History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

344 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
all the affairs of the church, temporal and spiritual;
the first president is the prophet of God, seer, reve-
lator, and translator.
Next in authority are twelve apostles, who are a
travelling presiding high-council, and with whom, on
the death of the president of the church, the supreme
rulership rests until another first presidency is installed.
10 The president of the twelve, chosen in the
tute a quorum and first presidency, to receive the oi'acles for the whole
church. Law's selection was to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment
of Hyrum Smith to be patriarch. Mil. Star, xviii. 3C3. In this same month
Joseph notified the recorder of Hancock county that he (Joseph) had been
elected sole trustee of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints by the
church at Nauvoo, to hold office during life. Id., 373. Smith, Rigdon, and
Law were continued in office by the annual conference, convened in April 1843.
After the murder of the Smiths in 1844, the first presidency lapsed, and for
more than three years the church was governed by the quorum of the twelve
apostles, of which Brigham was president. At a meeting of the twelve apostles,
high-council, and high-priests at Nauvoo, in August 1S44, Sidney Eigdon
offered himself as guardian to the church, claiming that his action was in
obedience to revelation. Young opposed Rigdon's claims, and the assembly
decided that the twelve should govern the church, with Young at their head.
Mil. Star, xxv. 215-17, 263-4. In Dec. 1847 Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball,
and Willard Bichards were chosen to constitute the lirst presidency.
Juv. Inst., xiv. 128. Young died in 1S77, and the presidency remained vacant
until October 1SS0, when John Taylor was chosen, with George Q. Cannon
and Joseph F. Smith as councillors. Marshall, Through America, 161.
This conference lasted five days. S. L. Tribune, Oct. 11, 1880. On the death
of the president the quorum is dissolved, and its members, as a presidency,
have no status. Richards' Narr., MS., 51.
lu 0n Feb. 14, 1835, the church at Kirtland met for the purpose of choosing
and ordaining the twelve apostles. The business occupied several days.
Briefly, the ceremonies were as follows: The assemblage consented to accept
the names presented by the three witnesses who had been appointed to make
the selection. P. P. Pratt says, in his Autobiog., 127-28, the ceremonies were
performed by Smith, Whitmer, and Cowdery, and that they acted in accordance
with the revelation of June 1829; but in the history of Jos. Smith, Mil.
Star, Mar. and Apr. 1853, the three witnesses only are mentioned. Martin
Harris' name does not appear in the revelation referred to. See Doctrine
and Covenants, 190-2. In an article by 'R. A.' in the Juv. Inst., xiv. 128,
the selection is accredited to the three witnesses, who are mentioned by
name. As Pratt was one of the ordained, it would seem that his account
should be reliable. Each candidate came forward as summoned, and in return
received a blessing, and a charge from one of the three. The order of
ordination was as follows: On Feb. 14th, Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham
Young, and Heber C. Kimball. On the next day, Orson Hyde, David W.
Patten, Luke Johnson, Wm E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and William
Smith. On Feb. 21st, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, and Thos B. Marsh, who
were absent on a mission, were ordained upon their return to Kirtland, which
occurred later. Mil. Star, xv. 206-12. Shortly after, the names were arranged
according to seniority, when they stood, Marsh, Patten, Young, Kimball,
Hyde, McLellin, P. P. Pratt, Luke Johnson, Smith, O. Pratt, Boynton, and
L. E. Johnson. Four of the above apostatized in 1838, viz.: McLellin, the
Johnsons, and Boynton; John Taylor, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff, and
Willard Richards were appointed instead. Shortly after this, Marsh, the