Chapter XV (1)

Reconstruction of Church Affairs at Nauvoo--Revelation--Municipal Organization of Nauvoo--Installation of Civic and Military Officers.

_Friday, January 15, 1841_.--I published the following in the _Times and Seasons_--

_Reproof of John E. Page and Orson Hyde_.

Elders Orson Hyde and John E. Page are informed that the Lord
is not well pleased with them, in consequence of delaying their
mission, (John E. Page in particular) and they are requested,
by the First Presidency, to hasten their journey towards their
destination.

_Sunday, 17_.--Elder Brigham Young preached twice in the Music Hall, Liverpool.

_Monday, 18_.--Elders Brigham Young and Willard Richards commenced reading the Book of Mormon, and writing an index to the English edition.

_Tuesday, 19_.--Elder Amos Fielding has baptized twenty-nine at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.

I received the following revelation: [1]

_Revelation Given to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, January 19th, 1841_.

Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am
well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have
made, for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show
forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth.

Your prayers are acceptable before me, and in answer to them I say
unto you, that you are now called immediately to make a solemn
proclamation of my Gospel, and of this Stake which I have planted
to be a {275} corner-stone of Zion, which shall be polished with
the refinement which is after the similitude of a palace.

This proclamation shall be made to all the kings of the world, to
the four corners thereof; to the honorable President elect, and the
high-minded Governors of the nation in which you live, and to all
the nations of the earth, scattered abroad.

Let it be written in the spirit of meekness and by the power of the
Holy Ghost, which shall be in you at the time of the writing of the
same;

For it shall be given you by the Holy Ghost to know my will
concerning those kings and authorities, even what shall befall them
in a time to come.

For, behold! I am about to call upon them to give heed to the light
and glory of Zion, for the set time has come to favor her.

Call ye, therefore, upon them with loud proclamation, and with your
testimony, fearing them not, for they are as grass, and all their
glory as the flower thereof which soon falleth, that they may be
left also without excuse,

And that I may visit them in the day of visitation, when I shall
unveil the face of my covering, to appoint the portion of the
oppressor among hypocrites, where there is gnashing of teeth, if
they reject my servants and my testimony which I have revealed unto
them.

And again, I will visit and soften their hearts, many of them for
your good, that ye may find grace in their eyes, that they may
come to the light of truth, and the Gentiles to the exaltation or
lifting up of Zion.

For the day of my visitation cometh speedily, in an hour when ye
think not of, and where shall be the safety of my people, and
refuge for those who shall be left of them?

Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold
and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the
daughters of Zion.

And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Robert B. Thompson
help you to write this proclamation, for I am well pleased with
him, and that he should be with you;

Let him, therefore, hearken to your counsel, and I will bless him
with a multiplicity of blessings; let him be faithful and true in
all things from henceforth, and he shall be great in mine eyes;

But let him remember that his stewardship will I require at his
hands.

And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum
Smith, for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his
heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith
the Lord.

Again, let my servant John C. Bennett, help you in your labor in
sending my word to the kings and people of the earth, and stand
by {276} you, even you my servant Joseph Smith, in the hour of
affliction, and his reward shall not fail, if he receive counsel;

And for his love he shall be great, for he shall be mine if he do
this, saith the Lord. I have seen the work which he hath done,
which I accept, if he continue, and will crown him with blessings
and great glory.

And again, I say unto you, that it is my will that my servant Lyman
Wight should continue in preaching for Zion, in the spirit of
meekness confessing me before the world, and I will bear him up as
on eagle's wings, and he shall beget glory and honor to himself,
and unto my name.

That when he shall finish his work, that I may receive him unto
myself, even as I did my servant David Patten, who is with me at
this time, and also my servant Edward Partridge, and also my aged
servant Joseph Smith, Sen., who sitteth with Abraham at his right
hand, and blessed and holy is he, for he is mine.

And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George Miller is
without guile: he may be trusted because of the integrity of his
heart; and for the love which he has to my testimony I, the Lord,
love him;

I therefore say unto you, I seal upon his head the office of a
bishopric, like unto my servant Edward Partridge, that he may
receive the consecrations of mine house, that he may administer
blessing upon the heads of the poor of my people, saith the Lord.
Let no man despise my servant George, for he shall honor me.

Let my servant George, and my servant Lyman, and my servant John
Snider, and others, build a house unto my name, such an one as my
servant Joseph shall show unto them; upon the place which he shall
show unto them also.

And it shall be for a house for boarding, a house that strangers
may come from afar to lodge therein; therefore let it be a good
house, worthy of all acceptation, that the weary traveler may find
health and safety while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord;
and the cornerstone I have appointed for Zion.

This house shall be a healthy habitation if it be built unto my
name, and if the governor which shall be appointed unto it shall
not suffer any pollution to come upon it. It shall be holy, or the
Lord your God will not dwell therein.

