Footnotes

1. [1]

   Heber C. Kimball related that the walls were constructed at tremendous speed, with all in Kirtland aiding the effort. Kimball’s journal indicates that the walls were completed by December 1834. However, by early March 1835, plastering on the interior was not yet finished, stucco needed to be applied to the exterior, and the building still lacked a roof. The Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate reported the completion of the roof in July 1835. The stuccoing and plastering began in November 1835. (Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 48–51; “The House of God,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 1:147; JS History, vol. B-1, 684; Minutes, 6 June 1833.)

   Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

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

   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.

2. [2]

   Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835; Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835.

3. [3]

   The total Latter-day Saint population in Kirtland at the end of 1834 was around only 400, so between the 200 or so Camp of Israel participants and the 119 listed here, a majority of men in Kirtland at the time may be represented on these lists, even granting that some of either group may not have been Kirtland residents and therefore were not included. (Backman, Heavens Resound, 140.)

   Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.

4. [4]

   Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 20. The original revelation about the Camp of Israel called for “young men, & the middle aged” to be recruited for the expedition. A comparison of age distributions between Camp of Israel participants and those listed as receiving blessings during the 7–8 March meetings generally supports the idea that the participants were young men. The age distributions also support Kimball’s assertion that “aged workmen” remained behind. Further support is found in the ways that some families split, with sons joining the Camp of Israel and older fathers remaining in Kirtland. Some exceptions include older fathers joining their sons on the Camp of Israel. The published extracts of Kimball’s journal omit the “aged” qualifier. (Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:22]; “Elder Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1845, 6:771. For birth dates and lists of the members of the church in Kirtland and the members of the Camp of Israel, see Backman, Profile, 1–80, 93–94.)

   Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

   Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

   Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.

5. [5]

   Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 49.

   Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

6. [6]

   Ira Ames, who remained in Kirtland and later assumed duties as bookkeeper for the House of the Lord construction, wrote, “Early this Spring [1834] the commandment went forth to gather up the strength of the Lords house and go up to the Redemption of Zion. I went to Joseph, who knew well my situation. He told me to tarry at home, build my house, and work on the Temple. In a short time I completed my house and moved my family into it. And worked the whole summer on the Temple. And when Joseph returned from Missouri he praised us much for our dilligence.” Ames was a recent arrival in Kirtland and worked as a cobbler. It is unclear if JS gave similar directions to others, but the list of individuals blessed does include a number of men whose trades, like Ames’s, were not construction-related and who were seemingly capable of participating in the march to Missouri. (Ames, Autobiography, 1834, 10.)

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

7. [7]

   The postscript-like nature of these additional blessings suggests that Warren Cowdery may have added them to the original minutes when he copied the minutes into Minute Book 1 in 1836.