Amasa Lyman
Amasa Lyman | |
---|---|
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
October 6, 1845 | – October 6, 1867|
End reason | Stripped of Apostleship and position in Quorum for repeatedly teaching false doctrine |
Counselor in the First Presidency | |
February 4, 1843 | – June 27, 1844|
End reason | Dissolution of First Presidency upon the death of Joseph Smith |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
August 20, 1842 | – January 20, 1843|
End reason | Dropped from Quorum due to an excess of apostles occasioned by the readmission of Orson Pratt to the Quorum |
Latter Day Saint Apostle | |
August 20, 1842 | – October 6, 1867|
Reason | Excommunication of Orson Pratt[1] |
End reason | Stripped of Apostleship for repeatedly teaching false doctrine |
Reorganization at end of term | No apostles ordained[2] |
Personal details | |
Born | Amasa Mason Lyman March 30, 1813 Lyman, New Hampshire, United States |
Died | February 4, 1877 Fillmore, Utah Territory, United States | (aged 63)
Resting place | Fillmore Cemetery 38°57′16″N 112°18′41″W / 38.9544°N 112.3114°W |
Spouse(s) | 8 |
Children | 38 |
Parents | Roswell Lyman Martha Mason |
Signature | |
Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith.
Early life and conversion
Lyman was born in
After becoming a Latter Day Saint, Lyman traveled 370 miles to
Determined to join the Latter Day Saints in Ohio, Lyman found temporary employment on the farm of Thomas Lackey, who had bought Harris's farm. (Harris had sold it to raise money for the publication of the Book of Mormon). After working for two weeks, Lyman earned enough money to take a ship from
Missionary service and church leadership
In August 1832, Smith told Lyman that "the Lord requires your labors in the vineyard".
Lyman returned to church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio, in May 1835. At a conference of the church in June, Lyman was called by Smith to be a member of the newly organized First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1836, Lyman received the "Kirtland endowment" in the Kirtland Temple.
Marriage and family
In 1835, Lyman married Louisa Maria Tanner in Kirtland. They had eight children.[4]
In April 1844, Smith taught Lyman the principle of
In 1846, Lyman married four additional wives:
Additional missions
Lyman served several missions for the church, preaching in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Tennessee. In 1838, Lyman followed Smith to Far West, Missouri, where Smith relocated the headquarters of the church. Lyman participated in the Battle of Crooked River, a skirmish between Latter Day Saints and a Missouri militia unit from Ray County, which occurred on October 25, 1838.
In 1839, Lyman traveled with the Latter Day Saints to their new headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1841, Lyman was appointed regent of the newly organized University of Nauvoo. On August 20, 1842, Smith called Lyman to serve as an apostle of the church. Lyman filled a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve created by the excommunication of Orson Pratt. Five months later, on January 20, 1843, Pratt was rebaptized and restored to his former position in the Quorum of the Twelve. As the most junior and "thirteenth" apostle, Lyman was excluded from the Quorum.
On February 4, 1843, Smith called Lyman to serve as an additional counselor in the
Follower of Brigham Young
In July 1844 while traveling, Lyman learned that Smith and his brother
Young restored Lyman as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on August 12, 1844. In 1847, Lyman and his seven wives and children traveled with the Mormon pioneers who followed Young to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah.
Young chose Lyman and
Charges of heresy and excommunication
In 1860, Young appointed three of the twelve apostles—Lyman,
However, months later, Lyman began publicly preaching the substance of his 1862 Dundee speech. As a result of his failure to live up to his confession and apology, the church stripped Lyman of the apostleship on May 6, 1867.
Following his removal, Lyman obeyed the counsel of the quorum members, even though he felt the advice was unappealing, and nineteen months later he was regularly attending Church services.[7]: 98 However, in 1869, while not admitting any conversations to the Church of Zion, known as the Godbeites, Lyman began a relationship with William S. Godbe, and began traveling to Salt Lake City to meet with Godbe and his associates.[7]: 99–100 Lyman associated constantly, preached, and even openly participated with the Godbeites.[7]: 100 Lyman's renewed activism spread through Salt Lake City, and rumors began to be circulated that Lyman would even become president of the Church of Zion.[7]: 100
On May 10, 1870, three representatives from the Salt Lake Stake high council, where Lyman was residing, came to investigate his activism and the rumors.[7]: 100–101 Following the meeting the three took their findings to the high council, and the council excommunicated Lyman on May 12, 1870.[7]: 101
Death
Lyman died at Fillmore, Utah Territory on February 4, 1877. He and seven of his eight wives were the parents of 38 children. On January 12, 1909, by direction of church president Joseph F. Smith, Lyman was posthumously reinstated as a church member and an apostle, persuaded by assertions of mental illness.[8]
Notable descendants and relatives
- Sons Francis M. Lyman and Platte D. Lyman both served as president of the European Mission of the LDS Church.
