zion. The revelation also instructed several individuals, including JS, , and , to begin recruiting for the expedition and specified that the group should number at least one hundred and preferably five hundred individuals. It is not clear when on 24 February JS dictated the revelation, but if he did so before or during the high council meeting, JS would have had authority, given to him by the revelation, to assume the responsibility of commanding the expedition at the meeting. JS could have also dictated the revelation after the council meeting; if so, the revelation would have confirmed the high council’s decisions made earlier that day. Regardless, just two days later, JS and the others designated in the revelation began recruiting additional volunteers to go to Missouri and eventually formed an expedition, known as the , of more than two hundred individuals who traveled to , Missouri, in the summer of 1834.
Footnotes
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1
See Historical Introduction to Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102].
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2
See Letter, 30 Oct. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 14 Nov. 1833; Letter from John Corrill, 17 Nov. 1833; Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; Letter from William W. Phelps, 15 Dec. 1833; Letter to Edward Partridge, 5 Dec. 1833; and Letter to Edward Partridge et al., 10 Dec. 1833.
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3
Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:17, 55–57].
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5
William E. McLellin, who was likely present at this conference, later remembered the conference being held on 1 January 1834. (Larson and Passey, William E. McLellin Papers, 418.)
Larson, Stan, and Samuel J. Passey, eds. The William E. McLellin Papers, 1854–1880. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2007.
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6
Pratt, Autobiography, 114.
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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7
Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:2].
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8
Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:21–22, 30, 37–40].
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9
A later history of JS indicates the council was held after the revelation was dictated and does not provide any other contextual information. (JS History, vol. A-1, 437–441, addenda, 3nD.)
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10
JS, Journal, 26–28 Feb. 1834; Pratt, Autobiography, 116–122; Minutes, 17 Mar. 1834; Backman, Profile, appendix E; Woodruff, Journal, 1 May 1834; Account with the Church of Christ, ca. 11–29 Aug. 1834.
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.
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352. Also available as Wilford Woodruff’s Journals, 1833–1898, edited by Scott G. Kenney, 9 vols. (Midvale, UT: Signature Books, 1983–1985).
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