| 113 At a meeting of the High Council of Far West and the Bishop's Council held at Far West, April 7,1837, a committee on appraising and selling town lots was appointed, consisting of W. W. Phelps, John Whitmer, Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley, and John Corrill, Jacob Whitmer, Elisha H. Groves, and Geo. M. Hinkle were appointed a building committee to build the house of the Lord in Far West.
About May 28, 1837, at a general meeting of the church the following was passed: "Resolved unanimously, that we will not fellowship any ordained member who will not or does not observe the Word of Wisdom according to its literal reading."-Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 9.
On June 11, 1837, the High Council at Far West passed a resolution in regard to the liquor traffic, which is in strict harmony with the one passed at Kirtland, and leaves no doubt as to where the church stood on that question, which had not then agitated the public mind to the extent it has since. 1
On July 4 an excavation was made for the proposed temple, and quite a gathering of saints was had at Far West. Concerning this and other items, W. W. Phelps writes:-
"Far West, Missouri, July 7, 1837.
"Monday, the 3d of July, was a great and glorious day in Far West. More than fifteen hundred saints assembled at this place, and at half past eight in the morning, after prayer, singing, and an address, proceeded to break the ground for the Lord's house. The day was beautiful; the Spirit of the Lord was with us. A cellar for this great edifice, one hundred and ten feet long by eighty feet broad, was nearly finished. On Tuesday, the 4th, we had a large meeting and several of the Missourians were baptized; our meetings, held in the open prairie, were larger than they were in
1 It was reported that certain individuals, not of the church, were desirous or were about to establish themselves as grocers, retailers of spirituous liquors, and so forth, in Far West, whereupon it was resolved that we will not uphold any man or men to take a partner out of the church to trade or traffic in this line of business, or sell for any man or men out of the church, in his name, or on commission.-Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 11.
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