Footnotes
JS History, vol. B-1, 596.
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.
See Revised Minutes, 18–19 Feb. 1834 [D&C 102]; and Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107:72].
Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 18, pp. 326–327, 2 June 1834, microfilm 20,237, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 20, pp. 302–303, 2 June 1834, microfilm 20,238, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
See Minutes, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Mar. 1837, 3:476; Kirtland Elders Quorum, “Record,” 30 Jan. 1836 and 13 Dec. 1837; Minute Book 1, 16 May 1836 and 7 Oct. 1837; Elder’s Certificate for Isaac Bishop, 16 June 1836, in Kirtland Elders’ Certificates, 137; Record of Seventies, bk. A, 18 May 1838, 51; JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 3; and Temple Records Index Bureau, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 22.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Kirtland Elders Quorum. “A Record of the First Quorurum of Elders Belonging to the Church of Christ: In Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838, 1840–1841. CCLA.
Kirtland Elders’ Certificates / Kirtland Elders Quorum. “Record of Certificates of Membership and Ordinations of the First Members and Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Dating from March 21st 1836 to June 18th 1838 Kirtland Geauga Co. Ohio,” 1836–1838. CHL. CR 100 401.
Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.
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.
Temple Records Index Bureau of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974.
The text of this English hymn was originally published in London in 1782. In the 1830s, it was printed in American hymnals and sung to the tune of “Loving Kindness.” (Meyer, Collection of Hymns, 412–413; Leavitt, Christian Lyre, 1:22–23; see also Hatchett, Companion to the “New Harp of Columbia,” 156–157.)
Meyer, John Henry. A Collection of Hymns, Principally Design’d for the Use of the Congregation Assembling at Cumberland-Chapel, in Cumberland-Street, Shoreditch, London. London: W. Gilbert, 1782.
Leavitt, Joshua. The Christian Lyre. 3rd ed. 2 vols. New York: Jonathan Leavitt, 1831.
Hatchett, Marion J. A Companion to “The New Harp of Columbia.” Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2003.
The covenant Bosley was charged with breaking was made on 4 September 1834, not 24 September. (JS, Journal, 4 Sept. 1834.)
Early revelations dictated by JS were replete with language concerning the solemnity of making covenants and the gravity of breaking them. An 1831 revelation, for example, declared it would have been better for an individual to have “been drownded in the depth of the sea” than to have broken sacred covenants. A September 1832 revelation also noted that individuals who received the priesthood and then broke that covenant by “altogether turn[ing] therefrom shall not have forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come.” Revelations also promised blessings of mercy, protection, and support upon those who honored covenants. (Revelation, 10 June 1831 [D&C 54:5–6]; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:41]; see also Revelation, ca. Early 1830; and Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830 [D&C 35:24].)
Various offenses, including breaking covenants, could result in an individual being cut off from the church. For example, a March 1832 revelation discussing the organization of the church’s mercantile and publishing enterprises stated that those individuals involved would be put under an “everlasting covinent” that, if broken, would cause them to “loose [their] office & standing in the church.” (Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832 [D&C 78:11–12]; see also Revelation, 26 Apr. 1832 [D&C 82:11].)
In other words, while the archangel Michael refrained from speaking ill of even the devil, Isaac Bishop dared to criticize the high council. The phrase “railing accusation” is taken from Jude 1:9, in which the author uses the apocryphal conversation between Michael and the devil to counsel the saints to not speak ill of their leaders.
TEXT: Possibly “Shearer”. There is no record of a Brother “Spearer” in church records for Kirtland in the mid-1830s. Likewise, searches for alternate spellings such as Spear, Spears, Spiers, and others did not yield any results for the time period and location. The “p” is written with a clear descending stroke, but given other errors in the document, it is possible that this letter could be a hastily written “h.” If that is the case, this could refer to a member of the Shearer family, namely, twin brothers Joel and Daniel Shearer. Both were active church members at the time. In 1834, they may have resided in Indiana. Daniel also appears in later documents related to Missouri and Nauvoo. While their presence in Kirtland is possible, no documentary evidence confirms they were there at this time. (Chase, “Events in the Life of Daniel Shearer,” 1–2; see also JS History, vol. C-1, 881, 899; Report, Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:61; and Temple Records Index Bureau, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 285.)
Chase, Sherwin. “Events in the Life of Daniel Shearer,” July 1983. Information concerning Daniel Shearer, ca. 1983. CHL. MS 7673.
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.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Temple Records Index Bureau of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974.