-- Sunday, Jun 23, 1889
[Apostle John Henry Smith] At 10 a.m. Conference convened. Singing, Prayer, Singing. Presidents Jones and Richards and five Bishops reported the condition of stakes and wards and in their reports stated that there was a feeling in the breasts of some not to pay tithing. Bro. F. M. Lyman spoke on the subject. (1)
-- Thursday, Oct 10, 1889
[Apostle John Henry Smith] Presidents W. Woodruff, G. Q. Cannon, J. F. Smith, L. Snow, F. D. Richards, B. Young, F. M. Lyman, J. H. Smith, H. J. Grant, J. W. Taylor, A. H. Lund and A. H. Cannon met in Council and talked over tithing matters, the rights of the Presidency and of the Presiding Bishopric. We were together most all day. In the evening L. Snow, B. Young, F. M. Lyman, H. J. Grant, J. W. Young, J. W. Taylor, A. H. Cannon and myself met in Council and came to the conclusion we better build a College and Hotel. (1)
-- Oct 10, 1889
[Heber J. Grant] At ten there was a meeting of the Apostles in the Gardo House, Prayer by A. H. Cannon. Pres[iden]t Woodruff said that there had been an effort since the death of Pres[iden]t Taylor on the part of the Apostles to transfer all of the financial affairs of the church to the Presiding Bishop and his counselors. Said that the proper place for the funds of the church was to have them under the control of the Presidency and the Apostles. He made a number of remarks that would reflect on the action of the Salary Committee that had acted before the formation of the Presidency. He felt that we had now got the Cart before the horse and it was therefore hard shoving. He called on all that were present to express their feelings in the premises. Pres[iden]t Cannon said that in as much as he had not agreed with the brethren in their actions in financial matters at the death of Pres[iden]t Taylor that he would for the present be pleased to be excused from saying anything. Jos
eph F. Smith said that as he understood things that the Presidency of the Church preside over every thing in the Church temporal and spiritual He was emphatically opposed to the secret manipulation of the funds of the church as this was calculated to cause distrust. The Presidency and the Apostles should know everything that was done and we should learn to keep the counsel of our doings to ourselves. All tithings should come through the Presiding Bishop's hands. He did not believe in ignoring the Presiding Bishopric any more than he did in having the Presidency of the Church ignored. All men should be respected in their places and positions. The Presidency preside over all things. President Lorenzo Snow and all of the Apostles said that they had never for one minute taken the position that the Presidency of the Church should not have all of the funds come through the hands of the Bishop. I said as one of the Committee that had made the report that there had never been such a
n idea in the minds of the committee so far as I had the least knowledge to have the funds of the Church placed in the hands of the Presiding Bishop. He was simply to receive them and hold them subject to the orders of the Presidency. Geo[rge] Q. Cannon said that the present arrangement hurt his feelings said the President of the Church could not so much as get a dollar to mend a desk without applying to the Bishop, this was to his mind a humiliating state of affairs. Several of the brethren said that they did not see it in this way and could not see that it was any more humiliating to ask the Bishop for what was wanted than to ask his clerk in case he had one. We all agreed that all of the funds were subject to the order of the President and that there was no need of his stating on his orders what the money was for unless he wished to do so . . . (2)
Footnotes:
1 - Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990
2 - Diary Excerpts of Heber J. Grant,
Mormon Tithing Timeline /Chronology
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
