Minutes and Blessings, 28 February–1 March 1835
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Source Note
Minutes and Blessings, , Geauga Co., OH, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835. Featured version copied [not before 25 Feb. 1836] in Minute Book 1, pp. 164–171; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
On 28 February and 1 March 1835, “the Church in council assembled” in , Ohio, and forty-three individuals were designated as members of the , an office responsible for preaching the gospel to the world and seemingly patterned after the New Testament account of Jesus Christ selecting seventy men to preach. This meeting was held over two days, with much of the time being dedicated to blessings. It appears that the meeting convened as a continuation of two previous meetings: the 14–15 February 1835 meeting at which participants were recognized and nine men were , and the 21 February 1835 meeting at which was ordained an apostle. The minutes of those meetings do not indicate that church members were soon to be designated as members of the Seventy, but at the 14–15 February meeting, JS did declare that “it was the Will of God” that individuals who had gone on the Camp of Israel expedition “with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary” should “be ordained to the ministry” and sent “to prune the vineyard for the last time.” In addition, a June 1834 revelation had explained that Camp of Israel participants would receive a “blessing and an ” and some would be chosen to receive power “to accomplish all things partaining to .”Once most of the men designated as apostles had been ordained, those chosen as seventies received their ordination blessings. At this 28 February–1 March 1835 meeting, forty-nine individuals were blessed, forty-three of whom were also ordained members of the Seventy. Of the forty-nine blessed, forty-four were among the fifty-six Camp of Israel participants recognized at the 14–15 February meeting. Seven men—, , , , , , and —were appointed presidents over the Seventy, although only the blessings to Smith and Young, given on 1 March, reflect that appointment.There were apparently three sessions of this 28 February–1 March meeting: one session on 28 February and morning and afternoon sessions on 1 March. The 28 February session and the 1 March afternoon session were recorded in Minute Book 1 as one session, while the 1 March morning session was presented as a separate meeting. It appears, however, that all three sessions were considered part of the same meeting. JS is not explicitly mentioned in the minutes of the 28 February session or in the minutes of the 1 March afternoon session, but he is listed as present and participating in the 1 March morning session. It seems likely that he was present for the other two sessions as well, since several individuals later stated that JS organized the Seventy and participated in their ordinations. Indeed, although the minutes themselves are silent as to who performed the ordinations, some individuals recalled that JS, , , , and —all of whom were members of the —participated. As later recalled, “the first quorum of Seventies were appointed and ordained, under the hands of the Prophet, his Counselors, and others.” Some recalled Sidney Rigdon serving as the voice for the ordinations, while others stated that it was JS., who received his ordination blessing on 1 March, later recalled that JS had planned as early as 8 February 1835 to designate men as members of the Seventy. On that date, JS told him and his brother that he had received a revelation to appoint and that Brigham would be one of the twelve. JS then turned to Joseph “with quite an earnestness, as though the vision of his mind was extended still further,” and told him that he would be “president of the Seventies.” Joseph Young regarded this as a “strange saying,” as he “had heard of Moses and seventy of Israel, and of Jesus appointing other Seventies, but had never heard of Twelve Apostles and of Seventies being called in this Church before.”As noted, selecting seventy men for a special purpose had biblical precedent. The Old Testament recounts Moses calling “seventy men of the elders of Israel” to assist him in leading the children of Israel, while in the New Testament, Jesus Christ appointed “other seventy” besides the Twelve Apostles to preach in “every city and place, whither he himself would come.” The concept of the Seventy also existed in the broader religious culture of the time. Some biblical commentators in the early 1800s argued that the office of Seventy ceased to exist upon Christ’s death and was not meant to be part of “the permanent ministry.” Others disagreed. For example, in 1830, Dirck C. Lansing of the Presbyterian church appointed “seventy disciples” for his congregation “to visit every house and family, ascertain their names, ages, habits of thinking, occupations, &c. and particularly what meetings they attend, whether the first, second, third, &c. or whether any of them attend heretical meetings, and if so, to warn them against such heineous sins.”The minutes of this meeting do not clearly explain the role of the Seventy, nor do they make clear whether JS intended at this point to select exactly seventy men for preaching or whether he considered “Seventy” more of a title than a precise number. Those designated as seventies who did not already hold the office of or were ordained both elders and seventies in their ordination blessings. Although both elders and high priests