History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 2

by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Jr. Joseph Smith

Footnotes

[1]. A short time previous to the above recorded actions, viz., in the early part of April preceding, an important meeting of the High council of Zion was convened and before it Presidents W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer (David Whitmer, the President of Zion being absent) were arraigned for some irregularity in their conduct; and as the action of that Council will have an important bearing upon facts which will later appear in the body of this history, I here give in extenso the minutes of that Council meeting, which continued from the third to the seventh of April.

Minutes of the High Council at Far West.

At a meeting of the High Council in Far West, April 3, 1837, seven of the standing councilors were present. John Murdock was appointed moderator, and Elias Higbee clerk.

Resolved, That the Council request the Presidents W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer to give explanation of the following items:

First—By what authority was this place [Far West] pointed out as a city and

Second—By what authority was a committee appointed and ordained to superintend the building of the House of the Lord?

Third—By what authority was Jacob Whitmer ordained to the High Priesthood?

Fourth—Have two presidents authority to lay out a city, and build a House of God; independent of the counsel of the High Council?

Fifth—By what authority was one of the High Councilors disfellowshiped in the name of the High Council without their knowledge?

Sixth—Has any individual or individuals a right to prefer a charge to the Presidency in Kirtland against any High Councilor, [of this Council] without the knowledge of the Council or [the] individual?

Seventh—Should not the High Council and Bishop of Zion, who are appointed to do business for Zion, receive their inheritance in the care of that city in preference to one who is not particularly called to labor for Zion, or an unbeliever?

Eight—Shall any intelligence relative to the building up of Zion be withheld from the Council of Zion?

Ninth—Are the two presidents entitled to the profits arising from the sale of land, on which the city is to be built in this place, independent of the authorities who have been appointed to labor with them for Zion and have suffered like tribulations with them?

The Council then agreed to invite Presidents W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, also the Bishop, Edward Partridge, and his counselors; also the two Apostles, Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten, to meet with them on the 5th, inst., that the above named presidents might explain [answer] the foregoing questions and that the subject might be investigated. The Council then adjourned to the 5th at ten o'clock.

FAR WEST, April 5th, 1837.

The Council convened agreeable to adjournment with the aforementioned Presidents, the Bishops and counselors; also the two Apostles. The Council opened by prayer; but previous to proceeding to business the said presidents proposed that the Bishop and his counselors, with the above named Apostles leave the Council; which was objected to by the Council, the Bishop and Apostles. The presidents still insisted on having a private Council in the absence of the Bishop and his counselors and the Apostles. All opposed the two presidents. The Bishops and the two Apostles gave them to understand that they had a right to remain, and that they therefore should remain. President Phelps then said he would dissolve the Council, upon which Thomas B. Marsh declared that if the Council should be dissolved he would prepare a charge against the two presidents, before the Bishop and twelve High Priests. The presidents then said they were willing to let all present remain in the house. The Council then proceeded to the investigation of the above named questions. They were not generally satisfactorily answered, which led the Council and others to strongly rebuke the late improper proceedings of the presidents. David W. Patten spoke against them with apparent indignation; stating that their proceedings had been iniquitous and fraudulent in the extreme, in unrighteously appropriating Church funds to their own enrichment, which had been plainly proven. April 6th was occupied in like discussions. April 7th, Council convened agreeable to appointment. The Bishop and counselors present, also the two Apostles. The above named presidents agreed to give up the town plat of Far West with four eighties on the commons to be disposed of by the High Council, the Bishop and his counselors and the said Apostles. After which, on motion, the Council adjourned. The Council met in Far West to take into consideration the affairs relative to the town plat; at which the Council resolved, (it being agreed by all parties) to make over or that W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer make over, or transfer the town plat with four eighties, which are on the commons, into the hands of the Bishop of Zion; and that the avails arising from the sale of said lands should be appropriated to the benefit and upbuilding of "Poor, Bleeding Zion." In the above resolution, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer acquiesced. Also resolved that whereas W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer had subscribed $1,000 each to the House of the Lord to be built in this place—which they were before intending to pay out of the avails of the town plat—be considered exempt from paying that subscription."—Far West Record [Ms]. pp. 72, 73.

[2]. William Marks was born November 15, 1792, in Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont. This is the first mention of his name in the Prophet's narrative, and nothing can be learned of his career previous to this time.

