Chapter XV (2)

Sec. 8. The court-martial shall fill and supply all offices
ranking between captains and brigadier-generals by granting brevet
commissions to the most worthy company officers of the line, who
shall thereafter take rank, and command according to the date of
their brevets, provided that their original place in the line shall
not thereby be vacated.

Sec. 9. The court-martial, consisting of all the military officers,
commissioned or entitled to commissions, within the limits of the
city corporation, shall meet at the office of Joseph Smith, on
Thursday, the 4th day of February, 1841, at 10 o'clock a. m.; and
then and there proceed to elect the general officers of the Legion,
as contemplated in the 3rd section of this ordinance.

Sec. 10. The court-martial shall adopt for the Legion, as nearly as
may be, and so far as applicable, the discipline, drill, uniform,
rule, and regulations of the United States army.

Passed February 8, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

{295} Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Don C. Smith, and Charles C. Rich were duly sworn as members of the City Council. [3]

The following addition has been made to the Charter of the Nauvoo Legion by the legislature--

Any citizen of Hancock county may, by voluntary enrollment, attach
himself to the Nauvoo Legion, with all the privileges, which
appertain to that independent military body.

I gave a general invitation to my friends to enroll themselves, so as to have a perfect organization by the fourth of July. I was appointed chairman of several committees, viz.: "On the Canal," "For Vacating the Town of Commerce," "Vending Spirituous Liquors," "Code of City Ordinances", "Board of Health," &c. Council adjourned to the 8th.

_Thursday, 4_.

_Minutes of the Meeting which Organized the Nauvoo Legion_.

Pursuant to an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
entitled, "An ordinance organizing the Nauvoo Legion," passed
February 3, 1841, a court-martial, composed of the commissioned
officers of the militia of the state of Illinois, within the city
of Nauvoo, assembled at the office of Joseph Smith, on Thursday
at 10 o'clock a. m., the 4th day of February, 1841: present--John
C. Bennett, quarter-master general of the state of Illinois;
Lieutenant-Colonel Don Carlos Smith; Captains Charles C. Rich,
Wilson Law, Albert P. Rockwood, William Law, Titus Billings,
Stephen Markham; first lieutenants, Francis M. Higbee, John T.
Barnett, John D. Parker, Benjamin S. Wilber, Amos Davis; second
lieutenants, Chancy L. Higbee, Nelson Higgins, David H. Redfield,
Hosea Stout, Stephen Winchester, Thomas Rich; third lieutenants,
John C. Annis, and Alexander Badlam. The court was {296} called
to order by General Bennett. On motion, Joseph Smith and Hugh
McFall were requested to sit in the court. The court-martial then
proceeded to the election of the general officers of the Legion;
whereupon Joseph Smith was duly elected lieutenant-general of
the Nauvoo Legion, and John C. Bennett, major-general. Colonel
Wilson Law was elected brigadier-general of the first cohort, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Don Carlos Smith brigadier-general of the second
cohort, by unanimous vote of the court-martial. Lieutenant-general
Joseph Smith, after being duly sworn into office, appointed the
following named persons for his staff, to-wit--Captain A. P.
Rockwood to be drill officer; Captains William Law and Robert B.
Thompson, aids-de-camp; and James Allred, Thomas Grover, C. M.
Kreymeyer, John L. Butler, John Snider, Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds
Cahoon, Elias Higbee, Henry G. Sherwood, Shadrack Roundy, Samuel H.
Smith, and Vinson Knight, guards, and assistant aids-de-camp. The
Legion, at its organization, was composed of six companies.

_Friday, 5_.--Elder Reuben Hedlock is laboring in Glasgow, Scotland. The Church in that place numbers 55, and the spirit of enquiry increases.

_Saturday, 6_.

_Minutes of a Council at Brother Richard Harrison's, 72 Burlington
Street, Liverpool, for organizing a company of Saints going to New
Orleans on the ship "Sheffield," Captain Porter_.

Elders Brigham Young, Willard Richards, John Taylor, and other
officers, present. Elder Hyrum Clark was chosen president, and
Thomas Walmsley, Miles Romney, Edward Martin, John Taylor, Francis
Clark, and John Riley, counselors to President Clark. Edward
Martin, clerk and historian. Peter Maughan and John Taylor were
ordained Elders. President Clark and his counselors were blessed
and set apart for their mission.

