Minutes of the October 1861 General Conference

The Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, convened in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, October 6, 1861, at 10 a.m., President Brigham Young presiding. ¶

On the stand: Of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells; of the Twelve Apostles, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt Sr., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards; of the First Presidency of the Seventies, Joseph Young Sr., Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates; of the High Priests' Quorum presidency, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel D. Richards; Presidency of the Stake, Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer, George B. Wallace; Presidency of the Bishopric, Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy, Jesse C. Little; Patriarchs John Smith and Isaac Morley. Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long. ¶

President Brigham Young opened by counseling the Saints not to seek further revelation until they improved upon what they already had, and announced the day would be devoted to spiritual instruction, with business deferred to Monday. Elder John Taylor spoke on faith and obedience; President Heber C. Kimball spoke on tithing, consecration, and the gifts of the Spirit. In the afternoon, the sacrament was administered by Bishops Edward Hunter, Lorenzo D. Young, Abraham O. Smoot, and Jonathan Pugmire. Elder Orson Hyde spoke briefly on crops and domestic economy; President Young spoke on unity among the Elders and referenced the warlike state of the divided United States; President Daniel H. Wells urged Sabbath observance, home manufactures, and instructed the Bishops on organizing teams to haul rock from Little Cottonwood Canyon for the Temple. ¶

That evening, in the Tabernacle (newly repaired and enlarged, the first meeting held there since the repairs), President Brigham Young offered the following dedicatory prayer over the building: ¶

Our Father, and our God, we present ourselves before thee on this occasion, in the name of the Son Jesus Christ, in whose name we dedicate ourselves unto thee and to thy service, for building up thy kingdom upon the earth, for the promotion of righteousness, for gathering the House of Israel, and for establishing thy Zion, until the laws of Zion shall become the laws of all nations. We also dedicate unto thee our friends, our families, our brethren and their families and friends, with our flocks and our herds, and our possessions as thy people. We dedicate unto thee thy kingdom in every nation, and among all people where thy gospel has been preached, and thy kingdom established. We dedicate unto thee this house that we now occupy, and the ground upon which it stands; as it has before been dedicated unto thee, we again dedicate it unto thee with the addition and improvements that have been made upon it. We dedicate to thee the foundation walls, the foundations upon which the timbers and floors rest; we dedicate to thee the walls above the foundation, the adobies, and all the wood work, the timbers, and the lathing and plastering on the walls, the doors and the hangings thereof, and we desire that they may be opened and shut by the Saints of the Most High; we dedicate unto thee the timbers of the roof, with all the appurtenances thereunto belonging—the brace timbers that strengthen and sustain the roof, with the lathing and plastering of the ceiling, also the shingles, and the boards upon which they are fastened, and the nails and bolts of iron that bind the whole together; we dedicate unto thee the window frames, and the sash, and glass, and the trimmings thereof, and all the conveniences pertaining to this building, both those that are on the ground and those that are in the ground; we dedicate unto thee the sleepers and the flooring above them, and the nails that bind them together, and the seats that rest upon the floor; we dedicate unto thee the pulpit and the platform upon which it rests, and the seats, and everything that pertains to the stand; we dedicate unto thee the organ and the foundation upon which it rests, and all its appurtenances and conveniences; we dedicate unto thee the new portion of this house, the foundation upon which it rests, and its conveniences above and below, together with the former portion of this, our place of worship, which thou hast permitted us to erect, wherein to worship the name of the Lord of Hosts. We ask thee, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ thy Son, to let thy presence and thy power dwell in this hall, and suffer not thine enemies to ever occupy it. ¶

Thou art acquainted with our faith and our hopes, with our labors of love, with all that we possess for all things are open before thee. Let righteousness and peace dwell here, that thine holy angels may take up their abode here and dwell with us. Let great peace, the peace of God that passeth understanding, dwell upon thy people that enter this house; may the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost rest upon male and female, old and young and middle aged, that come here to worship thee in spirit and in truth; and let thy servants who speak to thy people in this house be inspired by thy wisdom and with thy power, and be filled with the revelations of Jesus Christ; let them thus be blessed at this time, and in all time to come. ¶

Bless thy Saints in every land and clime, and all that pertains to them. We pray thee to bless thy Priesthood in all their abiding places and in all their fields of labor. Pour out thy Holy Spirit upon the faithful of thy servants, and preserve those who are laboring in foreign lands, who travel from nation to nation, from people to people, and from land to land, to gather and save the honest in heart. May great peace and great power be upon them and round about them by day and by night, and let them not be hurt by any power. Give them every qualification that is requisite to their respective calling and standing before thee and the people among whom they minister. Give them money and means, food and raiment, and the hearts of the people. Give them abundance to gather up the poor and bring them home to Zion. ¶

