In
Mormonism
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy in many denominations 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 ...
. Most often, the term refers to a stake high council in a local
stake, but other high councils include the standing
Presiding High Council
In the Latter Day Saint movement, there are two presiding high councils, one said to be "standing," and the other "traveling." The traveling high council is generally known as the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Both councils, at least in theory, presi ...
in
Zion
Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole.
The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...
, 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
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
, the founder of the movement, created a
presiding high council
In the Latter Day Saint movement, there are two presiding high councils, one said to be "standing," and the other "traveling." The traveling high council is generally known as the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Both councils, at least in theory, presi ...
at church headquarters in
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and the site of ...
. This body consisted of twelve men and was headed by 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 ...
. The original members of the high council in Kirtland were:
*
Joseph Smith, Sr.
*
John Smith
*
Joseph Coe
*
John Johnson
*
Martin Harris
*
John S. Carter
*
Jared Carter
*
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious 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 bapt ...
*
Samuel H. Smith
*
Orson Hyde
*
Sylvester Smith
*
Luke S. Johnson
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
Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...
. A presidency was also called to head the high council of Zion. The members of this presidency and high council were:
*
David Whitmer (president)
*
William W. Phelps (assistant president)
*
John Whitmer (assistant president)
*
Christian Whitmer
*
Newel Knight
Newel Knight (September 13, 1800 – January 11, 1847) was a close friend of Joseph Smith and one of the first branch presidents in the Latter-day Saint movement.
Born at Marlboro, Vermont, Knight was the son of Joseph Knight, Sr. and Polly Peck. ...
Simeon CarterCalvin Beebe*
William E. McLellinSolomon Hancock*
Thomas B. Marsh
Thomas Baldwin Marsh (November 1, 1800 – January 1866) was an early leader in the Latter-day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as the quorum's first President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apos ...
*
Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight (May 9, 1796 – March 31, 1858) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri, in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apo ...
*
Parley P. Pratt
*
Orson Pratt
*
John MurdockLevi Jackman
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
Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...
) 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
Three
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
and
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith said was his source material for the Book of Mormon. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had ...
of the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''.
The book is one of ...
and, initially all church
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
Thomas Baldwin Marsh (November 1, 1800 – January 1866) was an early leader in the Latter-day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as the quorum's first President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apos ...
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
Each stake in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, has a high council consisting of twelve high priests. The stake high council assists the
presidency of the stake in approving the
calling of stake leaders and some
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
leaders, conducting
membership council
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a church membership council (formerly called a disciplinary council) is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations ...
s in certain cases, and communicating to and instructing leaders of wards and
branches
A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins.
History and etymology
In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includi ...
in the stake.
"High Council"
churchofjesuschrist.org.
Notes
{{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
Religious organizations established in 1834
Types of Latter Day Saint organization
1834 establishments in Ohio