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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 [4]

All property ought to go through the hands of the T. in T. there has been complaints of the being partial for appropriating property for their children when others were hungry &c— One complaint has been made by and makes report that there has been partiality— & I now call upon him to make that report before the public if he dare. made remarks that he was not fully prepared but was able to prove from the face of the books if he had time. Pres. then gives gave untill Saturday to prepare for the conflict.
to auth. to c[ollect] money— and in their as. [assignment?] that on the condition that those who pay that money to them they immediate report to the T. in T.
The 12 do not need to spend all the time for the , he can call on the public for his own wants. no more for 12 to go abroad and earn their living in this way than for others, The reason why we have not built the is because we have cried thou shalt not muzzle &c. Make the Oxs tread out the corn first and then feed him. I am bold to declare that I never have appropriated one dollar to my own use without having previously consulted the authorities. I have gone to the T. C. before I would take an pie, Let this prohibit all agencys abroad and. When a man is sent to preach 1st. principles he should preach that and let the rest alone.
[6 April 1843, afternoon session]
[:] <​They say​> They have a right to steal from any man who is not a member of the Church if they consecrate 2/3 of it. They are also making Bogus money. They had some 3 or 4 amongst them who denied the faith, would talk, they ripped up their bowels and gave them to the cat fish, and that was their oaths. I wish to warn you all not to [be?] duped by such men for they are the gadiantons of these days. Read an affidavit made by him some time ago. also the article at large. The man said they referred to the bible, Book of C[ovenants] and Book of Mormon— They were the little foxes &c [p. [4]]
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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. [25]

    Clayton was confident that he could “prove by the books that [Reynolds] Cahoon & Higby [Elias Higbee] have used property for their own families— to the exclusion of others.” Clayton presented his evidence on 7 April 1843. After Higbee (who kept the books) apologized, the conference voted to retain Cahoon and Higbee on the temple committee. (JS, Journal, 6 and 7 Apr. 1843.)

  2. [26]

    At this point in the meeting, the conference “voted that the twelve be appointed a committe[e] to receive & gather funds to build the Nauvoo House,” on the condition “that the twelve give bonds for good delivery. to trustee in trustee.— & payer make immediate report to the trustee in trust.” (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; Brigham Young and John M. Bernhisel to JS, Bond, 30 May 1843, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Authorization for Brigham Young, 1 June 1843.)

  3. [27]

    Brigham Young had just indicated his concern that the Twelve would spend most of their time collecting donations, impeding them from supporting their families. JS responded, “Let the twelve spend the time belonging to the temple for to collect funds— and the remainder of the time they may labor for their support.” (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.)

  4. [28]

    In the New Testament, the apostle Paul supported the practice of providing financial support to preachers of the gospel by citing Deuteronomy 25:4, which commands that the ox treading corn not be muzzled. (See 1 Corinthians 9:7–11; and 1 Timothy 5:17–18.)

  5. [29]

    In 1839, JS similarly urged Latter-day Saint missionaries to limit their teaching to the “first principles” of the gospel, which included faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost. (Letter to Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young, 16 Jan. 1839.)

  6. [30]

    The session and speaker information come from the account in JS's journal. (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843.)

  7. [31]

    Stealing among Latter-day Saints first became an issue during the October 1838 conflict in Missouri, when Latter-day Saint vigilantes participated in raids on havens used by church opponents in Daviess County, Missouri. Former Latter-day Saint Reed Peck claimed in November 1838, shortly after he left the church, that he recalled JS saying in Missouri that he “did not approve” of stealing in general, but that in specific situations—such as wartime—stealing was permitted if necessary for survival. Some Latter-day Saints in Missouri interpreted these ideas through the lens of an 1831 JS revelation that stated that the Lord would “consecrate the riches of the Gentiles”—meaning those outside the church—“unto my people which are of the house of Israel,” although no contemporaneous evidence suggests that JS used the revelation to authorize the practice of stealing. In late 1841, five Latter-day Saint men were excommunicated from the church after being caught stealing and using the 1831 revelation to justify their actions. JS and other church leaders issued strongly worded statements condemning those actions in the Times and Seasons. Stealing among Latter-day Saints reemerged as a problem in early 1843, necessitating comment from JS and other church leaders. Willard Richards quoted Hyrum Smith as saying at the conference that the accused thieves believed that stealing was permitted “if they gave 1/4 part to the temple.” (Historical Introduction to Agreement with Jacob Stollings, 12 Apr. 1839; Reed Peck, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [57], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:39]; Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 29 Nov. 1841; JS, “Proclamation,” Wasp, 29 Mar. 1843, [3]; JS, Journal, 20 Feb. and 6 Apr. 1843.)

  8. [32]

    There were evidently Latter-day Saints who made counterfeit, or “bogus,” money in Nauvoo in the 1840s, although there is little contemporary information on their activities as early as 1843. (See “Part 4: January 1846.”.)

  9. [33]

    “Gadianton’s robbers” were members of an organization of murderous thieves in the Book of Mormon. (Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 399–400, 412, 442 [Helaman 2:4; 6:18; 3 Nephi 1:27].)

  10. [34]

    Hyrum Smith’s affidavit, sworn in late 1841, condemned theft and the religious justifications for it used by thieves in Nauvoo. It was published along with other documents that censured stealing in the Times and Seasons. (“Thieves,” Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1841, 3:615–616; see also Affidavit, 29 Nov. 1841.)

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

  11. [35]

    The Doctrine and Covenants was often referred to simply as the “Book of Covenants.” (See, for example, Minutes, 24 Sept. 1834; JS, Journal, 8 July 1838; and JS, Journal, 14 Feb. 1843.)

  12. [36]

    Willard Richards noted that the thieves considered themselves “the little foxes,” while the First Presidency were “the great foxes,” alluding to a passage in the Song of Solomon. (JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; Song of Solomon 2:15; see also Revised Minutes and Discourses, 23 Apr.–ca. 8 May 1843.)

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