And again, verily I say unto you, let all my Saints come from afar;

And send ye swift messengers, yea, chosen messengers, and say
unto them: Come ye, with all your gold, and your silver, and your
precious stones, and with all your antiquities; and with all who
have knowledge of antiquities, that will come, may come, and bring
the box-tree, and the fir-tree, and the pine-tree, together with
all the precious trees of the earth;

{277} And with iron, with copper, and with brass, and with zinc,
and with all your precious things of the earth, and build a house
to my name for the Most High to dwell therein;

For there is not a place found on earth that He may come and
restore again that which was lost unto you, or which He hath taken
away, even the fullness of the Priesthood;

For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my
Saints, may be baptized for those who are dead;

For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable
to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to
build a house unto me.

But I command you, all ye my Saints, to build a house unto me; and
I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me, and
during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me.

But behold, at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for your
dead shall not be acceptable unto me; and if you do not these
things at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a
church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God.

For verily I say unto you, that after you have had sufficient time
to build a house to me, wherein the ordinance of baptizing for the
dead belongeth, and for which the same was instituted from before
the foundation of the world, your baptisms for your dead cannot be
acceptable unto me.

For therein are the keys of the holy Priesthood, ordained that you
may receive honor and glory.

And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are
scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord;

For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her stakes, and in
Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge, shall be
the places for your baptisms for your dead.

And again, verily I say unto you, how shall your washings be
acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house which you
have built to my name? For, for this cause I commanded Moses that
he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in
the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that
those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before
the world was;

Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and
your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn
assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices, by the sons of
Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places, wherein you
receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the
beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the
glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by
the ordinance of my holy house which my people are always commanded
to build unto my holy name.

{278} And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my
name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein, unto my people;

For I deign to reveal unto my Church things which have been kept
hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to
the dispensation of the fullness of times;

And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to
this house, and the Priesthood thereof; and the place whereon it
shall be built;

And ye shall build it on the place where you have contemplated
building it, for that is the spot which I have chosen for you to
build it;

If ye labor with all your might, I will consecrate that spot that
it shall be made holy;

And if my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of
my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily
I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place.

But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of
these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest, because
they pollute mine holy grounds, and mine holy ordinances, and
charters, and my holy words which I give unto them.

And it shall come to pass, that if you build a house unto my name,
and do not do the things that I say, I will not perform the oath
which I make unto you, neither fulfill the promises which ye expect
at my hands, saith the Lord;

For instead of blessings, ye, by your own works, bring cursings,
wrath, indignation, and judgments upon your own heads, by your
follies, and by all your abominations, which you practice before
me, saith the Lord.

Verily, verily I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to
any of the sons of men, to do a work unto my name, and those sons
of men go with all their might, and with all they have, to perform
that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come
upon them, and hinder them from performing that work; behold, it
behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those
sons of men, but to accept of their offerings;

And the iniquity and transgression of my holy laws and
commandments, I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my
work, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent
not, and hate me, saith the Lord God.

Therefore for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those
whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name, in
Jackson county, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith
the Lord your God.

And I will answer judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing, and
{279} anguish, and gnashing of teeth upon their heads, unto the
third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not and hate
me, saith the Lord your God.

And this I make an example unto you, for your consolation
concerning all those who have been commanded to do a work, and have
been hindered by the hands of their enemies, and by oppression,
saith the Lord your God;

For I am the Lord your God, and will save all those of your
brethren who have been pure in heart, and have been slain in the
land of Missouri, saith the Lord.

And again, verily I say unto you, I command you again to build a
house to my name, even in this place that you may prove yourselves
unto me that ye are faithful in all things whatsoever I command
you, that I may bless you, and crown you with honor, immortality,
and eternal life.

And now I say unto you, as pertaining to my boarding house which I
have commanded you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it
be built unto my name, and let my name be named upon it, and let my
servant Joseph, and his house have place therein, from generation
to generation;

For this anointing have I put upon his head, that his blessing
shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him,

And as I said unto Abraham concerning the kindreds of the earth,
even so I say unto my servant Joseph, in thee and in thy seed,
shall the kindred of the earth be blessed.

Therefore, let my servant Joseph and his seed after him have place
in that house, from generation to generation, for ever and ever,
saith the Lord.

And let the name of that house be called Nauvoo House, and let it
be a delightful habitation for man, and a resting place for the
weary traveler, that he may contemplate the glory of Zion, and the
glory of this, the corner-stone thereof;

That he may receive also the counsel from those whom I have set to
be as plants of renown, and as watchmen upon her walls.

Behold, verily I say unto you, let my servant George Miller, and
my servant Lyman Wight, and my servant John Snider, and my servant
Peter Haws, organize themselves, and appoint one of them to be a
president over their quorum for the purpose of building that house.

And they shall form a constitution whereby they may receive stock
for the building of that house.

And they shall not receive less than fifty dollars for a share of
stock in that house, and they shall be permitted to receive fifteen
thousand dollars from any one man for stock in that house;

{280} But they shall not be permitted to receive over fifteen
thousand dollars stock from any one man;

And they shall not be permitted to receive under fifty dollars for
a share of stock from any one man in that house;

And they shall not be permitted to receive any man as a stockholder
in this house, except the same shall pay his stock into their hands
at the time he receives stock;

And in proportion to the amount of stock he pays into their hands,
he shall receive stock in that house; but if he pays nothing into
their hands, he shall not receive any stock in that house.