_Sunday, 7_.--Ship _Sheffield_ sailed from Liverpool with 235 Saints.

_Monday, 8_.--Levi Richards writes from Lugwardine--

_To the Editor of the Star_:

Since Stanley Hill conference, I have attended about thirty
council meetings of Church officers, in eleven different places
in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, making a
circuit of nearly one hundred miles. Union and harmony prevail
among them, and a {297} disposition to add to their faith. New
places are frequently opened for preaching, which is generally
supplied. Many are baptized every week, although the ice has to
yield its natural claims, and be put aside. The gift of healing is
manifested to quite an extent in this region. The gift of tongues
is received in most of the branches where I am acquainted. The
spirit of persecution is not yet wholly cast out of the world: for
recently preaching was held for the first time in Pendock parish,
eight miles from Ledbury, when a congregation, respectable in
numbers and appearance, were compelled to retire prematurely, in
consequence of the quantity of gravel thrown upon the roof and
against the windows. The mob were numerous, and pelted the Saints
on their way home with mud. The meeting was held at the shop of a
tradesman, who had been clerk of the parish, but was so fortunate
as to obey the Gospel, and be turned out of his stewardship; and
his wife was dismissed from her school, for the same reason, by the
parson of the parish. More or less of the Saints are turned out of
employ, and out of their houses, for obeying the Gospel.

[Sidenote: Nauvoo Council Opened by Prayer.]

City Council met according to adjournment and opened by prayer, which was made a standing rule of the council. I reported a bill for the survey of a canal through the city, which was accepted; and I was appointed to contract for its survey. I also reported a bill for an ordinance on temperance, which was read and laid over.

_Wednesday, 10_.--Elder James Burnham writes from Overton, Flintshire, North Wales--

I have organized two branches, with about 150 members; and we are
continually baptizing, whether it be cold or hot. There is great
opposition.

[Sidenote: The _Echo_ Company.]

_Thursday, 11_.--Elders Young, Richards, and Taylor, in council at 72 Burlington Street, Liverpool, set apart, by the laying on of hands, Elder Daniel Browett, to take charge of a company of Saints, about to sail for New Orleans on ship _Echo_, Captain Wood; and John Cheese, David Wilding, James Lavender, William Jenkins, Robert Harris, and John Ellison, to be his counselors. Robert Harris was ordained an Elder, and Elder Browett was appointed clerk and historian of the company.

{298} _Saturday, 13_.--Elder Orson Hyde sailed from New York for Liverpool, on his way to Jerusalem, accompanied by Elder George J. Adams.

_Sunday, 14_.

_Minutes of the London Conference_.

A conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was
held at Barrett's Academy, 57 King Square, Goswell Road, London,
on Sunday, the 14th of February, 1841, there being present--Elders
Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, William Pitt,
and four Priests. The meeting was called to order by Elder Kimball
at 2 o'clock p. m. Moved by Elder Kimball, seconded by Elder Pitt,
that Elder Woodruff be president of this conference; carried
unanimously. Moved by Elder Kimball, seconded by Elder Woodruff,
that Dr. W. Copeland be clerk; carried unanimously. The meeting
opened by Elder Kimball with prayer and singing. The president then
called upon the official members to represent their respective
branches. The church at Ipswich was represented by Elder Pitt,
as consisting of twelve members, one Elder, one Priest, and one
Teacher. The church at Bedford was represented by Robert Williams,
Priest, as consisting of forty-two members, one Priest, seven
moved, two died. The church at Woolwich was represented by John
Griffith, Priest, as consisting of six members, one Priest. The
church in London was represented by Elder Kimball as consisting of
forty-six members, one Elder, two Priests: excellent prospects of a
continued increase. James Allen was ordained an Elder, and Thomas
Barnes a Priest. Robert Williams was ordained an Elder, to preside
over the branch at Bedford; and William Smith and John Sheffield
were ordained Priests. Richard Bates was ordained a Priest, in the
branch of Woolwich, and A. Painter a Teacher--all under the hands
of Elders Kimball, Woodruff and Snow. It was then moved by Elder
Kimball, seconded by Elder Woodruff, that Elder Snow be appointed
president of this [the Woolwich] conference, also to take the
superintendency of the branch in London. Much valuable instruction
was given by Elders Kimball and Woodruff in relation to the duties
of the official members. It was then moved by Elder Kimball,
and seconded by Elder Snow, that this conference be adjourned
to Sunday, 16th of May, 1841. The conference was then closed at
half-past five, by singing and prayer.

