"I cant support the twelve as the first presidency," George J. Adams writes. "I cant do it when I know that it belongs to Josephs Son-Young Joseph who was ordained by his father before his Death." In May Adams had organized a church with Joseph Smith III as the intended president and himself as spokesman. (1)
-- Saturday, June 14th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] We went from Bro. Fulmer's to Bro. Benbow's on a visit, and returned home on Sunday afternoon; we had an agreeable time while we [were] there. [p. 60] (2)
-- Jun 15, 1845
[Anointed Quorum] Sunday evening prayer circle of the apostles . (3)
Sidney Rigdon publishes an editorial: "Nauvoo is a sink of corruption, Deception in its most forbidding forms, is resorted to by them, to make people think they are different from what they are in truth. They deny, or attempt to deny, the existence of the very doctrine on which they pretend that their exaltation depends. . . . A true saint would publish his faith to the world, though he would suffer death for it; and rejoice in the thought that he suffered death for Christ's sake. . . . Has it come to this, that men must lie, defame, and slander, in order to sustain the religion of Jesus Christ?" (1)
-- Jun 15, 1845, Sunday
[William Clayton Writings] Sunday 15th. At the office till 4 P.M. Afterwards at Dr Richards with B. Young, H.C. Kimball, W. Richards, O. Pratt, G.A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, N.K. Whitney, G. Miller, L. Richards & J. C. Kingsbury. (4)
-- Jun 16, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 16th I wrote a letter to Mrs Woodruff after a long mornings walk. A man & his wife Called to be baptized. He was Br to James Parsons of Nauvoo who has lately Come to this Country obtained some £300 pounds in money taken a young girl run away with her not intending to return to his wife in Nauvoo. For this Crime we have Cut him off from the Church.
I took Dinner with Br Morris took tea with Br Crump & returned home whare [there were] 2 letters for me one from President Brigham Young of Nauvoo & the other from Mrs Woodruff of Liverpool both of which I was glad to obtain. I wrote one in return to Mrs Woodruff. She sent me some of the Hair of Joseph Smith & the whole of the Smith Family & the quorum of the Twelve to put into a finger ring. Distance of the day 6 miles. (5)
-- Monday, June 16th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Attending to some business at home. (2)
-- Jun 17, 1845
Letter from the Twelve to Saints abroad-- The original of this letter to the Saints Abroad is on file in the Church Historians Office. The letter calls for funds for the erection of a canvas Tabernacle as a general meeting place to accommodate the larger crowds that could not meet in the Nauvoo Temple. For additional background see DHC 7:426-428; RCH 2:75-76.
LETTER of the Twelve to the Saints Abroad To the Saints Abroad, Greeting: The walls of our Temple are completed and the roof is nearly on. Through the liberality of the brethren that building is in a rapid state of advancement; but it will only accommodate a small portion of our congregation when completed.
Pursuant to the counsel of Joseph Smith given previous to his martyrdom, we now intend to erect a Tabernacle for the congregation made of canvas. It will take about four thousand yards, which, with other fixtures, will cost between one and two thousand dollars.
We have appointed Elder Orson Hyde one of our own quorum, a faithful, trusty and competent man of God, to go forth and raise all the necessary funds for the above purpose, to procure the materials and return with them to this place as soon as possible. Elder Hyde is authorized to raise the necessary funds by loan, by contribution, or tithing or donation; if by loan, the church here will refund the same in lands at a low rate, or in cash as soon as we can command it; and any contract that he may make in relation to the above, the church will be responsible for.
It is hoped that no brother or sister who has funds that he or she can spare for a season will withhold them from Brother Hyde, for it is the aid that he seeks for us. Also we hope that the saints will be liberal in their donations, and every other person that wishes well to the Temple of God and to the Tabernacle of the congregation in Zion. May God bless all that feel interested in the matter. {1845-June 17-DHC 7:427} (6)
[Lucy Mack Smith] John Taylor visits Lucy and reads part of her finished manuscript. (7)
[Nauvoo Temple] In a letter to the Saints the Twelve reported that the temple walls were completed, and that the roof was nearly completed. The Twelve also indicated it wanted to follow Joseph Smith's proposal and erected a canvas tabernacle on the west side of the temple. Orson Hyde was to travel east and raise money to purchase the canvas. The tabernacle was to be erected "in front of , and joining the Temple on the west." It was to be about 250 feet long and 125 feet wide. It was designed to seat a congregation of eight to ten thousand persons for "preaching," while the temple was to be "used for the meeting of councils and quorums, and the administrations of ordinances and blessings, and preaching to smaller congregations."
Near his date Orson Hyde left for the East "to obtain cloth for the tabernacle" and Howard Eagan had earlier left for St Louis to purchase hemp for making robes to hold the canvas up. (8)
Footnotes:
1 - On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com
2 - 'The John Taylor Nauvoo journal, January 1845-September 1845,' BYU Studies 23:3 (1983) edited by Dean C. Jessee
3 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, 1994, Appendex: Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum, 1842-45, http://amzn.to/origins-power
4 - Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries
5 - Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
6 - Clark, James R., Messages of the First Presidency (6 volumes)
7 - Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book
8 - Brown, Lisle (compiler), Chronology of the Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple
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