In the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

, the Common Council of the Church is a body of the church that has the power to discipline or remove the

President of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

or one of his counselors in the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

due to misbehavior. Its existence and status are uncertain and controversial, and the body has only been formally convened twice, once to try

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

in 1834 and once in 1844 when

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...

was excommunicated in absentia. The Common Council of the Church is sometimes confused with the

Council of the Church In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Council of the Church may be the chief governing body of the church which holds the power to make the final decision on any spiritual matter that will affect any member of the church. Its exis ...

Origin and duties

The council was first spoken of in a

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

by Joseph Smith on March 28, 1835:

And inasmuch as a President of the High Priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the High Priesthood; And their decision upon his head shall be an end of controversy concerning him. Thus, none shall be exempted from the justice and the laws of God".

Church commentators have interpreted this to mean that the council that would have the power to discipline or remove the President of the Church or a member of the First Presidency would be composed of the Presiding Bishopric of the church and twelve other high priests asked by the Presiding Bishop to assist in the disciplinary procedures. For example,

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

John A. Widtsoe stated:

"Should occasion ever arise that one of the First Presidency must be tried for crime or neglect of duty, his case would come before the Presiding Bishop with his counselors, and twelve High Priests especially chosen for the purpose. This would be a tribunal extraordinary from which there is no appeal."

The twelve counselors could be composed of the members of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

; however, there is no formal requirement that these individuals be chosen. A later revelation to Smith on January 12, 1838, revealed more instructions, because of "wicked and aspiring men", "concerning the trying of the first presidency of the Church of Latter Day Saints for transgression". This revelation was not put into the Doctrine and Covenants.

Trial of Joseph Smith

On August 11, 1834, the Council formally convened for the first time to consider charges made by Sylvester Smith against Joseph Smith after the return of

Zion's Camp Zion's Camp was an expedition of Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Smith, from Kirtland, Ohio, to Clay County, Missouri, during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settle ...

Newel K. Whitney Newel Kimball Whitney (February 5, 1795 – September 23, 1850, his first name being sometimes found as Newell) was a prominent member and leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an American businessman. Whitney married Elizabeth Ann Smith in ...

, the presiding bishop, presided at the Council, with John P. Greene, John Smith,

Reynolds Cahoon Reynolds Cahoon (April 30, 1790 – April 29, 1861) was an early leader in Latter Day Saint movement and later, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was one of the inaugural members of the Council of Fifty, organized ...

Isaac Hill Isaac Hill (April 6, 1788March 22, 1851) was an American politician, journalist, political commentator and newspaper editor who was a United States senator and the 16th governor of New Hampshire, serving two consecutive terms. Hill was born on ...

, Samuel H. Smith, Isaac Story,

Amasa Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

, Peter Shirts, Truman Wait, Roswell Evans,

Alpheus Cutler John Alpheus Cutler (February 29, 1784 – June 10, 1864) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement who founded the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) in 1853. He had previously served in several church positions under Joseph Smith, fou ...

, and

Thomas Burdick Thomas Burdick (November 17, 1795 (or 1797) – November 6, 1877) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer, and a politician in Los Angeles County, California. Burdick was born in Canajoharie, New York. He married Ann ...

acting as the twelve high priests;'' History of the Church'' 2:142–144.

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

and

Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...

also participated as clerks to the Council, and Rigdon participated as a member of the First Presidency. The Council determined that Smith had "acted in every respect in an honorable and proper manner with all monies and properties entrusted to his charge." Smith is the only church president to have been tried before the Common Council.

Trial of Sidney Rigdon

The Common Council of the Church has only been formally convened once since Joseph Smith's trial. On September 8, 1844, Whitney convened a public meeting of the council'' History of the Church'' 7:268. with

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

Parley P. Pratt Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...

Orson Pratt Orson Pratt Sr. (September 19, 1811 – October 3, 1881) was an American mathematician and religious leader who was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). He became a member of the ...

, George A. Smith, John Taylor,

Amasa M. Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

, W. W. Phelps, William Marks, Charles C. Rich, and Ezra T. Benson acting as the twelve counselors. The purpose of the council was to discuss possible discipline for Rigdon, who was a counselor in the First Presidency prior to Smith's death in June 1844. Since Smith's death, Rigdon had claimed the right to lead the church and be its "guardian" until a new First Presidency could be organized. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, led by Young, had also been claiming the right to lead the Latter Day Saints. At the trial,

"Very serious charges were made against Elder Rigdon for insubordination, for claiming to hold keys and authority above any man or set of men in the church, even superior authority and keys thereof than those held by the Twelve; and likewise he had ordained men to positions—places and offices not recognized as properly belonging to this church. Among other things he somewhere about this time predicted that the building of the auvooTemple would cease and prophesied that there would not be another stone raised upon the walls of the Temple."

Rigdon had been asked to appear before the council but had refused. After a discussion of Rigdon's behavior by the members of the council, Whitney presented a motion to excommunicate Rigdon from the church "and deliver imover to the buffetings of satan until he repents". The motion was unanimously carried. The Latter Day Saints in attendance at the public meeting were then invited by Young to ratify the decision of the council. The vote was "nearly unanimous", with ten individuals voting in favor of Rigdon's cause.'' History of the Church'' 7:269.

Notes

References

* Joseph Smith,

B. H. Roberts Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, 1857 – September 27, 1933) was a historian, politician, and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He edited the seven-volume ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(ed.), 1902. '' History of the Church'' 3:5, footnote.

External links

"Conclusion of Elder Rigdon's Trial"
''

Millennial Star ''The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star'' (usually shortened to ''Millennial Star'') was the longest continuously published periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was printed in England from 1840 unti ...

'' (supplement), December 1844 : a contemporary account of the Common Council's trial of Sidney Rigdon {{LDSpriesthood Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Common Religious organizations established in 1835 First Presidency (LDS Church) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)