| Minutes of April 3, 1837 |
| High council prepares a list of nine items regarding the behavior of Presidents W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer to be investigated with the bishop and his counselors. The high council feels the two have exceed their authority in picking out the site of Far West, laying out the city, assigning a site for the house of the Lord and appointing a building committee, profiting from the sale of land to members, ignoring the bishopric, and so forth. | |||
| Date | April 3, 1837 | Far West Record, 107–108. | |
| Location | Far West | ||
| Desription | … a meeting of the High Council … | ||
| Moderator | John Murdock | ||
| Clerk | Elias Higbee | ||
| Questions for William and John regarding their right to: |
Resolved, That, the Council request that President W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer to give explanation of the following items |
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| Designate city and temple location |
1st By what authority was this place pointed out for a city and house of the Lord, and by whom. |
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| Appoint building committee |
2nd By what authority was a committee appointed and ordained to superintend the building of the house of the Lord. |
Minutes of November 15, 1836 | |
| Ordain Jacob Whitmer |
3rd By what authority was Jacob Whitmer ordained to the High Priesthood. |
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| Lay out the city, build a house of God |
4th Have two Presidents authority to lay out a City, and build a house of God, independently of the Counsel of the High Council and Bishop and his Council. |
The previous July, William and John were authorized to find land with Bishop Partridge and his counselors. ¶ Minutes of July 25, 1836 | |
| Disfellowship a high counselor |
5th By what authority was one of the High Counsellors disfellowshiped in the name of the H. Council without their knowledge. |
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| Submith a change to the [First] Presidency against high counselor |
6th Have any individual or individuals a right to prefer a charge to the Presidency in Kirtland against any High Counsellor, without the knowledge of the Council or individual. |
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| Deprive high council and bishop of favored inheritances |
7th Should not the High Council and Bishop of Zion who are are appointed to do business for Zion, receive their inheritance in the core of the City in preference ot one who is not particularly called to labor for Zion, or an unbeliever. |
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| Withhold information from the council |
8th Shall any intelligence relative to the building up of Zion be withheld from the council of Zion. |
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| Profit from land sales |
9th Are the two Presidents entitled to the profits arising from the sale of lands on which the City is to be built in this place, independent of the authorities who have been appointed to labor with them for Zion and have suffered like tribulation with them. |
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| Schedule investigation | The council decides to invite W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, Bishop Partridge and his counselors, and apostles Thomas B. Marsh (h) and David W. Patten (h) to meet with them on April 5 to investigate these matters. | ||