William E. McLellin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids William E. McLellin |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| February 15, 1835 – May 11, 1838 | |
| End reason | Excommunicated for apostasy |
| Latter Day Saint Apostle | |
| February 15, 1835 – May 11, 1838 | |
| Reason | Initial organization of Quorum of the Twelve |
| End reason | Excommunicated for apostasy |
| Reorganization at end of term |
No apostles immediately ordained |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Earl McLellin January 18, 1806 Smith County, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | April 24, 1883 (aged 77) Independence, Missouri, United States |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery 39°05′10″N 94°24′40″W / 39.086°N 94.411°W |
William Earl McLellin (born January 18, 1806 – died April 24, 1883) was an important early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the first members of a special group called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, McLellin later had disagreements with the church's founder, Joseph Smith.
Contents
Who Was William McLellin?
William McLellin was born on January 18, 1806, in Smith County, Tennessee. His parents were Charles and Sarah McLellin. His mother was a Cherokee woman.
In 1829, William married Cynthia Ann. Sadly, she passed away just two years later in 1831. He then married Emeline Miller in 1832 in Portage County, Ohio. That same year, they moved to Independence, Missouri. William and Emeline had six children together: four sons and two daughters. Their children were Charles William, Sarah E., James Martin, Helen Rebecca, Albert Eugene, and Marcus Nelson.
William McLellin's Church Service
McLellin first met missionaries from the Church of Christ in Paris, Illinois, in 1831. He was baptized on August 20, 1831, by Hyrum Smith. He was also ordained as an elder in the church. Later in 1831, he traveled with Joseph Smith and preached in Tennessee.
On October 25, 1831, Joseph Smith received a revelation (a message from God) that called McLellin to serve a mission. He was asked to travel to the eastern United States with Samuel H. Smith, who was Joseph Smith's brother. McLellin had some concerns about this mission. Instead, he was asked to travel south with Luke Johnson in January 1832.
McLellin was removed from the church for a short time in December 1832. However, he was welcomed back by 1833. That year, McLellin served another mission, traveling with Parley P. Pratt to Missouri and Illinois. But in a revelation given to Joseph Smith on March 8, 1833, it was said that the Lord was "not pleased with my servant William E. McLellin."
McLellin was a skilled schoolteacher and also said he was a physician. In 1834, he taught handwriting at the Kirtland School for Temporal Education. He was also an assistant teacher at the School of the Prophets. In 1834, he served on the church's high council in Clay County, Missouri. On February 15, 1835, at age 29, he was chosen and ordained as one of the church's first twelve apostles.
When the Book of Commandments was going to be published, some members of the church questioned the way some of Joseph Smith's revelations were written. Joseph Smith said that the Lord gave a challenge. The challenge was to see if the wisest church member could write a revelation that was as good as even the shortest of Smith's revelations. If they could, then people would be right to say the revelations did not come from God. McLellin, who was a trained schoolteacher, was chosen by those who had doubts to try the challenge. According to Smith's history, McLellin could not write a comparable text, and the doubts about the revelations ended.
In 1837, McLellin was made a captain in the Missouri State Militia.
Why McLellin Left the Church
William McLellin's time with the Latter Day Saint church ended suddenly in 1838. He stated that he no longer trusted the church's leaders. This might have been because of problems with the church's money matters, especially with the Kirtland Safety Society. McLellin was removed from the church on May 11, 1838. After this, he actively worked against the Latter Day Saints. He even became involved with groups of people in Missouri who were causing trouble for the church members.
According to some church members, McLellin went into Joseph Smith's home and stable. This happened while Smith was in jail because of issues with the Safety Society. No official charges were ever filed against Smith or McLellin for these events.
A story published in a Latter Day Saint magazine called Millennial Star in 1864 described an event:
While Joseph Smith was in prison, McLellin, who was a big and strong man, asked the sheriff if he could fight Joseph. The sheriff said yes, but only if Joseph agreed to fight back. Joseph said he would fight if his chains were taken off. McLellin then refused to fight unless he could use a club. Joseph was still willing to fight, but the sheriff would not allow such an unfair fight.
Before this incident, Joseph Smith wrote a letter from Liberty Jail on December 16, 1838. In this letter, he hinted at actions by McLellin that he called sins. Smith compared McLellin to a person in the Bible named Balaam. Balaam's donkey refused to help him curse the Israelites during the time of Moses. This letter might have made McLellin want to fight Smith.
After Joseph Smith died in 1844, McLellin first supported Sidney Rigdon as the new leader. He was appointed one of the Twelve Apostles in Rigdon's church group on April 8, 1845. In 1847, in Kirtland, Ohio, McLellin joined others to start a new version of the church called the Church of Christ. McLellin asked David Whitmer to become the president. He claimed that Smith had chosen Whitmer as his successor on July 8, 1834. This new church group did not last long. McLellin later joined other churches led by George M. Hinkle, James J. Strang, and Granville Hedrick.
By 1869, McLellin had completely left "all organized religion." However, he still strongly believed in the Book of Mormon in 1880. He wrote:
I have said that the Book of Mormon is a true, divine record. It would take more proof than I have ever seen to make me doubt its truth. When someone attacks the Book of Mormon, they are attacking something very important to me. They are fighting against truth, against purity, against light, against one of the purest books on Earth. You can fight the wrongs of the Latter Day Saint movement as much as you want, but leave that unique, amazing book alone.
William McLellin died on April 24, 1883, in Independence, Missouri.
McLellin's Personal Writings
William McLellin kept journals and notebooks during and after his time in the Latter Day Saint church. Because he was an important person in the early church, these writings were very interesting to Latter Day Saint historians.
In the early 1980s, a collector named Mark Hofmann claimed to have McLellin's collection. He said these writings contained information that would be embarrassing to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). This created a lot of interest, and Hofmann was able to sell the collection to two different buyers at the same time.
However, the LDS Church later found out that McLellin's writings were already in their possession. They had been bought and then forgotten in 1908. These writings were later published in two books: The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836, edited by Jan Shipps and John W. Welch in 1994, and The William E. McLellin Papers, 1854–1880, edited by Stan Larson and Samuel J. Passey in 2007.
These collections were missing one notebook. This notebook was known because of photographs in a 1920s newspaper published by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In January 2009, this missing notebook was found and bought by Brent Ashworth. He was one of the original collectors who was interested in Hofmann's supposed McLellin collection.
Images for kids
-
William E. McLellin
See also
In Spanish: William E. McLellin para niños