And if any pay stock into their hands, it shall be for stock in
that house, for himself, and for his generation after him, from
generation to generation, so long as he and his heirs shall hold
that stock, and do not sell or convey the stock away out of their
hands by their own free will and act, if you will do my will, saith
the Lord your God.

And again, verily I say unto you, if my servant George Miller,
and my servant Lyman Wight, and my servant John Snider, and my
servant Peter Haws, receive any stock into their hands, in moneys
or in properties, wherein they receive the real value of moneys,
they shall not appropriate any portion of that stock to any other
purpose, only in that house;

And if they do appropriate any portion of that stock anywhere else,
only in that house, without the consent of the stockholder, and do
not repay fourfold for the stock which they appropriate anywhere
else, only in that house, they shall be accursed, and shall be
moved out of their place, saith the Lord God, for I, the Lord, am
God, and cannot be mocked in any of these things.

Verily I say unto you, let my servant Joseph pay stock into their
hands for the building of that house, as seemeth him good; but my
servant Joseph cannot pay over fifteen thousand dollars stock in
that house, nor under fifty dollars; neither can any other man,
saith the Lord.

And there are others also who wish to know my will concerning them,
for they have asked it at my hands.

Therefore I say unto you concerning my servant Vinson Knight, if he
will do my will, let him put stock into that house for himself, and
for his generation after him, from generation to generation,

And let him lift up his voice long and loud, in the midst of the
people, to plead the cause of the poor and the needy, and let him
not fail, neither let his heart faint, and I will accept of his
offerings, for they shall not be unto me as the offerings of Cain,
for he shall be mine, saith the Lord.

{281} Let his family rejoice, and turn away their hearts from
affliction, for I have chosen him and anointed him, and he shall be
honored in the midst of his house, for I will forgive all his sins,
saith the Lord. Amen.

Verily I say unto you, let my servant Hyrum put stock into that
house as seemeth him good, for himself and his generation after
him, from generation to generation.

Let my servant Isaac Galland put stock into that house, for I, the
Lord, love him for the work he hath done, and will forgive all his
sins; therefore, let him be remembered for an interest in that
house from generation to generation.

Let my servant Isaac Galland be appointed among you, and be
ordained by my servant William Marks, and be blessed of him, to
go with my servant Hyrum, to accomplish the work that my servant
Joseph shall point out to them, and they shall be greatly blessed.

Let my servant William Marks pay stock into that house, as seemeth
him good, for himself and his generation, from generation to
generation.

Let my servant Henry G. Sherwood pay stock into that house,
as seemeth him good, for himself and his seed after him from
generation to generation.

Let my servant William Law pay stock into that house, for himself
and his seed after him, from generation to generation.

If he will do my will, let him not take his family unto the eastern
lands, even unto Kirtland; nevertheless, I, the Lord, will build
up Kirtland, but I, the Lord, have a scourge prepared for the
inhabitants thereof.

And with my servant Almon Babbitt, there are many things with which
I am not pleased; behold, he aspireth to establish his council
instead of the council which I have ordained, even the Presidency
of my Church, and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my
people.

Let no man go from this place who has come here essaying to keep my
commandments.

If they live here let them live unto me; and if they die, let them
die unto me; for they shall rest from all their labors here, and
shall continue their works.

Therefore let my servant William put his trust in me, and cease to
fear concerning his family, because of the sickness of the land.
If ye love me, keep my commandments, and the sickness of the land
shall redound to your glory.

Let my servant William go and proclaim my everlasting Gospel with
a loud voice, and with great joy, as he shall be moved upon by
{282} my Spirit, unto the inhabitants of Warsaw, and also unto
the inhabitants of Carthage, and also unto the inhabitants of
Burlington, and also unto the inhabitants of Madison, and await
patiently and diligently for further instructions at my general
conference, saith the Lord.

If he will do my will, let him from henceforth hearken to the
counsel of my servant Joseph, and with his interest support the
cause of the poor, and publish the new translation of my holy word
unto the inhabitants of the earth;

And if he will do this, I will bless him with a multiplicity of
blessings, that he shall not be forsaken, nor his seed be found
begging bread.

And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William be
appointed, ordained, and anointed as a counselor unto my servant
Joseph, in the room of my servant Hyrum; that my servant Hyrum may
take the office of Priesthood and Patriarch which was appointed
unto him by his father, by blessing and also by right.

That from henceforth he shall hold the keys of the Patriarchal
blessings upon the heads of all my people,

That whomsoever he blesses shall be blessed, and whomsoever he
curses shall be cursed; that whatsoever he shall bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever he shall loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven;

And from this time forth I appoint unto him that he may be a
prophet, and a seer and a revelator unto my Church, as well as my
servant Joseph.

