The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin

Source Note

Minutes and Discourses,
Kirtland Township

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Geauga Co., OH, 27 Feb. 1835. Featured version copied [between ca. 27 Feb. and May 1835] in “Record of the Transactions of the Twelve,” pp. 1–4, in Patriarchal Blessing Book 2; handwriting of
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Record of the Twelve, 14 Feb.–28 Aug. 1835.

Historical Introduction

On 27 February 1835, JS held a council at his home in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, to instruct nine of the newly appointed
apostles

A title indicating one sent forth to preach; later designated as a specific ecclesiastical and priesthood office. By 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery were designated as apostles. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church explained that an “apostle is an elder...

View Glossary
on the importance of keeping a record of their meetings and decisions. The council then designated
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
and
William E. McLellin

18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

View Full Bio
to serve as clerks for the
Twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
. JS also further instructed the apostles on their duty as traveling high counselors and described their distinctive calling, role, and jurisdiction.
1

For more information on the calling of the Twelve, see Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.


Although an April 1830 revelation instructed the church to keep records,
2

Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1].


early record-keeping projects were inconsistent. For instance, journal-keeping efforts for JS lapsed after ten days in 1832, resumed semioccasionally from October 1833 until 5 December 1834, and then lapsed again until late September 1835.
3

For an extended treatment of JS’s record keeping, see “Joseph Smith and His Papers”; see also Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–B [D&C 47].


JS and the church eventually became more consistent at working on and maintaining histories, journals, letters, minutes, and other documents, but in February 1835, such efforts were unpredictable and at times even negligent.
4

See “Joseph Smith and His Papers.”


The impetus for a renewed concentration on record keeping may have been the barrage of perceived falsehoods and misrepresentations about the church that, in part, led church leaders to continue concerted efforts to publish a collection of JS revelations, to be known as the Doctrine and Covenants.
5

Historical Introduction to Preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, 17 Feb. 1835; Minutes, 24 Sept. 1834.


At this 27 February 1835 meeting, JS suggested that incomplete record keeping meant that “we cannot bear record to the church, and to the world, of the great and glorious manifestations which have been made to us, with that degree of power and authority, we otherwise could.”
JS also noted that church leaders had “neglected to take minutes” of decisions on doctrinal and administrative matters. His commentary underscores the fact that the extant records of the early church provide far from complete coverage of early administrative decisions and even revelations. JS’s assertion is confirmed by the lack of early church records for many events mentioned in other sources. For example, there are no extant minutes of the 25 January 1832
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
at which JS was designated
president of the high priesthood

Both the office of the president of the high priesthood and the body comprising the president and his counselors; the presiding body of the church. In November 1831, a revelation directed the appointment of a president of the high priesthood. The individual...

View Glossary
.
6

See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 25 Jan. 1832–A [D&C 75: 1–22].


Various clerks, mainly
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
and
John Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

View Full Bio
, kept minutes of church meetings at least as early as 9 June 1830. However, after Cowdery and Whitmer left for
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
in November 1831, there is no indication that minutes of any church proceedings were kept in
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
until early December 1832.
7

Minute Book 2, 21 Oct. 1831–27 Sept. 1832; Minutes, 9 June 1830; Whitmer, History, 38; Minutes, 3 Dec. 1832.


There is also no extant record of the vision or revelation to call the Twelve Apostles and the
Seventy

A priesthood office with the responsibility to travel and preach and assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, similar to the seventy in the New Testament. In February and March 1835, the first members of the Seventy were selected and ordained. All of those...

View Glossary
, which JS alluded to when the Twelve were selected.
8

See Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.


JS considered the records available in February 1835 so incomplete that he felt “deep sorrow” for the “fountain of intelligence or knowledge of infinite importance which is lost.”
In response to JS’s instruction, the Twelve appointed
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
and
William E. McLellin

18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

View Full Bio
as clerks, and Hyde and McLellin began recording the minutes of the Twelve’s meetings, including those of this 27 February meeting, on loose-leaf paper. By May 1835, they acquired a book and began recording minutes of their meetings in it, titling the volume “A record of the transactions of the twelve apostles of the church of christ of latter day saints,” or Record of the Twelve.
9

The Record of the Twelve is the only known record created by the Twelve Apostles during the first several years after their organization. The record was kept through August 1835 and subsequently used to copy and record patriarchal blessings. For more information on the Record of the Twelve, see Esplin and Nielsen, “Record of the Twelve,” 4–52.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Esplin, Ronald K., and Sharon E. Nielsen. “The Record of the Twelve, 1835: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles’ Call and 1835 Mission.” BYU Studies 51, no. 1 (2012): 4–52.

