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Minutes, 6 June 1833

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Minutes, 6 June 1833

Source Note

Minutes, [, Geauga Co., OH], 6 June 1833. Featured version copied [ca. 6 June 1833] in Minute Book 1, p. 21; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.

Historical Introduction

At a of held on 6 June 1833, participants sustained as a clerk for the . For much of the year prior to this conference, Hyde had traveled in the eastern as a missionary. Beginning in March 1833, he served with on a mission to several areas in the East, including , Pennsylvania. Then in April, Hyde was assigned to serve with at Conneaut Township, Pennsylvania. Hyde likely returned to , Ohio, before 1 June 1833. He began his duties as clerk by 6 June and served alongside , who had served as a clerk pro tempore for the first half of the year. Williams continued to act in that capacity until September 1833, and Hyde served as clerk and sole scribe for entries in Minute Book 1 from 26 December 1833 to 17 February 1834.
The following minutes of the 6 June conference, which recorded, note the authorization to immediately begin constructing the . Building the House of the Lord had been mandated by a JS revelation in late 1832. At a conference held on 4 May 1833, , , and were appointed as a committee to raise funds for the construction of the House of the Lord. On 1 June, JS dictated a revelation that chastised the church leaders for their lack of progress on building the house and, likely in response to that revelation, the aforementioned committee prepared a circular addressed to the that requested funds needed to begin construction.
Following the dictation of that revelation, a conference of high priests appointed JS, , and —the presidency of the high priesthood—“to obtain a draft or construction of the inner court of the ” and to serve as a planning committee. At the conference of high priests featured in the minutes here, , , and received counsel, and their responsibilities expanded from fund-raising to overseeing the construction of the House of the Lord. The conference also directed the building committee to commence work on the house immediately. A day later, Hyrum began clearing ground and digging the foundation for the building; he wrote in his journal, “This Day Commenced making Preparation for the Building the House of the lord.” By 25 June, JS reported to church leaders in that although the “number of disciples in is, about 150,” they had “commenced building the House of the Lord in this place, and it goes on rapidly.” According to a July 1835 account, the first stone for the House of the Lord was “laid on the twenty-third of July, 1833.” By fall 1833 the stone foundation walls were in place and bricks had been produced locally for the external walls, though the bricks were never used for that purpose. On 10 October 1833, Frederick G. Williams wrote that in the absence of JS, who was serving a proselytizing mission in , a council decided to “discontinue the building of the temple for the winter for want of materials and to prepare and get all things ready to recommence it early in the spring.” The next phase of substantial construction on the House of the Lord began in mid-1834.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Hyde, Journal, 22 Dec. 1832.

    Hyde, William. Journal, ca. 1868–1873. CHL. MS 1549.

  2. [2]

    See Minutes, 23 Mar. 1833–B.

  3. [3]

    “History of Orson Hyde,” Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; see also Hyrum Smith, Diary, 5 Apr. 1833, [12]–[13]; Historical Introduction to Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833; and Coltrin, Diary and Notebook, 4 Apr. 1833.

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

    Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.

    Coltrin, Zebedee. Diary and Notebook, 1832–1833. Zebedee Coltrin, Diaries, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 1443, fd. 2.

  4. [4]

    While the date of Hyde’s arrival in Kirtland is uncertain, it was likely before 1 June, as he was apparently present at a conference of high priests held that day to consider the case of Doctor Philastus Hurlbut. Hyde later explained that at the meeting he preferred charges against Hurlbut “for an attempt at seduction and crime.” (Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833; Orson Hyde, London, England, to George J. Adams, Bedford, England, 7 June 1841, in Winchester, Plain Facts, 26.)

    Winchester, Benjamin. Plain Facts, Shewing the Origin of the Spaulding Story, concerning the Manuscript Found, and Its Being Transformed into the Book of Mormon; with a Short History of Dr. P. Hulbert, the Author of the Said Story . . . Re-published by George J. Adams, Minister of the Gospel, Bedford, England. To Which Is Added, a Letter from Elder S. Rigdon, Also, One from Elder O. Hyde, on the Above Subject. Bedford, England: C. B. Merry, 1841.

  5. [5]

    See Minute Book 1, 28 Sept. 1833.

  6. [6]

    Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:119].

  7. [7]

    Minutes, 4 May 1833.

  8. [8]

    Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:3]; Hyrum Smith et al., Kirtland, OH, to “the Churches of Christ,” 1 June 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 36–38.

  9. [9]

    Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833.

  10. [10]

    Hyrum Smith, Diary, 7 June 1833, [15].

    Smith, Hyrum. Diary, Mar.–Apr. 1839, Oct. 1840. CHL. MS 2945.

