Historians have long known of the existence of the Council of Fifty and the minutes of its meetings. Until recently, though, the minutes had never been made available for historical research. Because of their inaccessibility—and because historians knew that they were made during a critical and controversial era of Mormon history—a mystique grew surrounding the records. What did they contain? Why had they been withheld? Here are five insights from these important documents that every Mormon should understand about the Council of Fifty, as adapted from the new book The Council of Fifty: What the Records Reveal about Mormon History.