[3]. As additional evidence that this financial maelstrom in which the "Kirtland Safety Society" met disaster was national and not merely local, I quote here the description of the wide-spread financial panic of 1837, as given in the History of the United States by Alexander H. Stephens: "Soon after Mr. Van Buren became President occurred a great commercial crisis. This was in April, 1837, and was occasioned by a reckless spirit of speculation, which had, for two or three preceding years, been fostered and encouraged by excessive banking, and the consequent expansion of paper currency beyond all the legitimate wants of the country. During the months of March and April of this year the failures in New York City alone amounted to over $100,000,000. The state of affairs became so distressing that petitions were sent to the President from several quarters, and a deputation of merchants and bankers of New York waited upon him in person, and solicited him to defer the immediate collection of duties, for which bonds had been given, and to rescind the treasury orders which had been issued under Jackson's administration, requiring dues to the government to be paid in specie. They also asked that an extra session of Congress should be called to adopt measures of relief. He granted their request so far only as to suspend suits on bonds, which had been given for the collection of duties. In a few days after his response to this deputation was made known in New York, all the banks in that city stopped special payments, and their example was soon followed by nearly all the banks in all the states. In this emergency, Mr. Van Buren was compelled to convene an extra session of Congress, to provide for meeting demands on the treasury with legal currency. He accordingly summoned the Twenty-fifth congress to meet at the capitol on the 4th day of September, 1837. The session lasted five or six weeks. In his message to Congress, Mr. Van Buren assigned as the causes of the unhappy condition of the country, the excessive issues of bank paper; the great fire in New York, in December, 1835; the large investments that had been made in unproductive lands, and other speculative enterprises. To meet the exigencies of the treasury, as well as to provide for the public relief, as far as to them seemed proper, Congress passed an act authorizing the issue of treasury notes to the amount of '10,000,000' "—(History of the United States, by Alexander H. Stephens, p. 460).

[4]. Of the condition of affairs in Kirtland at this time Eliza R. Snow, in her Biography of her brother, the late President Lorenzo Snow, says: "A spirit of speculation had crept into the hearts of some of the Twelve, and nearly, if not every quorum was more or less infected. Most of the Saints were poor, and now prosperity was dawning upon them—the Temple was completed, and in it they had been recipients of marvelous blessings, and many who had been humble and faithful to the performance of every duty—ready to go and come at every call of the Priesthood, were getting haughty in their spirits, and lifted up in the pride of their hearts. As the Saints drank in the love and spirit of the world, the Spirit of the Lord withdrew from their hearts, and they were filled with pride and hatred toward those who maintained their integrity. They linked themselves together in an opposing party—pretended that they constituted the Church, and claimed that the Temple belonged to them, and even attempted to hold it."

[5]. Among those who were embittered against the Prophet at this time was Elder Parley P. Pratt, and of this incident in his experience he says: About this time, (summer of 1837) after I had returned from Canada, there were jarrings and discords in the Church at Kirtland, and many fell away and became enemies and apostates. There were also envyings, lyings, strifes and divisions, which caused much trouble and sorrow. By such spirits I was also accused, misrepresented and abused. And at one time, I also was overcome by the same spirit in a great measure, and it seemed as if the very powers of darkness which war against the Saints were let loose upon me. But the Lord knew my faith, my zeal, my integrity of purpose, and He gave me the victory. I went to Brother Joseph Smith in tears, and, with a broken heart and contrite spirit, confessed wherein I had erred in spirit, murmured, or done or said amiss. He frankly forgave me, prayed for me and blessed me. Thus, by experience, I learned more fully to discern and to contrast the two spirits, and to resist the one and cleave to the other. And, being tempted in all points, even as others, I learned how to bear with, and excuse, and succor those who are tempted."—(Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, pp. 183-4).

In the midst of these troubles there were reputations made as well as some lost. Among those who were developed rather than destroyed by the troubles and temptations of these times was the late President John Taylor. Referring to a visit which Elder Taylor made to Kirtland in the spring of 1837 his Biography states: "At that time there was a bitter spirit of apostasy rife in Kirtland. A number in the quorum of the Twelve were disaffected toward the Prophet, and the Church seemed on the point of disintegration. Among others, Parley P. Pratt was floundering in darkness, and coming to Elder Taylor told him of some things wherein he considered the Prophet Joseph in error. To his remarks Elder Taylor replied: 'I am surprised to hear you speak so, Brother Parley. Before you left Canada you bore a strong testimony to Joseph Smith being a Prophet of God, and to the truth of the work he has inaugurated; and you said you knew these things by revelation, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. You gave to me a strict charge to the effect that though you or an angel from heaven was to declare anything else I was not to believe it. Now Brother Parley, it is not man that I am following, but the Lord. The principles you taught me led me to Him, and I now have the same testimony that you then rejoiced in. If the work was true six months ago, it is true today; if Joseph was then a Prophet, he is now a Prophet.' To the honor of Elder Pratt, be it said, he sought no further to lead Elder Taylor astray; nor did he use much argument in the first place. 'He and many others,' says Elder Taylor, 'were passing under a dark cloud; he soon made all right with the Prophet Joseph, and was restored to full fellowship.' It was about this time that Elder Taylor first came prominently before the Church. The apostates met frequently in the Temple, and on one of those occasions, on a Sunday—the Prophet Joseph was absent—Warren Parrish made a violent attack upon the character of the Prophet, in which he was warmly sustained by many of those present. Towards the close of the meeting, Elder Taylor asked the privilege of speaking. It was granted him. He referred, in opening his remarks, to the ancient Israelites, and to their murmurings against God and Moses, and then asked: 'From whence do we get our intelligence, and knowledge of the laws, ordinances and doctrines of the kingdom of God? Who understood even the first principles of the doctrines of Christ? Who in the Christian world taught them? If we, with our learning and intelligence, could not find out the first principles, which was the case with myself and millions of others, how can we find out the mysteries of the kingdom? It was Joseph Smith, under the Almighty, who developed the first principles, and to him we must look for further instructions. If the spirit which he manifests does not bring blessings, I am very much afraid that the one manifested by those who have spoken, will not be very likely to secure them. The children of Israel, formerly, after seeing the power of God manifested in their midst, fell into rebellion and idolatry, and there is certainly very great danger of our 'doing the same thing.' While the apostates were neither convinced nor silenced by the remarks of Elder Taylor, the faithful Saints were strengthened, and saw in that fearless defender of the Prophet, a champion of innocence and truth. While on his part, in commenting on this circumstance, Elder Taylor remarks: 'I was pained on the one hand to witness the hard feelings and severe expressions of apostates; while on the other, I rejoiced to see the firmness, faith, integrity and joy of the faithful.' "—(Life of John Taylor, pp. 39, 40, 41.)

