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The Council of Fifty (also known as the Living Constitution, the Kingdom of God, or its name by revelation, The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ)〔; .〕 was a Latter Day Saint organization established by Joseph Smith in 1844 to symbolize and represent a future theocratic or theodemocratic "Kingdom of God" on the earth. Smith and his successor Brigham Young hoped to create this Kingdom in preparation for the Millennium and the Second Coming of Jesus. The political Kingdom of God, organized around the Council of Fifty, was meant to be a force of peace and order in the midst of this chaos. According to Mormon teachings, while Jesus himself would be king of this new world government, its structure was in fact to be quasi-republican and multi-denominational; therefore, the early Council of Fifty included both Mormons and non-Mormons. Although the Council played a significant role during the last few months of Joseph Smith's life, particularly in his campaign for President of the United States, the Council's role was mostly symbolic throughout the 19th century within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was largely because the Council was primarily meant for a time when secular governments had ceased to function. Regular meetings of the Council ended in 1884, after the church publicly abandoned its theocratic aspirations. Some contend that the organization was technically extinguished when member Heber J. Grant died in 1945. ==Establishment== In early Mormonism, God's Kingdom was thought of as an amalgamation between two distinct yet intimately related parts. The first is the Spiritual Kingdom of God which is represented on earth by the Church of Christ. This, Mormons believe, was described in the Book of Daniel 2:44–45 as the stone "cut out of the mountain without hands" that will roll forth to fill the whole earth. In Daniel, this kingdom was never to "be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."〔Daniel 2:44 (KJV)〕 However, in conjunction with this Spiritual Kingdom, Joseph Smith and other early Latter Day Saint leaders believed that Jesus would establish a Political Kingdom of God in the turbulent times leading up to His second coming.〔Journal of Discourses 1:202–3, 2:189, and 17:156–7.〕 God's Political Kingdom was to be centered around the Council of Fifty. Like many in the mid-19th century, the Mormons believed that the second coming of Jesus was imminent, and would be attended by great destruction. After this destruction occurred, some structure would be necessary to politically organize the survivors. Joseph Smith said he received a revelation on April 7, 1842 calling for the establishment of an organization called the Living Constitution, or later the Council of Fifty. This would serve as the foundation for the establishment of Christ's Millennial government. However the actual organization of the Council of Fifty by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois on March 11, 1844, was due to a present danger rather than a millennial belief. William Law was organizing a band of men to overthrow and murder Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith.〔Cummings, The Conspiracy of Nauvoo, The Contributor, 1884, pp. 251-260, available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=aNURAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA251, retrieved June 21, 2014.〕 On March 26, 1844, it appears Joseph conferred the keys of ecclesiastical authority on the Twelve Apostles in a meeting of the Council of Fifty, telling them "It may be that my enemies will kill me...should any of you be killed, you can lay your hands upon others and fill up your quorum. ...if you are called to lay down your lives, die like men."〔Alexander L. Baugh and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, “I Roll the Burthen and Responsibility of Leading This Church Off from My Shoulders on to Yours”: The 1844/1845 Declaration of the Quorum of the Twelve Regarding Apostolic Succession, BYU Studies Vol 49:3 (2010), p. 18.〕 The timing of the last meeting of the Law conspiracy appears to have been Sunday, March 31, as Joseph told two young men who were infiltrating the conspiracy, "If you have to die, die like men... but I hardly think they will (you ), as you are so young."〔Cummings, The Conspiracy of Nauvoo, The Contributor, 1884, p. 253, available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=aNURAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA258, retrieved June 21, 2014.〕 The similarity in the foreboding sentiment expressed to the apostles and to the young spies is striking. For some reason the conspiracy did not immediately attack after the conspirators took their murderous oaths as witnessed by the two spies. Perhaps believing the danger was past, Joseph Smith was "chosen as our Prophet, Priest, and King by Hosannas," as recorded by "clerk of the Kingdom", William Clayton, on April 11, 1844. However Law and his conspirators would go on to publish the Nauvoo Expositor, starting a chain of events leading to Joseph's death on June 27, 1844. According to John D. Lee, the official scribe of the Council, the organization was meant to be the "Municipal department of the Kingdom of God set upon the earth, and from which all law emanates, for the rule, government & controle of all Nations Kingdoms & toungs and People under the whole Heavens." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Council of Fifty」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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