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Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1844, as Reported by William Clayton

Source Note

General conference of the church, Minutes, and JS, Discourses, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 6–8 Apr. 1844. Version inscribed in William Clayton, Minutes, Nauvoo, Hancock Col, IL, 6–8 Apr. 1844; handwriting of
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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; thirty-eight pages; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, CHL. Includes dockets, use marks, and notation.
Nineteen loose leaves measuring 12⅜ × 7⅝ × ⅛ inches (31 × 19 × 0.3 cm). Each page is ruled with either thirty-four or thirty-five blue lines. Some leaves are embossed in the top left corner or bottom right corner of the recto with the inscription “D & J. AMES”, the insignia of a Springfield, Massachusetts, paper mill firm established by brothers David and John Ames in 1828.
1

Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

At some point, the leaves were unevenly cut by hand. After
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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inscribed the minutes, the document was folded for filing. There are holes from staples (now removed) at various places on the top and bottom of each leaf.
The minutes were docketed by Robert L. Campbell, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) from 1854 to 1874.
2

Historian’s Office, Journal, 20 Nov. 1854 and 11 Apr. 1874.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

They were also docketed by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1856.
3

Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

In the mid-twentieth century, the document was included in a miscellaneous minutes collection that was a vestige of a genre-based filing method used by the Church Historian’s Office in the first half of the twentieth century. This document genre collection contained many documents that subsequently formed the basis for the General Church Minutes collection that was cataloged in 1994.
4

See the full bibliographic entry for Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 1839–1877, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early dockets and its inclusion within the General Church Minutes collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.

    Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

  2. [2]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 20 Nov. 1854 and 11 Apr. 1874.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

  3. [3]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 1839–1877, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

See Historical Introduction to Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock; see also Historical Introductions to Discourse, 6 Apr. 1844; Discourse, 7 Apr. 1844; and Discourse, 8 Apr. 1844.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1844, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1844, as Published in Times and Seasons History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 16 [28]

The word create came from the word Barau dont mean so— it means to organize— same as a man would use to build a ship— hence we infer that God had materials to organize from— chaos— chaotic matter— element had an existence from the time he had. The pure pure principles of element are principles that never can be destroyed— they may be organized and reorganized— but not destroyed.
It is as[so]ciated with the subject in question the resurrection of the dead Another subject— the soul— the mind of man— they say God created it in the beginning. The idea lessens man in my estimation. Dont believe the doctrine— know better— God told us so. Make a man appear a fool before he gets through if he dont believe it.
We say that God was self existent— who told you so? its correct enough but how did it get into your heads— who told you that man did not exist upon the same principle (— refer to the bible) dont say so in the old Hebrew— God made man out of the earth and put into him his spirit and then it became a living body. The mind of man— the intelligent part is coequal with God himself I know that my testimony is true. hence when I talk to these mourners what have they lost— they are only separated from their bodies for a short season. but their spirit exists coequal with God and they now exist in a place where they converse together as much as we do on the earth. Is it logic to say that as spirit is immortal and yet have a beginning because if a spirit have a beginning it will have an end— good logic— illustrated by his ring. All the fools learned & wise men that comes and tells that man has a beginning proves that he must have an end. and if that doctrine is true then the Doctrine of annihilation is true. But if I am right then I might be bold to say that God never did have power to create the spirit of man at all. He could not create himself— Intelligence exists— upon a self existent principle— is a spirit from age to age & no creation about it— all the spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement— That God himself— find himself in the midst of spirit and glory— because he was greater [p. 16 [28]]
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Source Note

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Page 16 [28]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1844, as Reported by William Clayton
ID #
13269
Total Pages
38
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

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