had proselytizing responsibilities as part of their normal duties, the Seventy appear to have had a special assignment to preach to the entire world. The minutes state that the seventies were “to be sent forth,” and many of the ordination blessings focus on proselytizing, indicating that many would preach outside the and some in perilous circumstances.Many of these blessings are similar to the blessings given to those ordained as apostles, implying that, at least in terms of preaching, the Seventy may have been seen as similar to the apostles. In fact, the minutes of the 1 March 1835 morning meeting refer to the Seventy and the apostles as “brother ministers.” Instructions given by JS later in spring 1835 called the Seventy “especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world” and stated that those holding the office “form a quorum equal in authority to that of the twelve especial witnesses or apostles.” However, the Seventy were also subordinate to the Twelve; they were to “act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the twelve.”JS also noted at a 2 May 1835 conference that as many as 144,000 seventies could be called, if the need arose, to be selected by their seven presidents. According to , who was designated a seventy, the seventies were supposed to “travel two together” after their ordinations, and many of them departed to preach not long after they were given these blessings. Others were instructed in a May 1835 meeting to “hold” themselves “ready to go when called upon,” while still others were informed that they would “be called upon” when their “circumstances will permit.” By the end of 1835, many of the Seventy had served brief missions and “preached the fulness of the everlasting gospel in various States and generally with good success.” According to one account, 175 individuals were baptized in 1835 because of the efforts of the Seventy, who were described as “worthy young men, strong, active, energetic, determined in the name of the Lord to go forward and persevere to the end.”The blessings given on 28 February and 1 March were not given only to those ordained as seventies, although the vast majority served that purpose. Other individuals, including eleven-year-old Bradford Elliott, seventeen-year-old , , , and were also blessed, presumably because they too were participants in the Camp of Israel expedition. , who went on the Camp of Israel expedition, was ordained an elder but was apparently not ordained a seventy. Blessings to these individuals provided similar promises of great spiritual gifts and success in converting others to the church.It is not clear from the minutes who recorded the blessings at the time they were given. later copied the minutes and the ordination texts into Minute Book 1.
Footnotes
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1
JS History, vol. B-1, 577; Luke 10:1–17.
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.
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2
Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835.
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3
Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835. After the 14–15 February meeting, gatherings were held every Saturday and Sunday for at least the next few weeks “to bless and ordain such as had been called.” (Burgess, Autobiography, 4; Cahoon, Autobiography, 44; Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 20.)
Burgess, Harrison. Autobiography, ca. 1883. Photocopy. CHL. MS 893. Also available as “Sketch of a Well-Spent Life,” in Labors in the Vineyard, Faith-Promoting Series 12 (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884), 65–74.
Cahoon, William F. Autobiography, 1878. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8433.
Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.
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4
Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:12, 18, 35–37]; see also Historical Introduction to Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.
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5
By 21 February 1835, ten of the twelve had been ordained. (Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Blessings, 21 Feb. 1835.)
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6
Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835. Young states that Levi Hancock was not present at this meeting and received his ordination later, but his blessing, the only one presented in the third person, is recorded in the minutes of the 1 March 1835 morning session. Zebedee Coltrin later remembered that his ordination as a president of the Seventy did not come until “a few days after” his ordination as a seventy. (Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 4; Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835; Coltrin, Autobiographical Sketch, [2].)
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. Typescript. CHL. MS 2793.
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7
Burgess, Autobiography, 4; Coltrin, Autobiographical Sketch, [2]; Hutchings, Journal, 15 Feb. 1835; “Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 22; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 59.
Burgess, Harrison. Autobiography, ca. 1883. Photocopy. CHL. MS 893. Also available as “Sketch of a Well-Spent Life,” in Labors in the Vineyard, Faith-Promoting Series 12 (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884), 65–74.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. Typescript. CHL. MS 2793.
