10. The high council is composed of twelve high priests, presided over by one or three presidents, as circumstances may determine. The high council cannot act unless seven of its members are present; but seven have the power to appoint other high priests to act temporarily in the place of absent councilors. Whenever a high council is organized, the twelve members draw lots for their places. Those who draw the even numbers--two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve--are to stand in behalf of the accused; those drawing the odd numbers in behalf of the accuser. In every case the accused has a right to half the council to prevent injury or injustice. The councilors who represent the accused and accuser respectively, do not become partisans bent on winning their case irrespective of its righteousness or justice; on the contrary, every man is to speak according to equity and truth; and aside from that is merely to see that each party to the issue involved has justice accorded him, and that he be not subjected to insult or injury. [Note 3, end of section.] 11. Whenever the council convenes to act on any case, the twelve councilors are to consider whether it is very difficult or not. If it be not a difficult case, then only two of the councilors, one for the accused and accuser respectively, are appointed to speak. But if the case is accounted difficult, then four are appointed to speak; if still more difficult, six; but in no case are more than six to speak. In all cases both the accuser and accused are to have the privilege of speaking for themselves, {335} after the evidence is all in and the councilors appointed to speak have all spoken. 12. The evidence all in, the speakers for the accused and the accuser having spoken, as also the accused and the accuser, the president gives a decision according to the understanding he has of the case and calls upon the twelve councilors to sustain it by vote. But should the councilors who have not spoken, or any one of them, discover an error in the decision of the president, they have the right to manifest it and the case has a re-hearing. If after a careful re-hearing, additional light is thrown upon the case, the decision is altered accordingly. "But in case no additional light is given, the first decision shall stand, the majority of the council having power to determine the same." [89] Such are the general outlines of the organization of a high council and the manner of procedure before it. [Notes 4 and 5, end of section.] 13. Different Kinds of High Councils.--There are three kinds of high councils in the church. They are similar in organization, and the manner of procedure is practically the same before them all; but they differ in authority and jurisdiction.