To Untie the Feet of the Twelve

To Untie the Feet of the Twelve. . Learning the will of God concerning Church leadership took unified thoughts and prayers., On December 5, 1847, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met in Kanesville. Their meeting lasted late into the night. Under the leadership of Brigham Young, they wrestled with a troubling question they had been pondering for months: How could they manage the administration of the Church and still fulfill their calling to travel and testify of Jesus Christ?, As they counseled together and prayed for guidance, they received a unified witness. They would return to a leadership pattern set by the Church's founder, Joseph Smith. They would reestablish the First Presidency of the Church, three priesthood leaders to oversee Church administration. Brigham Young said that this action would "untie the feet of the Twelve.", Henry Miller oversaw the construction of a log meetinghouse, or tabernacle, where the Apostles could present their decisions to Church members. On December 27, 1847, Latter-day Saints crowded into the new tabernacle. They unanimously voted to sustain a new First Presidency: Brigham Young as President of the Church, Heber C. Kimball as First Counselor, and Willard Richards as Second Counselor., For the next several years, most of the Twelve Apostles began to fulfill their callings as special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Along with three new members of the quorum who filled the vacancy left by the First Presidency, they preached and organized branches of the Church around the world., 1848–50 Wilford Woodruff : (A) Eastern United States , 1848–51 Orson Pratt : (B) British Isles , 1848–52 Orson Hyde : (A) Eastern United States , 1849–51 John Taylor : (C) France · (D) Germany , 1850–52 Erastus Snow : (E) Scandinavia , 1850–52 Lorenzo Snow : (F) Italy · (G) Switzerland , 1850–54 George A. Smith : (H) Utah Territory , 1851–52 Franklin D. Richards : (B) British Isles , 1851–52 Parley P. Pratt : (J) California · (K) Chile , 1851–57 Amasa Lyman : (L) California , 1852 Charles C. Rich : (L) California