While the Apostles are setting in order the Church in England, preparatory to their departure for America, let us fly before them over the sea and note some of the changes which have taken place since they left Kirtland.
The Church had suffered terribly from the ravages of apostasy. At no time in its history has it seemed so near destruction, as in the early part of 1837, the period of the opening of the British Mission. The causes are noted elsewhere in these pages, and deserve a niche in the temple of memory for all time. The Ohio mobbings, the Missouri persecutions, the martyrdom, the exodus, nor all that Zion's cause has suffered since, have imperilled it half so much as when mammon and the love of God strove for supremacy in the hearts of His people, and the Saints, for a time forgetful of their high calling, laid aside their spiritual mission and went groveling after "the beggarly elements of the world."
Only once in the history of the work, has its almighty Author found it necessary to reveal that "something new must be done for the salvation of the Church."
That "something new," as we have seen, was a great spiritual movement, to counteract the tendency to carnal or temporal things, which was resting like the sleep of death upon the drooping eyelids of the Zion of God.
To root out the deadly Upas-tree, rouse Zion from her slumber beneath
its pestilential shade, and prune off the withered branches from the
Tree of Life, was the first care of the Prophet after despatching the
Elders for England.
A conference assembled "in committee of the whole Church" at Kirtland, on Sunday, September 3rd, 1837. At this conference the various quorums of the Priesthood were presented to the people for their action.
President Sidney Rigdon presented the name of Joseph Smith, junior, to the Church, to know if they still looked upon him as the President of the whole Church, and would receive and sustain him in that position. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative.
President Smith then presented Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams as his counselors, and to constitute with himself the three first Presidents of the Church. Elder Rigdon was sustained unanimously, but the motion failed as to F. G. Williams. President Smith then put in nomination Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, senior, Hyrum Smith, and John Smith, as assistant counselors; these four, together with the first three, to be considered the heads of the Church. Carried unanimously.
It was voted that Newel K. Whitney continue to hold his office as Bishop in Kirtland, and that Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter continue to act as the Bishop's counselors.
The Twelve Apostles were then presented, one by one, when Thomas B. Marsh, David W. Patten, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, William Smith and William E. McLellin, were received and unanimously sustained in their Apostleship. Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and John F. Boynton were rejected and cut off, though given the privilege of confessing and making satisfaction. The cause of the difficulty with Elders Boynton and Johnson was their "leaving their calling to attend to other occupations."