Angell, King Follett, and Erastus Snow. The average age of the new quorum members was thirty-five years. Despite seniority in age over those serving in the First Quorum, the Second Quorum was told to look to the First Quorum as leaders. When vacancies occurred in the First Quorum, those in the Second Quorum were invited to take their place.
I realized in some degree the immense responsibility of the office, and besought the Lord for grace and wisdom to be given him that he might be able to magnify his high and holy calling. The financial collapse of the society triggered an outcry against Joseph Smith and Mormonism that was slow to mend.
Twenty-seven members of the First Quorum joined dissidents and abandoned their faith. About a third in the two other quorums followed suit. And it almost seemed to me that the brightest stars in our firmament had fallen. Adding to the problems in the quorums, a controversy over priesthood authority arose.
The controversy centered on which priesthood body—high priests quorums or seventies quorums—had higher preeminence or authority in the Church. Carved initials on temple pulpits suggested the seventies held the higher authority, for immediately above the initials representing Presidency of the high priests quorum PHPQ were the letters PSZ, which referred to the Presidents of the seventy.
In spring , Joseph Smith resolved the difficulty by reorganizing the Presidency of the seventies. Presidents previously ordained to the office of high priest were placed in the high priests quorum. Five of seven Presidents were released, and five ordained to take their place. On March 6, , with a new Presidency in place, the seventies again met in the Kirtland Temple.
Their purpose in meeting was to discuss the benefits and perils associated with moving as a group to Missouri. Without reaching a decision in this meeting, they planned a follow-up meeting on March tenth. James Foster, a new President of the seventies, spoke of seeing a company of about five hundred starting from Kirtland and traveling and camping together, concluding that it was the will of God that the seventies should travel as a body to Missouri. However, most seventies abandoned the plans.
They moved from Kirtland in separate family groupings, seemingly unmindful of their earlier decision to journey in a large contingency. When the camp finally moved forward, only 30 percent of the men claimed membership in one of the three seventies quorums.
It may further evidence that the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society and the controversy over authority had taken their toll. What was once a determined, anointed, and cohesive brotherhood was no more. Yet Joseph Young, Senior President of the quorums, had little time to lament problems within his ranks.
It was time to move the remaining members of his quorums, their families, and the poor to Missouri. Under his leadership, the camp consisting of pioneers left Kirtland in July It certainly was wonderful at that time to see a company of men, women and children a mile long, all traveling together in order, and pitching their tents by the way.
The initial plan was to settle the traveling party in Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri. Following the tragedy, a decentralized settling plan was put in place for those in the Kirtland Camp.
Some ran to Far West, the main Latter-day Saint settlement. Others scattered. For many, the once cherished brotherhood was lost in the extremities. Regular quorum meetings became a remembrance of the past. Few seventies were called on missions, and even fewer accepted the call. However, amid the strident persecution and scattering of , uncalled and unassigned seventies served self-appointed missions. Neither the sword nor the musket could destroy the spirit of missionary work.
Not long after the seventies found refuge in Quincy, Illinois, Joseph Young once again held meetings and called and ordained seventies. Was he doing so under the direction of the Twelve? Records do not substantiate that fact. With renewed courage, even the strength of dedication, Joseph Young filled vacancies in the first three quorums and created other quorums. Such vigor did not last long. Limitations to the function and calling of the seventies were forthcoming.
Nevertheless, Joseph Young and his quorums complied. Yet Young and his Presidency kept ordaining more men until they increased their number to in hopes that one day the resolution would be lifted. Instead of being lifted, further restraints to the activities of Young and his Presidency followed.
The answer is not readily known. In retrospect, it appears that the Prophet was rethinking the work of the seventies. When the Latter-day Saints moved from Quincy to the swampland of Commerce, Illinois, seventies were asked to dig drainage ditches and reclaim the swampland—a far cry from their initial purpose.
The assignment appears more individual based than quorum based. Individually, the seventies erected cabins, homes, stores, and public buildings. The only collective building built was the Seventies Hall—the first priesthood hall in the Church.
Lee, supervised construction. Of his assignment, Lee penned:. Donations for the Seventies Hall came in the form of cash or subscriptions. Subscriptions were a type of stock in the sum of five dollars. For example, Hosea Stout purchased stock certificate no. Transferable by endorsement Jos. Young, Pres, John D. Lee, Secretary. Supervisor Lee wrote of this event:. By May , the Seventies Hall, measuring twenty-eight feet wide by forty feet long, was enclosed.
A second set of doors gave access to the lecture-preaching room. The second floor was reached by two quarter-turn stairways in the vestibule. There was such promise in the building that none foresaw a reason to stop construction. But within the month, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum lay dead in Carthage. News of their deaths brought a deafening halt to the construction of the hall. The moratorium had nothing to do with supplies, materials, or time.
Laying aside hammers and saws was a choice. The hall, and indeed the very city of Nauvoo, mourned the death of their Prophet and Patriarch. It was not until Brigham Young returned to Nauvoo that the seventies and their friends picked up tools and returned to construction sites. The silence that had brooded over the city for weeks was broken by the sound of hammers, evidencing that Mormonism had not ended in Carthage. An October 8, , announcement gave added strength to that meaning.
Heber C. There is a fine line between getting paid to preach, and receiving a living allowance because your calling doesn't allow you the time to support yourself or your family. We are always on guard to make sure we're on the correct side of the line. Because we don't have a paid clergy and LDS members mistake the role the General Authorities fill as administrators with the role they fill as clergy. All GA's who receive an alloted allowance do not received their allotment from the Tithing or Offerings account.
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Sign in to follow this Followers 0. How many Quorums of Seventy are there? Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2. Recommended Posts. Guest tomk. Report post. Posted April 13, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites. Palerider Moksha 3. So that is Seventies. Seated from left : Elders Earl C. Tingey, D. Todd Christofferson, David E. Sorensen, and Charles Didier.
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