Orson Hyde: Joseph Smith Jr. publicly rebuked him 28 Apr. 1842 for "aspiring," and said Orson Hyde would "not be exalted" (1)
Parley P Pratt: Criticized by Joseph Smith Jr. 28 Apr. 1842 for ambition (1)
-- Apr 28, 1842 (Thursday Afternoon)
[Joseph Smith Sermon] Location: Upper Room, Red Brick Store, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA
Source: Nauvoo Relief Society Minutes (Words of Joseph Smith, 114-19)
President Smith arose and said that the purport of his being present on the occasion was, to make observations respecting the priesthood, and give instructions for the benefit of the Society that as his instructions were intended only for the Society; he requested that a vote should be taken on those present who were not members, to ascertain whether they should be admittedâ€"He exhorted the meeting to act honestly and uprightly in all their proceedings inasmuch as they would be call'd to give an account to Jehovah. All hearts must repentâ€"be pure and God will regard them and bless them in a manner that could not be bless'd in any other wayâ€"
. . . Committee retired and Prest. J. Smith arose and call'd the attention of the meeting to the 12th chap of 1st Co. "Now concerning spiritual gifts" &C.â€"said that the passage which reads "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the holy ghost," should be translated, No man can know &C
He continued to read the Chap and give instructions respecting the different offices, and the necessity of every individual acting in the sphere allotted him or her; and filling the several offices to which they were appointedâ€"Spoke of the disposition of man, to consider the lower offices in the church dishonorable and to look with jealous eyes upon the standing of othersâ€"that it was the nonsense of the human heart, for a person to be aspiring to other stations than appointed of Godâ€"that it was better for individuals to magnify their respective callings, and wait patiently till God shall say to them come up higher.
He said the reason of these remarks being made was, that some little things was circulating in the Society, that some persons were not going right in laying hands on the sick, &C. Said if he had common sympathies, would rejoice that the sick could be heal'd, that the time had not been before, that these things could be in their proper orderâ€"that the Church is not now organiz'd in its proper order, and cannot be until the Temple is completed. Prest. Smith continued the subject by adverting to the commission given to the ancient apostles "Go ye into all the world" &C. No matter who believeth; these signs such as healing the sick, casting out devils &C. should follow all that believe whether male or female. He ask'd the Society if they could not see by this sweeping stroke that werein they are ordained, it is the privilege of those set apart to administer in that authority which is conferr'd on themâ€"and if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their t
ongues,
and let every thing roll on.
He said if God has appointed him, and chosen him as an instrument to lead the church, why not let him lead it through? why stand in the way, when he is appointed to do a thing? Who knows the mind of God? Does he not reveal things differently from what we expect? He remarked that he was continually risingâ€"altho' he had every thing, bearing him down, standing in his way and opposingâ€"after all he always comes out right in the end.
Respecting the females laying on hands, he further remark'd, there could be no devil in it if God gave his sanction by healingâ€"that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than in wetting the face with water It is no sin for any body to do it that has faith, or if the sick has faith to be heal'd by the administration.
He reproved those that were dispos'd to find fault with the management of concernsâ€"saying that if he undertook to lead the church he would lead it rightâ€"that he calculats to organize the church in proper order &C.
President Smith continued by speaking of the difficulties he had to surmount ever since the commencement of the work in consequence of aspiring men, "great big Elders" as he called them who had caused him much trouble, whom he had taught in the private counsel; and they would go forth into the world and proclaim the things he had taught them; as their own revelationsâ€"said the same aspiring disposition will be in this Society, and must be guarded againstâ€"that every person should stand and act in the place appointed, and thus sanctify the Society and get it pure
He said he had been trampled under foot by aspiring Elders, for all were infected with that spirit, for instance P. Pratt O. Pratt, O. Hyde and J. Page had been aspiringâ€"They could not be exalted but must run away as though the care and authority of the church were vested with themâ€"He said we had a subtle devil to deal with and could only curb him by being humble.