Bless the inhabitants of this Territory. We thank thee for the land in the chambers of these mountains; we thank thee for the mountains, for the kanyons and the rugged rocks, for the sandy deserts, and salt wastes, that surround and embrace these hiding places for the poor and meek of the earth; we thank thee for the pure streams of water that flow from the kanyon gorges, that gush forth in the mountain tops and come to us a healing, cooling, reviving beverage; we thank thee for the healthy, thriving vegetation of these fat vallies of Ephraim, for our bread and meat, for our habitations and our raiment, for our families, friends, and connections for the society of thy people, for useful animals, and for all the conveniences and creature comforts of life, all of which we dedicate unto thee our Father and our God. ¶

We ask thee to bless the Quorums of thy servants who have assembled this evening with the High Priests' Quorum; may we all feel one in Christ; and let thy spirit of wisdom be continually with us as thine Elders, that none may feel in their hearts some of Heber, some of Willard, some of Jeddy, some of Daniel, some of Joseph, and some of Brigham, some of John, some of Paul, and some of Christ. Bless us with understanding, that our capacities may reach to the heavens and our minds be opened to behold heavenly things, and things upon the earth, and things under the earth, that we may be acquainted with the power by which thy works are organized and sustained. When we meet as High Priests, as the Twelve Apostles, as Seventies, as Bishops, as Elders, as Priests, as Teachers, as Deacons and as members of this thy great latter-day kingdom that is growing upon the earth according to the words of thine ancient prophets, may we meet as members of the same body. And in all our communications may we have the spirit of intelligence to receive as well as to give, and all be benefited together. ¶

We dedicate all unto thee, and ask thy blessing upon all the subjects of our prayers, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord: Amen. ¶

The High Priests' Quorum then held a preaching meeting addressed by Bishop Edwin D. Woolley, Elder Phineas H. Young, Elder Samuel W. Richards, Elder George D. Watt, and President Brigham Young, on consecration, priesthood order, and the gathering of the poor. ¶

On Monday, October 7, President Young opened the business session, announcing plans to call roughly two hundred families (including Swiss converts) to the cotton mission in southern Utah. Elder John Taylor presented the General Authorities for the sustaining vote: Brigham Young as President with Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells as counselors; Orson Hyde as President of the Twelve, with Orson Pratt Sr., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, and George Q. Cannon as members; John Smith as Patriarch; the Stake presidency and High Council; the High Priests', Seventies, Elders', Priests', Teachers', and Deacons' Quorum presidencies; Edward Hunter as Presiding Bishop; William H. Folsom as the new Church Architect (replacing Truman O. Angell, who resigned for poor health); and George A. Smith as Historian and General Church Recorder. All were unanimously sustained. President Heber C. Kimball then delivered his "Building of the Temple—Necessity of Union" discourse (filed separately), followed by remarks from President Young on cash tithing and President Wells, who called for fifty teams to haul Temple rock. Elder George A. Smith then spoke briefly on the cotton mission and the duty to follow the Presidency's direction (his fuller remarks on this subject, delivered separately during the conference, are filed as "The Importance of the Mission to the Cotton Country"). ¶

In the afternoon, Elder Albert Carrington read an address to the Bishops on husbanding tithing for the Temple; Elder Ezra T. Benson and Elder Mark A. Coombs spoke on tithing, consecration, and their experience in the Church; President Young called for volunteers for the cotton mission, and Patriarch Isaac Morley bore testimony and pronounced a blessing on the people. Brother Daniel Bonelli read the names of the Swiss brethren selected to settle in southern Utah, and President Young announced the Presidency and Twelve would make the calls since the brethren did not volunteer. That evening, the Bishops held a business meeting in the Tabernacle under Bishop Edward Hunter, with President Daniel H. Wells discoursing on the Temple, the gathering of the poor, and sustaining missionaries' families. ¶

On Tuesday, October 8, the conference opened in the Bowery but adjourned to the Tabernacle owing to weather. Elder William W. Phelps read and commented on passages from the early Church periodical The Evening and Morning Star; Elder William H. Miles reviewed his twenty-one years in the Church; President Young preached on marriage for time and eternity. In the afternoon, President Young spoke on gathering rags and worn fabrics for the Church's paper mill; Elder Lorenzo Snow spoke on tithing and consecration; Elder Orson Pratt spoke on the Missionary Fund, the building of the Temple, and the gathering of the poor; President Heber C. Kimball reviewed the early history of the Church, including Zion's Camp. The conference was adjourned until the following April 6, with President Daniel H. Wells offering the concluding benediction. J. V. Long served as Clerk of the Conference. ¶