Minutes, [, Geauga Co., OH], 28–29 Sept. 1835. Featured version copied [not before 25 Feb. 1836] in Minute Book 1, pp. 119–125; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
Historical Introduction
On 28 and 29 September 1835, a council met in , Ohio, to deal with the cases of five elders who had been charged with improper conduct. The council, designated in JS’s journal as a “High Council,” included JS and members of the Kirtland and . JS acted “on the part of the defence for the accused to plead for mercy.” Probably because of his role as defender, JS did not preside in the meeting. These meetings came at the end of two and a half months in which at least six disciplinary councils were held in Kirtland. An August 1835 editorial in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate explained that at this time there were “many difficulties presenting themselves before the high council and , in consequence of the neglect of the laws of God.”
Two of the cases discussed in this 28–29 September council dealt with encounters the had on their mission to the eastern and in spring and summer 1835. The first case involved a charge preferred by the Twelve against , a former minister in the Freewill Baptist Church who had been in July 1832. Beginning in 1833 and continuing through the early months of 1835, Bishop preached throughout New England. Sometime in spring 1835, Gibson Smith, an in Norfolk, Connecticut, wrote a letter of complaint to church leaders in about Bishop. The matter was apparently referred to the Twelve Apostles because and , the clerks for the Twelve, published a notice in the April 1835 Messenger and Advocate stating that Bishop was “suspended as a preacher of the gospel until such times as an investigation can be had before the travelling elders from Kirtland at some one of the conferences” they planned to hold in the eastern United States. The investigation occurred at a 7 August 1835 held by the Twelve in Bradford, Massachusetts. At the conference, Bishop was cleared of Smith’s original charge because “no one appeared to substantiate the complaint.” However, in the course of the hearing, the Twelve found evidence that Bishop “had erred in Spirit and in Doctrine and was considerably inclined to enthusiasm and much lifted up.” They therefore took his from him, though they apparently also informed him that he could appeal his case to the Kirtland high council. The 28 September 1835 council considered that appeal, and after Bishop evinced a repentant attitude, the council restored his license and reordained him an .
The minutes indicate that there was some discord in the meeting over the actions of the Twelve Apostles in regard to , but ultimately the council decided that the Twelve had acted rightly in the original hearing. Other sources provide more light on this discussion. According to a January 1836 entry in JS’s journal, apparently complained about the Twelve’s handling of Bishop’s original hearing, though the journal does not state what Smith’s specific complaints were. In a January 1836 meeting with JS, members of the Twelve said that they were “hurt” by Hyrum Smith’s charges and that they believed “their proceedings with” Bishop “were in some degree discountenanced” by the complaint. Bishop himself remembered that the discussion “condemn[ed], the unhallowed, tyranical course of the twelve, which very much mortified their pride.” The situation contributed to tensions that already existed between the Twelve and other church leaders in .
The second case considered by the council involved one of the Lewis brothers from , New York, who was accused of adultery. The minutes initially identify the individual on trial as but then state that was the one cut off from the church. Since both brothers accompanied the from Westfield to , New York, for a conference and both became disengaged from the church around this same time, it is difficult to ascertain which one was on trial. The minutes refer to “brother Lewis” wanting to return to Freedom and not go on a mission; according to ’s journal, the Twelve assigned Lorenzo Lewis to serve a mission with to Springville, Pennsylvania, and Chenango Point, New York, to “set in order the things that were wanting” in the branches there. However, the minutes also relate ’s initial unwillingness to ordain Lewis “to an official station in the church,” though Marsh eventually acquiesced. According to McLellin’s journal, McLellin and ordained Lorenzo Lewis an elder on 13 May 1835; Lloyd Lewis was ordained an elder by an unspecified person or persons on 24 May. A later JS history identifies the individual who was disciplined by the high council as Lorenzo, but the possibility still exists that the individual in question was Lloyd.
The council also considered the cases of three other men: , who was appealing a decision made by an elders’ court in ; , who had been charged with a “public offense” regarding sales of the Book of Mormon; and , who had apparently declared that poor people should not have children. These three were all acquitted of the charges or restored to fellowship after making a confession. JS believed that the actions taken by the council were beneficial to the church. His journal states: “Much good will no doubt, result from our labors during the two days in which we were occupied on the business of the Church.”
acted as clerk for the high council and took the minutes. Sometime probably in 1836, recorded the minutes in Minute Book 1.
