List of members of the Council of Fifty

In 1844, Joseph Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, established the Council of Fifty, a Latter Day Saint organization, in order to symbolize and represent a future theocratic or theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth.^[1] Following Smith's death, his successor, Brigham Young, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), hoped to continue the Council of Fifty in order to create this Kingdom in preparation for the Millennium and the Second Coming of Jesus. The political Kingdom of God, organized around the Council of Fifty, was meant to be a force of peace and order in the midst of this chaos.

Following the death of Smith, some members of the council continued on as members of the Council of Fifty, under the leadership of Brigham Young and within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while some members left to join or form various other sects in the Latter Day Saint movement.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

This table includes individuals who joined the Council of Fifty prior to June 27, 1844, under the leadership of Joseph Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (as named in 1844). However, all the included individuals are regarded as early leaders of the church by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ) and other Latter Day Saint sects.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This table includes individuals were joined the Council of Fifty following after June 27, 1844, and under the leadership of Brigham Young, president of the LDS Church. Generally they are only regarded as early leaders of the church by the LDS Church.

Notes

1. Quinn 1980, p. 165
2. Peter Amann, "Prophet in Zion: The Saga of George J. Adams", New England Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 4 (1964) pp. 477–500
3. "Utah War Chronology" Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, utahwar.org, accessed 2008-12-17.
4. Biography Archived 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine at Joseph Smith Papers Project website
5. Andrew Jenson. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. Vo. 1, p. 307-308.
6. Fox, Ronald (2011-10-09), "Little-known John Bernhisel did much for Utah", Deseret News
7. Quinn 1980, p. 15.
8. Givens, George W. (2002). 500 Little Known Facts in Mormon History. Vol. 1. Cedar Fort. p. 113. ISBN 1555176518. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
9. Rogers 2014, p. 243
10. Rogers 2014, p. 352
11. "Ezra T. Benson Family Web Site".
12. Andrew Jenson. LDS Biographical Encyclopedia. Vol. 4, p. 511–12.
13. Bullock worked in the Church Historian's Office, but was not an official "Assistant Church Historian". The first "Assistant Church Historian" was Wilford Woodruff called in 1856, after Bullock left in 1854. See Arrington, Leonard J. (Summer 1968). "The Search for Truth and Meaning in Mormon History". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 3 (2): 56–66. doi:10.2307/45227258. JSTOR 45227258. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14.
14. Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Robert T. Burton
15. [ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774- Present, Caine, John Thomas, (1829–1911)
16. Jenson, Andrew (1901). Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew Jenson History Company (Printed by The Deseret News). pp. 3356 167–168. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
17. 116 U.S. 55 (1885)
18. "The Anti-Polygamy Law; Ex-Delegate Cannon's Sentence Affirmed. The Supreme Court Upholds the Decisions of the Territorial Judges; Opinions in Other Cases", New York Times, 1885-12-15.
19. Jenson, Andrew (1901). Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew Jenson History Company (Printed by The Deseret News Press). pp. 42–43. Retrieved September 10, 2013.

References

• Andrus, Hyrum Leslie (1958), Joseph Smith and World Government, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, OCLC 4146522.
• Clayton, William (1980). "Excerpts from the Journals of William Clayton, 1844–1846". In Ehat, Andrew F. (ed.). It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Constitution of the Kingdom of God. Vol. 20. pp. 253–79. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help).
• Clayton, William (1921), William Clayton's Journal: A Daily Record of the Journey of the Original Company of "Mormon" Pioneers from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City: Deseret News, ISBN 9781468002034, OCLC 3041200.
• Ehat, Andrew F. (1980), "It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Constitution of the Kingdom of God", BYU Studies, 20: 253–79.
• Firmage, Edwin Brown; Mangrum, Richard Collin (1988), Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 978-0-252-01498-7, OCLC 17107769.
• Godfrey, Kenneth W. (1992), "Council of Fifty", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 326–327, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.
• Hansen, Klaus J. (1974) [1967], Quest for Empire: The Political Kingdom of God and the Council of Fifty in Mormon History, Michigan State University Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-5769-6, OCLC 898032.
• Hansen, Klaus J. (1992), "Chapter 13: The Metamorphosis of the Kingdom of God: Toward a Reinterpretation of Mormon History", in Quinn, D. Michael (ed.), New Mormon History, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, p. 221.
• Melville, J. Keith (1960), "Theory and Practice of Church and State During the Brigham Young Era" (PDF), BYU Studies, 3 (1): 33–55, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-20.
• Quinn, D. Michael (1980), "The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945", BYU Studies, 20 (2): 163–98.
• Quinn, D. Michael (1994), The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-056-6.
• Quinn, D. Michael (1997), The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-060-4.
• Rogers, Jedediah S. (2014), The Council of Fifty: A Documentary History, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 978-1-56085-224-7.