Robert B. Thompson

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Robert Blashel Thompson (October 1, 1811 – August 27, 1841) [1] was an English-American associate of Joseph Smith Jr., a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Danite, and an official historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Contents

Early life

Thompson was born in Great Driffield, England, on October 1, 1811. [2] He joined the Methodists at an early age and participated in preaching in Yorkshire. In 1834, Thompson emigrated to Upper Canada and settled in Toronto. [3] In May 1836, he was baptized a member of the Church of the Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt. On July 22, 1836, Thompson was ordained an elder in the church by John Taylor. [1]

Life in the United States

Personal life

Thompson moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where the majority of Latter Day Saints were gathering, in May 1837. [2] He married Mercy Rachel Fielding in Kirtland on June 4, 1837. [4] Later that month, the couple traveled to Upper Canada as missionaries for the church. They returned to Kirtland in March 1838.[ citation needed ] They had one child, Mary Jane Thompson. [1] The Thompsons traveled to Far West, Missouri with the family of Hyrum Smith in May 1838. [2]

Latter Day Saint movement

While in Missouri, Thompson was a Danite and participated in the 1838 Mormon War. He was standing next to apostle David W. Patten when Patten was killed at the Battle of Crooked River. [5]

In March 1839, Thompson was the clerk to the disciplinary council convened by Brigham Young that excommunicated a number of prominent Latter Day Saints, including George M. Hinkle, Sampson Avard, John Corrill, W. W. Phelps, Frederick G. Williams, Thomas B. Marsh, and others. [6] At a conference of the church in May 1839, Thompson, Almon W. Babbitt and Erastus Snow were appointed to be a traveling committee that was charged with "gather[ing] up and obtain[ing] all the libelous reports and publications which had been circulated against the Church." [7]

When the Latter Day Saints were forced to leave Missouri, Thompson moved to Quincy, Illinois. [2] He then moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he worked as a scribe for Joseph Smith. [1]

On September 15, 1840, Thompson delivered the funeral oration at the funeral of Joseph Smith Sr., the presiding patriarch of the church. [8] In October 1840, Thompson succeeded Elias Higbee as official Church Historian, and in November of that year, Thompson and Higbee together drafted a petition to the United States Congress for redress of the grievances of the Latter Day Saints from their experiences in Missouri. [9]

Thompson was a colonel and an aide-de-camp in the Nauvoo Legion. [10]

Death

He became Associate Editor of the Times and Seasons newspaper in Nauvoo. [1] Due to the unhealthy conditions in the offices of the Times and Seasons,[ citation needed ] Thompson and Don Carlos Smith both died from pneumonia in August 1841. [1] He was survived by his wife and daughter and was buried at the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo. [11]

Thompson wrote the words to a hymn called "See, the Mighty Angel Flying", which is included in the 1985 English-language LDS Church hymnal as hymn number 330.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McCune, George M. (1991). Personalities in the Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith–History. Salt Lake City, Utah: Hawkes Publishing. p. 140. ISBN   9780890365182.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Robert Blashel Thompson — Biography". The Joseph Smith Papers . Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  3. ↑ Andrew Jenson, Latter Day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia 1:284.
  4. ↑ Biography Archived 2012-01-05 at the Wayback Machine of Mercy Rachel Fielding Thompson, The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed December 28, 2011)
  5. ↑ D. Michael Quinn (1994). Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Salt Lake City: Signature Books).
  6. ↑ Joseph Smith (B. H. Roberts ed.) 1902. History of the Church 3:283–284 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. ↑ Joseph Smith (B. H. Roberts ed.) 1902. History of the Church 3:345 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. ↑ Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed.) 1902. History of the Church 4:191–197.
  9. ↑ Joseph Smith (B. H. Roberts ed.) 1902. History of the Church 4:237, 250–251.
  10. ↑ Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed.) 1902. History of the Church 4:411.
  11. ↑ "Robert B. Thompson", findagrave.com.
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