He said as he had this opportunity, he was going to instruct the Society and point out the way for them to conduct, that they might act according to the will of Godâ€"that he did not know as he should have many opportunities of teaching themâ€"that they were going to be left to themselvesâ€"they would not long have him to instruct themâ€"that the church would not have his instruction long, and the world would not be troubled with him a great while, and would not have his teachingsâ€"He spoke of delivering the keys to this society and to the Churchâ€"that according to his prayers God had appointed him elsewhere
He exhorted the sisters always to concentrate their faith and prayers for, and place confidence in those whom God has appointed to honor, whom God has plac'd at the head to leadâ€"that we should arm them with our prayersâ€"that the keys of the kingdom are about to be given to them, that they may be able to detect every thing falseâ€"as well as to the Elders
He said if one member become corrupt and you know it; you must immediately put it away. The sympathies of the heads of the church have induc'd them to bear with those that were corrupt in consequence of which all become contaminatedâ€"you must put down iniquity and by your good example provoke the Elders to good worksâ€"if you do right no danger of going too fast; he said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue. Resist evil and there is no danger. God, man, angels and devils can't condemn those that resist every thing that is evil as well might the devil seek to dethrone Jehovah, as that soul that resists every thing that is evil.
The charitable Societyâ€"this is according to your naturesâ€"it is natural for females to have feelings of charityâ€"you are now placed in a situation where you can act according to those sympathies which God has planted in your bosoms. If you live up to these principles how great and gloriousâ€"if you live up to your privilege the angels cannot be restrain'd from being your associates
Females, if they are pure and innocent can come into the presence of God, for what is more pleasing to God than innocence; you must be innocent or you cannot come up before God. If we would come before God let us be pure ourselves. The devil has great powerâ€"he will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will of Godâ€"You need not be teasing men for their deeds, but let the weight of innocence be felt which is more mighty than a millstone hung about the neck. Not war, not jangle, not contradiction, but meekness, love purity, these are the things that should magnify us. Achan [Joshua 7:18-26] must be brought to lightâ€"iniquity must be purged outâ€"then the vail will be rent and the blessings of heaven will flow downâ€"they will roll down like the Mississippi river. This Society shall have power to command Queens in their midstâ€"I now deliver it as a prophecy that before ten years shall roll around, the queens of the earth shall come and pay thei
r respects to this
Societyâ€"they shall come with their millions and shall contribute of their abundance for the relief of the poorâ€"If you will be pure, nothing can hinder.
After this instruction, you will be responsible for your own sins. It is an honor to save yourselvesâ€"all are responsible to save themselves.
Prest. Smith, after reading from the above mentioned chapter, Continued to give instruction respecting the order of God, as established in the church; saying every one should aspir only to magnify his own office &C.
He then commenc'd reading the 13th chapter, "Though I speak with the tongues of men" &C. and said don't be limited in your views with regard to your neighbors' virtues, but be limited towards your own virtues, and not think yourselves more righteous than others; you must enlarge your souls toward others if you [w]ould do like Jesus, and carry your fellow creatures to Abrams bosom. He said he had manifested long suffering and we must do so tooâ€"Prest. Smith then read, "Though I have the gift of prophecy" &C. He then said though one should become mightyâ€"do great thingsâ€"overturn mountains &C should then turn to eat and drink with the drunken; all former deeds would not save himâ€"but he would go to destruction!
As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expandâ€"let them be enlarged towards othersâ€"you must be longsuffering and bear with the faults and errors of mankind. How precious are the souls of man! The female part of community are apt to be contracted, in their views. You must not be contracted but you must be liberal in your feelings.
Let this Society teach how to act towards husbands, to treat them with mildness and affection. When a man is borne down with troubleâ€"when he is perplexed, if he can meet a smile, [not] an argumentâ€"if he can meet with mildness, it will calm down his soul and smooth his feelings. When the mind is going to despair it needs a solace.
This Society is to get instruction through the order which God has establishedâ€"thro' the medium of those appointed to leadâ€"and I now turn the key to you in the name of God and this Society shall rejoice and knowledge and intelligence shall flow down from this timeâ€"this is the beginning of better days to this Society.
When you go home never give a cross word, but let kindness, charity and love, crown your works henceforward. Don't envy sinnersâ€"have mercy on them, God will destroy themâ€"Let your labors be confined mostly to those around you to your own circle, as far as knowledge is concerned, it may extend to all the world, but your administrations, should be confin'd to the circle of your immediate acquaintances and more especially to the members of the society.
