Elias Higbee (October 23, 1795 – June 8, 1843) was an associate of

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, h ...

, a prominent

Danite The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a ...

, and an official historian and recorder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Biography

Born in

Galloway Township Galloway Township is a township in Atlantic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At of total area of land and water, Galloway Township is the largest municipality in the state.New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

to Isaac Higbee and Sophia Somers, Higbee joined the Latter Day Saint church in 1832 in

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

."Elias Higbee"
,

The Joseph Smith Papers ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a project researching, collecting, and publishing all manuscripts and documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint ...

, josephsmithpapers.org (accessed January 9, 2012). He and his family joined the gathering of Latter Day Saints in

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 18 ...

, later that year. In 1833 the Higbees and other Latter Day Saints attempted to settle in

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...

, but were forced to return to Kirtland in 1835. They again tried to settle in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in 1836, this time in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

. While in Missouri, Higbee was a Caldwell County judge and a leading officer of the county militia. He also served missions in Missouri,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, and Ohio. Eventually, the events of the

1838 Mormon War The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three " Mormon Wars". Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by Jo ...

again forced the Higbees to leave Missouri and by 1839 they had settled with the majority of Latter-Day Saints in Commerce, Illinois, which would later be renamed Nauvoo. In 1838, Higbee became the official

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

of the church, and in 1840 he became the church's recorder. In 1839 and 1840, Higbee traveled with Joseph Smith to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to submit a petition for redress to U.S. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

.Gary James Bergera
"Buckeye's Laments: Two Early Insider Exposés of Mormon Polygamy and their Authorship"
''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', Winter 2003. On October 8, 1840, Higbee was appointed by Smith to the committee charged with organizing the construction 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 ...

.Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed.) 1902. '' History of the Church'
5:421
Higbee unexpectedly died of cholera on June 8, 1843 in Nauvoo. After his death, Smith stated that Higbee "will again come forth and strike hands with the faithful, and share the glory of the kingdom of God for ever and ever." He was married to Sarah Ward and was the father of twelve children.

Higbee's questions in the Doctrine and Covenants

In the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Ch ...

, part of the

scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pract ...

canon of several denominations of the

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 Jo ...

, answers to several questions about the meaning of the Book of Isaiah posed by Higbee to Joseph Smith are reproduced and have been canonized:

Questions by Elias Higbee: What is meant by the command in Isaiah, 52d chapter, 1st verse, which saith: Put on thy strength, O Zion—and what people had Isaiah reference to? nswer:He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost. What are we to understand by Zion loosing herself from the bands of her neck; 2d verse? We are to understand that the scattered remnants are exhorted to return to the Lord from whence they have fallen; which if they do, the promise of the Lord is that he will speak to them, or give them revelation. See the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses. The bands of her neck are the curses of God upon her, or the remnants of Israel in their scattered condition among the Gentiles.Doctrine and Covenants 113:7-10
(LDS Church ed.). This exchange has not been included in the version of the Doctrine and Covenants used by the
Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
.

Notes

External links

Elias Higbee receipt to Joseph Smith, Jr.

L. Tom Perry Special Collections The L. Tom Perry Special Collections is the special collections department of Brigham Young University (BYU)'s Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1957 with 1,000 books and 50 manuscript collections, as of 2016 the Library's speci ...

, Harold B. Lee Library,

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-day ...

Elias Higbee account
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Elias Higbee account, 1842
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University , - ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #FABE60;" , Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , - ,

Succeeded by

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Higbee, Elias 1795 births 1843 deaths Danites Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Missouri Latter Day Saints from Ohio Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Missouri state court judges Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Galloway Township, New Jersey Religious leaders from New Jersey Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles