| 570 The following resolutions were adopted:-
"Resolved: That this conference accept Samuel H. Gurley, and Catherine his wife, as members of the church; that, whereas, the High Priests' Quorum is now sufficiently organized to do quorum business, this conference does hereby recognize said organization; that all presidents and clerks of quorums be authorized to issue
upon them, as Latter Day Saints, by the revelations governing said church, we, your memorialists, would respectfully call your attention to the following statement of facts:-
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830, and was subsequently represented by its ministry and by the establishment of churches in many of the States, the Canadas, and Europe, under the ecclesiastical presidency of Joseph Smith, until June 27, 1844, when he and his brother Hyrum were killed at Carthage, Illinois.
At the time of the organizing of the church, and at all subsequent time prior to the dispersion of its members from Nauvoo, the church was simply an ecclesiasticism; and, as such, could confer no privileges before the law not contained in the provisions of the law; nor authorize as a tenet that which was forbidden by the law of the State where the church might exist, or in contravention of the constitutional basis on which the church was built,-the word of God.
Under the presidency of Joseph Smith, the church became a corporate body, and adopted as a constitution or form of church government and discipline, the Scriptures, the Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants. The Bible and Book of Mormon have ever been the foundation on which the church has rested its faith, and there has been added to them the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, first published in the year 1835, and republished in 1845; the former edition during the presidential term of Joseph Smith, the latter edition under the regime of Brigham Young, as "President of the Twelve." This book, the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," was, on the 17th day of August, 1835, presented to each and all the quorums of officers belonging to the church, separately, and acted upon by them; it was also presented to the church in General Assembly, and was adopted unanimously. It then became a part of the law of the church, and the church became bound by its provisions, equally as by those of the Bible and Book of Mormon. The doctrines and law of the church so established must ever remain the basis of its government; the indorsement [endorsement] of them an indorsement [endorsement] of the church, the departure from or denial of them a departure from or denial of the church.
We would respectfully urge our conviction that there can be no true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints excepting that which is based on the law of the church, and that the observance of the law is not only the contradistinctive feature of the church, but of every individual member thereof. That we may not present an unsupported statement on so important a point, we most respectfully call attention to the following quotations from the Book of Covenants, which we submit as evidence:-
Section 42, paragraph 5 (old edition sec. 18): "The elders, priests, and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fullness of the gospel,
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