In September 2016 the LDS Church Historian’s Press made available in print the early minutes of the Council of Fifty. These minutes were kept from church members and the public for well over one hundred and fifty years. This paper will explore some of the events and topics discussed in these meetings, including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young being accepted as kings, the gentiles rejecting the gospel, and being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

H. Michael Marquardt, Clair Barrus