Saunders, Richard LaVell. “Francis Gladden Bishop and Gladdenism: A Study in the Culture of a Mormon Dissenter and His Movement.” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1989.
Record of the Twelve, 7 Aug. 1835; JS, Journal, 16 Jan. 1836. The constitution of the Kirtlandhigh council, which was prepared before the Twelve Apostles were designated, states that parties to decisions made by councils of high priests “abroad” could “appeal to the high Council at the seat of the general government of the Church, and have a re-hearing.” Bishop later remembered that in place of his license, the Twelve gave him a letter of commendation that stated, “‘We would say to the friends of brother Bishop, that there is nothing against his moral character, for that is good, and that they should not loose confidence in him, but we thought that he had better go to Kirtland and get some instructions, before he preached any more, and therefore we retained his Licence.’” (Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:24, 27]; Saunders, Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” 32.)
Saunders, Richard LaVell. A Transcription of “Zion’s Messenger,” by Francis Gladden Bishop, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1854. Logan, UT: No publisher, 1986.
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.
“Memoirs of Mindoro and Area, 1846–1969”; McLellin, Journal, 13 and 24 May 1835; JS, Journal, 19 Nov. 1835.
“Memoirs of Mindoro and Area, 1846–1969: 123 Years.” Typescript of commemorative publication distributed at Mindoro, Wisconsin, Community Fair, 1969. Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. http://murphylibrary.uwlax .edu/digital/lacrosse/MindoroMemoirs/.
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
McLellin, Journal, 24 May 1835; Record of the Twelve, 25 May 1835.
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Record / Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “A Record of the Transactions of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of the Latter Day Saints from the Time of Their Call to the Apostleship Which Was on the 14th Day of Feby. AD 1835,” Feb.–Aug. 1835. In Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–, vol. 2. CHL. CR 500 2.
McLellin, William E. Journal, July 1834–Apr. 1835. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 4. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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.
A 19 November 1835 entry in JS’s journal states that JS visited both Lorenzo and Lloyd “and conversed with them upon the subject of their being disaffected. I found that they were not so, as touching the faith of the church but with some of the members.” (JS, Journal, 19 Nov. 1835.)
Names of counsellors called, and all present, council opened by prayer.
President then rose and named the order of the day and of the council with a solemn charge to the same relative to their duty, which remarks and instructions were received by the councellors, which they signified by the uplifted hand. Six counsellors were chosen to investigate the cases that were to be brought before them, (viz.) Three for, and three against the accused or in behalf of the church 1st. Charge preferred by the, , against for advancing heretical doctrines which were derogatory to the character of the .
Much altercation followed, whether his case could be legally brought before this court or not, which was decidid in the affirmative.
Elder called as testimony, testified as follows concerning the two witnesses spoken of in the Prophecies That he observed to a brother with whom he was talking, he might be one of them & he might be one himself. That he intended to prophecy the night that an advertisement was put up by an enemy, saying that the Mormon Prophet and others were to be sold at auction in public, That he would not be surprised if the man that put up the advertisement should die at the time of sale. Elder Young corroborated the above testimony that said that was very erroneous in his tenets of faith
called, and gave evidence in corroboration of the above.
testifyeth that said frequently told of women falling in love with him, that he observed frequently when passing people that they felt his spirit. That he was indolent, so much so, that his presence was oppressive and his absence desirable. [p. 120]
In an explanation of Bishop’s hearing at the Massachusettsconference in August 1835, Orson Hyde stated that “there were some things in his [Bishop’s] teaching conduct, &c. for which the council chastised him, and he instead of confessing his faults, arose and justified himself. We saw that he was likely to cleave to the same things still; therefore, we took his lisence.” (“From the Letters of the Elders Abroad,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1835, 1:167.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
A report of this hearing in the Messenger and Advocate gave a different explanation of what Bishop said; the report claimed that he “stated that J. Smith, jr. and O. Cowdery” were the two witnesses. (“Extracts of Conference Minutes,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1835, 1:186.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.