That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph, and that he
shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto
him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with
the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and Priesthood, and gifts
of the Priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my servant
Oliver Cowdery;

That my servant Hyrum may bear record of the things which I shall
show unto him, that his name may be had in honorable remembrance
from generation to generation forever and ever.

Let my servant William Law also receive the keys by which he
may ask and receive blessings; let him be humble before me, and
be without guile, and he shall receive of my Spirit, even the
Comforter, which shall manifest unto him the truth of all things,
and shall give him in the very hour what he shall say.

And these signs shall follow him; he shall heal the sick, he shall
cast out devils, and shall be delivered from those who would
administer unto him deadly poison;

And he shall be led in paths where the poisonous serpent cannot lay
{283} hold upon his heel, and he shall mount up in the imagination
of his thoughts as upon eagle's wings;

And what if I will that he should raise the dead, let him not
withhold his voice.

Therefore, let my servant William cry aloud and spare not, with
joy and rejoicing, and with hosannas to Him that sitteth upon the
throne forever and ever, saith the Lord your God.

Behold I say unto you, I have a mission in store for my servant
William and my servant Hyrum, and for them alone; and let my
servant Joseph tarry at home, for he is needed; the remainder I
will show unto you hereafter. Even so. Amen.

And again, verily I say unto you, if my servant Sidney will serve
me and be counselor unto my servant Joseph, let him arise and come
up and stand in the office of his calling, and humble himself
before me;

And if he will offer unto me an acceptable offering, and
acknowledgments, and remain with my people, behold, I, the Lord
your God, will heal him that he shall be healed; and he shall lift
up his voice again on the mountains, and be a spokesman before my
face.

Let him come and locate his family in the neighborhood in which my
servant Joseph resides,

And in all his journeyings let him lift up his voice as with the
sound of a trump, and warn the inhabitants of the earth to flee the
wrath to come;

Let him assist my servant Joseph; and also let my servant William
Law assist my servant Joseph, in making a solemn proclamation unto
the kings of the earth, even as I have before said unto you;

If my servant Sidney will do my will, let him not remove his family
unto the eastern lands, but let him change their habitation even as
I have said.

Behold, it is not my will that he shall seek to find safety and
refuge out of the city which I have appointed unto you, even the
city of Nauvoo.

Verily I say unto you, even now, if he will hearken unto my voice,
it shall be well with him. Even so. Amen.

And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Amos Davis pay
stock into the hands of those whom I have appointed to build a
house for boarding, even the Nauvoo House;

This let him do if he will have an interest, and let him hearken
unto the counsel of my servant Joseph, and labor with his own hands
that he may obtain the confidence of men;

And when he shall prove himself faithful in all things that shall
be entrusted unto his care, yea, even a few things, he shall be
made ruler over many;

{284} Let him therefore abase himself that he may be exalted. Even
so. Amen.

And again, verily I say unto you, if my servant Robert D. Foster
will obey my voice, let him build a house for my servant Joseph,
according to the contract which he has made with him, as the door
shall be open to him from time to time.

And let him repent of all his folly, and clothe himself with
charity, and cease to do evil, and lay aside all his hard speeches,

And pay stock also into the hands of the quorum of the Nauvoo House
for himself and for his generation after him, from generation to
generation,

And hearken unto the counsel of my servants Joseph and Hyrum and
William Law, and unto the authorities which I have called to lay
the foundation of Zion, and it shall be well with him for ever and
ever, Even so. Amen.

And again, verily I say unto you, let no man pay stock to the
quorum of the Nauvoo House, unless he shall be a believer in the
Book of Mormon, and the revelations I have given unto you, saith
the Lord your God;

For that which is more or less than this cometh of evil, and shall
be attended with cursings and not blessings, saith the Lord your
God. Even so. Amen.

And again, verily I say unto you, let the quorum of the Nauvoo
House have a just recompense of wages for all their labors which
they do in building the Nauvoo House, and let their wages be as
shall be agreed among themselves, as pertaining to the price
thereof;

And let every man who pays stock bear his proportion of their
wages, if it must needs be, for their support, saith the Lord;
otherwise, their labors shall be accounted unto them for stock in
that house. Even so. Amen.

Verily I say unto you, I now give unto you the officers belonging
to my Priesthood, that ye may hold the keys thereof, even the
Priesthood which is after the order of Melchisedek, which is after
the order of my Only Begotten Son.

First, I give unto you Hyrum Smith, to be a Patriarch unto you, to
hold the sealing blessings of my church, even the Holy Spirit of
promise, whereby ye are sealed up unto the day of redemption, that
ye may not fall, notwithstanding the hour of temptation that may
come upon you.

I give unto you my servant Joseph, to be a presiding elder over all
my church, to be a translator, a revelator, a seer, and prophet.

I give unto him for counselors my servant Sidney Rigdon, and my
servant William Law, that these may constitute a quorum and First
Presidency, to receive the oracles for the whole church.

