Robert D. Foster (14 March 1811 – 1 February 1878) was a 19th-century physician and an early member 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 J ...

, being baptized into the Church of Christ (later renamed

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

) sometime before October 1839.

Early life

Foster was born in

Braunston Braunston is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, next to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,759. Braunston is situated just off the A45 main road and lies between the to ...

, England on March 14, 1811. He was the son of John Foster and Jane Knibb. He was the brother of

Charles A. Foster Charles Foster (born 1962) is an English writer, traveller, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel (particularly in Africa and the Middle East), theology, law and m ...

. Foster married Sarah Phinney on July 18, 1837 at

Medina County, Ohio Medina County (pronounced ) is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 182,470. Its county seat is Medina. The county was created in 1812 and later organized in 1818. It is named for Medina, a city in Sa ...

. He and Phinney had two children: a son and a daughter. Foster was baptized into the Church of Christ, and, in October 1839, he was ordained to be an elder of the church while living in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Latter Day Saint movement

After joining the church, Foster accompanied

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, ...

, the founder of the

, to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in March 1840 to help "draft Senate Committee reports" on the

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

redress issue. Foster was then mentioned by name in 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 ...

dated January 19, 1841, in which Joseph Smith states that Foster should build Smith a house in Nauvoo: Foster helped build and purchased stock in the resulting Mansion House. Foster was appointed surgeon general in the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

in March 1841 and he was a Regent of the

University of Nauvoo The University of Nauvoo was a short-lived university in Nauvoo, Illinois. After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had been expelled from Missouri, they crossed into Illinois and settled in Nauvoo in 1839. They were granted a city c ...

from 1841 to 1844. He was also involved in the Nauvoo

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

and the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufacturing Association. Foster also served as Hancock County

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. In April 1843, Foster traveled to

Tioga County, New York Tioga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,455. Its county seat is Owego. Its name derives from an American Indian word meaning "at the forks", describing a meeting place. Tioga Cou ...

to serve a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. However, after his return, he began to gamble and speak out against the church. Foster 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 ...

from the church on 18 April 1844, in Nauvoo for "immorality and apostacy" after Joseph Smith charged Foster with character defamation, lying, and endangering his life in the Nauvoo High Council. He was subsequently released from his position in the Nauvoo Legion.

''Nauvoo Expositor'' and death of Joseph Smith

After his excommunication, Foster became a publisher of the '' Nauvoo Expositor'', which was critical of the church and Smith."Polygamy, Persecution And Power"
, '' The Salt Lake Tribune'', June 16, 1996, paragraph 16, 17 Foster helped write the June 7, 1844 issue of the newspaper that led Smith to order the destruction of the press, leading to Smith's arrest and ultimately to his death. Foster had previously joined discussions in which the murder of Joseph Smith was planned, but never saw these efforts through himself. After Joseph and Hyrum Smith were shot and killed at

Carthage Jail Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

, Foster was "charged and acquitted of their murder." In a conversation with Abraham Hodge, Foster expressed regret at having played a hand in Joseph's and Hyrum's deaths. Additionally, there is evidence that Smith may have propositioned Foster's wife to become one of Smith's plural wives, but was turned down. Foster's wife denied this claim multiple times, and only admitted it when he held a gun to her head.On the legal issues, see Edwin Brown Firmage and Richard Collin Mangrum, ''Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988) pp. 106–13. Foster was an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

in the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

formed by

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

member

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I. P ...

Later life

In 1850, Foster moved to

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex ...

and worked there as a physician. In 1860, he moved to

Loda, Illinois Loda is a village in Loda Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census its population was 407. History A post office called Loda has been in operation since 1880. The village derives its name from "Cath-Loda", a poe ...

, where he died on February 1, 1878. He was 67 years old.

References

External links

Robert D. Foster legal documents
L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Robert D. Foster affidavit
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Hancock County (Ill.) court summons
(signed by Robert D. Foster acting as Justice of the Peace), L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Robert D. 1811 births 1878 deaths 19th-century American journalists 19th-century English medical doctors American Latter Day Saints American male journalists British Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism Doctrine and Covenants people English Latter Day Saints English emigrants to the United States Nauvoo Expositor publishers People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) People from Braunston People from Iroquois County, Illinois People from Nauvoo, Illinois Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles