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Kirtland Ohio Stake, 1st Stake organized of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This stake was organized in Kirtland, Ohio on 17 Feb 1834. The minutes of this meeting are recorded in the Church Revelations as Doctrine & Covenants Section 102. This stake was discontinued 25 May 1841, and then subsequently reorganized as the 12th stake in the state of Ohio on 16 Oct 1983.

Introduction[]

Minutes of the organization of the first high council of the Church, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 17, 1834. The original minutes were recorded by Elders Oliver Cowdery and Orson Hyde. The Prophet revised the minutes the following day, and the next day the corrected minutes were unanimously accepted by the high council as “a form and constitution of the high council” of the Church. Verses 30 through 32, having to do with the Council of the Twelve Apostles, were added in 1835 under Joseph Smith’s direction when this section was prepared for publication in the Doctrine and Covenants.

1–8, A high council is appointed to settle important difficulties that arise in the Church; 9–18, Procedures are given for hearing cases; 19–23, The president of the council renders the decision; 24–34, Appellate procedure is set forth.

One week later (24 Feb 1834), Joseph Smith received a Revelation (D&C 103) in Kirtland commanding organization of expedition (later known as Zion's Camp (1834) to relieve Saints driven from Jackson County, Missouri and to help them return to their properties.

Stake Leadership[]

3 Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams were acknowledged presidents by the voice of the council; and Joseph Smith, Sen., John Smith, Joseph Coe, John Johnson, Martin Harris, John S. Carter, Jared Carter, Oliver Cowdery, Samuel H. Smith, Orson Hyde, Sylvester Smith, and Luke Johnson, high priests, were chosen to be a standing council for the church, by the unanimous voice of the council. The above-named councilors were then asked whether they accepted their appointments, and whether they would act in that office according to the law of heaven, to which they all answered that they accepted their appointments, and would fill their offices according to the grace of God bestowed upon them. The number composing the council, who voted in the name and for the church in appointing the above-named councilors were forty-three, as follows: nine high priests, seventeen elders, four priests, and thirteen members. (Verses 3-5 of Meeting Minutes)

Inaugural Council Presidency[]

Inaugural High Council[]

12 Members :

  1. Joseph Smith (1771-1840) - father of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and later 1st Patriarch of the Church
  2. John Smith (1781-1854) - uncle to the Prophet Joseph Smith, later served as presiding patriarch of the church under Brigham Young.
  3. Joseph Coe (1784-1854) - left the church in 1837.
  4. John Johnson (1779-1843) - Owner of Johnson farm, which served as the headquarters of the church from September 1831 to March 1832.
  5. Martin Harris (1783-1875) - Book of Mormon witness
  6. John Sims Carter (1797-1834) - Died on Zion's Camp (1834)
  7. Jared Carter (1801-1849) - Brother of John, described as "one of the Church's great missionaries" of the 1830s and the subject of many revelations. In 1846 he briefly joined the Strangite sect before rejoining the LDS Church in Chicago.
  8. Oliver Cowdery (1806-1850) - Book of Mormon witness and scribe
  9. Samuel Harrison Smith (1808-1844) - Brother of the prophet and early missionary of the church
  10. Orson Hyde (1805-1878) - later a original member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.
  11. Sylvester Smith (1806-1880) - no relation to the Prophet Joseph, Participant in Zion's Camp (1834), where he displayed many "refractory" feelings to the prophet, dropped from the council in Sept 1834 and left the church by 1837.
  12. Luke Samuel Johnson (1807-1861)- Participant in Zion's Camp (1834), later apostasized from the church in 1838. Rejoined the church in 1846 and joined the trek to Utah.

Subsequent High Council Members[]

  1. David Dort (1793-1841) - Participant in Zion's Camp (1834) and married to a cousin of Joseph Smith. He later served on the Far West and then the Nauvoo High Councils.

Stake History[]

  • Jared Carter (1801-1849) became the president of this body on September 9, 1837, and continued as a member of it when church headquarters were moved to Far West, Missouri, and then to Nauvoo, Illinois. I
  • Babbitt, Almon W (1812-1856) inaugural member of 1st Qourum of Seventy, 1841 president of LDS Kirtland Stake, first treasurer/secretary for Utah Territory, killed by Cheyenne indians in Nebraska.


References[]

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