Dr. W. Copeland, Clerk.

_Monday, 15_.--As chairman of the committee [on the vending of spirituous liquors] I reported a bill to the City {299} Council, which, after a long discussion, passed into "An ordinance in relation to temperance."

Ordinance.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that all persons and establishments whatever, in this city, are
prohibited from vending whisky in a less quantity than a gallon, or
other spirituous liquors in a less quantity than a quart, to any
person whatever, excepting on the recommendation of a physician,
duly accredited in writing, by the Chancellor and Regents of the
University of the City of Nauvoo; and any person guilty of any act
contrary to the prohibition contained in this ordinance, shall, on
conviction thereof before the Mayor or municipal court, be fined
in any sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars, at the discretion
of said Mayor or municipal court; and any person or persons who
shall attempt to evade this ordinance by giving away liquor, or by
any other means, shall be considered alike amenable, and fined as
aforesaid.

Passed February 15, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

In the discussion of the foregoing bill, I spoke at great length on the use of liquors, and showed that they were unnecessary, and operate as a poison in the stomach, and that roots and herbs can be found to effect all necessary purposes.

_Tuesday, 16_.

_Missouri's "White-washing_."

Resolved by the Senate [of the state of Missouri], the House
of Representatives concurring, that two thousand copies of the
evidence taken before the examining court in relation to "Mormon"
difficulties, and such of the letters, orders, and correspondence
on that subject, on file in the office of the secretary of state,
as may be selected by a joint committee of the two houses, shall be
published in pamphlet form, under the direction of the secretary of
state; that one copy, in lieu of the manuscript copies, heretofore
ordered, be sent to our delegation in Congress, to be laid before
the House to which they respectively belong, one to each member of
Congress, and the residue be distributed among the Mormons of the
general assembly.

Approved February 16, 1841. [4]

{300} Is this Missouri's last struggle to retrieve her lost character to publish to the world a one-sided statement of her robberies, murders, and extermination which she had committed without provocation, at a time when not one Saint was left in Missouri to tell the truth about them?

The ship _Echo_ sailed from Liverpool for New Orleans, with 109 Saints, led by Daniel Browett.

_Saturday, 20_.--Elder Brigham Young went to Harwarden and preached twice on Sunday.

Elders William Kay and Thomas Richardson introduced the Gospel into the City of Hereford.

The court-martial of the Nauvoo Legion, by a unanimous vote, adopted the following resolutions, to-wit--

_Legion Resolutions_.

That no person whatever, residing within the limits of the City
of Nauvoo, between the ages of 18 and 45 years, excepting such as
are exempted by the laws of the United States, shall be exempt
from military duty, unless exempted by a special act of this
court; and the fines for neglecting or refusing to appear on the
days of general parade were fixed at the following rates: for
generals, $25; colonels, $20; captains, $15; lieutenants, $10; and
musicians and privates, $5; and for company parade at the following
rates--for commissioned officers, $5; non-commissioned officers,
$3; musicians and privates, $2. The 1st and 6th of April, and the
3rd of July, were fixed upon as days for general parade for this
year.

Ordered that Edward P. Duzette enlist and organize a band of music,
not exceeding twenty men. It was also reported that John Scott had
been elected captain in the place of William Law, and Lieutenant
Hosea Stout in the place of Albert P. Rockwood, who has been
promoted.

_Monday, 22_.--I laid before the City Council the following--

Resolution.

Resolved by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the
freedom of the city be, and the same hereby is, conferred on the
present Governor, lieutenant-governor, council of revision, and
members of both houses of the general assembly, of the state of
Illinois, as an evidence {301} of our gratitude for their great
liberality and kindness to this community, during the present
winter, which was adopted unanimously.

I also presented the following bill for "An ordinance in relation to the University."

Ordinance.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that all matters and powers whatever in relation to common schools,
and all other institutions of learning within the City of Nauvoo
be, and the same hereby are transferred from the City Council of
the City of Nauvoo, to the chancellor and regents of the University
of the City of Nauvoo.

