George March Hinkle (November 13, 1801 – November 9, 1861) was an early leader in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

Personal life

Hinkle was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Michael Hinkle and Nancy Higgins. George married Sarah Ann Stark (or Adams), who died in 1844 or 1845. He subsequently married the widow Mary Loman Hartman, and she outlived him. Hinkle lived in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

where he was commissioned a colonel in the militia. He died in 1861 and is buried in Hamilton Cemetery in

Pleasanton, Iowa Pleasanton is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 32 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pleasanton was founded in 1854. It was originally called Pleasant Plain, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with a ...

Church of Christ

George joined the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

in 1832. He sat on the church's high council in

Far West, Missouri Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It ...

, and led the settlement of

De Witt, Missouri De Witt is a city in Carroll County, Missouri, United States. The population was 83 at the 2020 census. History A post office called De Witt has been in operation since 1842. The community was named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York. Ge ...

. He was commissioned a colonel in the Missouri militia and was the commander of the militia in predominantly

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

Caldwell County. During the 1838 Mormon War at the siege of Far West, Hinkle negotiated a peace with Colonel Lucas of the Missouri militia, which included the surrender of church leaders to the custody of Colonel Lucas. This "custody" eventually resulted in imprisonment in Liberty Jail. In making the agreement, Hinkle told Joseph Smith to walk into the militia's camp to discuss the matter. John P. Greene, "an authorized representative of the Mormons," portrayed Hinkle's actions as "deceit and stratagem" and "treachery." Smith would later win a lawsuit against Hinkle for the cost of personal property taken from Smith's home by Hinkle after Smith was taken into custody. Hinkle was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

on March 17, 1839, along with

John Corrill John Corrill (September 17, 1794 – September 26, 1842) was an early member and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and an elected representative in the Missouri State Legislature. He was prominently involved in the Mor ...

and W. W. Phelps, who had also met with Colonel Lucas.

Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife

Still a believer after his excommunication, in 1840 Hinkle founded a Latter Day Saint denomination known as the Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Its membership drew primarily from members who had dissented from the church when it was headquartered in Far West in 1838. The church was organized by Hinkle on June 24, 1840; it held its first conference in the town of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Iowa Territory The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remaind ...

, on November 20, 1842. In September 1843, John C. Bennett attended a conference of Hinkle's church. After this conference, Bennett began writing about the Mormon "Doctrine of Marrying for Eternity," which Hinkle appears to have conveyed to Bennett.

References

Sources

*Richard P. Howard, ''The Church through the Years'', Independence, Missouri:

Herald House Herald House or Herald Publishing House is the publishing division of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. It publishes books, periodicals and other materials at the direction of the First Presidency. Its history dates to the publicatio ...

, 1992, p. 305. *

Lavina Fielding Anderson Lavina Fielding Anderson (born 13 April 1944 in Shelley, Idaho) is a Latter-day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington. Her editing credits include ''Sisters in Spirit: Mo ...

, ''Lucy's Book'', Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2001, p. 826. * John P. Greene, ''Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter-day Saints from the State of Missouri under the 'Exterminating Order'', Cincinnati, Ohio: R. P. Brooks, 1839, p. 25. * John C. Bennett, letter to the editor, ''Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot'', October 28, 1843. *
Biography
of George Hinkle,

Joseph Smith Papers ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a project researching, collecting, and publishing all manuscripts and documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint ...

(accessed January 9, 2012) *Steven L. Shields, ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter Day Saint Movement'', Restoration Research, Los Angeles: 1990, p. 25. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinkle, George M. 1801 births 1838 Mormon War 1861 deaths American Latter Day Saint leaders American Latter Day Saints Latter Day Saint leaders Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Religious leaders from Missouri