Two extant records contain the minutes of the 27 February 1835 meeting.
Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
copied one version of the minutes, listing
McLellin

18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

View Full Bio
as clerk, into the Record of the Twelve probably sometime in early May 1835, making it the earliest extant version. In 1836,
Warren Cowdery

17 Oct. 1788–23 Feb. 1851. Physician, druggist, farmer, editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Married Patience Simonds, 22 Sept. 1814, in Pawlet, Rutland Co. Moved to Freedom, Cattaraugus Co., New York, 1816...

View Full Bio
copied another version of the minutes, showing
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
as the clerk, in Minute Book 1. The two original minutes drafted by McLellin and Oliver Cowdery are no longer extant. While the versions in the Record of the Twelve and Minute Book 1 contain much of the same information, each also provides important unique material. The version recorded in the Record of the Twelve, for example, includes more information about the power and authority of the Twelve than the version in Minute Book 1 does. According to the Record of the Twelve version, JS explained that the duty of the Twelve was to “go and unlock the kingdom of heaven to foreign nations”; he also stated that they stood in “the same relation to those nations” as JS stood to them, “as a minister.” JS’s remarks, as recorded in the Record of the Twelve, foreshadow further counsel given to the Twelve Apostles in May 1835, as well as instructions on priesthood that were included in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
10

See Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107].


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more information on the calling of the Twelve, see Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 6 Apr. 1830 [D&C 21:1].

  3. [3]

    For an extended treatment of JS’s record keeping, see “Joseph Smith and His Papers”; see also Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–B [D&C 47].

  4. [4]

    See “Joseph Smith and His Papers.”

  5. [5]

    Historical Introduction to Preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, 17 Feb. 1835; Minutes, 24 Sept. 1834.

  6. [6]

    See Historical Introduction to Revelation, 25 Jan. 1832–A [D&C 75: 1–22].

  7. [7]

    Minute Book 2, 21 Oct. 1831–27 Sept. 1832; Minutes, 9 June 1830; Whitmer, History, 38; Minutes, 3 Dec. 1832.

  8. [8]

    See Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.

  9. [9]

    The Record of the Twelve is the only known record created by the Twelve Apostles during the first several years after their organization. The record was kept through August 1835 and subsequently used to copy and record patriarchal blessings. For more information on the Record of the Twelve, see Esplin and Nielsen, “Record of the Twelve,” 4–52.

    Esplin, Ronald K., and Sharon E. Nielsen. “The Record of the Twelve, 1835: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles’ Call and 1835 Mission.” BYU Studies 51, no. 1 (2012): 4–52.

  10. [10]

    See Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin Record of the Twelve, 14 February–28 August 1835 Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Recorded in Pratt, Notebook *Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Reported by Oliver Cowdery Minute Book 1 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 4

the
priesthoods

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
, for without this knowledge they can do nothing to profit. In the first place God manifested himself to me and gave me authority to establish his
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
, and you have received your authority from God through me; and now it is your duty to go and unlock the kingdom of heaven to foreign nations, for no man can do that thing but yourselves. Neither has any man authority or a right to go to other nations before you; and you,
twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
, stand in the same relation to those nations that I stand in to you, that is, as a minister; and you have each the same authority in other nations that I have in this nation.[”]
5

See Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835.


The
council

A gathering of church leaders assembled “for consultation, deliberation and advice”; also a body responsible for governance or administration. As early as 9 February 1831, a revelation instructed that “the Elders & Bishop shall Council together & they shall...

View Glossary
was closed by
Elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
W. E. M’cLellin

18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

View Full Bio
.
William E. M’cLellin

18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...

View Full Bio
} Clerk [p. 4]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 4

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes and Discourses, 27 February 1835, as Reported by William E. McLellin
ID #
6859
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D4:247–254
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. [5]

    See Minutes and Discourse, 2 May 1835.

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06