School of the Prophets (Provo, Utah)

The School of the Prophets in Provo, Utah was established in April 1868. The organization provided theological instruction, and served as a venue for discussing community concerns.

In 1833-1835 Joseph Smith organized several schools, the best known of which is the School of the Prophets. It was to be a school for men preparing to serve missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and while its course of study could be wide-ranging, it was mainly a language and theological school.

In 1868, with the transcontinental railroad approaching Utah (which would supply cheap produced goods in the East to the local population), Brigham Young moved to soften if not halt this economic threat to Mormon self-sufficiency by organizing a number of Schools of the Prophets in various Mormon communities. To be composed of local church leaders and other community leaders, these schools would meet weekly to coordinate the Church's response to the perceived threat to Mormon economic survival. Various programs emerged in the Church, including the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) cooperative movement, with its emphasis on home manufacturing and local control of various planned industries, the reorganization of the Female Relief Societies, and the retrenchment of the Mormon community into more self-contained programs. The Schools discussed matters both temporal and spiritual.

The Provo School of the Prophets was organized by Brigham Young on April 15, 1868. Abraham O. Smoot was appointed president, with Aaron Johnson as vice-president, Alexander F. MacDonald as secretary, and L. John Nuttall as assistant secretary.

From the guide to the Minutes of the School of the Prophets held in Provo, UT : 1868-1871, 1868-1869, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)