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 The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are ...

. He was prominently involved in the Mormon conflicts in Missouri before leaving the church in 1839 and publishing ''A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints (Commonly Called Mormons)''.

Biography

Corrill was born near

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

. He worked as a carriage builder, surveyor, and architect and married a woman named Margaret, with whom he had at least five children. Historians believe his writing ability and personal library suggest he may have had some formal education. While living in Harpersfield, Ohio in 1830 the town was visited by

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

Parley P. Pratt Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...

, Peter Whitmer, and

Ziba Peterson Ziba Peterson (died 1849) was an early American Latter Day Saint best known as one of the four initial Missionary (LDS Church), missionaries sent by Joseph Smith in 1830 to preach to Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans in Indian Te ...

, Mormon missionaries on their way to Missouri. After reading from the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

, Corrill decided it was a fraud. He was later surprised to hear of the conversion of

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...

, a preacher in nearby Kirtland who was planning a preaching tour with Corrill. While visiting Kirtland, Corrill attended some Mormon meetings and witnessed miraculous speaking in languages unknown to the speakers. After further investigation, he was baptized on January 10, 1831 in

Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the United States micropolitan area, Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, nort ...

. A few days later he was ordained an Elder.

Church positions

In 1831 Corrill served two short missions in nearby areas. One of these was to

New London, Ohio New London is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,461 at the 2010 census. The village motto, "The Right Place at the Right Time", was chosen in the late twentieth century by former Mayor Dorothy Sholes. New Lon ...

. Later that year he was ordained to the High Priesthood and made an assistant to the Latter Day Saint movement's first Bishop of the Church,

Edward Partridge Edward Partridge Sr. (August 27, 1793 – May 27, 1840) was one of the earliest converts to the Latter Day Saint movement and served as the first Bishop of the Church. Early life Edward Partridge was born on August 27, 1793 to William and Jem ...

, a position he would hold until 1837. In 1833, Corrill was chosen as the third bishop in Zion (

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

) where he would later preside over a

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

of the church. When Missourians expelled Mormons from the area, Corrill joined in petitioning the governor for militia assistance and settled in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

for the winter. In 1834 he was called back to Kirtland where he helped build the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and was involved with approving a new book of revelations called the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

. After the temple's dedication in 1836 he returned to Missouri and was one of the founders and leaders of the Mormon settlement of Far West. During this time the residents of Clay County were pushing for the Mormons to move out of their area and settle elsewhere. In late 1836 Corrill represented the Mormons in negotiating with state leaders for the formation of Caldwell County for primarily Mormon settlement. Historian Stephen C. LeSueur wrote that Corrill "was one of the Mormons' most prominent leaders in Missouri and had been intimately involved in nearly every phase of Mormon history there." In 1837 he was released as a counselor to Bishop Partridge and was called to a committee for organizing more stakes in Missouri and was "Keeper of the Lord's Storehouse" in Far West. In April 1838 he and Elias Higbee became the official Church Historians.

Missouri Mormon War

Corrill was elected by the primarily Mormon residents of Caldwell County to be the county's first representative to the

in August 1838. During this same election, distrust between Missourians and Mormons erupted into an armed conflict, known today as the

Missouri Mormon War The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three " Mormon Wars". Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by J ...

. Corrill witnessed many key events and was involved in surrendering and turning over

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

to the state militia, which Smith saw as a betrayal. At the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

hearings in November, Corrill testified for the state against Smith and the Mormon actions in the conflict. Disfavor grew between Corrill and the Mormons. Some Mormons had in the past accused him of opposing priesthood authority and "the Judgment of God" in his preference for autonomy and democracy in the church. In his only term in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, as a state representative after the armed conflict subsided, Corrill presented a petition from the Mormons for relief from their mistreatment. However, he continued to distance himself from the church, culminating in his excommunication in

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on March 17, 1839. After this event, he published "a 50 page pamphlet attempting to justify his reasons" for leaving the church. Corrill died in Adams County, Illinois in 1842 at the age of 48.

''A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints''

Corrill is remembered for his 50-page booklet published in 1839, entitled ''A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called Mormons,) including an account of their doctrine and discipline, with the reasons of the author for leaving the Church''. Historian Richard L. Bushman's noted 2005 biography, '' Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling'', described Corrill as rational, coolheaded, and cautious, illustrating the "clash between Mormonism and republicanism" when he questioned whether he must sacrifice his freewill or autonomy to the Kingdom of God. Bushman's book used Corrill's ''A Brief History'' as source material on the early church. Corrill's account has been called "perhaps, the single most important source of information for events surrounding the Mormon War in Missouri." In contrast, historian Susan Easton Black described Corrill as bitter and his published history as a product of his apostasy.

Notes

Sources

*. * .

External links

*
Corrill's ''A Brief History of the Church'', in HTML format

Corrill's ''A Brief History of the Church'', Indiana University Library typescript, from Google Books

Biography
of John Corrill, The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed December 21, 2011)
William Wines Phelps correspondence and other material, 1835-1865
L. Tom Perry Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Corrill, John 1794 births 1842 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) Converts to Mormonism Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) Former Latter Day Saints Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States Latter Day Saints from Missouri Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Members of the Missouri House of Representatives Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) People from Ashtabula County, Ohio People from Barre, Massachusetts People from Far West, Missouri Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles