John Johnson Farm

Last updated
John Johnson Farm
John Johnson Home.jpg
USA Ohio location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in the state of Ohio
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
John Johnson Farm (the United States)
Location Hiram Township, Portage County, Ohio
Coordinates 41°17′48″N81°10′5″W / 41.29667°N 81.16806°W / 41.29667; -81.16806 Coordinates: 41°17′48″N81°10′5″W / 41.29667°N 81.16806°W / 41.29667; -81.16806
Architectural styleColonial
NRHP reference No. 76001512 [1]
Added to NRHP12 December 1976 [1]

The John Johnson farm is a historic home and listing on the National Register of Historic Places in Hiram Township, just west of the village of Hiram, Ohio, United States. The home, built in 1828, is a significant location in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement as the home of Joseph Smith and his family from September 1831 to March 1832. While Smith lived at the home, it served as the headquarters of the Church of Christ and was the site of several revelations to Smith and other Church leaders. The Johnson Farm is also significant as the site of the tarring and feathering of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in March 1832. [2] [3]

Contents

The Smiths returned to Kirtland in 1832 and the Johnsons moved to Kirtland the following year. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the property in 1956 and began using it as a historical site. From 1971 to 2002, the adjoining farm was used to grow and process apples and strawberries as part of the Church’s welfare program. [4] The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and restored to its original appearance in 2001. It continues to operate as a tourist attraction, staffed by volunteer missionaries. [5]

Background

John and Mary Elsa Johnson came to Hiram with their 10 children in 1818 and bought 100 acres (40 ha) on both sides of modern-day Pioneer Trail. Initially, they lived in a log cabin on the south side of the road before building the colonial style house in 1828. The family used the farm to grow apples and corn, along with raising dairy cattle they used to make cheese, which was sold throughout the region and as far away as New York. The Johnsons sold the home and property to the Stevens family in 1833 when they moved to Kirtland and it was passed through four generations before being purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1956. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and restored to its original 1828 appearance between 1996 and 2001, and was rededicated by Church president Gordon B. Hinckley in late 2001. [6]

Doctrinal developments

Several revelations were received by Smith and other church leaders while at the Johnson Farm. Sixteen of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received. Among these revelations were section 1 (the introduction) and section 76 (the vision of the degrees of glory). [7] As part of section 76, Smith and Sidney Rigdon stated, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of [Jesus Christ], this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father". Smith also completed part of his revision of the Bible at the Johnson home. [8]

Tarring and feathering of Joseph Smith

On the night of March 24, 1832, Smith and his wife Emma were caring for their adopted twins, both of whom were sick with the measles. While Joseph was sleeping on the trundle bed on the first floor of the Johnson home, a mob of about 25 attacked him and dragged him out the front door. Smith struggled with the mob but was overcome. The mob choked him, tried to put acid in his mouth, and tarred and feathered him. When Smith got back to the house, Emma thought that the tar was blood and she fainted. Smith's friends spent the rest of the night cleaning the tar off of his body. The next day, Smith preached a sermon to a crowd which included some of the mobbers and baptized three people. One of the twin babies, the eleven-month-old boy named Joseph Murdock Smith, died four days later. [9] [10]

A late second-hand witness, Clark Braden, alleged that Eli Johnson—whom Braden claimed was a son of John Johnson—led the attack and that its intent was to punish Smith for an supposed improper relationship with his sister Marinda. [11] Two other antagonistic witnesses, Hayden and S. F. Whitney, claimed that the motive was economic. However, Eli was, in fact, a brother to John Johnson (and an uncle to Marinda) and was living with the family at the time. [12] [13] The mob enlisted the services of a physician to castrate Smith. However, in the end, the physician refused to administer the procedure. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtland, Ohio</span> City in Ohio, United States

Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first temple, the Kirtland Temple, completed in 1836. The city is also the location for many parks in the Lake Metroparks system, as well as the Holden Arboretum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Rigdon</span> American Mormon leader (1793–1876)

Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Latter Day Saint movement</span> History of the LDS movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.

