Elam Luddington, Jr. (also spelled Ludington; November 23, 1806 – March 22, 1893) was a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

, officer in the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to Jul ...

, first

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

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) to preach in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and 2nd City Marshall for Salt Lake City. Luddington was born in

Harwinton, Connecticut Harwinton ( ) is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,484 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hil ...

, to Elam Luddington, Sr. and Lena Monger. Luddington traveled to Nauvoo and met Joseph Smith, Jr. in the winter of 1840. On May 16 of that year, he was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

by Smith into 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 restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

. He was ordained as an Elder that fall, and shortly thereafter Luddington and Eli G. Terrill were assigned as missionaries to the city of New Orleans (making them among the first Mormon missionaries to proselyte in the state of Louisiana). Luddington spent nearly three years in New Orleans. In June 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother,

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Jos ...

, requested that he travel as a missionary to

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, in order to gather funds for the completion of the

Nauvoo Temple The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Jose ...

. After Joseph Smith's death, Luddington followed the leadership of

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

and the remaining members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In September 1844 Luddington returned briefly to New Orleans together with

Theodore Turley Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (give ...

per Young's request, though this excursion to Louisiana lasted only 29 days. When he returned to Nauvoo, Luddington was ordained as a High Priest. In January 1845 Luddington was sent on his third mission with William Hyde as his companion, to visit the Saints in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and encourage them to gather at Nauvoo. They fulfilled their objective in less than two months and returned to Nauvoo. Luddington later followed Young and the other Apostles west to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

in 1846 and 1847, Luddington was a 1st lieutenant in the

. Members of his family marched with the battalion (including his wife, Mary, (served as laundress); his mother; daughter (Angeline); and "one other" child. He first reached the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 with the sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion, but quickly crossed the plains once again to return to Winter Quarters. In 1849 Luddington again made the trek, now with his family, as part of Silas Richards' Company, in which Luddington served as a captain of ten. In 1853, Young called four

Latter-day Saint 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 b ...

s, Luddington, Chauncey W. West, Franklin Denny and Levi Savage, to serve LDS Church missions in India and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

. The four arrived by ship in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India on April 26, 1853. Luddington and Savage tried to reach Siam via

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, Burma, but the ship sprang a leak and they were forced to return to India. After the ship was repaired, Luddington and Savage arrived in Yangon on August 10, 1853. In late September 1853 Matthew McCune (a member of the British military) and Elder Luddington severed Elder Savage from the church. This forced Elder Savage to depart Rangoon (Yangon) for Maulmain, Burma. While Elder Savage was in Maulmain, Elder Luddington departed Rangoon for Bangkok. Luddington arrived in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

by ship on June 4, 1854, almost a year after he had left the United States. He tried to learn to speak Thai, but found it difficult and was forced to limit his preaching to Europeans. During his four months in Siam, Luddington baptized James Trail, the captain of the ship he arrived on, and Trail's wife. Luddington reported that he was stoned twice and

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

ed once by his opponents in Thailand. Luddington returned to Utah Territory in 1855. Luddington practiced

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 ...

and was married to three wives. He died in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

References

Sources

* Journal of Levi Savage Jr. Savage, Levi. "Diaries, 1852-1903" MSS 417, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.

External links

* Joan Porter Ford and LaRene Porter Gaunt
“The Gospel Dawning in Thailand,”
''

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

'', September 1995, p. 48 {{DEFAULTSORT:Luddington, Elam 1806 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Latter Day Saints from Connecticut American Mormon missionaries in the United States American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Converts to Mormonism Members of the Mormon Battalion Mormon pioneers People from Harwinton, Connecticut People from Salt Lake City American Mormon missionaries in Thailand Mormon missionaries in Myanmar American expatriates in Myanmar Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Utah