Granville Hedrick
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Granville Hedrick (September 2, 1814 – August 22, 1881) was a leader in 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 ...
after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1863, Hedrick became the founding leader of the
Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members ...
, which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...
founded by
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 ...
in 1830.


Latter Day Saint church membership

In 1843 at
Woodford County, Illinois Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 38,467. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Its name comes from General Will ...
, Hedrick 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 ...
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 durin ...
by Hervey Green, a
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 ...
for the church. Green also ordained Hedrick to the priesthood office of elder shortly after he was baptized. Soon after his baptism, he became dissatisfied with the church and moved to
Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
to work in the lead mines. After Smith's death in June 1844, a number of Latter Day Saint leaders, including
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 ...
,
Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He ...
, and
James Strang James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination. In 1844, he said he ...
, claimed to be Smith's rightful successor as leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which Smith had founded in 1830 as the
Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...
. Each leadership candidate established rival organizations, each claiming to be the true successor of the church. Sometime after Smith's death, Hedrick was re-baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by William O. Clark. Hedrick traveled to
Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...
, to join the body of Latter Day Saints led by Brigham Young. However, he considered the conditions in Nauvoo dangerous and volatile at the time, and instead settled in Crow Creek, Illinois under the spiritual leadership of Gladden Bishop.


Leadership of unaffiliated branches

By the late 1850s, Brigham Young's organizations of Latter Day Saints had moved to
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, and Sidney Rigdon's organization had dissolved. However, a number of
branches A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includi ...
of Latter Day Saints in Illinois and
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
remained. At this time, these branches were not formally affiliated with any Latter Day Saint organization. Among these was a branch of Latter Day Saints in Crow Creek, Illinois, which had been led by Hedrick since April 1857. In June 1857, Hedrick's branch and Latter Day Saints from other unaffiliated branches gathered for a joint conference. The conference was attended by
John E. Page John Edward Page (February 25, 1799 – October 14, 1867) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Born in Trenton, New York, Page was the son of Ebenezer and Rachel Page. He was baptized into the Church of Christ on August 18, 183 ...
, one of the men who had been an
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
of the church during Joseph Smith's leadership of the church. Following the conference, Page became a supporter of these unaffiliated branches of Latter Day Saints and they continued to gather together for conferences of what they felt was the continuing remnant of the true Church of Christ. At a May 1863 conference of these branches, Page ordained Hedrick, David Judy, Jedediah Owen, and Adna C. Haldeman to the priesthood office of
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
. At a conference in July 1863, it was proposed that the members of the unaffiliated branches nominate a person to be president of the high priesthood of the church. Page nominated Hedrick, and with the assent of the Latter Day Saints at the conference, Page, Judy, Owen and Haldeman ordained Hedrick to be the president of the high priesthood and a prophet, seer, revelator, and translator to the Church of Christ, all positions which had been held by Joseph Smith. In typical fashion among various factions of the Latter Day Saint movement, believers associated with Hedrick were nicknamed '' Hedrickites''.


Revelations

Within one month of his ordination in mid-July, 1863, Hedrick began to produce
revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...


stating that the pride of Joseph Smith led him to produce false revelations. As a result, Smith was said to have introduced doctrines to the church that were inconsistent with the word of God as found in the Bible and the ''
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...
''. Hedrick declared Smith to be a "fallen prophet". Eventually, Hedrick decided that among the errors introduced by Smith were the creation of a
president of the church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the president of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...
and
First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
of the church. Thereafter, Hedrick repudiated his 1863 ordination to these positions, holding that the true Church of Christ was to be headed only by a presiding elder, an office which was done away with by a vote of
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
s in 1925. Other doctrines rejected by Hedrick included
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 ...
,
celestial marriage Celestial marriage, also called the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, Eternal Marriage (synonymized after 1890), or Temple Marriage, is a doctrine that marriage can last forever in heaven that is taught in the Church of Jesus Christ o ...
, exaltation and
plurality of gods In orthodox Mormonism, the term God generally refers to the biblical God the Father, whom Latter Day Saints also refer to as ''Elohim'' or Heavenly Father, while the term ''Godhead'' refers to a council of three distinct divine persons cons ...
,
tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
as one-tenth of income, and the existence of the priesthood office of
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 organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...
.


Move to Jackson County, Missouri

On April 24, 1864, Hedrick produced a revelation directing his followers to return to
Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
in
Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...
in 1867 to initiate a re-gathering of Latter Day Saints to the region. Granville's wealthy brother John A. Hedrick and two other families were apparently the first "Mormons" to return to Independence and reside there, John Hedrick purchased a farm east of the city on October 11, 1865. About sixty Hedrickites moved by covered wagons to Jackson County in February 1867. Hedrick's followers were the first group of Latter Day Saints to return to this area where they had been driven out in the late 1830s by the Missourian " extermination order". Granville Hedrick himself, ironically, did not move to Independence ''"...until late 1868 or early 1869. Records show that on May 29, 1868, Granville was still in Illinois when he executed a “
Power of Attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
” in behalf of his brother John Hedrick..."'' By 1877, the Hedrickites had purchased the most prominent portion of a plot of land which Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had dedicated in 1831 as the future location of a
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
headquartering a "
New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...
", a sacred city to be built preparatory to the
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...
of
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
. As a result of their ownership over this strategic property—later discovered to contain the buried "marker" stones emplaced by Joseph Smith in 1831—Hedrick's church came to be called the
Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members ...
. The church exists today with a worldwide membership of approximately 5000. Hedrick died at Independence and was buried at the "Hedrick Cemetery" about three miles (5 km) northeast of the
Temple Lot The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a Temple (Latter Day Saints), temple in the Latter Day Saint movement. The area was dedicated on August 3, 1831, by the movement's found ...
. His widow, Eliza Ann Jones Hedrick, died in Independence on April 6, 1910, and their son James A. Hedrick, who had served as the church's "General Secretary," died in Independence, age 60, on April 22, 1926.Missouri Death Certificates 1910-1959
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See also

*
Temple Lot Case The ''Temple Lot Case'' (also known as the ''Temple Lot Suit'' and formally known as ''The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, complainant, v. the Church of Christ at Independence, Missouri'') was a United States legal case ...


References


External links

*, from the
Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members ...
website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedrick, Granville 1814 births 1881 deaths American Latter Day Saint leaders American Latter Day Saints Founders of new religious movements Church of Christ (Temple Lot) members Converts to Mormonism History of the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint leaders Prophets in Mormonism Religious leaders from Illinois