Minutes, 28 June 1838
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Source Note
Minutes, , Daviess Co., MO, 28 June 1838. Featured version published in Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, pp. 60–61. For more complete source information, see the source note for Elders’ Journal, Oct. 1837.
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Historical Introduction
On 28 June 1838, JS served as the chairman of a conference to organize a of at in , Missouri. Two months earlier, on 26 April 1838, a revelation had designated nearby , in , as a holy place in which to build a city of Zion and a . In addition, the revelation directed that “other places” should also “be appointed for stakes in the regions round about as they shall be manifested unto my Servant Joseph from time to time.” JS had long contemplated establishing multiple places of gathering in . In 1833, JS explained that when growth necessitated expansion beyond the original plat of the city of Zion in , Missouri, the Saints could develop another plat “in the same way and so fill up the world in these last days.” By 1837 it was time to expand, and in September church leaders in selected JS and to go to Missouri and “appoint other Stakes or places of ” in addition to Far West. After traveling to Missouri, JS and Rigdon met with local church officers, who affirmed the assignment to locate sites for future settlement and established a committee to assist in locating sites. One of the committee members was , who reported that he had found an abundance of sites for mills and settlements to the north. Another committee member, , soon settled with his family north of Far West on the in Daviess County.In the second half of May 1838, JS and several others traveled north to to survey land for settlement, using church member ’s home on the as a base of operations. On 21 May, the surveying party decided that instead of exploring further northward, they should focus on securing all the land they could on the Grand River, especially in the vicinity of Wight’s farm, by a bluff they called . Around this time, JS dictated a revelation stating that Spring Hill “was called Adam Ondi Awmen, because said he it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people.” The word Awmen (also spelled Ahman, Ah Man, and Awman) was not new to JS. In 1832 he produced a document titled “Sample of Pure Language,” which stated Awmen was the name of God in the language of Adam. In 1835 JS taught that Adam, before dying, had gathered “the residue of his posterity, who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing.” According to , when JS applied this name to Spring Hill, he gave the following interpretation in English: “The valley of God, in which Adam blessed his children.” JS returned to at the end of the month.In early June 1838, JS and others returned to . According to JS’s journal, the group “continued surveying and building houses &c for some time day after day.” The surveying culminated in the completion of a city plat for , likely by the end of the month. During this time, JS’s uncle —a former member of the church in —arrived in with six other families who had moved from Kirtland to be with the Latter-day Saints in . According to JS’s history, JS “counseled them to settle at Adam ondiahman.” , who was already living there, reported that on 24 June the “called a meeting” at Adam-ondi-Ahman to organize the church there. The meaning of “called” is unclear; Swartzell may have been referring to a circulated announcement about the organizational meeting to be held on 28 June, or he may have been describing the meeting itself, giving the wrong date. Two days before the meeting, John Smith and those traveling with him arrived at Adam-ondi-Ahman.On the morning of 28 June 1838, JS served as the chairman at the “conference meeting,” which convened near ’s home. During the meeting, was organized as a stake with a presidency, a , and a temporary . and other former officers in the presidency and bishopric of the stake, which was being disbanded, were appointed to fill similar roles in the stake in Adam-ondi-Ahman. After these and other appointments, JS gave instruction to the new officers.The minutes of the meeting close by listing JS as the chairman, possibly indicating that he approved of the minutes, and Isaac Perry and as the clerks. At some point, the decision was made to publish the minutes in the Elders’ Journal. , who had been appointed in May to edit articles for the paper, may have helped prepare the minutes for publication. A fair copy was probably prepared for the printers to use in typesetting. The minutes were published in the August issue of the Elders’ Journal.
Footnotes
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1
Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:7–8].
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2
Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:18].
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5
Travel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837; see also Minutes, 6 Nov. 1837.
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6
Travel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837; Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 21 Jan. 1838.
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7
Minutes, 7–8 Apr. 1838; Corrill, Brief History, 28; JS, Journal, 18 May–1 June 1838; Lyman Wight, Mountain Valley, TX, to Wilford Woodruff, [Salt Lake City], 24 Aug. 1857, p. 9, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
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8
JS, Journal, 18 May–1 June 1838; see also Swartzell, Mormonism Exposed, 11–12.
Swartzell, William. Mormonism Exposed, Being a Journal of a Residence in Missouri from the 28th of May to the 20th of August, 1838, Together with an Appendix, Containing the Revelation concerning the Golden Bible, with Numerous Extracts from the ‘Book of Covenants,’ &c., &c. Pekin, OH: By the author, 1840.
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9
Sample of Pure Language, between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832; see also William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 26 May 1835, William W. Phelps, Papers, BYU.
Phelps, William W. Papers, 1835–1865. BYU.
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10
Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:53].
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11
Corrill, Brief History, 28; see also Letter to Stephen Post, 17 Sept. 1838.
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12
JS returned to Far West on 24 May. On 28 May, JS was headed north of Far West to scout out further locations for settlement. He returned again to Far West on 1 June, the day before the birth of his son Alexander Hale Smith. (JS, Journal, 18 May–1 June 1838.)
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14
JS History, vol. B-1, 799; see also “Record Book A,” in Sherwood, Record Book, CHL.
Sherwood, Henry G. Record Book, ca. 1838–1844. CHL.
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15
John Smith, Journal, 16 June 1838; JS History, vol. B-1, addenda, 6nV.
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.
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16
Swartzell, Mormonism Exposed, 13. This passage in Swartzell’s publication may be a retrospective expansion on his original journal entry. John Smith wrote in his journal that JS “called thelders to gether.” (John Smith, Journal, 28 June 1838.)
Swartzell, William. Mormonism Exposed, Being a Journal of a Residence in Missouri from the 28th of May to the 20th of August, 1838, Together with an Appendix, Containing the Revelation concerning the Golden Bible, with Numerous Extracts from the ‘Book of Covenants,’ &c., &c. Pekin, OH: By the author, 1840.
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.
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17
John Smith, Journal, 26 June 1838.
Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.
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18
Barnes was appointed clerk for the high council and the stake at the end of the conference.
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19
The Zion high council had decided to publish meeting minutes in the Elders’ Journal when deemed proper. Four sets of minutes were published in the July issue. (Minutes, 21 Apr. 1838; Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 44–47.)
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20
Minute Book 2, 12 May 1838; see also Minutes, 6 Aug. 1838, in JS, Journal, 6 Aug. 1838.
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