Benjamin Franklin Johnson (July 28, 1818 – November 18, 1905) was an early member of

Latter Day Saint Movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, and a member of the

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a La ...

and a formerly private secretary to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

. He served fourteen terms in the

Utah State Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term li ...

and was also a brickmaker, merchant, tavern keeper, leatherworker, farmer, nurseryman, and beekeeper.Biography
of Benjamin F. Johnson, The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed January 10, 2012)

Early life

Born to Ezekiel Johnson and Julia Hills at

Pomfret, New York Pomfret is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 13.236 at the 2020 census. The town lies in the north-central part of the county, south of Dunkirk, and includes the village of Fredonia. History The area was ...

, he moved to Kirtland, Ohio in 1833. He married Melissa Bloomfield LeBaron on Christmas Day, December 25, 1841.

Latter Day Saint Movement

Benjamin was baptized into the Church of the Latter Day Saints at Kirtland by Lyman E. Johnson in the spring of 1835. Heber C. Kimball ordained him an elder March 10, 1839 at Far West, Missouri and John Smith ordained him a high priest in 1843 at Ramus, Illinois. He served as a missionary for his new faith to the eastern United States and Upper Canada between 1840 and 1842. He was appointed to Joseph Smith's Council of Fifty in 1843. In 1838 he moved to

Adam-ondi-Ahman Adam-ondi-Ahman (, sometimes clipped to Diahman) is a historic site in Daviess County, Missouri, about five miles south of Jameson. It is located along the east bluffs above the Grand River. According to the teachings of the Church of Jesus C ...

, Missouri where he was arrested and kept under guard for eight days in intensely cold weather before an open campfire. While he was sitting on a log, a "brute" came up to him with a rifle in his hands and said, "You give up Mormonism right now, or I'll shoot you." Benjamin decisively refused, upon which the ruffian took deliberate aim at him and pulled the trigger. The gun failed to discharge. Cursing fearfully, the man declared that he had "used the gun 20 years and it had never before missed fire." Examining the lock, he reprimed the weapon and again aimed and pulled the trigger—without effect. Following the same procedure he tried a third time, but the result was the same. A bystander told him to "fix up his gun a little" and then "you can kill the cuss all right." So for a fourth and final time the would-be murderer prepared, even putting in a fresh load. However, Benjamin declared, "This time the gun bursted and killed the wretch upon the spot." One of the Missourians was heard to say, "You'd better not try to kill that man." He moved to Springfield, Illinois in 1839, Ramus (later Webster) in 1842, Nauvoo in 1845, and Bonaparte, Iowa Territory in 1846. In 1848 he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) and served in the Utah territorial legislature from 1855 to 1867. Johnson left Utah for the Arizona Territory in 1882, settling in Tempe before going to Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico in 1890 and returning to Arizona in 1892. He died at Mesa.

Plural marriage

Johnson's sister married

as a plural marriage. Johnson records the event where Joseph Smith approached Johnson about the arrangement: Johnson himself became a noted polygamist, and would eventually have eight wives.

Relations

Johnson was the brother of hymnwriter Joel H. Johnson.

LeBaron Family

In 1955, the LeBaron Family, who form the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a

Mormon fundamentalist Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, ...

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that ...

headquartered in northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, by claimed priesthood authority through Benjamin.Brian C. Hales (2006). ''Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books) * Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. (grandson) **

Joel LeBaron Joel Franklin LeBaron (June 9, 1923 – August 20, 1972) was a Mormon fundamentalist leader in northern Mexico. He was murdered by a member or members of a rival church which was headed by his brother Ervil LeBaron. Early life LeBaron was born ...

Ervil LeBaron Ervil Morrell LeBaron (February 22, 1925 – August 15, 1981) was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents, using the religious doctrine of blood atonement to justify the murder ...

References

External links

''Our Heritage''
p. 49
Profile from BYU
*
Johnson Family journals and correspondence, MSS 3095
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Benjamin F. 1818 births 1905 deaths American expatriates in Mexico American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Converts to Mormonism Latter Day Saints from Arizona Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Missouri Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Ohio Latter Day Saints from Utah Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon fundamentalism Mormon pioneers People from Pomfret, New York