[6]. Of this call of Heber C. Kimball to the Presidency of the British mission his biographer (Bishop O. F. Whitney, his grandson) gives the following account:

"On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837," says Heber C. Kimball, "the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand, above the sacrament table, on the Melchisedek side of the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, 'Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.' " The thought was overpowering. He had been surprised at his call to the Apostleship; now he was overwhelmed. Like Jeremiah he staggered under the weight of his own weakness, exclaiming in self-humiliation: "O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial! Feeling my weakness to go upon such an errand. I asked the Prophet if Brother Brigham might go with me. He replied that he wanted Brother Brigham to stay with him, for he had something else for him to do. The idea of such a mission was almost more than I could bear up under. I was almost ready to sink under the burden which was placed upon me. However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty; the moment I understood the will of my heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed; and although my family was dear to me, and I should have to leave them almost destitute, I felt that the cause of truth, the Gospel of Christ, outweighed every other consideration."—(Life of Heber C. Kimball, by O. F. Whitney, pp. 116, 117).

[7]. The British mission was really an outgrowth of the work in Canada. "Several of the Saints in Canada," says Parley P. Pratt, in speaking of his labors there in the early spring of 1837, "were English, who had friends in England. Letters had been sent to them with information of the rise of the Church, and of its principles. Several of the Canadian Elders felt a desire to go on a mission to their friends in that country. At length, Joseph Fielding, Isaac Russell, John Goodson and John Snider, of the Canadian Elders, were selected for a mission to England. Elders Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, of the Quorum of the Twelve, were selected to go at the head of the mission, and Elder Willard Richards was appointed to accompany them."—(Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 183.)

[8]. Joseph Fielding was born in Honeydon, Bradfordshire, England, and was the son of John and Rachel Fielding. He emigrated from England and located in Upper Canada, near Toronto, in 1832. Together with his two sisters, Mary and Rachel, he received the Gospel under the ministry of Elder Parley P. Pratt in May, 1832, and soon after was ordained a Priest and joined the mission to England as recorded in the text of the history above.

[9]. Concerning the place and time of the birth of John Goodson nothing can be learned. He was, however, among those whom Elder Parley P. Pratt converted in Upper Canada during his memorable mission in that land.

[10]. Isaac Russell was born April 13, 1807, in Windy Hall, Cumberland County, England. His father's name was William Russell, and Isaac was the youngest of thirteen children. The family emigrated to America about 1817, settling in Upper Canada. In June, 1829, he married Mary Walton and made his home in Toronto, where he received the Gospel under the ministry of Elder Parley P. Pratt. He was ordained an Elder and engaged in missionary work in Upper Canada until he joined the British mission under the leadership of Elder Heber C. Kimball, as stated in the text.

[11]. John Snyder was born in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, November 11, 1800. He removed with his father's family to Upper Canada, near Toronto. His father died while John was yet a youth, but under the influence of his mother, a woman of strong character and upright life, young Snyder grew to manhood with strong religious sentiments. In 1833, he joined, with the late President John Taylor, an association of students of the Scriptures who were seeking for a profounder knowledge of the truth. It was to this association that Elder Parley P. Pratt was directed in 1836 and to whom he so frequently preached the Gospel that quite a number of them united with the Church, John Snyder among them. Soon after John Snyder was ordained to the Priesthood and joined the British mission as stated in the text.