Benjamin Franklin Johnson (July 28, 1818 – November 18, 1905) was an early member 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, 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 Lat ...

, and a private secretary to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

. He served fourteen terms in the

Utah Territorial Legislature The Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah was the legislative branch of government in Utah Territory, replacing the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret. The Act of Congress creating the territory in 1850 specified that the t ...

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 wa ...

, 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 Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) and served in the Utah territorial legislature from 1855 to 1867. Johnson left Utah for the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

in 1882, settling in Tempe before going to

Colonia Diaz Colonia may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Colonia (music group), a Croatian dance music group * ''Colonia'' (Autopsia album), 2002 * ''Colonia'' (A Camp album), 2009 * ''Colonia'' (film), a 2015 historical romantic thriller Places *Colonia ...

, Chihuahua, Mexico in 1890 and returning to Arizona in 1892. He died at Mesa.

Plural marriage

Johnson's sister married

as a

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

. 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.

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) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

{{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 Leatherworkers