Passed February 22, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

_Tuesday, 23_.--Elder Kington writes from Bristol, England, that eight have been baptized in that place.

An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association.

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois,
represented in the general assembly, that George Miller, Lyman
Wight, John Snider, and Peter Haws, and their associates, are
hereby declared a body corporate, under the name and style of the
"Nauvoo House Association;" and they are hereby authorized to erect
and furnish a public house of entertainment, to be called the
"Nauvoo House."

Sec. 2. The above-named George Miller, Lyman Wight, John Snider,
and Peter Haws, and their associates, are hereby declared to be the
trustees of the association, with full power and authority to hold
in joint tenancy, by themselves and their successors in office, a
certain lot in the City of Nauvoo, in the county of Hancock, and
state of Illinois, known and designated on the plat of said city,
as the south half of lot numbered fifty-six, for the purpose of
erecting thereon the house contemplated in the first section of
this act.

Sec. 3. The said trustees are further authorized and empowered
to obtain by stock subscription, by themselves or their duly
authorized agents, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, which shall be divided into shares of fifty dollars each.

Sec. 4. No individual shall be permitted to hold more than three
hundred, nor less than one share of stock, and certificates of
stock shall {302} be delivered to subscribers, so soon as their
subscriptions are paid in and not before.

Sec. 5. As soon as the contemplated house shall have been completed
and furnished, the stockholders shall appoint such agents as the
trustees may deem necessary in the management of the affairs of
said association.

Sec. 6. The trustees shall have power to sue and be sued, plead and
be impleaded in any court in this state, in the name and style of
the "Trustees of the Nauvoo House Association."

Sec. 7. They shall also take the general care and supervision in
procuring materials for said house, and constructing and erecting
the same, and further to superintend its general management, and to
do and perform all matters and things which may be necessary to be
done, in order to secure the interest and promote the objects of
this association.

Sec. 8. This association shall continue twenty years from the
passage of this act, and the house herein provided for shall be
kept for the accommodation of strangers, travelers, and all other
persons who may resort therein for rest and refreshment.

Sec. 9. It is moreover established as a perpetual rule of said
house, to be observed by all persons who may keep or occupy the
same that spirituous liquors of every description are prohibited,
and that such liquor shall never be vended as a beverage, or
introduced into common use, in said house.

Sec. 10. And whereas Joseph Smith has furnished the said
association with the ground whereon to erect said house, it is
further declared that the said Smith and his heirs shall hold, by
perpetual succession, a suite of rooms in the said house, to be set
apart and conveyed in due form of law to him and his heirs by the
said trustees, as soon as the same are completed.

Sec. 11. The Board of Trustees shall appoint one of their number as
president thereof.

Approved February 23, 1841.

Thomas Carlin,

Governor.

W. L. D. Ewing,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

S.H. Anderson,

Speaker of the Senate.

State of Illinois,

Office of Secretary of State, s. s.

I, Stephen A. Douglas, Secretary of State, do hereby certify the
{303} foregoing to be a true and perfect copy of the enrolled law
on file in my office.

Witness my hand and the seal of State.

Springfield, February 24, A. D. 1841.

[SEAL.]

S. A. Douglas,

Secretary of State.

An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufacturing
Association in the County of Hancock.

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois,
represented in the general assembly, that Sidney Rigdon, George
W. Robinson, Samuel James, Wilson Law, Daniel H. Wells, Hyrum
Smith, George Miller, William Marks, Peter Haws, Vinson Knight,
John Scott, Don Carlos Smith, William Huntington, Sen., Ebenezer
Robinson, Robert B. Thompson, William Law, James Allred, John T.
Barnett, Theodore Turley, John C. Bennett, Elias Higbee, Isaac
Higbee, Joseph Smith, Alpheus Cutler, Israel Barlow, R. D. Foster,
John F. Olney, John Snider, Leonard Soby, Orson Pratt, James
Kelley, Sidney A. Knowlton, John P. Greene, John F. Weld, and
their associates and successors, are hereby constituted a body
corporate and politic, by the name of "The Nauvoo Agricultural and
Manufacturing Association," and by that name shall be capable of
suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and
being answered, in all courts and places, and may have a common
seal, and may alter the same at pleasure.