{285} I give unto you my servant Brigham Young, to be a President
over Twelve traveling Council;

Which Twelve hold the keys to open up the authority of my kingdom
upon the four corners of the earth, and after that to send my word
to every creature.

They are Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Orson
Hyde, William Smith, John Taylor, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff,
Willard Richards, George A. Smith;

David Patten I have taken unto myself; behold, his Priesthood no
man taketh from him; but verily I say unto you, another may be
appointed unto the same calling.

And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a High Council, for the
corner stone of Zion;

Viz., Samuel Bent, Henry G. Sherwood, George W. Harris, Charles
C. Rich, Thomas Grover, Newel Knight, David Dort, Dunbar Wilson;
(Seymour Brunson I have taken unto myself, no man taketh his
Priesthood, but another may be appointed unto the same Priesthood
in his stead; and verily I say unto you, let my servant Aaron
Johnson be ordained unto this calling in his stead); David Fullmer,
Alpheus Cutler, William Huntington.

And again, I give unto you Don C. Smith, to be a president over a
quorum of High Priests;

Which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those
who shall be appointed standing presidents or servants over
different Stakes scattered abroad,

And they may travel also if they choose, but rather be ordained for
standing presidents, this is the office of their calling, saith the
Lord your God.

I give unto him Amasa Lyman, and Noah Packard, for Counselors, that
they may preside over the quorum of High Priests of my Church,
saith the Lord.

And again, I say unto you, I give unto you John A. Hicks, Samuel
Williams, and Jesse Baker, which Priesthood is to preside over
the quorum of elders, which quorum is instituted for standing
ministers, nevertheless they may travel, yet they are ordained to
be standing ministers to my Church, saith the Lord.

And again, I give unto you, Joseph Young, Josiah Butterfield,
Daniel Miles, Henry Harriman, Zera Pulsipher, Levi Hancock, James
Foster, to preside over the quorum of seventies,

Which quorum is instituted for traveling elders to bear record of
my name in all the world, wherever the traveling High Council, my
apostles, shall send them to prepare a way before my face.

The difference between this quorum and the quorum of elders, is
{286} that one is to travel continually, and the other is to
preside over the churches from time to time; the one has the
responsibility of presiding from time to time, and the other has no
responsibility of presiding, saith the Lord your God.

And again, I say unto you, I give unto you Vinson Knight, Samuel H.
Smith and Shadrach Roundy, if he will receive it, to preside over
the bishopric; a knowledge of said bishopric is given unto you in
the book of Doctrine and Covenants.

And again, I say unto you, Samuel Rolfe and his counselors for
priests, and the president of the teachers and his counselors, and
also the president of the deacons and his counselors, and also the
president of the stake and his counselors;

The above offices I have given unto you, and the keys thereof, for
helps and for governments, for the work of the ministry, and the
perfecting of my Saints;

And a commandment I give unto you that you should fill all these
offices and approve of those names which I have mentioned, or else
disapprove of them at my general conference;

And that ye should prepare rooms for all these offices in my house
when you build it unto my name, saith the Lord your God. Even so.
Amen.

_Thursday, 21_.--Elders Brigham Young and Willard Richards completed the index to the Book of Mormon, and it was immediately put in type, which closed the printing of the first English edition.

_Sunday, 24_.--Elder Brigham Young preached twice at Liverpool on election and reprobation.

[Sidenote: Hyrum Smith Installed as Patriarch.]

Hyrum Smith, who received the office of Patriarch in the Church, in place of Joseph Smith, Sen., deceased, has by revelation been appointed a Prophet and Revelator. William Law has by revelation been appointed one of the First Presidency, in place of Hyrum Smith, appointed Patriarch. George Miller has been appointed, by revelation, Bishop in place of Edward Partridge, deceased.

_Saturday, 30_.--At a special conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held at Nauvoo pursuant to public notice, I was unanimously elected sole Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

{287} Also Saturday the 30th and Sunday 31st, a Conference was held at Walnut Grove, Knox county, Illinois; Elder William Smith presiding; 113 members, 14 Elders were present; several branches were represented, and several persons baptized.

[Sidenote: First Election of Municipal Officers in Nauvoo.]

_Monday, 1_.--The first election in Nauvoo, for members of the City Council took place, and the following persons were elected by majorities varying from 330 to 337 votes; to wit, for Mayor, John C. Bennett; Aldermen, William Marks, Samuel H. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Newel K. Whitney; Councilors, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Charles C. Rich, John T. Barnett, Wilson Law, Don Carlos Smith, John P. Greene, Vinson Knight.

City Of Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, Feb. 1, A. D. 1841.

_To the County Recorder of the County of Hancock_:

Dear Sir:--At a meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, at this place on Saturday, the 30th day of January, A.
D. 1841, I was elected sole Trustee for said Church, to hold my
office during life (my successors to be the First Presidency of
said Church) and vested with plenary powers, as sole Trustee in
Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to
receive, acquire, manage or convey property, real, personal, or
mixed, for the sole use and benefit of said Church, agreeably to
the provisions of an act entitled, "An Act Concerning Religious
Societies," approved February 6, 1835.