Those ordain'd to lead the Society, are authoriz'd to appoint to different offices as the circumstances shall require.
If any have a matter to reveal, let it be in your own tongue. Do not indulge too much in the gift of tongues, or the devil will take advantage of the innocent. You may speak in tongues for your own comfort but I lay this down for a rule that if any thing is taught by the gift of tongues, it is not to be received for doctrine.
Prest. S. then offered instruction respecting the propriety of females administering to the sick by the laying on of handsâ€"said it was according to revelationâ€"&C. Said he never was placed in similar circumstances, and never had given the same instruction.
He clos'd his instruction by expressing his satisfaction in improving the opportunity.
The spirit of the Lord was pour'd out in a very powerful manner, never to be forgotten by those present on that interesting occasion. (2)
-- Apr 29, 1842
Joseph Smith defines as "a conspiracy against the peace of my household" three separate conflicts that converge today. First, the Sidney Rigdon family is outraged to learn of his polygamous proposal to his first counselor's daughter Nancy. Second, the charges and counter-charges involved in that crisis lead to the discovery that Joseph's special counselor John C. Bennett had been claiming the prophet's authorization for seducing several women. In his own defense Bennett apparently told others about his knowledge of Joseph's recent polygamous marriages and unsuccessful proposals. These interrelated scandals threw Joseph's wife Emma into a fury, as one woman after another began disclosing Nauvoo's sexual underground. This controversy caused Joseph to delay his plans to give the "grand key words of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood" to his wife and other women, "as well as to the Elders" (3)
[Lucy Mack Smith] Levira Annette Clark, the first child of Samuel and Levira Smith, is born at Nauvoo. She is Samuel's fifth child. (4)
-- Apr 30, 1842
The Nauvoo WASP reports that "a sham battle will be fought between the mounted Rifle-men under the immediate command of Lieutenant General [Joseph] Smith, and the Invincibles under the immediate command of Major General [John C.] Bennett." (3)
-- During Apr 1842
[Polygamy] to 27 Jun 1844 Marriage - Joseph to Nancy Marinda Hyde, age 27, already married. Ten years earlier, Smith had been tarred and feathered for supposedly seducing Nancy at age 16 ,while staying with her family. Nancy was likely taught polygamy by Joseph when her husband, Orson Hyde, was on his mission to Palestine. In 1841, Nancy was given a direct revelation through Joseph to "hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her" (History of the Church, vol. 4, pg. 467). In May 1844 Nancy would become pregnant with Smith's child while Hyde was on another mission (sent by Smith). She later divorced Hyde and voiced her disgust of polygamy. PLACE: Nauvoo, IL SOURCE: Joseph Smith journal, LDS archives, a list of marriages in the handwriting of Thomas Bullock, entered after 14 July 1843: "Apr 42 Marinda Johnson to Joseph Smith," in Scott Faulring, ea., An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake
City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1989), 396. For a second marriage to Joseph Smith, in May 1843, see Marinda Hyde affidavit, 1 May 1869, Joseph F. Smith Affidavit Books, 1:15, (5)
[Polygamy] Marinda Johnson Hyde (Age 27, already married to Orson Hyde): Fifteen-year-old Marinda Johnson and her family were baptized into the church during the winter of 1830, near Kirtland, Ohio. The [following] fall, Marinda wrote, Joseph came with his family to live at my fathers house. He was at that time translating the Bible... For the next year, Joseph lived in the Johnson home.
In 1833, Marinda met and was courted by Orson Hyde. A year later they would marry. Within months of the marriage, Orson was called to be an Apostle of the church, a calling which meant he would spend two of the next three and one-half years in the Eastern States and England in missionary service. Back home Marinda raised their two children. By June 1839 Marinda and Orson had relocated to Nauvoo. A third child soon arrived.
On April 6, 1840, Orson wrote, I was appointed, in company with Elder John E. Page, to go on a mission to Jerusalem. A week later, Orson left for what would be a three year mission. On October 24, 1841, Orson stood on the Mount of Olives and consecrated Palestine for the gathering of Judah in the last days.
While Orson was gone, Marinda, had to live in a little log house whose windows had no glass but in place of which were pieces of greased paper...A little cornmeal and a few groceries were all the provisions remaining to sustain her and the little ones.. Noting Marindas living conditions, Joseph Smith received the following revelation dated December 2, 1841: Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph. that inasmuch as you have called upon me to know my will concerning my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde Behold it is my will that she should have a better place prepared for her than that in which she now lives...and let my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her...
