Anointed Quorum
title: "Anointed Quorum" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1842-establishments-in-illinois", "1846-disestablishments", "church-of-christ-(latter-day-saints)", "defunct-latter-day-saint-organizations", "history-of-the-latter-day-saint-movement", "latter-day-saint-hierarchy", "religious-organizations-established-in-1842"] topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anointed_Quorum" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
The Anointed Quorum, also known as the Quorum of the Anointed, or the Holy Order, was a select body of men and women who Joseph Smith initiated into Mormon temple ordinances at Nauvoo, Illinois, which gave them special standing in the early Latter Day Saint movement. Beginning in May 1842, Smith gave this group, which ultimately numbered over sixty persons, their washings and anointings and endowments in the upper floor of his Red Brick Store on Water Street, as well as in a few private residences in the city. Most couples, but not all, also received their Second Anointing. Members typically referred to their meetings, which were held usually every two weeks, as prayer circles, because prayer played an important role in the group's religious activities.
Nearly all members of the Anointed Quorum were important leaders and their wives in the church or community, including the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After Smith's death in June 1844, members of the Anointed Quorum continued to meet under the direction of Brigham Young, even admitting additional persons to the group. As the Nauvoo Temple neared completion during 1845, they prepared the building's upper floor for the administration of ordinances. Between December 1845 and February 1846, the Anointed Quorum extended the same rituals they had received from Smith to over 5,000 men and women living in the vicinity of Nauvoo.
After the Mormons left Nauvoo in 1846, the Anointed Quorum ceased to exist as an organized group. The Anointed Quorum dealt essentially with spiritual and sacerdotal matters, but it was never an official administrative body of the church.
Members
The following individuals were members of the Anointed Quorum (spouses are listed together and plural marriage relationships are indicated): ::data[format=table]
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| James Adams | |
| Harriet Denton Adams | |
| [[File:Babbitt.jpg | center |
| [[File:Louisa Beman.jpg | center |
| [[File:John Milton Bernhisel.jpg | center |
| [[File:Reynolds Cahoon.jpg | center |
| [[File:Thirza Stiles Cahoon.jpg | center |
| [[File:William Clayton.jpg | center |
| [[File:Margaret Moon Clayton.jpg | center |
| [[File:Alpheus Cutler.jpg | center |
| [[File:Lois Lathrop Cutler.jpg | center |
| [[File:Elizabeth Davis Brackenbury Durfee.jpg | center |
| Harriet Page Wheeler Decker | |
| [[File:Joseph Fielding.jpg | center |
| [[File:Hannah Greenwood Fielding.jpg | 70px]] |
| Olive Grey Frost | |
| John P. Greene | |
| Charles Hyde | |
| [[File:Orson Hyde.jpg | center |
| [[File:Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde.jpg | center |
| [[File:Zina D. H. Young.JPG | center |
| [[File:Heber Chase Kimball-2.png | center |
| Vilate Murray Kimball | |
| [[File:Helen Mar Kimball.jpg | center |
| Joseph C. Kingsbury | |
| [[File:Sarah Ann Whitney.jpg | center |
| [[File:Mary-Elizabeth-Lightner.jpg | center |
| [[File:William-law-pic.jpg | center |
| Jane Silverthorne Law | |
| Cornelius P. Lott | |
| Permelia Darrow Lott | |
| [[File:Amasamlyman.png | center |
| Mary L. Tanner Lyman | |
| [[File:William Marks (Mormon).jpg | center |
| Rosannah Robinson Marks | |
| George Miller | |
| Mary Catherine Fry Miller | |
| Ruth Moon | |
| [[File:Isaac Morley.jpg | center |
| Lucy Gunn Morley | |
| Fanny Young Murray | |
| Joseph B. Noble | |
| Mary A. Beaman Noble | |
| John E. Page | |
| Mary Judd Page | |
| [[File:OrsonPratt.jpg | center |
| [[File:Parley P Pratt.gif | center |
| [[File:Mary Ann Frost Stearns Pratt.jpg | center |
| [[File:William W. Phelps.jpg | center |
| Sally Waterman Phelps | |
| [[File:Levi Richards.JPG | center |
| [[File:WillardRichards.jpg | center |
| Jennetta Richards Richards | |
| [[File:Rigdon.gif | center |
| [[File:Lucy A. Decker.jpg | center |
| [[File:Sylvia Porter Sessions Lyon Clark.jpg | center |
| [[File:Agnes Moulton Coolbrith.jpg | center |
| [[File:GeorgeAlbertSmith.jpg | center |
| [[File:Bathsheba W. Smith.JPG | center |
| [[File:Hyrum Smith ca 1880-1920.png | center |
| [[File:Mary Fielding Smith.jpg | center |
| [[File:John Smith (uncle of Joseph Smith).jpg | center |
| Clarissa Lyman Smith | |
| [[File:Lucy Mack Smith2.jpg | center |
| [[File:Joseph Smith, Jr. portrait owned by Joseph Smith III.jpg | center |
| [[File:EmmaSmith.jpg | center |
| [[File:Samuel H. Smith.jpg | center |
| [[File:Williamsmith.gif | center |
| [[File:Eliza R. Snow.jpg | center |
| [[File:Orson Spencer.jpg | center |
| Catherine Curtis Spencer | |
| [[File:John Taylor seated in chair.jpg | center |
| Leonora Cannon Taylor | |
| Mercy Fielding Thompson | |
| [[File:Newel K. Whitney.jpg | center |
| [[File:Elizabeth Ann Whitney.jpg | center |
| [[File:Lymanwight8.gif | center |
| [[File:Wilford Woodruff 1889.jpg | center |
| [[File:Phoebe Whittemore Carter.jpg | center |
| Lucien Woodworth | |
| Phebe Watrous Woodworth | |
| [[File:Brigham Young by Charles William Carter.jpg | center |
| [[File:Mary Ann Angell Young2.jpg | center |
| [[File:Joseph Young.jpg | center |
| Jane A. Bicknell Young | |
| :: |
References
- {{cite journal | last = Anderson | first = Devery S. | title = The Anointed Quorum in Nauvoo, 1842-45 | url = http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol29/iss2/1/ | volume = 29 | issue = 2 | journal = Journal of Mormon History | pages = 137–157 | date = Fall 2003
- {{cite book |editor1-last = Anderson |editor1-first = Devery |editor2-last = Bergera |editor2-first = James |year = 2006 |title = Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1945 |publisher = Signature Books |place = Salt Lake City |isbn = 1-56085-186-4 |oclc = 57965858 |url = http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/quorum-of-the-anointed/ |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130202091515/http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/quorum-of-the-anointed/ |archive-date = 2013-02-02
References
- Quinn, D. Michael. ''Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power'' Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1994, p. 482.
- (1959). "The Historical magazine, and notes and queries concerning the antiquities, history, and biography of America". C. Benjamin Richardson: Trübner & co..
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