  11. [11]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833; [William W. Phelps], “The House of God,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 1:147.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  12. [12]

    When Ira Ames arrived in Kirtland around the beginning of October 1833, he “found the Saints had begun to build a Temple there, it was raised up to the first floor.” Artemus Millet wrote that when he first visited Kirtland in 1833 the work on the temple had been suspended. (Ames, Autobiography, [10]; Millet, Reminiscences, 3; see also Johnson, Reminiscences and Journal, 18.)

    Ames, Ira. Autobiography and Journal, 1858. CHL. MS 6055.

    Millet, Artemus. Reminiscences, ca. 1855 and ca. 1872, as copied in 1936. CHL. MS 1600.

    Johnson, Joel Hills. Reminiscences and Journals, 1835–1882. 3 vols. Joel Hills Johnson, Papers, 1835–1882. CHL. MS 1546, fds. 1–3.

  13. [13]

    Frederick G. Williams, Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brethren,” 10 Oct. 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 57–58.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Minutes, 6 June 1833
Minute Book 1 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 21

This, day called a of 6th. June 1833— Bro Joseph opened by prayer. being nominated a Clerk for the . seconded and duly chosen by vote, and took his seat to act.— The occasion of the conference being called, was this. to council the committee who were appointed to take the oversight of the building of the . These are the names of the committee & . It was voted by the conference that the committee proceed immediately to commence building the or obtaining material, Stone Brick Lumber &c— [p. 21]
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Page 21

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 6 June 1833
ID #
6590
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:112–115
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90]; and Minutes, 18 Mar. 1833.

  2. [2]

    Previously, Frederick G. Williams had served as a clerk for meetings. He also served as a counselor in the presidency of the high priesthood. Beginning 15 March 1833, Williams ceased signing minutes simply as “clerk” and began signing them “Clk PT [clerk pro tempore].” Hyde began his duties as clerk immediately after his appointment and likely recorded these minutes. He then copied these minutes and penned the next several entries in Minute Book 1. Hyde alone recorded and copied minutes into Minute Book 1 from 26 December 1833 to 19 February 1834, when Oliver Cowdery joined him as a clerk. (Note, 9 Jan. 1833; Revelation, 8 Mar. 1833 [D&C 90:6]; Minute Book 1, 15 Mar. 1833; Minutes, 18 Mar. 1833; Minutes, 13 July 1833.)

  3. [3]

    See Minutes, 4 May 1833; Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95:11–17]; Minutes, ca. 1 June 1833; and Hyrum Smith et al., Kirtland, OH, to “the Churches of Christ,” 1 June 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 36–38.

  4. [4]

    At this time Hyrum Smith and Reynolds Cahoon were serving as counselors to Bishop Newel K. Whitney. Jared Carter was the moderator for the conference of high priests that organized the fund-raising committee for the House of the Lord on 4 May 1833. (Cahoon, Diary, 10 Feb. 1832; Minutes, 4 May 1833.)

    Cahoon, Reynolds. Diaries, 1831–1832. CHL. MS 1115.

  5. [5]

    According to Hyrum Smith’s diary, construction work commenced the next day, 7 June 1833. It is likely that Smith’s contemporaneous account is accurate, though other historical sources provide several conflicting dates. For instance, in JS’s manuscript history, Willard Richards made a later insertion, likely in the 1840s, that gives 5 June as the start date: “June 5 Geo. A. Smith drawed the first load of stone for the Temple and Hyrum Smith & Reynolds Cahoon commenced digging the trench for the walls of the Lord’s House and fin[i]shed the same with their own hands.” The next entry in JS’s manuscript history, however, suggests that construction had not yet begun. Richards’s insertion was later published in History of the Church as the only entry for 5 June, and subsequently 5 June has often been perpetuated by later histories of the House of the Lord as the date that work on the building began. Richards, however, contradicted himself when making notes for JS’s history in the back of Revelation Book 2. From memory he wrote that “Hyrum Smith, & Reynolds Cahoon commenced digging the trench for the walls of the Lords house on the 6 of June. and accomplished the same by their own hands.” Lucy Mack Smith’s reminiscent account creates more uncertainty. She wrote that in the afternoon following the 6 June conference, Hyrum declared, “I am determined to be the first at the work” and that he “commenced digging away the Earth where the stone were to be laid.” She mistakenly recalled, however, that the conference occurred on a Saturday, which could not have been 6 June 1833 but rather would have been 1 or 8 June 1833. Regardless of these discrepancies, construction on the temple likely began shortly after authorization was given at this 6 June conference. (JS History, vol. A-1, 302; History of the Church, 1:353; Notes for JS History, ca. 1843, [1]; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 14, [1]; see also Robison, First Mormon Temple, 28.)

    History of the Church / Smith, Joseph, et al. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Edited by B. H. Roberts. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1902–1912 (vols. 1–6), 1932 (vol. 7).

    Robison, Elwin C. The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997.