Orson Hyde

Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He was born in Oxford, Connecticut. He was raised in nearby Derby, Connecticut, under the care of Nathan Wheeler. In 1819, when he was just 14 years of age, he walked from Connecticut to Kirtland, Ohio to care for a piece of property Wheeler had purchased. While employed as a retail clerk in Kirtland, Hyde became involved with the Reformed Baptist Society, also called Campbellites, through the preaching of Sidney Rigdon.

Church membership and service

When Oliver Cowdery and other LDS missionaries preached in Kirtland in late 1830, Hyde spoke publicly against the "Mormon Bible." However, when his former minister, Sidney Rigdon joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Hyde investigated the claims of the missionaries, and was baptized by Rigdon on October 30, 1831. He was called on a succession of missions for the church, serving with Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, and John Gould. He marched with Zion's Camp in 1834. Hyde was ordained an apostle on February 15, 1835 as one of the original twelve. He was fifth in seniority. A apostalic mission with Heber C. Kimball to Great Britain in 1837 to 1838 was successful in bringing thousands of converts to the faith.

Upon returning from Britain, during a period of persecution and internal dissention, Hyde wrote that he felt God was no longer with the church. He left the church in October 19, 1838 with Thomas B. Marsh. Along with Marsh, he signed an affidavit against Joseph Smith on October 24, 1838, accusing him of trying to take over the world by force and of organizing the Danites. The signed affidavit was submitted to law enforcement authorities, followed closely by three significant incidents of persecution against the Mormon people. The following day, on October 25, 1838, the Battle of Crooked Creek occurred between an armed group who had kidnapped several Mormons and the Nauvoo branch of the State militia, all Mormons. On the 27th of October, Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, having received word of the legal complaint against Smith, signed the Extermination Order. Three days later, the Mormon settlement of Haun's Mill was attacked by a mob of armed men. The Haun's Mill Massacre, which left 17 LDS men and boys dead, underscored the seriousness of the order.

Because of this written statement, Hyde was disfellowshipped (disciplined, but not removed from membership) in 1838. On May 4, 1839, a Church conference in Quincy, Ohio voted to remove Orson Hyde and William Smith from the work of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The leadership of the church invited the two to explain their actions. On June 27, Hyde returned to the church and publicly explained himself, asking to be restored. The fall conference, October 6 to 8, 1839, voted to restore both Hyde and William Smith as apostles.

Orson Hyde left church activity, and thus the quorum, on October 19, 1838. When dealing with seniority in the council after the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young ruled that, if a council member had been disciplined and removed from the council, his seniority was based on the date of readmission. By this ruling, in June of 1875, both Hyde and Apostle Orson Pratt were moved down in council seniority. So, when Hyde repented in 1839, he effectively joined the quorum as a new member. As a result of this ruling, John Taylor rather than Orson Hyde succeeded Brigham Young as President of the Church.

One of Hyde's most significant missions was a call to preach in Jerusalem. From April 1841 to December 1842, he proselyted in Palestine. On October 24, 1841 on the Mount of Olives, Orson Hyde dedicated Palestine for the gathering of the Jews. He traveled home through Europe, stopping in Germany to produce the first LDS pamphlets in that language.

After the death of Joseph Smith, when the majority of the LDS people left Nauvoo for the Iowa Territory, Hyde was asked to stay behind and oversee the completion and dedication of the Nauvoo Temple in 1846. Hyde returned to England to preside over the British mission from 1846 to 1847. Orson Hyde was then placed in charge of the Camps of Israel in the Midwest in 1848. He remained in Council Bluffs, Iowa until 1852. During the settlement of Utah, Brigham Young called Hyde to lead settlement groups to Carson Valley, Nevada and the Sanpete-Sevier District in Utah.

Orson Hyde married Nancy Mirinda Johnson, in Kirtland, Ohio, on September 4, 1934. He practiced plural marriage and had eight additional wives. He fathered 32 children. He passed away on November 28, 1878, and was succeeded in the apostleship by Moses Thatcher.

Reference

• Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M. The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. ISBN 0–87747–594–6.

• Ludlow, Daniel H., A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1978. ISBN 1–57345–224–6.

• Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor. Church History, Selections From the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. ISBN 0–87579–924–8.

External links

Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages