John Johnson (1778

Mormon History: 1830 to 1839

John Johnson (1779–1843)

John Johnson was the prosperous farmer of Hiram, Ohio who provided a home for Joseph Smith and his family from September 1831 to April 1832. In his home Joseph and Sidney Rigdon worked on revisions to the Bible and received "the vision" (D&C 76). In March 1832 Joseph and Sidney were dragged from their beds by a mob that included John Johnson Jr., and were tarred and feathered. John Johnson was a member of the United Firm and the Kirtland stake high council until 1837, when he was dropped from the council and his two disillusioned apostle-sons were excommunicated.

Born		April 11, 1778 in Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire	¶ Ancestry.com
Died		July 30, 1843 in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio
Father		Israel Johnson (1732–1802)
Mother		Abigail Higgins (1741–1826)
Marriage		June 22, 1800 marries Alice (Elsa) Jacobs in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
Pomfret, Vermont		1807, Luke is born; 1809, Olmstead; 1811, Lyman; 1813, Emily; 1815, Miranda Nancy; all in Pomfret, Vermont.
Hiram, Ohio		[January 1818] … about the 23d of the same month Samuel Udall, John Johnson, Martin Miller, Charles Loomis and Thomas Cowen left Pomfret and Hartford, Vt., with their families, which were all large, bound for Hiram. Udall had four yoke of oxen, three horses and a cow. The rest were also supplied well with oxen and horses. The weather was cold; the snow was deep, and they were six weeks on the road. Arriving in Hiram March 4, 1818, Udall settled on the west halves of Lots 24 and 27, Johnson on the west ends of Lots 22 and 39, …	Portage history History of Portage County, Ohio (Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885; rev. ed., Portage County Historical Society, Inc., Ravenna, Ohio, 1972). , 470–471.
		February 1818 moves to Hiram, Portage County, Ohio.	Women Women of Mormondom, Edward W. Tullidge (New York: author), 1877. , 229.
Becomes a Methodist		[1826] becomes a Methodist	¶ Luke S. Johnson (h)
Reads Book of Mormon with Ezra Booth		Winter 1830–1831 Ezra Booth, a friend and Methodist minister brings a copy of the Book of Mormon to John, and they sit up all night reading it.	Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde, qtd. in Women Women of Mormondom, Edward W. Tullidge (New York: author), 1877. , 403–404.
Visit Joseph, baptized		[February 1831] As soon as they heard that Joseph Smith had arrived in Kirtland, Mr. Booth and wife and my father and mother went immediately to see him. They were convinced and baptized before they returned. They invited the prophet and Elder Rigdon to accompany them home, which they did, and preached several times to crowded congregations, baptizing quite a number. I was baptized in April following. The next fall Joseph came with his family to live at my father's house.	Joseph healed Elsa's arthritic arm before the party was baptized. ¶ Healings Daughter Marinda Nancy Johnson (1815–1886)—also known as Nancy Marinda, Women Women of Mormondom, Edward W. Tullidge (New York: author), 1877. , 404.
Joseph moves in		September 12, 1831 Joseph and family move into John's home, thirty miles southeast of Kirtland. Joseph makes revisions to the Bible with Sidney, who lives in another building on the farm, as scribe.	TS Times and Seasons 5, no. 7 (Apr. 1, 1844): 481.
The vision		February 16, 1832 Joseph and Sidney experience an hour of "the vision" in John's home.	¶ Joseph Remembered D&C 76
Joseph and Sidney tarred		March 24, 1832 Joseph is taken from John's home to be tarred and feathered by a mob. In the commotion, the young son of John Murdock, whom Joseph and Emma had adopted, suffered from exposure that worsened his case of measles and died.	1832 Tarring
Moves to Kirtland		1833 moves to Kirtland, Ohio.	Marinda Johnson Hyde, Women Women of Mormondom, Edward W. Tullidge (New York: author), 1877. , 404.
Elder		[February 17, 1833, Joseph Smith:] In conference, I ordained John Johnson to the office of Elder.	[MHA], 275. John joined in 1831. Joseph had lived at his home. Why so long before ordination?
Ordained, joins United Firm		June 4, 1833 Joseph receives a revelation to ordain John to the High Priesthood "and he shall seek diligently to take away incumbrances that are upon the house named among you, that he may dwell therein." and made a member of the United Firm; promised eternal life; "ordain him …	¶ D&C 96 Minutes of June 4, 1833
Prays with Joseph		January 11, 1834 joins Joseph, Frederick, N. K. Whitney, Oliver, and Orson Hyde in praying for safety from D. P. Hurlbut and deliverance from debt.	Prayers for Deliverance
Kirtland high council		February 17, 1834 named a member of the first high council of the church, in Kirtland	¶ Minutes of February 17, 1834
Property		April 23, 1834 by revelation John is to give his stewardship lot to Martin Harris, some of John's property is for the church and Oliver. He is to sell the remaining lots—but gets to keep his house.	¶ D&C 104:24, 34–38
		Several of Johnson's sons were of the party [that tarred and feathered Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon]. They were angry because their father was urged by Jo and Rigdon to let them have his property. He finally did give them some of it, and moved to Kirtland and kept tavern.	1832 Tarring Rev. S. F. W. "Statement of Rev. S. F. Whitney on Mormonism" (March 6, 1885), Naked Truths About Mormonism 1, no. 1 (Jan. 1888): 3, cols. 2-7. A. B. Deming, editor. , 4, col. 1.
Attends son's church court		May 29, 1837 attends as member of the high council that fails to act on charges against presidents David Whitmer and F. G. Williams, and apostles Lyman Johnson and Parley P Pratt (h), and Warren Parrish.	Minutes of May 29, 1837
Rejected		September 3, 1837 rejected as a high councilor (no reason given).	¶ Minutes of September 3, 1837

