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Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton

Source Note

Special conference of the church, Minutes, and JS, Discourses, [, Hancock Co., IL, 6–7 Apr. 1843]; handwriting of ; ten pages; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, CHL. Includes redactions and dockets.
One leaf and two bifolia measuring 10 × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm) and ruled with twenty-six horizontal gray lines per page. On the recto of the first leaf, the bottom three lines were marked by light brush strokes of yellow, green, and red paint, which precluded inscription of the minutes on that portion of the page. Between and around the strokes, wrote names and numerical calculations that appear to be unrelated to the minutes. After Clayton inscribed the minutes, the document was folded for filing. When the conference minutes were edited for publication in April and early May 1843, redactions and partial pagination were added.
The minutes were docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. At a later time, an unidentified clerk added to Clayton’s docket. The docket was further expanded by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. Clayton’s docket was expanded again by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) from 1853 to 1856. 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. The document’s dockets and its inclusion within the General Church Minutes collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31. Clayton’s docket reads simply “April.”

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    Following Clayton’s docket identifying the month, “April,” the unidentified scribe added the year “1844” and then corrected it to “1843.”

  3. [3]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865. Beneath Clayton’s docket identifying the month and the unidentified scribe’s addition identifying the year, Bullock inserted “Minutes of a Meeting in Nauvoo.”

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  4. [4]

    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. Between Clayton’s docket identifying the month and the unidentified scribe’s addition identifying the year, Grimshaw inserted “Conference.”

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

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

  5. [5]