- Francis M. Lyman and his grandson Richard R. Lyman, became apostles in the LDS Church. Francis became the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Great-great-grandson James E. Faust served as an apostle for 29 years and as second counselor in the First Presidency of the church (1995–2007).
- Lyman Hall, a member of the Lyman family, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- Alexander Joseph Lyman notable musician of Salt Lake City
Chart: Lyman's 8 wives and 38 children
# | Year of Marriage |
Wife's Name | Her Age | His Age | # of Children |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1835 | Louisa Maria Tanner | 17 | 22 | 8 |
2 | 1843 | Diontha Walker | 27 | 30 | 0 |
3 | 1844 | Caroline Partridge | 17 | 31 | 6 |
4 | 1846 | Eliza Maria Partridge
|
23 | 33 | 5 |
5 | 1846 | Paulina Eliza Phelps | 19 | 33 | 7 |
6 | 1846 | Priscilla Turley | 17 | 33 | 6 |
7 | 1846 | Cornelia Leavitt | 21 | 33 | 2 |
8 | 1853 | Lydia Partridge | 23 | 40 | 4 |
Total of children he fathered: | 38 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Pratt was rebaptized and readmitted to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 20, 1843. After this occurred, Lyman was dropped from the Quorum of the Twelve and joined the First Presidency as a counselor to Joseph Smith
- ^ Joseph F. Smith was added to the Quorum of the Twelve after Lyman was removed from the Quorum, but Smith had previously been ordained an apostle on July 1, 1866.
- ^ Amasa M. Lyman, "Amasa Lyman's History" Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, Millennial Star, vol. 27, no. 31 (5 August 1865), p. 487.
- ^ Louisa Maria Tanner Lyman went by the name Maria, so sometimes she was called "Maria Louisa," but census records, correspondence, and the Tanner family history show her name to be "Louisa Maria." Tanner, George S. (1974). "Louisa Maria Tanner Lyman". John Tanner and His Family. Salt Lake City, Utah: John Tanner Family Association. pp. 262–274.
- ^ Amasa M. Lyman, "Amasa Lyman's History" Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Millennial Star, vol. 27 no. 35 (2 Sept 1865), p. 553.
- ^ a b c d e Nathan Masters, When San Bernardino Was a Mormon Colony, KCET (August 17, 2015).
- ^ a b c d e f Hefner 1992
- ^ Loretta L. Hefner. "From Apostle to Apostate: The Personal Struggle of Amasa Mason Lyman" (PDF). dialoguejournal.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
References
- Hefner, Loretta L. (1992), "From Apostle to Apostate: The Personal Struggle of Amasa Mason Lyman" (PDF), Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 16 (1), Dialogue Foundation: 90–104, S2CID 254391096, retrieved April 29, 2015
- Amasa M. Lyman, "Amasa Lyman's Story", Millennial Star, vol. 27, no. 30 (July 29, 1865), pp. 472–473; vol. 27, no. 31 (Aug. 5, 1865), pp. 487–489; vol. 27, no. 32 (Aug. 12, 1865), pp. 502–504; vol. 27, no. 33 (Aug. 19, 1865), pp. 519–521; vol. 27, no. 34 (Aug. 26, 1865), pp. 535–537; vol. 27 no. 35 (September 2, 1865), pp. 552–553.
External links
- Media related to Amasa M. Lyman at Wikimedia Commons
- Works related to Amasa Mason Lyman at Wikisource
- Utah History Encyclopedia Entry
- Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Amasa M. Lyman
- Text of Millennial Star 1863-1865 series "Amasa Lyman's History"
- Family Search at churchofjesuschrist.org
- The Edward Partridge Family
- Autobiography of Eliza Partridge Smith Lyman
- "Caroline Ely Patridge Lyman". Archived from the original on December 9, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
- George S. Tanner, John Tanner and His Family, (1974).
- Lyman, Edward Leo, Amasa Mason Lyman, Mormon Apostle and Apostate: A Study in Dedication (2009). ISBN 978-0-87480-940-4.
- Eliza Maria Partridge Lyman diary, in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University