Joseph Smith, (L. S.)

State Of Illinois Hancock Co., ss.

This day personally appeared before me, Daniel H. Wells, a justice
of the peace, within and for the county of Hancock, County
aforesaid, Isaac Galland, Robert B. Thompson, and John C. Bennett,
who being duly sworn, depose and say that the foregoing certificate
of Joseph Smith is true.

Isaac Galland,

Robert B. Thompson

John C. Bennett.

Sworn to and subscribed this third day of February in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one before me,

Daniel H. Wells,

Justice of the Peace.

{288} The above is recorded in the county records at Carthage, in book No. 1, of Bonds and Mortgages, page 95, No. 87.

_Wednesday 3_.--Elder Taylor reports 160 baptized in Liverpool, England; in Ireland about 25; in the Isle of Man, 70; Hawarden, 30. Elder Lorenzo Snow is laboring in London.

[Sidenote: Nauvoo City Council Organized.]

The City Council of Nauvoo was organized; the opening prayer was offered by myself, after which the Mayor-elect delivered his inaugural address as published in the _Times and Seasons_, page 316, as follows:

Inaugural Address.

City Of Nauvoo, Illinois, Feb. 3rd, 1841.

_Gentlemen of the City Council, Aldermen and Councillors_:

Having been elected to the Mayoralty of this city by the unanimous
suffrage of all parties and interests, I now enter upon the duties
devolving upon me as your Chief Magistrate under a deep sense of
the responsibilities of the station. I trust that the confidence
reposed in me, by my fellow citizens, has not been misplaced, and
for the honor conferred they will accept my warmest sentiments
of gratitude. By the munificence and wise legislation of noble,
high-minded, and patriotic statesmen, and the grace of God, we
have been blessed with one of the most liberal corporate acts ever
granted by a legislative assembly. As the presiding officer of
the law-making department of the municipal government, it will be
expected that I communicate to you, from time to time, by oral or
written messages, for your deliberative consideration and action,
such matters as may suggest themselves to me in relation to the
public weal; and upon this occasion I beg leave to present the
following as matters of paramount importance:

The 21st section of the addenda to the 13th section of the City
Charter, concedes to you plenary power "to tax, restrain, prohibit
and suppress, tippling houses, dram shops," etc., etc., and I now
recommend, in the strongest possible terms, that you take prompt,
strong, and decisive measures to "prohibit and suppress" all such
establishments. It is true you have the power "to tax," or license
and tolerate, them, and thus add to the city finances; but I
consider it much better to raise revenue by an advalorem tax on the
property of sober men, than by licensing dram shops, or taxing the
signs of the inebriated worshipers at the shrine of Bacchus. The
revels of bacchanalians in the {289} houses of blasphemy and noise
will always prove a disgrace to a moral people. Public sentiment
will do much to suppress the vice of intemperance, and its
concomitant evil results; but ample experience has incontrovertibly
proven that it cannot do all--the law must be brought to the
rescue, and an effective prohibitory ordinance enacted. This cannot
be done at a better time than at the present. Let us commence
correctly, and the great work of reform, at least so far as our
peaceful city is concerned, can be summarily consummated. It would
be difficult to calculate the vast amount of evil and crime that
would be prevented, and the great good that would accrue to the
public at large by fostering the cause of temperance; but suffice
it to say that the one would be commensurate to the other. No
sales of spirituous liquors whatever, in a less quantity than
a quart, except in cases of sickness on the recommendation of
a physician or surgeon duly accredited by the Chancellor and
Regents of the University, should be tolerated. The liberty of
selling the intoxicating cup is a false liberty--it enslaves,
degrades, destroys; and wretchedness and want are attendant on
every step,--its touch, like that of the poison upas, is death.
Liberty to do good should be cheerfully and freely accorded to
every man; but liberty to do evil, which is licentiousness, should
be peremptorily prohibited. The public good imperiously demands
it--and the cause of humanity pleads for help. The protecting
aegis of the corporation should be thrown around every moral and
religious institution of the day, which is in any way calculated to
ennoble, or ameliorate the condition of the human family.

The immediate organization of the University, as contemplated in
the 24th section of the act incorporating our city, cannot be
too forcibly impressed upon you at this time. As all matters in
relation to mental culture, and public instruction, from common
schools up to the highest branches of a full collegiate course in
the arts, sciences, and learned professions, will devolve upon the
Chancellor and Regents of the University, they should be speedily
elected, and instructed to perfect their plan, and enter upon its
execution with as little delay as possible. The wheels of education
should never be clogged, or retrograde, but roll progressively from
the Alpha to the Omega of a most perfect, liberal, and thorough
course of university attainments. The following observations
in relation to false education, from Alexander's Messenger, so
perfectly accords with my feelings and views on this highly
important subject, that I cannot do better than incorporate them in
this message.