David Wyman Patten was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was killed at the Battle of Crooked River and is regarded as a martyr by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is referred to twice in the Church of Jesus Christ's Doctrine and Covenants—once in section 114 and posthumously in section 124.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Johnson (Mormon)</span>

Luke Johnson was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 to 1838. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Lyman E. Johnson, and Orson Hyde, his brother-in-law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far West, Missouri</span> Town

Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It is owned and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amasa Lyman</span> American politician

Amasa Mason Lyman was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyman E. Johnson</span>

Lyman Eugene Johnson was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He broke with Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon during the 1837–38 period when schism divided the early church. Johnson later became a successful pioneer lawyer in Iowa and was one of the town fathers of Keokuk, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiram Township, Portage County, Ohio</span> Civil township in Ohio, United States

Hiram Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census listed 2,396 people in the township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Morley</span> Early LDS Church leader

Isaac Morley was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a contemporary of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He was one of the first converts to Smith's Church of Christ. Morley was present at many of the early events of the Latter Day Saint movement, and served as a church leader in Ohio, Missouri, and Utah Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus Billings</span> American Mormon leader (1793–1866)

Titus Billings was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement. He served in several positions in the church and was a contemporary of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Billings was a counselor in the first Bishopric of the Church to Edward Partridge. He participated in the Battle of Crooked River and was a colonel in the Nauvoo Legion. He participated in the Mormon migration as a Captain of Fifty in the second company and was a notable settler of Manti, Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life of Joseph Smith from 1831 to 1834</span>

The life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1831 to 1834, when he was 26–29 years old, covers the period of time from when Smith moved with his family to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1831, to his return from Zion's Camp in 1834. By 1831, Smith had already translated the Book of Mormon, and established the Latter Day Saint movement. He had founded it as the Church of Christ, but was eventually instructed by revelation to change its name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life of Joseph Smith from 1834 to 1837</span>

The life of Joseph Smith from 1834 to 1837, when he was 29–32 years old, covers a period from when Smith returned home to Kirtland, Ohio from Zion's Camp in 1834, until he left Ohio for Missouri early in early January 1838.

Leman Copley was an early convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Connecticut, Copley moved to Rutland County, Vermont, sometime before 1800 and was living in Thompson Township, Ohio, by 1820. Prior to his conversion to the Church of Christ, Copley was a Shaker.

Ezra Booth was an early member in the Latter Day Saint movement who became an outspoken critic of Joseph Smith and the Church of Christ. He was "the first apostate to write publicly against the new Church". Before joining the early Church of Christ in 1831, Booth worked as a Methodist Episcopal minister and a farmer in Ohio. After his baptism, he moved with his family to Kirtland and served as a missionary, preaching in Missouri and Ohio. Booth left the church later in 1831, five months after his baptism. He proceeded to write a series of nine letters denouncing Mormonism that were published by the Ohio Star.

In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with the ordinances performed in Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith. The term has referred to many such gifts of heavenly power, including the confirmation ritual, the institution of the High Priesthood in 1831, events and rituals occurring in the Kirtland Temple in the mid-1830s, and an elaborate ritual performed in the Nauvoo Temple in the 1840s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio</span>

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Ohio. The official church membership as a percentage of general population was 0.52% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 1% of Ohioans self-identify themselves most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church is the 14th largest denomination in Ohio.

John Johnson Sr. was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement in Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Joseph Smith</span> Overview of and topical guide to Joseph Smith

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the life and influence of Joseph Smith:

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "John Johnson Farm, Hiram, Ohio, USA". Mormon Historic Sites Registry. Mormon Historic Sites Foundation. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  3. Becky Cardon Smith (2003). "Hiram, Ohio". LDS Family Travels. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  4. Cahoon, Garth A. (2009). The Historic John Johnson Farm. Garth Cahoon. p. 1.
  5. "Historic Johnson Home". churchofjesuschrist.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  6. Brown, Estelle (August 28, 2015). "John Johnson Home More than a Historic Site". Weekly Villager. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  7. The Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1989. pp. 1–4, 136–144. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  8. Church History, Chronology, Maps, and Photographs. Intellectual Reserve. 1999. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  9. Church History in the Fulness of Times. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1993.
  10. Anderson, Karl Ricks (1989). Joseph Smith's Kirtland. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book.
  11. 1 2 Brodie, Fawn (1945). No Man Knows My History . Alfred A. Knopf. p.  119. ISBN   978-0-679-73054-5.
  12. Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. p. 231.
  13. Caldwell, Michael. For He Is a Descendant of Joseph. up. The John and Alice Johnson Family Archived 2013-05-16 at the Wayback Machine