Minutes and Discourse, 21 April 1834
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Source Note
Minutes and Discourse, , Medina Co., OH, 21 Apr. 1834. Featured version copied [between ca. late Apr. and 5 May 1834] in Minute Book 1, pp. 43–47; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
On 21 April 1834, in , Ohio, JS presided over a of that focused on the necessity of redeeming . This conference had a clear millenarian theme, with sermons indicating that Jesus Christ’s second coming was near and that the inhabitants of the earth needed to repent and gather to Zion in order to be saved. JS and other participants explained that it was imperative for church members to assist the Saints who had been expelled from , Missouri, so Zion could be reclaimed and reoccupied. Such assistance could take two forms: volunteering to go with JS and others on an expedition to or donating money to provision those volunteers. Without such aid, JS stated, Zion would not be redeemed and all of the church would be “persecuted and destroyed in like manner.” JS’s journal notes that “some few volunteered to go to Zion, and others donated $66.37. for the benefit of the scattered breth[r]en in Zion.”JS also spoke at the conference about some of the foundational events of the church, topics he rarely discussed in public, including the of the Book of Mormon and the “revelation” of both the , or the lesser priesthood, and the . His presentation of these topics largely followed the history he wrote in summer 1832. then spoke on the necessity of redeeming Zion, the construction of the in , Ohio, and the of power that would come after the house was built.Before the conclusion of the conference, the participants conducted a trial of Thomas Tripp, a church member accused of improprieties with various women. After voting to exclude Tripp from the church, the meeting concluded with the blessing of children by JS and the administration of the . According to JS’s journal, the conference was “a glorious time.”As clerk of the conference, kept the minutes. later copied the minutes into Minute Book 1.
Footnotes
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1
For more information on the Saints’ expulsion from Jackson County, see “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1833 through March 1834.”
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2
For information on JS’s financial concerns leading up to this conference, see Historical Introduction to Letter to Orson Hyde, 7 Apr. 1834.
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3
JS, Journal, 21–22 Apr. 1834.
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4
At an October 1831 conference, for example, Hyrum Smith suggested that JS explain “the coming forth of the book of Mormon,” but JS demurred, stating that “it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon.” (Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.)
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5
A September 1832 revelation explained that the lesser priesthood was “confirmed upon Aaron and his sons.” (Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:30].)
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7
JS, Journal, 21–22 Apr. 1834.
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