John Gould (Latter Day Saints)
John Gould | |
---|---|
First Seven Presidents of the Seventy | |
April 6, 1837 | – September 3, 1837|
Called by | Joseph Smith |
End reason | Honorably released due to an excess of Presidents of the Seventy |
Personal details | |
Born | New Hampshire, United States | December 21, 1784
Died | June 25, 1855 Truro Township, Illinois, United States | (aged 70)
John Gould (December 21, 1784 – June 25, 1855) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Biography
Born in
Gould was a missionary for the church in 1834 and 1835; he preached primarily in New York with Evan M. Greene. Gould was ordained to the priesthood office of Seventy in 1836 and on 6 April 1837 became one of the seven presidents of the Seventy, a position with church-wide authority. However, on September 3 of that year, Gould was removed from his position when it was discovered that there were eight, not seven, men who had been chosen to be presidents of the Seventy.[1] Joseph Young, one of the other presidents of the Seventy, asked Gould if he would be willing to join the high priests quorum; Gould agreed, and was ordained a high priest.
Gould moved with the majority of Latter Day Saints to
Gould died at his home in Truro Township, Knox County, Illinois.
Gould was married to Olivia Swanson[2] and was the father of at least two children. Harrington died in 1847; in 1848, Gould married Delia Metcalf.
Doctrine and Covenants
Gould is mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants, a Latter Day Saint book of scripture. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon on October 12, 1833, Smith and Rigdon were told that Gould and Orson Hyde were safe and would be saved if they kept the commandments of God.[3]
Identity confusion
For many years, Latter Day Saint sources confused Gould with another person of the same name who was born in
Notes
- ^ It was previously thought that Levi W. Hancock had been ordained a high priest; therefore, Hancock was released as a President of the Seventy on April 6, 1837. However, it was later discovered that Hancock had not been ordained a high priest, so he was restored to his position, which left eight men holding the position of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventy.
- ^ "John Gould – Biography". www.josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 100:14.
References
- History of the Church.[full citation needed]
- Andrew Jenson. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia 1:191.
External links
- "John Gould", Joseph Smith Papers
- John Gould at Find a Grave