Hutchings, Elias. Journal, Dec. 1834–Sept. 1836. CHL. MS 1445.
“Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 1845–1855. In Seventies Quorum Records, 1844–1975. CHL. CR 499.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
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8
Burgess, Autobiography, 4; “Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 22; Coltrin, Autobiographical Sketch, [2]; Amos Gustin, Moroni, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 19 Mar. 1860, Obituary Notices and Biographies, CHL; Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 2.
Burgess, Harrison. Autobiography, ca. 1883. Photocopy. CHL. MS 893. Also available as “Sketch of a Well-Spent Life,” in Labors in the Vineyard, Faith-Promoting Series 12 (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884), 65–74.
“Biographies of the Seventies of the Second Quorum,” 1845–1855. In Seventies Quorum Records, 1844–1975. CHL. CR 499.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. Typescript. CHL. MS 2793.
Obituary Notices and Biographies, 1854–1877. CHL. MS 4760.
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
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9
George A. Smith, Autobiography, 59; Coltrin, Autobiographical Sketch, [2].
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
Coltrin, Zebedee. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. Typescript. CHL. MS 2793.
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10
Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 1–2.
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
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11
For an overview of ideas about the Seventy in nineteenth-century Christian churches, see Bray, “The Seventy Disciples in Early 19th-Century Christian Thought.”
Bray, Justin. “ The Seventy Disciples in Early 19th-Century Christian Thought, 1800–1844.” Unpublished paper. Draper, UT, 7 Mar. 2013. Copy in editors’ possession.
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12
Numbers 11:16–17, 24–25; Luke 10:1–17.
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13
Olds, Substance of Several Sermons, 118; Miller, Letters Concerning the Constitution and Order of the Christian Ministry, 80–81.
Olds, Gamaliel S. The Substance of Several Sermons, upon the Subjects of Episcopacy and Presbyterian Parity. Greenfield, MA: Denio and Phelps, 1815.
Miller, Samuel. Letters concerning the Constitution and Order of the Christian Ministry, as Deduced from Scripture and Primitive Usage; Addressed to the Members of the United Presbyterian Churches in the City of New-York. New York: Hopkins and Seymour, 1807.
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14
“Queries,” Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, 1 Jan. 1831, 4; Bray, “The Seventy Disciples in Early 19th-Century Christian Thought.”
Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate. Utica, NY. 1830–1850.
Bray, Justin. “ The Seventy Disciples in Early 19th-Century Christian Thought, 1800–1844.” Unpublished paper. Draper, UT, 7 Mar. 2013. Copy in editors’ possession.
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15
See, for example, the ordination blessings of Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury, Peter Buchanan, and Alexander Badlam Sr. in Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835.
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16
Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:38–43]; Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–A [D&C 68:1–2, 7–8].
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17
For more information on the kinds of promises made in these blessings, see Historical Introduction to Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.
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19
Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:25–26, 34].
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21
Baldwin, Account of Zion’s Camp, 20. For examples of the Seventy preaching in 1835, see Hazen Aldrich, Report, 28 Dec. 1835, Missionary Reports, 1831–1900, CHL; and Willard Snow, Autobiographical Sketch, [1]–[2], Obituary Notices and Biographies, CHL.
Baldwin, Nathan Bennett. Account of Zion’s Camp, 1882. Typescript. CHL. MS 499.
Missionary Reports, 1831–1900. CHL. MS 6104.
Obituary Notices and Biographies, 1854–1877. CHL. MS 4760.
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23
Minutes, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1836, 2:253.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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24
Minutes, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Jan. 1836, 2:253–254; see also JS, Journal, 28 Dec. 1835.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
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25
Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 Mar. 1835. Joseph Young later compiled a list of those who were ordained as members of the Seventy on 28 February and 1 March 1835. Denton does not appear on that list. (Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 2–4.)
Young, Joseph, Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies: Names of First and Second Quorums. Items in Relation to the First Presidency of the Seventies. Also, a Brief Glance at Enoch and His City. Embellished with a Likeness of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and a View of the Kirtland Temple. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Steam Printing Establishment, 1878.
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