1. William Mulder and A. Russell Mortensen, Among the Mormons (New York, 1958), p. 103.

2. Various aspects of the political Kingdom of God have received recent attention. See Hyrum Andrus, Joseph Smith and World Government (Salt Lake City, 1958); Alfred L. Bush and K. J. Hansen, “Notes towards a Definition of the Council of Fifty” (mimeographed MS, Brigham Young University Library, 1957); James R. Clark, “Church and State Relationships in Education in Utah” (dissertation, Utah State University, 1958); James R. Clark, “The Kingdom of God, the Council of Fifty and the State of Deseret,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 26 (1958), 130–148; Klaus J. Hansen, “The Theory and Practice of the Political Kingdom of God in Mormon History, 1829–1890” (thesis, Brigham Young University, 1959).

3. See G. Homer Durham, Joseph Smith, Prophet-Stateman (Salt Lake City, 1944), p. 101; Therald N. Jensen, “Mormon Theory of Church and State” (dissertation, University of Chicago), p. 20; Keith Melville, “The Political Ideas of Brigham Young” (dissertation, University of Utah, 1950), p. 11.

4. Journal of Discourses, 9 (1862), 341. (Hereafter cited as J.D.)

5. Millennial Star, 24 (1862), 103.

6. Ibid., 23 (1861), 422.

7. This is the date given in the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2d ed., Salt Lake City, 1950), 6:260–261, (hereafter cited as D.H.C.), and in the “History of Brigham Young,” Millennial Star, 26 (1864), 328. For the reference to a revelation concerning the organization of this body, received by the Prophet as early as April 7, 1842, see “Minutes of the Council of Fifty” (typed MS, Brigham Young University Library), April 10, 1880. The official name of the council apparently was to be kept a secret. “General Council,” “Council of the Kingdom,” “Council of the Gods,” and “Living Constitution” are some of the names applied to the council in the literature referring to it. The term “Council of Fifty,” referring to the approximate number of members, appears to have been used most frequently and was, therefore, adopted to identify the council in this paper.

8. John D. Lee, A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee, 1848–1876, ed. Robert Glass Cleland and Juanita Brooks (San Marino, California, 1955), 1:80.

9. Brigham Young, J.D., 17 (1875), 156.

10. D.H.C., 7:213.

11. U.S., Congress, Senate, Testimony in Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., for High Treason, 26th Cong., 2d Sess., 1841, Senate Doc. 189, p. 23. Parley P. Pratt, referring to this investigation, wrote in his autobiography: “this court of inquisition inquired diligently into our belief of the seventh chapter of Daniel concerning the kingdom of God, which should subdue all other kingdoms and stand forever. And when told that we believe in that prophecy, the court turned to the clerk and said: ‘write that down; it is a strong point for treason.’ Our lawyer observed as follows: ‘Judge, you had better make the Bible treason.’ The court made no reply.” Quoted in D.H.C., 3:212.

12. Brigham H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, 1930), 1:431–432.

13. Ibid., p. 433.

14. Millennial Star, 3 (1842), 67–69.

15. Ibid., p. 69.

16. “Minutes of the Council of Fifty,” April 10, 1880.

17. Letter of Benjamin F. Johnson to George S. Gibbs, between April and October, 1903 (typed MS at Brigham Young University Library), p. 9.

18. LeRoy Hafen and Carl C. Rister, Western America (2d ed., New York, 1950), p. 335.

19. Millennial Star, 24 (1862), 359.

20. Thomas Ford, History of Illinois (Chicago, 1854), pp. 321–322.

21. Millennial Star, 23 (1861), 125.

22. Joseph Smith and Heman C. Smith (ed.), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1836–1844 (Lamoni, Iowa, 1920), 2:90–91.

23. Sarah Scott to her mother Abigail Hall, March 31, 1848, in George F. Partridge (ed.), “The Death of a Mormon Dictator. Letters of Massachusetts Mormons, 1843–1848,” The New England Quarterly, 9 (1936), 614.

24. D.H.C., 7:444.

25. Ibid., pp. 495–498.

26. Diaries of Hosea Stout (typed copies of originals, Brigham Young University Library), 2:253–254.

27. Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church Historian’s Office, Salt Lake City), September 8, 1851, p. 4.

28. Millennial Star, 19 (1857), 630.

29. J.D., 2 (1855), 310.

30. Frank J. Cannon and George L. Knapp, Brigham Young and His Mormon Empire (New York, 1913), p. 117.

31. U.S. Congress, Senate, Territorial Papers 1789–1873; Utah, December 13, 1849–June 11, 1870.

32. See Richard D. Poll, “The Mormon Question Enters National Politics, 1850–56,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 25 (1957), 117.

33. U.S., President, 1850–53 (Fillmore), Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Information in Reference to the Condition of Affairs in the Territory of Utah, 34th Cong., 1st sess. Executive Doc. no. 25.

34. Poll, p. 131.

35. Journal History, August 2, 1857.

36. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, 1951), section 87.

37. D.H.C. 5:394.

38. Diary of Charles Walker (typed copy of original, Brigham Young University Library), 1:225.

39. Deseret News, 9 (May 1, 1861), 65. Note Kimball’s careful wording: “We shall never secede from the Constitution . . .”

40. Journal History, January 19, 1863.

41. Mormonism: Its Leaders and Designs (New York, 1857), pp. 307–308.

42. Joseph Nimmo Jr., The Mormon Usurpation (Huntington, L. I., 1899), pp. 6–7.

43. According to Professor Leonard Arrington, the School of the Prophets became the successor to the Council of Fifty (see Great Basin Kingdom [Cambridge, Mass., 1958], pp. 245–251). I disagree with this interpretation, however. For evidence that the Council of Fifty was active in the late 1860s and organized the cooperative movement see the Minutes of the Provo School of the Prophets, in the Provo Stake Tabernacle Records (microfilm copy, Brigham Young University Library), October 13, 1868, and the Records of the Bishop’s Meetings, Provo, 1868–1875 (microfilm copy, Brigham Young University Library), October 15, 1868.

44. (Philadelphia, 1870), pp. 400–401.

45. Nimmo, p. 9.

46. pp. 15–16.

47. L. John Nuttall, Letter Book 1879–1881, pp. 168, 178.

48. “Minutes of the Council of Fifty,” April 10, 1880.

49. Nuttall, Letter Book 1879–1881, p. 356.

Klaus J. Hansen

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