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| Member of the first seven presidents
of the Seventy, charter member of the Kirtland Safety Society, Kirtland
dissenter. |
| Born |
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1800 in Connecticut |
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1860 Census, Kirtland, Ohio
¶ Ancestry.com (subscribers)
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| Died |
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1868 in Kirtland, Ohio |
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| Occupation |
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Farmer |
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| Ordinations |
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Elder, 1833 |
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High priest, 1834 |
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One of the first seven presidents
of the First Quorum of Seventy, February 28, 1835 |
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| Events |
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1830 resident of Warsaw, Genesee
County, New York. |
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| Mission |
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January 1833
teach and baptize Truman O. Angell with Elder Aaron Lyons. |
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Angell journal, 196. |
| Zion's
Camp |
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1834 Zion's Camp. |
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Zion's
Camp |
| Rebuked |
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February 12, 1834 rebuked by high
council for breaking the Word of Wisdom and selling revelations at exorbitant
prices. |
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¶
Minutes of Feb. 12, 1834 |
| Witness |
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July 31, 1834 one of the principal
witnesses in the Hulet branch case. |
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¶
Minutes of July 31, 1834 |
| D&C |
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August 17, 1835 bears witness at
the General Assembly to the first edition of the D&C. |
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Minutes
of Aug. 17, 1835 |
| Friend
of Joseph |
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[December 10, 1835 Joseph Smith:]
I would remember Elder Leonard Rich, who was the first one that proposed
to the brethren to assist me, in obtaining wood for the use of my family,
for which I pray my heavenly Father to bless <him> with all the blessings,
named above, and I shall ever remember him with much gratitude, for this
testimony, of benevolence and respect, and thank the great I am, for puting
into his heart to do me this kindness. |
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blessings: Blessings
for those who brought him a supply of winter's wood: health for their
families, strength, powers of intellect and understanding hearts, preservation
from plauges, pestilence, famine, power of the adversity, peace and
happiness forever, everlasting life in the celestial kingdom. Diary-2
in Papers 2:99–100. |
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December 23, 1835 accompanies Joseph
to Oliver Cowdery's home "to visit his relatives; but had a very
agreeable visit, for he found them filled with prejudice against the work
of the Lord, and their minds blinded with superstition and ignorance."
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in Papers
2:177. |
| Supports Almon Babbitt |
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December 28, 1835 when high council hears Joseph
Smith's charge that Almon Babbitt has been speaking against him, Leonard
testifies "from what he
heard from Babbitt, he thought he had nothing against J. Smith Junr." |
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Minutes
of Dec. 28, 1835 |
| Mission |
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April 12, 1836 leaves on a mission
to northwest New York, later writing the Messenger and Advocate that
he had preached seven discourses and baptized nine. |
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[SHOWREF-MA] 2, no. 9 (June 1836): 330. |
| Warning-out
petition |
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November 7, 1836 signs petition
warning Kirtland's justice of the peace to leave the county
immediately. Seventy-one signatories include Joseph Smith, Oliver
Cowdery,
Sidney Rigdon, Frederick G. Williams,
Brigham Young, and Parley P. Pratt (h). |
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Petition
of Joseph Smith Jr. to Ariel Hanson. Lake County Historical Society, Mentor,
Ohio, cited in Origins, 91, 331n43. |
| Kirtland
bank |
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January 2, 1837 signs new constitution
of the Kirtland Safety Society. |
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MA,
3 (March 1837) |
| Release |
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April 6, 1837 released with other
presidents of the Seventy who had been ordained high priests prior to their
calling to the Seventy. |
| Dissenter |
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Fall 1837 Kirtland dissenter. |
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CHC 1:405. |
| Sues
for debt |
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When the bank
fails, Leonard and Roger Orton, "who who kept the meat market," sue
Jonathan Crosby to recover money he owes them. Caroline Barnes Crosby
later wrote, "Alas
thought I, the trials that I had heard the elders preach of were in reality
coming upon us. As to poverty we could endure that patiently, but trials
among false brethren, who can endure with patience? Many of our most intimate
associates were among the apostates."
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Caroline Barnes Crosby journal in Women's voices, 56. |
| Transgressor |
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September 4, 1837 Joseph declares
Leonard is in transgression and in danger of losing his standing. |
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¶
Scriptory Book |
| Excommunicated |
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December 1837 excommunicated. |
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Origins,
574. |
| Joins
Warren Parrish |
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February 5, 1838 signs Warren
Parrish's
declaration that Joseph and Sidney "lie by revelation, swindle by revelation,
cheat and defraud by revelation, runaway by revelation." |
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Origins,
574. |
| "Drunk" |
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August 1838 described in the Elders
Journal as "generally so drunk, that he had to support himself
by something to keep him from falling down." |
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¶
Argument to Argument |
| Sidney's
church |
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April 8, 1845 ordained a seventy
in Sidney's Church of Christ. |
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Origins,
574. |
| Kirtland
takeover |
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October 22, 1845 a letter from Reuben
McBride in Kirtland arrives in Nauvoo, stating that "apostates …have
broken into the House of the Lord, and taken possession of it, and are trying
to take possession of the church farm." "Leaders of the rioters"
were S. B. Stoddard, Jacob Bump, Hiram Kellogg,
Leonard Rich, and Jewel Raney.
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HC 7:484. |
| David
Whitmer |
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1846 joins William E. McLellin (h)
in urging David Whitmer to organize a Church of Christ. |
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Petrel, 88–90. |
| Strang's
church |
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August 7, 1846 joins James J. Strang's
Church of Jesus Christ, presides over its Kirtland branch. |
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Origins,
574–575. |
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October 16, 1846 urges Strang to
renounce John C. Bennett's Order of the Illuminati. |
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Origins, 575. |
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December 13, 1846 leads Kirtland
Strangites in rejecting Strang. |
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Origins, 575. |
| David
Whitmer's church |
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February 13, 1847 joins David
Whitmer's
Church of Christ and is reordained. |
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Origins, 575. |
| Church of Christ excommunicates William E.
McLellin |
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June 3, 1849 one of four elders present at the excommunication of William
E. McLellin from the new Church of Christ, the others being M. C. Isham,
Alfred Bonney, and Jacob Bump, as well
as Martin Harris, president, and Isaac N. Aldrich, secretary. |
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Gospel Herald (Voree,
Wisconsin) July 5, 1849. Link |
| William
Swartzell's church |
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September–October, 1857 joins
Martin Harris in supporting William Swartzell's church in Kirtland. |
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Origins, 575. |
| Opposes
Joseph III |
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July 1860 opposes designation of
Joseph Smith III as president of RLDS Church, and organizes his own church
of seven people in Kirtland. |
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Origins, 575. |
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Families |
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| Wife |
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Keziah md. [1823],
8+ children |
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Origins, 574. |
| Wife |
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Marina Bassett md.
1858 (not a plural wife) |
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Biographies
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