Samuel Bent (July 19, 1778 – August 16, 1846) was 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 leader in the early years of

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). Bent was born in

Barre Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre (ci ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also being the largest in area. The largest city and tra ...

. He lived in New York and Michigan through much of his life and was a Congregationalist and Presbyterian. He married Mary Hilbourne when he was 27, and the couple had four children. In January 1833, he was baptized a member of the Church of Christ by Jared Carter in Pontiac, Michigan. Within a few days he was serving as a missionary. Bent was a member of

Zion's Camp Zion's Camp was an expedition of Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Smith, from Kirtland, Ohio, to Clay County, Missouri, during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settle ...

, and spent time between Michigan and

Kirtland, Ohio 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 t ...

, for the next few years. He attended the

School of the Prophets In the early Latter Day Saint movement, the School of the Prophets (School, also called the "school of the elders" or "school for the Prophets") was a select group of early leaders who began meeting on January 23, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio under th ...

. In 1836 he moved to Liberty, Missouri. He was one of the main targets of the mobs in that place that caused the Latter Day Saints to relocate to Caldwell County, Missouri, where Bent was a key figure in the founding of Far West, Missouri. After his wife Hilbourne died, he married Lettuce Palmer in 1837. After going to Nauvoo, Illinois, at the time the Latter Day Saints were driven out of Missouri, Bent served as a colonel in the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

and as a member of the Council of Fifty. In 1846 he was appointed as president of the Latter Day Saints in

Garden Grove, Iowa Garden Grove is a small town in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 174 at the time of the 2020 census. History On April 24, 1846, emigrants affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction ...

, an office he filled until his death.

References

External links

Samuel Bent list of contributions
L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

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 ...

Samuel Bent bond to Joseph Smith, Jr.
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Samuel Bent account of subscriptions for printing books
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University {{DEFAULTSORT:Bent, Samuel 1778 births 1846 deaths American Latter Day Saint missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Converts to Mormonism from Presbyterianism Doctrine and Covenants people Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Michigan People from Barre, Massachusetts People from Far West, Missouri People from Nauvoo, Illinois People from Pontiac, Michigan Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles

References

Further reading

External links