Sec. 2. The sole object and purpose of said association shall be
for the promotion of agriculture and husbandry in all its branches,
and for the manufacture of flour, lumber, and such other useful
articles as are necessary for the ordinary purposes of life.

Sec. 3. The capital stock of said association shall be one hundred
thousand dollars, with the privilege of increasing it to the sum
of three hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of
fifty dollars, which shall be considered personal property, and
be assignable in such manner as the said corporation may, by its
by-laws, provide; which capital stock shall be exclusively devoted
to the object and purposes set forth in the second section of this
act, and to no other object and purposes, and to the same end the
said corporation shall have power to purchase, hold, and convey
real estate, and other property, to the amount of its capital.

Sec. 4. Said corporation shall have power, by the trustees, or a
majority of them present at any regularly called meeting, to make
by-laws for its own government, for the purpose of carrying out
the objects {304} of this association, provided the same are not
repugnant to the laws and constitution of this state, or of the
United States.

Sec. 5. Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and William Law shall be
commissioners to receive subscriptions for, and distribute said
capital stock for said corporation; said commissioners, or a
majority of them, shall, within six months after the passage of
this act, either by themselves or their duly appointed agents, open
a subscription book for said stock at such times and places as they
shall appoint, and at the time of subscription for such stock, at
least ten per cent upon each share subscribed for, shall be paid
to said commissioners, or their duly appointed agents; and the
remainder of said stock, so subscribed for, shall be paid in such
sums, and at such times, as shall be provided for by the by-laws of
said corporation.

Sec. 6. In case the stock of said corporation shall not all
be taken up within one year from the passage of this act, the
duties of said commissioners shall cease, and the trustees of
said corporation, or a quorum thereof, may thereafter receive
subscriptions to said stock, from time to time, until the whole
shall be subscribed.

Sec. 7. The stock, property, and concerns of said corporation
shall be managed by twenty trustees, who shall be stockholders of
said corporation, any five of whom, to be designated by a majority
of the trustees, shall form a quorum for the transaction of all
ordinary business of said corporation, the election of which
trustees shall be annual. The first mentioned twenty persons, whose
names are recited in the first section of this act, shall be the
first trustees of said corporation, and shall hold their offices
until the first Monday in September, A. D. 1841, and until others
shall be elected in their places.

Sec. 8. The trustees of said corporation for every subsequent year
shall be elected on the first Monday in September, in each and
every year, at such place as the trustees for the time being shall
appoint, and of which election they shall give at least fifteen
days previous notice by advertisement in some newspaper, in or near
the City of Nauvoo. At every election of trustees, each stockholder
shall be entitled to one vote on each share of stock owned by
him: provided that no stockholder shall be entitled to more than
twenty votes, and said stockholders, may vote either in person or
by proxy. The election for trustees shall be conducted in such
manner as shall be pointed out by the by-laws of said corporation,
and whenever a vacancy shall happen by death, resignation, or
otherwise, among the trustees, the remaining trustees shall have
power to fill such vacancy, until the next general election for
trustees.

Sec. 9. The trustees of said corporation, as soon as may be, after
their appointment or election under this act, shall proceed to
elect, {305} out of their number, a president, treasurer, and
secretary, who shall respectively hold their offices during one
year, and until others shall be elected to fill their places, and
whose duties shall be defined and prescribed by the by-laws of the
corporation; and said trustees shall also appoint such agents and
other persons as may be necessary to conduct the proper business,
and accomplish the declared objects of said corporation, and shall
likewise have power to fill any vacancy occasioned by the death,
resignation, or removal of any officer of said corporation.

Sec. 10. This act shall be construed as a public act, and continue
in force for the period of twenty years. And the trustees appointed
under the provisions of this act, shall hold their first meeting at
the City of Nauvoo, on the first Monday of April, A. D. 1841.

Approved February 27, 1841.

Thomas Carlin,

Governor.

W. L. D. Ewing,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

S. H. Anderson.

Speaker of the Senate.

State of Illinois, Office of Secretary of State.

I, Lyman Trumbull, Secretary of State, do hereby certify the
foregoing to be a true and perfect copy of the enrolled law on the
file in my office.