Marinda soon moved to a better home. In the Spring of 1842 she married Joseph. In Josephs diary is a list of his marriages. It includes the entry: Apr 42 Marinda Johnson to Joseph Smith.. Eight months later, in December, Orson returned from his mission. It is not clear when, or if, Orson learned about his wifes marriage to Joseph. However, by March, Orson had learned about plural marriage himself and married two additional wives.
After Josephs death in 1844, Marinda and Orson continued to live in Nauvoo. In April of 1846, shortly before leaving for Utah, Orson dedicated the Nauvoo temple. Over the next 20 years, Marinda would bear 7 more children. Orson would continue to serve missions and marry seven additional wives. In 1870 Marinda and Orson divorced.
Marindas grandchildren later wrote of her caring and thoughtful demeanor: She was so loving and sympathetic with...all... She was a lovely creature, dignified and...took a keen interest in life and people. (6)
-- During Apr. 1842
[Polygamy] Marinda Nancy Johnson (Hyde) age 27, Married
"In the summer of 1831 the Johnson family took Joseph and Emma Smith into their home as boarders, and soon thereafter the prophet purportedly bedded young Marinda. Unfortunately, the liaison did not go unnoticed, and a gang of indignant Ohioans including a number of Mormons resolved to castrate Joseph so that he would be disinclined to commit such acts of depravity in the future." Wiki-(6)
-- During Spring 1842
[Nauvoo] There were nearly 3,000 people living within the city limits. Many other LDS families, however, lived outside the city both nearby and far away. (8)
-- 1May42
[Joseph Smith Sermon] Signs, Key Words - Detecting Devil - Knowing God
Calling and Election - John emple (9)
-- May 1, 1842 (Sunday)
[Joseph Smith Sermon] Location: Grove, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA
Source: Manuscript History of the Church (Words of Joseph Smith, 119-20)
I preached in the grove on the keys of the Kingdom, Charity &c The keys are certain signs and words by which false spirits and personages may be detected from true, which cannot be revealed to the Elders till the Temple is completedâ€"The rich can only get them in the Templeâ€"the poor may get them on the mountain top as did Moses. The rich cannot be saved without Charity, giving to feed the poor when and how God requires, as well as building. There are signs in heaven, earth and hell, the Elders must know them all to be endowed with power, to finish their work and prevent imposition. The devil knows many signs, but does not know the sign of the Son of Man, or Jesus. No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something, and this can only be in the Holiest of Holies. (2)
-- May 3, 1842
[Anointed Quorum] Joseph Smith summoned five loyal Mormons to the upper room of his Red Brick Store and confidentially instructed them to "fit up that room preparatory to giving endowments pertaining to the A[a]ronic and Melchisedec [sic] Priesthoods" (LNS). There are several significant features (DMQ) to this: (1) two of the five were prominent Masons: Lucius N. Scovil, Junior Warden of the Nauvoo Lodge, and Dimick B. Huntington, official "Tyler" of the lodge (MNL); (2) several of the five were former Danites from Missouri: Huntington, Daniel Carn, and Hosea Stout (AD); (3) Smith made special physical arrangements for these "endowments" that he did not require for the Masonic use of the "Lodge Room" of his store; (4) he made no mention of "Patriarchal Priesthood," as alleged by some interpreters of these May 1842 endowment ceremonies (EHAT). (10)
Footnotes:
1 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 6, Biographical Sketches of General Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47
2 - The Woodland Institute, http://www.woodlandinstitute.com
3 - On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com
4 - Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books
5 - Joseph Smith Polygamy Timeline, http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/JS_Polygamy_Timeline.htm
6 - Remembering the Wives of Joseph Smith, http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/
7 - Wikipedia, List of the Wives of Joseph Smith, Jr., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_wives_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr.
8 - LDS Church News: Nauvoo -- The City of Joseph, http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58063/Church-history--Nauvoo.html
9 - The Parallel Joseph, http://www.boap.org/LDS/Parallel/
10 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, 1994, Appendex: Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum, 1842-45
LDS History Timeline
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