Leroy S. Johnson
Leroy S. Johnson | |
---|---|
![]() During the Short Creek raid, 1953 | |
Senior Member of the Priesthood Council (Short Creek Community)[1] | |
1954 – November 25, 1986 | |
Predecessor | Disputed: Possibly: Joseph White Musser Charles Zitting |
Successor | Disputed: Possibly: Rulon Jeffs J. Marion Hammon |
Personal details | |
Born | Leroy Sunderland Johnson June 12, 1888 Lee's Ferry, Arizona, U.S. |
Died | November 25, 1986 Hildale, Utah, U.S. | (aged 98)
Spouse(s) | At least 15[2] |
Parents | Warren Marshall Johnson Permelia Smith |
Leroy Sunderland Johnson (June 12, 1888 – November 25, 1986), known as Uncle Roy,[4][5] was a leader of the Mormon fundamentalist group in Short Creek, which later evolved into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church), from the mid-1950s until his death.
Biography
Johnson was born on June 12, 1888, at
Johnson and his wife Josephine Ford Johnson were
Johnson became a leader of the polygamous movement after Barlow's death in 1949. He did not initially consider his group a distinct organization from the Salt Lake-based LDS Church, describing it simply as "the Fundamentalist division of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," but by 1952, he openly remarked that he and his followers "have separated ourselves from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it now stands."[12][13] Despite being plagued by incidents such as the 1953 Short Creek raid, Johnson's thirty-two-year tenure as senior member of the Priesthood Council has been characterized as "a time of stability, growth, financial success, and greater public acceptance."[14]
While Johnson is today recognized as a prophet of the FLDS Church, he only implicitly referred to his own prophetic status: "You have heard other men call me a prophet, but you have never heard me make the claim."[15] The non-LDS Mormon prophet Robert Crossfield delivered a revelation[16] to Johnson calling him to repentance, but Johnson rejected it.
While acting as Prophet, Johnson dismissed
Following Johnson's death in
In recent years, Johnson's tenure as Prophet has become a focal point for Mormon fundamentalists disaffected with the modern FLDS Church. For instance, one of Warren Jeffs's brothers noted that Uncle Roy was a "warm, loving" prophet who "taught polygamy for the right reasons," but Jeffs "has no love for the people."[18]
Johnson's birthday was celebrated as a holiday within the FLDS Church until the practice was discontinued by Warren Jeffs in 2003.[19][20]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Hales, Brian C. "Leroy S. Johnson". MormonFundamentalism.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- The Montreal Gazette. 27 November 1986.
- ^ "Photos of Leroy Johnson". MormonFundamentalism.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Krakauer (2003, p. 33) ("Until 1986 ... the prophet was LeRoy Johnson, a plainspoken farmer known to his followers as 'Uncle Roy.'")
- ^ Brown, Jan, ed. (2007). "I Grew up in a Polygamist Family". Today's Christian Woman. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
When I was a child, the Prophet was Leroy Johnson. We called him Uncle Roy.
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 4:1223.
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 2:693.
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 3:1159 ("I tried for some years before I became acquainted with President Barlow or President John W. Woolley to get into the principle of plural marriage, because I had it in my heart".)
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 6:346.
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 6:343.
- ^ Baer (1988, p. 38).
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 4:1635.
- ^ Johnson (1983–1984), 5:28.
- S2CID 254393431.
- ^ Bistline (2004, p. 102)
- ^ http://www.2bc.info/pdf/Colorado%20City.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Krakauer (2003, pp. 38–39) ("Uncle Roy ... was by then ninety-three years old, very ill, and fast fading into senility .... In 1986 Uncle Roy died, and Rulon Jeffs became the UEP's new prophet. In the climate of upheaval that followed, there was turmoil in both Bountiful and Colorado City.")
- ^ Krakauer (2003, p. 263)
- ^ Wall & Pulitzer (2009, p. 260) ("Warren announced that this year we would not be celebrating Uncle Roy's birthday. Though Uncle Roy had begun this tradition himself, and it had been carried on for years, Warren declared that the event was not what Uncle Roy would have wanted.")
- Pioneer Day Parade in July, which commemorates the date that Mormons first settled in the Salt Lake Valley.")
References
- Baer, Hans A. (1988). Recreating Utopia in the Desert: A Sectarian Challenge to Modern Mormonism. ISBN 9780887066818. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ISBN 9781888106749.
- ISBN 9780767931786.
- Johnson, Leroy S. (1983–1984). The L. S. Johnson Sermons, 7 vols. Hildale, Utah: Twin Cities Courier.
- ISBN 9781400078998.
- ISBN 9780061752841.
External links
- "President Leroy S. Johnson". Official website of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
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