Given Under My Hand And Seal Of State, Springfield, March 10, 1841.

Lyman Trumbull,

Secretary of State.

_Wednesday, 24_.--Elder Brigham Young returned to Liverpool, and on the 25th attended a patriarchal blessing meeting at Brother Dumville's. Father Melling officiated; Elder James Whitehead, scribe.

_Saturday, 27_.--President Brigham Young went to Manchester, and preached in Lombard Street room on Sunday, the 28th.

[Sidenote: Division of Nauvoo into Municipal Wards.]

_Monday, March 1_.--The City Council divided the city into four wards, at my suggestion, to-wit: all the district of country within the city limits, north of the center of Knight street, and west of the center of Wells street, shall constitute the first ward. North of the center of Knight street and east of the center of Wells street, the second ward. South {306} of the center of Knight street, and east of the center of Wells street, the third ward. South of the center of Knight street, and west of the center of Wells street, the fourth ward.

I attended the City Council, and presented a bill for "An ordinance in relation to Religious Societies."

_Ordinance on Religious Liberty in Nauvoo_.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of
Nauvoo, that the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists,
Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopals, Universalists, Unitarians,
Mohammedans, and all other religious sects and denominations
whatever, shall have free toleration, and equal privileges, in this
city; and should any person be guilty of ridiculing, and abusing
or otherwise depreciating another in consequence of his religion,
or of disturbing or interrupting any religious meeting within the
limits of this city, he shall, on conviction thereof before the
Mayor or Municipal Court, be considered a disturber of the public
peace, and fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, or
imprisoned not exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of
said Mayor or Court.

Sec. 2. It is hereby made the duty of all Municipal officers to
notice and report to the Mayor any breach or violation of this,
or any other ordinance of this city, that may come within their
knowledge, or of which they may be advised; and any officer
aforesaid, is hereby fully authorized to arrest all such violators
of rule, law and order, either with or without process.

Passed March 1, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

I also presented a bill as follows:

_An Ordinance in Relation to Public Meetings_.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that in order to guarantee the constitutional right of free
discussion upon all subjects, the citizens of this city, may
from time to time peaceably assemble themselves together for all
peaceable or lawful purposes whatever; and should any person
be guilty of disturbing or interrupting any such meeting or
assemblage, he shall on conviction thereof before the Mayor or
Municipal Court, be considered a disturber of the public peace,
and fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred {307} dollars, or
imprisoned not exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of
said mayor or court.

Sec. 2. Should any person be guilty of exciting the people to riot
or rebellion, or of participating in a mob, or any other unlawful
riotous or tumultuous assemblage of the people, or of refusing to
obey any civil officer, executing the ordinances of the city, or
the general laws of the state or United States, or of neglecting or
refusing to obey promptly, any military order for the due execution
of said law or ordinances, he shall, on conviction thereof as
aforesaid, be fined or imprisoned, or both, as aforesaid.

Passed March 1, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

I also offered a bill for "An ordinance, creating certain additional City Officers."

Ordinance.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,
that in addition to the city officers heretofore elected, there
shall be elected by the City Council, one high constable for each
ward; one surveyor and engineer, one market master, one weigher
and sealer, and one collector for the city, whose duties shall
hereafter be defined by ordinance.

Passed March 1, 1841.

John C. Bennett, Mayor.

James Sloan, Recorder.

I presented the following report:

Committee's Report.

Your committee, to whom was referred that portion of the address
of his honor, the Mayor, which recommended the propriety of
vacating the town plats, Commerce, and the City of Commerce, and
incorporating them with the city plat of Nauvoo, would respectfully
report--That they consider the recommendation contained in the
address as one of great importance to the future welfare and
prosperity of this city, and if carried into effect would make the
streets regular and uniform, and materially tend to beautify this
city. We would therefore respectfully recommend that the survey of
the City of Nauvoo be carried through the town plats of Commerce
and the City of Commerce, as soon as it may be practicable.

We would therefore recommend to the council the passage of the
following resolution--That the town plats of Commerce, and Commerce
City be vacated, and that the same stand vacated from this time
forth, {308} and forever; and that the same be incorporated with
the City of Nauvoo, from this time henceforth and forever.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

Joseph Smith, Chairman.

The report was received and adopted, and an ordinance passed accordingly.

