All About Mormons

Hi friend,

The 1830s and 1840s were a tumultuous time in Church history. The Church was still in its infancy and was not as organized and established as it is today. The failure of the Kirtland Safety Society, a church-run bank, caused many to loose their faith in the prophet Joseph Smith. Even some apostles were excommunicated, though some of these later repented and rejoined the Church. In our own day, now that the Church is well established, this type of "apostolic apostasy" is much less likely. Here are the details about each of the twelve original Mormon apostles:

1. Thomas B. Marsh. Excommunicated on March 17, 1839. Later came to regret his actions, repented, and was rebaptized on July 16, 1857.
2. David W. Patten. Never excommunicated. Arguably among the first martyrs of the LDS Church.
3. Brigham Young. Obviously never excommunicated. He went on to become the second president of the LDS ("Mormon") Church.
4. Heber C. Kimball. Never excommunicated. Served as Brigham Young's first counselor until his death in 1868.
5. Orson Hyde. Never excommunicated. He became inactive in 1838, but repented and came back to the church in 1839.
6. William E. McLellin. Excommunicated on May 11, 1838, and subsequently became an anti-Mormon. He later apparently repented and joined several Mormon breakaway sects, but never rejoined the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
7. Parley P. Pratt. Never excommunicated.
8. Luke S. Johnson. Excommunicated on April 13, 1838. He later repented and was rebaptized on March 8, 1846. He's the only man in the history of the Church that served as a bishop after once being an apostle.
9. William B. Smith. Excommunicated in 1845 in general conference by unanimous vote. He later expressed a desire to rejoin the Church, but lost interest after serving in the American Civil War. He subsequently became involved with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ.
10. Orson Pratt. Excommunicated in 1842, but he repented and was quickly rebaptized some months later.
11. John F. Boynton. Excommunicated in 1838. He never rejoined the Church.
12. Lyman E. Johnson. Excommunicated on April 13, 1838. He never rejoined the Church.

So, of the original twelve apostles, seven were excommunicated. Of these seven, three repented, returned to the Church, and were rebaptized. Two joined other, smaller Mormon breakaway sects, and two abandoned all forms of Mormonism.

Actually, a lot of them were indeed excommunicated. However, this is mostly due to their faith in Joseph as a man rather than a prophet. For instance, the failure of the Kirtland Saftey Society turned away many. Also, subsequent, inconsequential events were the cause for the other apostle's turning away. Remember, these apostles had been converts for not even ten years or so. So it is not suprising that some of them fell. Remember, many converts today fall away after a time. Just because these men were called to apostleship does not mean they were spiritually indomitable. It means it was what the Lord wanted them for at the time, and they eventually chose to reject it.

But as the webmaster has stated, look at the apostles who did not fall away! What great men were they! If you want to look at a amazing example of a apostle, then look at David Patten. He was the first apostle to be martyred for the cause. If you read about him, you will see a true example of what a servant of the Lord should be like. The same with Brigham Young, Heber Kimball, and the other's who stayed strong.

Although John F. Boynton was excomunicated, he had family members who came to Utah with the saints. He was actively involved in genealogical research for his family. He sent thousands of names to family in Utah for temple work. It was his pride that caused him to be excomunicated, however, he still knew that the church is the Lord's.