"Among the changes for the worse, which the world has witnessed
within the last century, we include that specious, superficial,
incomplete way of doing certain things, which were formerly thought
to be deserving of care, labor and attention. It would seem that
appearance is now considered of more moment than reality. The
modern mode of {290} education is an example in point. Children
are so instructed as to acquire a smattering of everything, and as
a matter of consequence, they know nothing properly. Seminaries
and academies deal out their moral and natural philosophy, their
geometry, trigonometry, and astronomy, their chemistry, botany,
and mineralogy, until the mind of the pupil becomes a chaos; and,
like the stomach when it is overloaded with a variety of food,
it digests nothing, but converts the superabundant nutriment to
poison. This mode of education answers one purpose--it enables
people to seem learned; and seemingly, by a great many, is
thought all sufficient. Thus we are schooled in quackery, and are
early taught to regard showy and superficial attainments as most
desirable. Every boarding school Miss is a Plato in petticoats,
without an ounce of that genuine knowledge, that true philosophy,
which would enable her to be useful in the world, and to escape
those perils with which she must necessarily be encompassed. Young
people are taught to use a variety of hard terms, which they
understand but imperfectly--to repeat lessons which they are unable
to apply--to astonish their grandmothers with a display of their
parrot-like acquisitions; but their mental energies are clogged
and torpified with a variety of learned lumber, most of which is
discarded from the brain long before its possessor knows how to use
it. This is the quackery of education.

"The effects of the erring system are not easily obliterated. The
habit of using words without thought, sticks to the unfortunate
student through life, and should he ever learn to think, he
cannot express his ideas without the most tedious and perplexing
verbosity. This is, more or less, the fault of every writer in
the nineteenth century. The sense is encumbered with sound. The
scribbler appears to imagine that if he puts a sufficient number
of words together he has done his part; and, alas! how many books
are written on this principle. Thus literature, and even science
itself, is overloaded with froth and flummery. Verbalizing has
become fashionable and indispensable, and one line from an ancient
author will furnish the materials for a modern treatise."

Our University should be a "utilitarian" institution--and
competent, industrious teachers and professors should be
immediately elected for the several departments. "Knowledge is
power,"--foster education and we are forever free! Nothing can be
done which is more certainly calculated to perpetuate the free
institutions of our common country, for which our progenitors
"fought and bled, and died," than the general diffusion of
useful knowledge amongst the people. Education should always
be of a purely practical character, for such, and such alone,
is calculated to perfect the happiness and prosperity of our
fellow-citizens--ignorance, impudence, and false knowledge, are
equally detestible,--shame and confusion follow in their train. As
you now {291} possess the power, afford the most ample facilities
to the Regents to make their plans complete; and thus enable them
to set a glorious example to the world at large. The most liberal
policy should attend the organization of the University, and equal
honors and privileges should be extended to all classes of the
community.

In order to carry out the provisions of the 25th section of the
act incorporating our city, I would recommend the immediate
organization of the Legion. Comprising, as it does, the entire
military power of our city, with a provision allowing any citizen
of Hancock county to unite by voluntary enrollment, early
facilities should be afforded the court martial for perfecting
their plans of drill, rules, and regulations. Nothing is more
necessary to the preservation of order and the supremacy of the
laws, than the perfect organization of our military forces, under
a uniform and rigid discipline and approved judicious drill; and
to this end I desire to see all the departments and cohorts of
the Legion put in immediate requisition. The Legion should be all
powerful, panoplied with justice and equity, to consummate the
designs of its projectors--at all times ready, as minute men,
to serve the state in such way and manner as may, from time to
time, be pointed out by the Governor. You have long sought an
opportunity of showing your attachment to the state government
of Illinois--it is now afforded; the Legion should maintain the
constitution and the laws, and be ready at all times for the public
defense. The winged warrior of the air perches upon the pole of
American liberty, and the beast that has the temerity to ruffle her
feathers should be made to feel the power of her talons; and until
she ceases to be our proud national emblem we should not cease
to show our attachment to Illinois. Should the tocsin of alarm
ever be sounded, and the Legion called to the tented field by our
Executive, I hope to see it able, under one of the proudest mottoes
that ever blazed upon a warrior's shield--_Sicut patribus sit Deus
nobis_; "as God was with our fathers, so may He be with us"--to
fight the battles of our country, as victors, and as freemen; the
juice of the uva, or the spirit of insubordination should never
enter our camp,--but we should stand, ever stand, as a united
people--one and indivisible.

I would earnestly recommend the construction of a wing-dam in the
Mississippi, at the mouth of the ravine at or near the head of
Main street, and the excavation of a ship canal from that point
to a point terminating in a grand reservoir on the bank of said
river, east of the foot of said street, a distance of about two
miles. This would afford, at the various outlets, the most ample
water power for propelling any amount of machinery for mill and
manufacturing purposes, so essentially necessary to the building
up of a great commercial city in the heart of one of the most
productive and delightful countries on earth. I {292} would
advise that an agent be immediately appointed on behalf of the
city corporation, to negotiate with eastern capitalists for the
completion of this great work, on the most advantageous terms, even
to the conveyance of the privilege for a term of years. This work
finished, and the future greatness of this city is placed upon an
imperishable basis. In addition to the great advantages that will
otherwise accrue to the city and country by the construction of
this noble work, it would afford the best harbor for steamboats,
for winter quarters, on this magnificent stream.

