Zion church presidency and high council, Minutes, , Caldwell Co., MO, 13 Apr. 1838. Featured version copied [between 1 Oct. 1842 and 14 Sept. 1843] in Minute Book 2, pp. 126–133; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 2.
Historical Introduction
On 13 April 1838, JS participated in a meeting that the and held to consider the charges against and . Johnson had begun challenging JS’s leadership by May 1837, when he and fellow filed charges with , accusing JS of “lying & misrepresentation— also for extortion— and for— speaking disrespectfully against his brethren behind their backs.” The next month, Johnson and his fellow apostle and business partner, , sought to dissuade apostle from accepting a missionary appointment to . In a 3 September 1837 conference, Johnson, his brother , and Boynton were rejected as apostles because of their opposition to the . The three men reconciled with the church a week later at another conference and were reinstated as apostles. Shortly afterward Johnson traveled with to . While there, Johnson attended the November church conference, during which he was again sustained as an apostle. However, by December, Johnson was meeting with Cowdery, David and , and other dissenters in to discuss their opposition to other church leaders. Johnson seems to have associated especially with Cowdery, and the two apparently planned to start a legal practice together. In January 1838, Johnson attended a meeting with Cowdery, the Whitmer brothers, and other dissenters, during which they made plans to leave Far West because of their opposition to the high council there. Johnson also continued to correspond with and other , Ohio, dissenters. On 7 April 1838, apostle reported at a church conference that he could not sustain Johnson and four other members of the . Two days later, church leaders wrote to Johnson, Cowdery, and David Whitmer, reporting that charges had been made against them and that hearings would be held on 12 April for Cowdery and on 13 April for Johnson and Whitmer.
Neither nor attended the 13 April hearing, during which the high council and the presidency investigated the charges against the two men. Instead, like the day before, Johnson and Whitmer sent letters expressing their opposition to the charges and the council proceedings and indicating they were withdrawing from the church. The council deliberated over Johnson’s case during two sessions, with JS testifying against Johnson during the first session. As a result of the testimony JS and others offered, the council excommunicated Johnson.
The council then turned to the case of . After he, , and had been removed from the presidency in February 1838, the three men had decried the decision. In a 10 March letter, the men argued that the procedures for removing them were “contrary to the principles of the revelations of Jesus Christ, and his gospel.” Later in the day, the high council read the letter and excommunicated Phelps and John Whitmer. No action was taken against David Whitmer until 9 April, when he was notified of his 13 April trial. During the trial, the council read the letter and determined that he should be excommunicated. As the final item of business during the meeting, the council revoked Cowdery’s November 1837 assignment to help identify locations for new Latter-day Saint settlements.
Minutes of the council meeting were taken by the high council clerk, . The minutes were copied into Minute Book 2 by in 1842 or 1843.
At least some of the difficulty between these men and the church revolved around the collapse of the economy in Kirtland, Ohio. During the meeting, Boynton attributed his opposition to “the failure of the bank.” Although Sidney Rigdon rejected Boynton’s explanation, Rigdon likewise thought the root of the conflict was related to economic concerns; he condemned Johnson and Boynton for operating a mercantile firm while neglecting their ecclesiastical responsibilities. (Minutes, 3 Sept. 1837.)
See, for example, Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, 24 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 87; and Stephen Burnett, Orange Township, OH, to Lyman Johnson, 15 Apr. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 64–66.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
I prefer the following charges before your Honorable body against .
Charge First, For not observing the , for unchristian-like conduct in neglecting to attend to meetings, in uniting with, and possessing the same spirit with the Dissenters, in writing letters to the Dissenters in unfavorable to the cause and to Br Joseph Smith jr.
2nd 3nd For neglecting <the> his duties of his calling.
4th, For seperating himself from the cause and the Church while he has a name among us.
5 For signing himself of the in an insulting letter to the .
.”
After which a letter was read from in words as follows:
“ Mo April 13th 1838.
Sir I received a line from you bearing date the 9th inst, requesting me as a to appear before the High Council and answer to five several charges on this day at 12 o’clock.
You sir with a majority of this Church have decided that certain Councils were legal by which it is said I have been deprived of my office as one of the Presidents of this Church I have thought and still think they were not agreeable to the revelations of God, which I believe and by my now attending this Council, and a[n]swering to charges as a High Priest, should be acknowledgeing the correctness and legality of those former assumed Councils, which I shall not do.
Believing as I verily do, that you and the leaders of the Councils have a determination to persue your unlawful course at all hazards, and bring others to your standard in violating of the revelations, to spare you any further trouble I hereby withdraw from your fellowship and communion— choosing to seek a place among the meek and humble, where the revelations of Heaven will be observed and the [p. 132]
In January 1838, the Zionpresidency was charged with, among other things, failing to adhere to the revealed dietary code known as the Word of Wisdom. According to the report of the committee assigned to discuss the charges with the presidency, Phelps denied breaking the Word of Wisdom, while Cowdery and the Whitmers admitted to drinking tea or coffee, as “they did not consider them to come under the head of hot drinks.” In February, Hinkle criticized David Whitmer for “persisting in the use of tea, coffee, and tobacco.” Decades later, Whitmer identified the Word of Wisdom as one of the principal causes of dispute between himself and other church leaders in Far West. (Minute Book 2, 26 Jan. 1838; Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838; Gurley, “Questions Asked of David Whitmer,” 1.)
Gurley, Zenos. “Questions Asked of David Whitmer at His Home in Richmond Ray County Mo,” 14–21 Jan. 1885. CHL. MS 4633.
In June 1838, a letter directing David Whitmer, Cowdery, and other dissenters to leave Far West also accused the men of having “kept up continual correspondance with your gang of Marauders in Kirtland.” No correspondence from Whitmer to Kirtland has been located; however, during this period Cowdery and Johnson appear to have maintained regular correspondence with Kirtland dissenters, which suggests that Whitmer may have as well. An August 1837 letter from John Whitmer in Missouri to David Whitmer and Cowdery in Kirtland implies that correspondence was encouraged, if not already occurring: “Communicate to us any thing that you in your wisdom may think expedient.” John Whitmer assured his brother and Cowdery that because Phelps was the postmaster of Far West, “a letter can be addressed to him on any subject and no one know it.” (Letter to Oliver Cowdery et al., ca. 17 June 1838; John Whitmer, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; see also Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 87; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, 24 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 87; Stephen Burnett, Orange Township, OH, to Lyman Johnson, 15 Apr. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 64–66; and Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland Mills, OH, 2 June 1838, Lyman Cowdery, Papers, CHL.)
Whitmer, John. Letter, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837. Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
JS Letterbook 2 / Smith, Joseph. “Copies of Letters, &c. &c.,” 1839–1843. Joseph Smith Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 2.
On 10 March 1838, the Whitmer brothers and Phelps wrote a letter to Marsh, complaining about the treatment they received from Marsh and the high council and signing the letter as presidents of the church in Zion. A similar charge was made against Cowdery, who attested to the three men’s complaints and signed the letter as the clerk of the high council. (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838; Minutes, 12 Apr. 1838.)
During the February 1838 proceedings in which Whitmer was removed from the Zionpresidency, Murdock addressed criticism that the high council’s treatment of the presidency aberrated from the rules of the church. According to Murdock, the council’s actions were “perfectly legal, according to the instructions of President Joseph Smith jr.” (Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838.)