Minutes, 20 June 1840
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Source Note
Nauvoo high council, Minutes, , Hancock Co., IL, 20 June 1840. Featured version copied [between 14 Feb. 1842 and 1 Jan. 1843] in Nauvoo High Council Minutes, fair copy, pp. 60–63; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minutes, 27 Oct. 1839.
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Historical Introduction
On 20 June 1840, the met to consider a petition from JS requesting that the council relieve him from the responsibility of handling some of the ’s temporal affairs, especially those related to land sales in Nauvoo, Illinois. Although the high council met in JS’s office, it does not appear that JS attended; scribe presented the petition, apparently acting under JS’s direction. The high council considered JS’s request and appointed to act as clerk of Nauvoo land sales. The high council then addressed two other matters relating to land in Nauvoo. They disciplined Ebenezer Black, who had apparently committed fraud while purchasing a Nauvoo lot in January 1840. The council also appointed a committee to investigate the acquisition of nearly sixty acres of land in the Nauvoo area purchased on behalf of the church by from in spring 1839. What exactly Black did and why the high council wanted to investigate the Galland purchase are unclear, but the subject matter of the meeting indicates that the continued development of Nauvoo raised pressing issues for the high council.served as clerk pro tempore of the meeting and kept its minutes. At some point after 14 February 1842 and likely before the end of that year, Stout recorded the minutes into the record book.
Footnotes
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1
See Historical Introduction to Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.
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2
Stout indicated that he had recorded minutes of earlier meetings on 14 February 1842. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 19 Apr. 1840, 56.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.
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Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
Thompson acted as the scribe for the memorial. For a full annotated treatment of the memorial, see Memorial to Nauvoo High Council, 18 June 1840.
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2
On 21 October 1839, the high council appointed Sherwood to supervise the sale of Nauvoo town lots, subject to the approval of JS and Hyrum Smith. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 26.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.
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3
Ripley was appointed bishop of a church branch in Iowa Territory by an October 1839 general conference. As outlined by earlier instructions, bishops were responsible for administering to the wants of the elders in the church, as well as caring for the poor. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–12].)
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4
The rough draft of these minutes has the marginal notation “P 30” here. On page 30 of the rough draft minutes, there are minutes of a 28 May 1841 meeting in which Ebenezer Black asked to be restored to the church. There is a notation on page 30 referring back to the 20 June 1840 minutes. When Stout was copying the minutes into the Nauvoo high council record book, he apparently put in this marginal note, but not knowing on which page the 28 May 1841 minutes would appear, he left a blank space after “Page.” (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 10, 30.)
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
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5
Sherwood was a member of the Nauvoo high council. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)
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6
On 10 January 1840, Black purchased block 45, lot 2, of the Nauvoo plat for $350. Black was to pay $35 a year plus interest for ten years and signed ten promissory notes to that effect. (JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith to Ebenezer Black, Bond, Hancock Co., IL, 10 Jan. 1840; Ebenezer Black to JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, Promissory Notes, 10 Jan. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
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7
When high councils judged cases, up to six individuals were to speak on a case, depending on its difficulty. According to earlier instructions given to the high council at Kirtland, Ohio, “the accused in all cases has a right to one half of the council to prevent insult or injustice.” (Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102:13–15].)
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8
In April 1839, Robinson, on behalf of the church, paid Galland $18,000 for nearly sixty acres of land, some buildings, and Galland’s right to a ferry running from Nauvoo across the Mississippi River to Montrose, Iowa Territory. That same month, Ripley, Knight, and JS were appointed as a committee to determine where land for the Saints should be purchased. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Agreement with George W. Robinson, 30 Apr. 1839; JS History, vol. C-1, 931–932; Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.