A vote of thanks, and the freedom of the city were conferred on the Honorable Richard M. Young, United States Senator for Illinois.

_Tuesday, 2_.--Elder Brigham Young visited Oldham, and returned on Wednesday, 3rd, to Manchester. Elders Orson Hyde and George J. Adams arrived in Liverpool.

_Thursday, 4_.--Elder Willard Richards left Liverpool for Preston, and was followed by Elders Hyde, Adams, and Fielding on the 5th.

General William Henry Harrison was inaugurated President of the United States.

_Friday, 5_.--Elder Parley P. Pratt removed the _Star_ office to 47 Oxford Road, Manchester.

_Sunday, 7_.--Elders Young and Kimball preached at the Carpenter's Hall, Manchester.

[Sidenote: Appointment of City Officers.]

_Monday, 8_.--I attended the City Council. The following appointments were made, viz: Alanson Ripley, city surveyor; Theodore Turley, weigher and sealer; James Robinson, assessor; Stephen Markham, market master; James Allred was sworn supervisor of streets, and James Allred, Dimick B. Huntington, and George Morey, high constables.

I gave my views on several local measures proposed by the council.

_Wednesday, 10_.

_Letter of Brigham Young to the Editor of the Star--On Family
Prayer_.

Liverpool, March 10, 1841.

_To the Editor of the Star_:

Dear Brother:--I feel anxious to address a few lines to you, on the
subject of family prayer (and shall feel obliged by your inserting
the {309} same in your next _Star_), for the purpose of imparting
instruction to the brethren in general. Having traveled through
many branches of the Church in England, I have found it to be a
general custom among the brethren I visited, that when any of the
Traveling Elders are present, they wait for the Elder to go forward
in family prayer, instead of attending to that duty themselves.
That is not right; and I would say to them that it would be
better for them to understand their duty on this subject. My dear
brethren, remember that the Lord holds all of us responsible for
our conduct here. He held our father Adam responsible for his
conduct, but no more than He does us, in proportion to the station
we hold. The kings of the earth will have to give an account to
God, for their conduct in a kingly capacity. Kings are heads of
nations, governors are heads of provinces; so are fathers or
husbands governors of their own houses, and should act accordingly.
Heads of families should always take the charge of family worship,
and call their family together at a seasonable hour, and not wait
for every person to get through with all they may have to say or
do. If it were my prerogative to adopt a plan for family prayer,
it would be the following: Call your family or household together
every morning and evening, previous to coming to the table, and
bow before the Lord to offer up your thanksgiving for His mercies
and providential care of you. Let the head of the family dictate;
I mean the man, not the woman. If an Elder should happen to be
present, the head of the house can call upon him, if he chooses so
to do, and not wait for a stranger to take the lead at such times;
by so doing we shall obtain the favor of our Heavenly Father, and
it will have a tendency to teach our children to walk in the way
they should go, which may God grant for Christ's sake. Amen.

Brigham Young.

Governor Carlin issued the following Commission--

Appointment of Joseph Smith Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion.

_Thomas Carlin, Governor of the State of Illinois, to all to whom
these presents shall come: Greeting_--

Know ye that Joseph Smith, having been duly elected to the office
of lieutenant-general, Nauvoo Legion, of the militia of the
State of Illinois, I, Thomas Carlin, governor of said state, do
commission him lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion, to take
rank from the fifth day of February, 1841. He is, therefore,
carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of said office,
by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging;
and I do strictly require all officers and soldiers {310} under his
command to be obedient to his orders: and he is to obey such orders
and directions as he shall receive, from time to time, from the
commander-in-chief or his superior officer.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
great seal of state to be hereunto affixed. Done at Springfield,
this tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and forty-one, and of the independence of the United States
the sixty-fifth.

By the Governor,

[SEAL]

Thomas Carlin.

Lyman Trumball,

Secretary of State.

The commission was endorsed on the back as follows--

Headquarters, Nauvoo Legion, City of Nauvoo, Illinois, March 15,
1841--Oath of office administered by me, the day and year above
written.

John C. Bennett,

Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion.

_Thursday, 11_.--Elders Young, Kimball, Richards, and Taylor met in Liverpool.

