Leonard Rich
First Seven Presidents of the Seventy
March 1, 1835 – April 6, 1837
Called byJoseph Smith
End reasonHonorably released because he had already been ordained a high priest
Personal details
Born1800 (1800)
Connecticut, United States
Died1868 (aged 67–68)
Kirtland, Ohio, United States

Leonard Rich (1800–1868) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the inaugural seven Presidents of the Seventy.

Rich was born in Connecticut in 1800 and was a farmer. He was married to Kezia Rich (1805–1853) and they had four children.[1] In 1833, he baptized Truman Angell,[2] future architect of the Salt Lake Temple. In 1834, the Kirtland High Council rebuked him for "transgressing the word of wisdom and for selling the revelations [scriptures] at an extortionary price."[3] That same year he was part of Zion's Camp.

In January 1837, Rich signed the new constitution of the Kirtland Safety Society.[4] On April 6 of that year, he and other presidents of the Seventy who were ordained high priests prior to their call were released. That fall, he dissented from the church[5] and in December the church excommunicated him.[6]

In 1845, Reuben McBride reported that Rich was a leader of rioters who broke into and took possession of the Kirtland Temple.[7] In January 1847 Rich, along with William E. McLellin and Jacob Bump, organized the Church of Christ at Kirtland.[8]

Rich's first wife died in 1853 and he married Marina Bassett at Kirtland March 7, 1858. He died in Kirtland in 1868.[8]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Lisonbee, Janet. "Rich, Leonard". Obituaries and Life Sketches of the Early Saints Who Lived and Died in the Kirtland, Ohio Area. Lake County Ohio GenWeb. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  2. ↑ Angell, Truman O. (1967). "His Journal". In Kate Carter (ed.). Our Pioneer Heritage. Vol. 10. Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers. p. 196.
  3. ↑ B. H. Roberts, ed. (1904). History of the Church. Vol. 2. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News. p. 27. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Minutes of a meeting of the members of the 'Kirtland Safety Society'". Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate. Vol. 3, no. 6. March 1837. p. 476. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  5. ↑ B. H. Roberts (1930). "Kirtland Debacle--Gloom". Comprehensive History of the Church. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. p. 405.
  6. ↑ Quinn, D. Michael (1994). Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates. p. 574.
  7. ↑ B. H. Roberts, ed. (1932). History of the Church. Vol. 7. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News. p. 484. A letter was read from Reuben McBride, Kirtland, stating that the apostates were doing everything they could to injure the saints. S. B. Stoddard, Jacob Bump, Hiram Kellogg, Leonard Rich, and Jewel Raney are the leaders of the rioters; they have broken into the House of the Lord, and taken possession of it, and are trying to take possession of the church farm.
  8. 1 2 Biography Archived January 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine of Leonard Rich, The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed January 13, 2012)
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