High council (Latter Day Saints)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In

Zion, and the "travelling high council", better-known today as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
.

History of high councils

On February 17, 1834, Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement, created a presiding high council at church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio. This body consisted of twelve men and was headed by the First Presidency. The original members of the high council in Kirtland were:[1]

This high council took on the role of chief judicial and legislative body of the local church and handled such things as excommunication trials and approval of all church spending. This high council became subordinate to the high council of Zion, which was organized in Jackson County, Missouri. A presidency was also called to head the high council of Zion. The members of this presidency and high council were: [2]

Later, when other high councils were established in newly formed

stakes of the church, the high council of Zion (first Kirtland, then Far West, Missouri and finally Nauvoo, Illinois) took on a role of "presiding" over the lesser high councils. (Cases tried in the high councils of outlying stakes were regularly appealed to the high council of Zion.) Most Latter Day Saint historians view the high council of Zion as distinct from a stake high council, as there is no "stake" at the "center place" of the tent of Zion. During Smith's lifetime, high council members were ordained high priests, but not given any priesthood
keys.

In 1835, Smith created an additional "traveling high council" of twelve men to oversee the missionary work of the church. Like many early church leaders including the

elders, the members of this traveling high council were known as "apostles." Later, as this council grew in importance, it became known as the Council or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
, and other church leaders ceased to be called apostles.

Thomas B. Marsh was the original president of the traveling high council which, in practice, was initially subordinate to the high council of Zion. For example, in 1838, when vacancies arose in the traveling high council, it was the presiding high council at Far West which voted on and filled the vacancies. Later, as the traveling high council evolved and began to be known as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, it acquired equal status with the presiding high council, and both were subordinated to the First Presidency. When the high council of Zion was dissolved after the church members were expelled from Missouri, the high council organized at the new church headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois, where it functioned as the presiding high council of the church, overseeing appeals from high councils in outlying stakes.

After the

1844 succession crisis
, high councils developed differently in the various denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.

High councils in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Further information: Stake and ward council meetings

Each stake in

branches in the stake.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 102:3 (LDS Church ed.).
  2. ^ Minute Book 2, pg. 43 [1] (Joseph Smith Papers Project).
  3. ^ "High Council", churchofjesuschrist.org.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_council_(Latter_Day_Saints)&oldid=1280877145"