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PRIESTHOOD, 1864.
1864: 21 Jan.: Teachers’ Court.
[Teachers Meeting] “The Case of Br. Baker was brought up for permitting a soldier to keep company with a Mormon girl at his house. Br. Baker was censured and asked forgiveness of the Brethren.” (8th Ward Minutes, 21 Jan., 1864)
29 Jan.: Teachers’ Court.
[“Special Meeting”] “The case of J. Lambert against Burr Frost for the recovery of nine bushels of wheat, or the value thereof in pay for coal furnished by Lambert to Frost and for which Frost gave a Due Bill. The decision was rendered that Frost pay the value of the wheat at the rate of $2.50 per bushel, the then selling price being 3 dollars per bushel. Br. Frost refused to pay it unless he could have his own time. Br. Shelmerdine offered to pay & wait for Br. Frost.” (8th Ward Minutes, 29 Jan., 1864)
18 Mar.: Teachers’ Court.
[Teachers Meeting] “The Blocks were reported. The families of Br. Paul Peterson, Br. Chas. King, and Br. Ebenezer Cheeseman was unfavorably reported.
It was motioned by Br. R. Daft and seconded by James Shelmerdine that Ebenezer Cheeseman and Paul Peterson be cutt off the Church. Carried unanimously.” (8th Ward Minutes, 18 Mar., 1864)
1 Jun.: Gibson ordained women in Hawaii.
“OCEANICA–WALTER M. GIBSON–HIS EXPULSION FROM THE CHURCH.
. . . .
It is not our purpose to give a summary of the narrative in this article; but the many rumors in circulation in this city touching the proceedings of Gibson prior to the departure of these brethren, seem to call for confirmation or repudiation, and it would have afforded us much pleasure to have repudiated the charges against him; but we regret that the worst of the rumors was too true, and we are forced to avow, like the Queen of Sheba, that ‘the half had not been told.’ . . .
On arriving at the island where Gibson had purchased his plantation, they found there was neither misrepresentation nor romance in the charges against him. The Captain had made ‘a good thing’ out of the believing natives in a remarkably short space of time, and had prostituted the influence, which his standing with the people of Utah gave him to his own agrandizement. Walter M. Gibson, who, a little more than three years ago had to slowly travel through our settlements, lecturing by the way, for assistance, and, by the by, leaving behind him some terrible surmisings, is now a very wealthy man, possessing his acres of land by the thousands, his sheep by the same high figures, and his horses and cattle, geese and turkeys in droves. To obtain them, he has claimed the possession of an authority which neither God or man ever conferred upon him, and the holy and sacred priesthood, that he professed to revere, he dispenses its offices and titles as he would groceries in a country store. He has ordained men Apostles, High Priests, and Seventies, Elders and everything else, and even the woman received from his hands the honors of ‘Priestesses,’ and everything else that his cunning could suggest to touch their veneration while in return he touched their property, and the only justification he has the impudence, and the hardihood to set up is, if anything, more damnably black than the crime itself–‘the natives were ignorant, says he, and ordaining them to the priesthood was merely a stimulant to unite them, and make them more tractable and useful.’ To whom? To Walter M. Gibson. Shame on the man who could play with the credulity of the simple and use the sacred name of the Lord for the vilest purposes of deception.” (DN 13(36):280, 1 Jun., 1864)
4 Jun.: MP organized AFTER organization of Church.
“The Lord had not spoken to the inhabitants of this earth for a long time, until He spoke to Joseph Smith, committed to him the plates on which the Book of Mormon was engraved, and gave him a Urim and Thummim to translate a portion of them, and told him to print the Book of Mormon, which he did, and sent it to the world, according to the word of the Lord. The Lord said to him, ‘revive my statutes and bring forth my law which has been set aside by those who professed to by my Saints, and establish the ordinances that were once in my house, and tell the people they must observe them. Now go and see if anybody will believe your testimony.’ He went and preached to his father’s house, and to his neighbors, and it was four or five years before he got the six members that composed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it was first organized on the 6th of April, 1830. This was a slow business, but at last he organized the Church, for the Lord had revealed to him the Aaronic priesthood upon which the Church was first organized; after that he received the Melchisedic priesthood, when the Church was more fully organized, and a few more believed, and then a few more and a few more.” (Brigham Young, 4 Jun., 1864; JD 10:303)
21 Jul.: Teachers’ Court.
[Teachers Meeting] “The case of Br. D. Brand and wife was presented, and the testimony of the brethren who had visited them was that they did not wish to be rebaptised, did not recognize any authority of the Church, and on motion of Br. J. Shelmardine & seconded by Br. R. Douglas, Br. and Sr. Brand were cut off from the Church. Carried unanimously.” (8th Ward Minutes, 21 Jul., 1864)
31 Jul.: Definition of Priesthood.
“Our religion is founded upon the Priesthood of the Son of God–it is incorporated within this Priesthood. We frequently hear people inquire what the Priesthood is; it is a pure and holy system of government. It is the law that governs and controls all things, and will eventually govern and control the earth and the inhabitants that dwell upon it and all things pertaining to it.” (Brigham Young, 31 Jul., 1864; JD 10:320)
29 Nov.: If we knew enough, children wouldn’t die.
“Questions are often asked, why our children die, why they are not permitted to live to fill their earthly destiny and become fathers and mothers of their race. Many are the physical causes which lead to the death of our children and friends, before they have lived out the days allotted to them, that, in consequence of our ignorance of the laws of life and health, we are not yet able to overcome, neither have we yet attained to faith sufficient to overcome diseaes and death entirely in our families. But the Lord has not left us without consoling words for our comfort when we lose our children, for it is written:
But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me, for it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.
. . . .
Though we cannot altogether avoid grief under sore trials, yet we can overcome excessive sorrow through faith in the Lord Jesus and by calling upon the Father in His name–and that is all we can do.”
(Brigham Young, remarks at the funeral of Joseph Smith Kimball, son of Heber C. Kimball; 29 Nov., 1864; DN 14(11):82, 14 Dec., 1864)
29 Nov.: HC Kimball ordained his boy a High Priest.
“Joseph was never cross, he was always pleasant to all persons. Eight years ago he came near dying; I was impressed to ordain him a High Priest. I ordained him, and I do know that that had a saving effect upon the boy, and God has had respect to him.” (Heber C. Kimball, remarks at the funeral of his son, Joseph Smith Kimball, 29 Nov., 1864; DN 14(11):83, 14 Dec., 1864)
29 Nov.: I have not a particle of power, except from God.
“Joseph [Kimball–Heber C.’s son] was never cross, he was always pleasant to all persons. Eight years ago he came near dying; I was impressed to ordain him a High Priest. I ordained him, and I do know that that had a saving effect uon the boy, and God has had respect to him. He now lives in the spirit; and I have joy in all these things. I stood near him until he breathed his last; but I could not prevail. This proved to me that I was a poor, weak, frail creature, that I was nothing more than the greas, or as a flower of the field; for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. I have not one particle of power on this earth, only as God gives it to me. I cannot stay his hand, and I am in his hand.” (Brigham Young, 29 Nov., 1864)
BY ordains sons apostles w/o telling Kimball.
“During 1864, Brigham Young ordained three of his sons as apostles, something [Heber C.] Kimball did not learn of for four months and which greatly offended him.” (Stanley B. Kimball, On the Potter’s Wheel–The Diaries of Heber C. Kimball, p. 172)