Elijah Fordham (April 12, 1798 – 1879) was an early member 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 ...

, most well known for having been miraculously healed by

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 ...

in 1839. Fordham was born

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to George Fordham and Mary Baker and married Jane Ann Fisher November 23, 1822. On April 12, 1830 he married Bathiah Fisher. Fordham joined the

Church of the 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 chu ...

in May 1834 in Pontiac, Michigan Territory. On one occasion, he was speaking in tongues and two Frenchmen happened to be passing by the meeting and were amazed to hear someone speaking French. Fordham served as the historian of the section of Zion's Camp that left from Pontiac, Michigan. He later assisted in the building of the

Kirtland Temple The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of La ...

. Ordained an

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

and seventy in 1837, Fordham was ordained a

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

on January 22, 1837. Later in 1837, he assisted Parley P. Pratt in organizing the first branch of the church in New York City. He married for the third time when he took Anna Bibbins Chaffee to wife in Ashford, Connecticut on October 3, 1838. Fordham was healed from the

ague Ague may refer to: * Fever * Malaria * Agué, Benin * Duck ague, a hunting term See also * Kan Ague, a residential area of Patikul, Sulu Patikul, officially the Municipality of Patikul ( Tausūg: ''Kawman sin Patikul''; tl, Bayan ng Patikul ...

by the administration of Joseph Smith at Montrose, Iowa in 1839. Fordham later served on the high council of the

stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

in Iowa. After this, Fordham moved to Nauvoo where he was a member of the Nauvoo Legion and assisted in building 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 ...

. For the temple, Fordham carved the oxen to hold up the baptismal font of the temple. Fordham served as one of the firewardens of Nauvoo. Fordham served another mission in 1843 to

Knox County, Illinois Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 49,967. Its county seat is Galesburg. Knox County comprises the Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Knox County wa ...

. In 1844, Fordham was among the missionaries who were sent with at least one assigned to every congressional district. Fordham came to

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 sta ...

in Edward Hunter's 1850 pioneer company.Pioneer Company Search Results
/ref> Fordham died in Wellsville, Utah.

Notes

References

* Hedges, Andrew H., "Elijah Fordham" in Garr et al., ed., ''Encyclopedia of Latter Day Saint History'', p. 387 * Brown, S. Kent, Donald Q. Cannon and Richard H. Jackson, ed., ''Historical Atlas of Mormonism'', p. 58 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fordham, Elijah 1798 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States Converts to Mormonism Mormon pioneers People from New York City Nauvoo Legion Latter Day Saints from Michigan