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

Historical Introduction

From 6 through 9 April 1843 in , Illinois, JS presided at a special of the . Latter-day Saints considered the conference a “Jubilee” because the occasion marked the thirteenth anniversary of the church’s founding on 6 April 1830 and the beginning of its fourteenth year; they were apparently referring to and adapting the biblical seven-year sabbatical cycle. The four-day event was held on the “platform of the ,” a temporary floor that was installed on the main level in October 1842 for worship services. The speakers at the conference delivered their discourses from a portable stand, while listeners were arrayed in chairs across the floor.
On 6 April 1843, , president of the , opened the initial, midday meeting of the conference at 11:30 a.m. because JS was detained in the mayor’s court. When the meeting began, listeners covered about three-fourths of the floor. After the choir sang a hymn and offered a prayer, delivered a discourse on the concept of resurrection until 12:00 p.m. JS had arrived at 11:50 a.m., and he took the stand after Pratt finished his discourse. JS announced an agenda for the business portion of the conference, which took place during the midday and afternoon sessions on 6 April and the morning session on 7 April. First, he planned to present the “for trial,” as he termed it, asking for a sustaining vote for him and his counselors, and . Next, he intended to address the inefficient process of and missionaries collecting donations for the and the , an uncontrolled system that resulted in many donations not being deposited with JS as the church’s trustee-in-trust nor with his clerk . Finally, JS stated that the agenda would include an opportunity for missionaries to appeal the decisions of ecclesiastical trials held outside of .
The meeting proceeded as outlined, beginning with a sustaining vote for members of the First Presidency. During the remainder of the midday session, JS gave extended comments on the second item of business, proposing that the system of gathering funds for the and be amended so that members of the be designated as the only agents authorized to collect donations. After JS finished his comments, the conference voted to accept the proposal, and conference attendees discussed implementation of the plan. The choir then sang from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m., and closed the meeting with a prayer, after which attendees were dismissed for an hour break.
Since JS was again detained for unspecified reasons, opened the afternoon meeting at 3:00 with a statement on the problem of stealing among some church members who claimed to have the First Presidency’s tacit approval for their activities. JS then gave his second discourse. After continuing the subject of stealing in and condemning the thieves, he instructed church members not to settle in and encouraged those currently living there to relocate to . He also spoke on the signs preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ. At 5:50 p.m., the choir sang, and ended the session with prayer.
The following morning at 10:00, the conference reopened with a hymn by the choir and a prayer by . JS was “rather hoarse from Speaking so long yesterday” and said that “he would use the boys lungs to day.” With presiding, the conference gave permission to missionaries to appeal decisions from ecclesiastical trials, and then Young appointed to preside over church in various cities. For the remainder of the meeting, JS’s clerk conducted a public investigation of the ’s management of church funds. JS then “statd that the business of the confernce had closed. & the rem[ai]nder of the confernce would be devoted to instruction.” At 12:30 p.m., the choir sang again, and Young adjourned the meeting with prayer.
was appointed clerk of the conference and took the minutes featured here of the business deliberations and discourses on 6 and 7 April 1843. Clayton apparently endeavored to take notes while the discourses were being given; his hasty, on-the-spot note-taking is evidenced by incomplete sentences and a lack of contextual information about who was speaking or transitions between meetings. Another of JS’s scribes, , also recorded accounts of JS’s two 6 April discourses; these two accounts are also featured here as Discourse, 6 April 1843–A and Discourse, 6 April 1843–B. Richards presumably kept rough notes that he later copied, with minimal polishing in the process, into JS’s journal. In addition, an unknown Latter-day Saint made an account of JS’s doctrinal comments on the second coming of Jesus Christ. The polished nature of this account indicates that the unknown scribe reconstructed JS’s words after the fact from notes or from memory or both. Although the original source for his account is not known, church member copied the text into his notebook sometime after his arrival in in mid-April 1843. This account is also featured here under Discourse, 6 April 1843–B. Annotation that appears in Clayton’s version of the minutes is not repeated in corresponding locations in the other featured versions.
JS requested that the minutes of the 6 April 1843 business meetings be circulated as broadly as possible so that church members outside would understand that the apostles were the only agents authorized to collect donations for the and the . In the weeks after the meeting, JS’s scribes expanded ’s official minutes and accounts of discourses. The revised minutes and discourses appeared in the 1 May 1843 issue of the Times and Seasons and are featured separately in this volume.
During the remainder of the conference, ’s minute-taking became more sporadic; he focused primarily on recording doctrinal comments made by apostle and JS during the 7 April afternoon and the 8 April morning sessions. Because Clayton recorded these minutes and discourses on sheets of paper separate from the 6–7 April minutes, they are featured separately herein. He apparently did not take minutes during the 8 April afternoon session or the concluding 9 April morning session, presumably because JS did not participate in those meetings.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    It was called a “special conference” rather than a “general conference” because in October 1841, JS announced that the church would “not hold another general conference” until the temple was completed. (JS, Journal, 6–9 Apr. 1843; Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; Leviticus 25:1–17; see also JS, Journal, 30 Mar. 1836. Wilford Woodruff noted that the 1843 conference represented “the commenc[e]ment of the fourteenth year of the church.” (Woodruff, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 23 and 28 Oct. 1842; 6 and 8 Apr. 1843; George Alley, Nauvoo, IL, to Joseph Alley, Lynn, MA, 13 Apr. 1843, George Alley, Letters, microfilm, CHL; see also McBride, House for the Most High, 115–117. By April 1843, construction on the temple walls had progressed to between four and twelve feet from the floor. (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.)

    Alley, George. Letters, 1842–1859. Microfilm. CHL.

    McBride, Matthew. A House for the Most High: The Story of the Original Nauvoo Temple. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007.

  4. [4]

    See Historical Introduction to M. F. Thompson v. F. Dixon and E. Dixon.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.

  8. [8]

    JS, Journal, 7 Apr. 1843.

  9. [9]

    JS, Journal, 7 Apr. 1843.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 7 Apr. 1843.

  11. [11]

    Clayton, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843. Willard Richards made a more complete account of the conference proceedings in JS’s journal. (JS, Journal, 6–9 Apr. 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  12. [12]

    For more information on Willard Richards’s note-taking methods, see Historical Introduction to Discourse, 4 July 1843.

  13. [13]

    Burgess arrived in Nauvoo on 12 April 1843 with many other English immigrants. JS delivered a discourse welcoming the new arrivals the following day, which Burgess mentioned in his journal. (Burgess, Journal and Notebook, [64]–[65]; Discourse, 13 Apr. 1843.)

    Burgess, James. Journal, 1841–1848. CHL. MS 1858.

  14. [14]

    See Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.