_Monday, 15_.--I attended the City Council, and took part in the discussion concerning Mr. Annis' mill, in the southwest part of the city.

Elder Wilford Woodruff attended a conference at Gadfield Elm; 408 members in eighteen branches represented.

_Thursday, 16_.--Elder George A. Smith attended a conference at Macclesfield, which branch contains ninety one members, one Elder, six Priests, five Teachers, and three Deacons. In consequence of incessant preaching, his lungs are much affected.

_Wednesday, 17_.--Ship _Alesto_ sailed from Liverpool for New Orleans, with 54 Saints, led by Elders Thomas Smith and William Moss.

Elders Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, and Father Melling went to Preston; Elders Young and Hedlock to Hawarden, and George A. Smith to Leek.

_Thursday, 18_.--Elder George A. Smith attended a {311} council of the officers and members of the Church at Leek, numbering sixty-three members, one Elder, six Priests, two Teachers, and two Deacons. Stephen Nixon was ordained an Elder; and John Hudson, Jacob Gibson, and Joseph Knight Priests; and Frederick Rushton and Edwin Rushton, Teachers.

_Saturday, 20_.

_An Inquiry_.

City Of Nauvoo, March 20, 1841.

Brother William Allred, Bishop of the stake at Pleasant Vale, and
also Brother Henry W. Miller, president of the stake at Freedom,
desire President Joseph Smith to inquire of the Lord His will
concerning them.

I inquired of the Lord concerning the foregoing question, and received the following answer--

_Revelation_.

Let my servants, William Allred and Henry W. Miller, have an agency
for the selling of stock for the Nauvoo House, and assist my
servants Lyman Wight, Peter Haws, George Miller, and John Snider,
in building said house; and let my servants William Allred and
Henry W. Miller take stock in the house, that the poor of my people
may have employment, and that accommodations may be made for the
strangers who shall come to visit this place, and for this purpose
let them devote all their properties, saith the Lord.

About this time I received a revelation, given in the City of Nauvoo, in answer to the following interrogatory--"What is the will of the Lord, concerning the Saints in the Territory of Iowa?" [5]

_Revelation_.

"Verily, thus saith the Lord, I say unto you, if those who call
themselves by my name, and are essaying to be my Saints, if they
will do my will and keep my commandments concerning them; let them
gather themselves together, unto the place which I shall appoint
unto them by my servant Joseph, and build up cities unto my name,
that they may be prepared for that which is in store for a time to
come. Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite
to the City of {312} Nauvoo, and let the name of Zarahemla be named
upon it. And let all those who come from the east, and the west,
and the north, and the south, that have desires to dwell therein,
take up their inheritances in the same, as well as in the City of
Nashville, or in the City of Nauvoo, and in all the stakes which I
have appointed, saith the Lord."

_Sunday, 21_.--Elder George A. Smith preached at Leek, and confirmed one.

[Sidenote: Organization of the Lesser Priesthood at Nauvoo.]

The Lesser Priesthood was organized in the City of Nauvoo, March 21, 1841, by Bishops Whitney, Miller, Higbee, and Knight. Samuel Rolf was chosen president of the Priests' quorum, and Stephen Markham and Hezekiah Peck, his counselors. Elisha Everett was chosen president of Teachers, and James W. Huntsman and James Hendricks, counselors. Phinehas R. Bird was chosen president of Deacons, and David Wood and William W. Lane counselors.

Footnotes:

1. See Doctrine and Covenants, section cxxiv.

2. The foregoing speech is not printed in the "History of Joseph Smith" as published in the _Deseret News_ and _Millennial Star_, but such is the prominence of John C. Bennett in the period of the history now reached, and such the despicable part he later plays, that, as affording an insight into his character, the speech becomes important, hence given here _in extenso_, as it was published in the _Times and Seasons_, Vol. II, No. 8.

3. Following is the form of oath taken:

We, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Don C. Smith, and Charles C. Rich, do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God that we will support the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of Illinois, and that we will well and truly perform the duties of councilors of the City of Nauvoo, according to law, and the best of our abilities.

Joseph Smith,

Hyrum Smith,

Don C. Smith,

Charles C. Rich.

December 3, 1841.

4. For a proper characterization of this document see Vol. III, this History, p. 256.

5. See Doctrine and Covenants, section cxxv.

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