Minutes of the January 25, 1832 Amherst Conference

Source note

Preferred witness: History, 1838–1856, volume A-1, page 180, accessed 21 May 2026. The original Amherst minutes are not extant; History A-1 supplies a retrospective narrative. ¶

Corroborating witness: Minute Book 2, page 24, accessed 21 May 2026. An April 1832 council entry recalls Joseph Smith's acknowledgment at Amherst as president of the high priesthood. ¶

The transcripts below follow the Joseph Smith Papers expanded-transcription presentation: original spelling and punctuation are retained; editorial additions appear in brackets; insertions appear in angle brackets; cancellations appear with strikethrough; and manuscript page endings are linked to the corresponding JSP image and transcript page. ¶

Historical introduction

The conference met at Amherst, Ohio, on 25 January 1832. Its original minutes have not been located. The surviving account in History A-1 describes harmony, conference business, and the request for divine direction that produced the revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 75. A later Minute Book 2 entry corroborates an important leadership action associated with Amherst. ¶

This material remains one conference record because the surviving sources preserve proceedings, retrospective summaries, or reported remarks rather than a set of discrete, complete sermon transcripts. ¶

Transcript

History, 1838–1856, volume A-1

25 January 1832 • Wednesday

A few day before the conference was to commence in Amherst Lorain county, I started in company with the elders that lived in my own vicinity, and arrived in due time. At this conference much har[HC 1:242]mony prevailed, and considerable business was done to advance the kingdom and promulgate the gospel to the inhabitants of the surrounding Country. The Elders seemed anxious for me to enquire of the Lord, that they might know his will, or learn what would be most pleasing to him, for them to do, in order to bring men to a sense of their condition: for, as it was written, all men had gone out of the way, so that none doth good; no, not one. I enquired and received the following ¶

Minute Book 2 — April 1832 recollection

Joseph Smith jr. acknowledged by the High priests in the land of Zion to be President of the High Priesthood, according to commandment and ordination in Ohio, at the Conference held in Amherst January 25, 1832 ¶

Compiler's notes

Tyler’s collection-level compiler’s note is preserved verbatim. ¶

Notes from Tyler’s compilation

It is important to note that the minutes from this conference are unfortunately not extant (see Joseph Smith’s Revelations, Doctrine and Covenants 75). All we have is the account from the Manuscript History: ¶

The text of what is now D&C 75 follows. D&C 75:1-22 was received first, followed by 23-36 later in the conference. These two revelations were included together in the Manuscript History. ¶

It appears that at this conference, Joseph Smith was ordained to be President of the High Priesthood. In the Minutes Book entry for a council meeting in Independence, Missouri in April of that year, the first item of business is recorded as “Joseph Smith jr. acknowledged by the High priests in the land of Zion to be President of the High Priesthood, according to commandment and ordination in Ohio, at the Conference held in Amherst January 25, 1832.” (Minute Book 2, p. 24, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed May 21, 2026, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/minute-book-2/26) ¶

Vault presentation

• The revelation and later recollection are evidence about the conference, not substitutes from which a verbatim sermon can be reconstructed.