		Family	¶ Ancestry.com
Wife		Alice (Elsa) Jacobs, b. Apr. 17, 1781 in Dighton, Bristol, MA md. June 22, 1800 in Chesterfield, NH d. in July 19, 1870 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, IA
Children	1	Alice (Elsa), b. June 22, 1800 in Chesterfield, NH
	2	Robert, b. Jan. 13, 1802 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT
	3	Fanny, b. Mar. 3, 1803 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT md. Jason Ryder, Jan. 21, 1822 in Hiram, Portage, OH d. Nov. 7, 1879 in Hiram, Portage, OH
	4	John, b. Mar. 10, 1805 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT d. June 19, 1887 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, IA	Member of 1832 mob that attacked Joseph and Sidney. ¶ 1832 Tarring
	5	Luke Samuel, b. Nov. 3, 1807 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT d. Dec. 8, 1861 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, UT
	6	Olmstead G., b. Oct. 20, 1809 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT d. Feb. 24, 1834 in Warrenton, Fauquier, VA	Death: also EMS The Evening and the Morning Star 2, no. 19 (Apr. 1834): 151.
	7	Lyman Eugene, b. October 24, 1811 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT d. Dec. 20, 1859 in Prairie Du Chien, Crawford, WI
	8	Emily H., b. Aug. 13, 1813 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT d. May 14, 1855 in Painesville, Lake, OH
	9	Miranda Nancy, b. June 24, 1815 in Pomfret, Windsor, VT md. Orson Hyde, Sept. 4, 1834, in Kirtland, Geauga, OH d. May 24, 1886 in Spring City, Sanpete, UT	Sacred Loneliness In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Todd Compton (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998). , 229 has birth on June 28.
	10	Mary Beal, b. May 24, 1818 in Hiram, Portage, OH d. March 30, 1833 in Kirtland, Geauga, OH
	11	Justin Jacob, b. Nov. 17, 1820 in Hiram, Portage, OH d. Apr. 25, 1894 in Garner Township, Pottawattamie, IA
	12	Edwin, b. Dec. 1, 1821 in Hiram, Portage, OH
	13	Charlotte, b. Dec. 1, 1821 in Hiram, Portage, OH
	14	Albert G., b. Feb. 6, 1823 in Hiram, Portage, OH
	15	Joseph, b. Dec. 26, 1826 in Hiram, Portage, OH	Sacred Loneliness In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Todd Compton (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998). , 229 has birth in 1827.
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