  15. [15]

    See Minutes, 7 Apr. 1843; and Discourse, 8 Apr. 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by Franklin D. Richards *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by James Burgess Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, First Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft *Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Published in Times and Seasons Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History Draft [1 March–31 December 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] *Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Reported by William Clayton
Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton
*Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft *Discourse, 6 April 1843–A, as Published in Times and Seasons Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] *Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843 Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, William Clayton Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, James Sloan and John Taylor Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, First Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Second Printed Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April-circa 8 May 1843, Willard Richards Draft Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843, Third Printed Draft *Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 April–circa 8 May 1843 History Draft [1 March–31 December 1843] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith” “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [2]

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been sick. last he attended was when the corner stone was laid, was then nigh death,— from that time have had no health, no doubt many of this con[ference] have had feelings, circumstances were calculated to produce feelings, My own confidence in this work has been unchanged, I have the same feelings now, <​his​> excitements I have no doubt— no such thing ever took place. The things I entertained about him from his first entrance I had told my family to gaurd that fellow for he will one day make a rupture. when it came I was not disapointed. My feelings were always the same concerning him. I never placed any confidense in him. He has threatened me if I did not join with him, if I did not change my cours I might look for consequences (letter)— he would seek my destruction.— I no have not been an active member for 4 years, I have not been able, am not this moment. My constitution is reviving, increses of health, strenth, It is my wish to serve you in any capacity they may wish, that my health &c will admit of. Whatever feelings you have I hope you will express them. I will take them out of the road if I can if I cant I cant help it.
—Joseph
The burthen has rested upon the shoulders of a few. The have had to[o] great latitude to practice fraud. by receiving donations and never making report, the has suffered loss. I am opposed to any man, if I can an the conference devise the sure means to bind them firmer than the pillars of heaven. The were always honest. I never knew that the 12 had any wages at all. They have gone when they were sent & have labored with their hands. If we send them into the world I want to bind, up the Twelve, solid— put them into bonds.
Let this conference— no man shall pay any money unto their hands only as he furnishes evidences that can be immediately forwarded to the T[rustee] in T[rust] so that when the agents return it can be compared with the records if they dont agree— let him be set down as guilty— The Twelve are sufficient to have the Agency. And stop every man for using the money they receive the money for the . This system opens a wide field for every kind of imposition. Any man can assume the name of a Mormon and gather his pockets full of money and go to . Many complaints come to me of money being sent which I never received. There is one man I want to expose to the con he is a good man.— — the two first letters. some person had appropriated $25,— had received money for his brother, put it together forgot to take the church money out of the bag. he would not let him have it. had paid more for his expenses than he ought to do [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton
ID #
2688
Total Pages
10
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:154–168
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [9]

    In late 1839, Rigdon contracted malaria, an illness that continued to hinder him for the next four years. Aside from delivering an hour-long discourse at the dedication of the cornerstone of the Nauvoo temple on 6 April 1841, Rigdon had been unable to function effectively as JS's counselor in the First Presidency. (Letter of Introduction from Sidney Rigdon, 9 Nov. 1839; “Celebration of the Aniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:375–376; see also Historical Introduction to Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841.)

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

  2. [10]

    In May 1842, Bennett was excommunicated from the church due to allegations of sexual misconduct. In the wake of Bennett’s departure from the church, he claimed that JS proposed marriage to Rigdon’s teenage daughter Nancy, asking her to become a plural wife. This claim significantly strained Sidney Rigdon’s relationship with JS. (See Historical Introduction to Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.)

  3. [11]

    Rigdon claimed in a 27 March 1843 letter to JS that Bennett had criticized Rigdon for supporting JS when Illinois officials attempted to extradite JS to Missouri. Willard Richards, in his account of Rigdon’s discourse, noted that Rigdon stated he had received “a threatnig [threatening] letter from. J. C. Bennet. that if I did not turn my course. I should feel the force of his power.” (Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.)

  4. [12]

    After Rigdon’s defense, the conference sustained him in an “almost unanimous” vote. The conference also voted to retain second counselor William Law in the First Presidency and Hyrum Smith as church patriarch. (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.)

  5. [13]

    Willard Richards’s account of this discourse indicates that JS’s next item of business dealt with raising funds for the Nauvoo temple and the Nauvoo House.

  6. [14]

    According to Willard Richards’s account of this discourse, JS denied a rumor that the apostles were paid two dollars per day for their services.

  7. [15]

    JS proposed that each of the Twelve sign a bond for faithful collection and delivery of funds to him as trustee-in-trust for the church. (Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.)

  8. [16]

    JS History, vol. D-1, 1514.

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