The public health requires that the low lands, bordering on the
Mississippi, should be immediately drained, and the entire timber
removed. This can and will be one of the most healthful cities
in the west, provided you take prompt and decisive action in the
premises. A board of health should be appointed and vested with the
usual powers and prerogatives.

The Governor, council of revision, and legislature of Illinois,
should be held in everlasting remembrance by our people--they
burst the chains of slavery and proclaimed us forever free! A vote
of thanks, couched in the strongest language possible, should be
tendered them in our corporate capacity; and, when this is done,
Quincy, our first noble city of refuge, when we came from the
slaughter in Missouri with our garments stained with blood, should
not be forgotten.

As the Chief Magistrate of your city I am determined to execute all
state laws and city ordinances passed in pursuance to law, to the
very letter, should it require the strong arm of military power
to enable me to do so. As an officer I know no man; the peaceful,
unoffending in the full exercise of all his civil, political, and
religious rights, and the guilty violator of law shall be punished,
without respect to persons.

All of which is respectfully submitted. [2]

John C. Bennett.

The following persons were elected by the council to their offices, to-wit--Henry G. Sherwood, marshal; James Sloan, recorder; Robert B. Thompson, treasurer; James Robinson, assessor; Austin Cowles, supervisor of streets. I presented to the city council the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

{293} Resolved by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the
unfeigned thanks of this community be respectfully tendered to the
Governor, Council of Revision, and Legislature of the state of
Illinois, as a feeble testimonial of their respect and esteem for
noble, high-minded, and patriotic statesmen; and as an evidence of
gratitude for the signal powers recently conferred; also that the
citizens of Quincy be held in everlasting remembrance, for their
unparalleled liberality and marked kindness to our people, when in
their greatest state of suffering and want.

I presented a bill for an ordinance concerning the University of Nauvoo, which passed as follows:

Sec.1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that the "University of the City of Nauvoo," be, and the same
is hereby organized by the appointment of the following Board
of Trustees, to-wit--John C. Bennett, chancellor; William Law,
registrar; and Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, William
Marks, Samuel H. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Newel K. Whitney, Charles
C. Rich, John T. Barnett, Wilson Law, Don Carlos Smith, John P.
Greene, Vinson Knight, Isaac Galland, Elias Higbee, Robert D.
Foster, James Adams, Robert B. Thompson, Samuel Bennett, Ebenezer
Robinson, John Snider, George Miller, and Lenos M. Knight, Regents
of the "University of the City of Nauvoo;" as contemplated in
the 24th section of "An Act to incorporate the City of Nauvoo,"
approved December 16, 1840.

Sec. 2. The board named in the first section of this ordinance,
shall hold its first meeting at the office of Joseph Smith, on
Tuesday, the 9th day of February, 1841, at 2 o'clock p. m.

Passed February 3, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

I also presented a bill for an ordinance organizing the Nauvoo Legion, which passed the same day, as follows:

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that the inhabitants of the City of Nauvoo, and such citizens of
Hancock county as may unite by voluntary enrollment, be, and they
are hereby organized into a body of independent military men, to be
called the "Nauvoo Legion," as contemplated in the 25th section of
"An Act to incorporate the City of Nauvoo," approved December 16,
1840.

Sec. 2. The Legion shall be, and is hereby divided into two
cohorts; the horse troops to constitute the first cohort, and the
foot troops to constitute the second cohort.

{294} Sec. 3. The general officers of the Legion shall consist of a
lieutenant-general, as the chief commanding and reviewing officer,
and president of the court martial and Legion; a major-general,
as the second in command in the Legion, the secretary of the
court martial and Legion, and adjutant and inspector-general;
a brigadier-general, as the commander of the first cohort; and
brigadier-general, as commander of the second cohort.

Sec. 4. The staff of the lieutenant-general shall consist of two
principal aids-de-camp, with the rank of colonels of cavalry; and a
guard of twelve aids-de-camp, with the rank of captain of infantry;
and a drill officer, with the rank of colonel of dragoons, who
shall likewise be the chief officer of the guard.

Sec. 5. The staff of the major-general shall consist of an
adjutant, a surgeon-in-chief, a cornet, a quarter-master, a
paymaster, a commissary, and a chaplain, with the rank of colonels
of infantry; a surgeon for each cohort, a quarter-master-sergeant,
sergeant-major, and chief musician, with the rank of captains of
light infantry, and two musicians, with the rank of captains of
infantry.

Sec. 6. The staff of each brigadier-general shall consist of one
aid-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of infantry,
provided that the said brigadiers shall have access to the staff of
the major-general, when not otherwise in service.

Sec. 7. No officer shall hereafter be elected by the various
companies of the Legion, except upon the nomination of the
court-martial; and it is hereby made the duty of the court-martial
to nominate at least two candidates for each vacant office,
whenever such vacancies occur.