Leman Copley (March 25, 1781 – December 1862) was an early convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Connecticut, Copley moved to Rutland County, Vermont, sometime before 1800 and was living in Thompson Township, Ohio, by 1820. Prior to his conversion to 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 ...

, Copley was a Shaker. Copley was born in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1781. His father’s name was Samuel Copley. He married a woman named Salley, with whom he had one son. While living in

Pittsford, Vermont Pittsford is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,862. Named for William Pitt, it has two picket forts used in the American Revolutionary War. History Pittsford was first settled as a ...

, he joined the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing (the Shakers) and moved to join others of the faith near

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He later joined the

(predecessor to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

), but maintained his Shaker beliefs in some aspects. Prompted by Copley’s belief system,

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 ...

, the founder of 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 ...

, petitioned God for an explanation of the Shaker’s beliefs in the context of religious truth, resulting in section 49 of 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 ...

. In March 1831, Copley was called by Smith through a

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

to preach the gospel to the Shakers along with

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The three read Doctrine and Covenants section 49 to the Shakers, but the group rejected it. When the members of the branch of the Church of Christ from Colesville, New York came to settle in Ohio, Copley was persuaded allow them to settle on his large farm of nearly 1000 acres. Then, when he and the church had a falling out, he forced them all to leave. Joseph Smith received a revelation to have the "Colesville Saints" go to Missouri, where God would reveal to Smith the location of the land of

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...

. This was the beginning of the church's movement to Missouri and the dual centers of church activity (i.e.

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

and

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 ...

). Copley was

disfellowshipped 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 ...

in 1832 for refusing to keep his promise to help the Colesville Saints. Then, at Doctor Philastus Hurlbut's 1834 trial, Copley testified against Joseph Smith. Copley was readmitted into full fellowship with the church in April 1836. He served another mission in March 1833, this time with Doctor Hurlbut. He did not travel west with the rest of the

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

. Sometime before 1850, Copley moved to

Madison, Ohio Madison is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,184 at the 2010 census. Madison was incorporated as a village in 1867. Geography Madison is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village ...

, where he died in May 1862.

Notes

External links

Ashbel Kitchell diary
L. Tom Perry Special Collections 1781 births 1862 deaths American Latter Day Saint missionaries Converts to Mormonism Doctrine and Covenants people Former Shakers Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Shaker members Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles {{LDS-stub