The Mormons had a revival in Ohio on June 4, 1831. Joseph Smith led the meetings and there were quite a few spectacles in the meetings. The conference received a lot of hype in the area because many were converting to the church. There were rumors that there would be miracles performed at the conference. Joseph did not disappoint, at first at least, he claimed to cast a devil out of a man who was speaking in tongues. He ordained many men to the priesthood. Then he got adventurous and attempted to heal a man’s cripple hand but failed. He then tried to help a cripple man walk but failed this too. Finally, someone brought him their dead child. They had been advised not to bury the child as this prophet would raise them back from the dead. Joseph attempted the miracle, which mirrors one of the many miracles of Jesus. Joseph Smith asked the dead child to rise back to life, but nothing happened. He attempted again, but he also failed in his efforts and none were healed or raised from the dead in the meeting.
Many in attendance were unhappy with the events and were told that these miracles failed due to their lack of faith. This story easily portrays Joseph Smith as a charlatan who is putting on a show, and manipulating the spectators constantly to keep himself at the center and blessed by God. He later reveals that he received the Priesthood and that he saw God in his first vision, but at this point, all he has is a book of scripture and flocking followers. The church was barely a year old. At this point, Joseph hadn’t even begun practicing secret plural marriage or even experimenting with the idea with Fanny Alger.
Attempted Raising the Dead
Here are the accounts of the deceased child. Note that only one is contemporary, Ezra Booth, the rest are all later accounts collected by Arthur Deming for his newspaper serial Naked Truths About Mormonism. Ezra Booth was a member of the church who followed the saints, served missions, and even was part of Zion’s camp. He left the church after becoming disillusioned and figuring out that Joseph was a fraud. He then wrote a series of letters to the newspaper, Ohio Star, proclaiming Joseph as such. This hindered the missionary work in Ohio, and Ezra was even the subject of a few sections of the D&C. The letters were then republished in Mormonism Unvailed, one of the first “anti-Mormon” books.
In the fourth letter, Ezra Booth recounts the conference and states this about Joseph Smith’s failed attempt to raise a child from the dead.
A dead body, which had been retained above ground two or three days, under the expectation that the dead would be raised, was insensible to the voice of those who commanded it to awake into life, and is destined to sleep in the grave till the last trump shall sound, and the power of God easily accomplishes the work, which frustrated the attempts, and bid defiance to the puny efforts of the Mormonite.*
*That an attempt was made to raise the child, is denied, of course, as every other attempt has been, after its entire failure was obvious to all. The parents of the deceased child, however, state, that they were prevented from procuring medical aid for the child, by the representations of the elders, that it was in no danger—that it would certainly be restored. The father had no other idea but that the child was to be raised; neither did his faith fail him till preparations were made for its interment. He then awoke from his dream of delusion, and dissolved his connexion with the impostors.
Mormonism Unvailed, 1834. Page 190
https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe/page/190/mode/1up
Other accounts, though they are not first-hand contemporary accounts as Ezra Booth was.
“I then went to see the dead child in the house now occupied by Mrs. Carroll. It was lying on a bed. I felt of its face and hands which were warm and pliable. I thought it was under the influence of opium. It did not breathe. It was about two years old and belonged to Mr. Gould, who had lately come from the East.”
Reuben Harmon, 1885
“I went to Isaac Morley’s to see the dead child raised to life. I stayed till late in the afternoon without being gratified.”
Joel Miller, 1885
“I attended the Mormon meeting held at Isaac Morley’s June 4, 1832, where they claimed they would heal the sick and raise the dead. Some claimed 5,000 people were present. Between three and four P. M. prophet Jo came into the yard and said to the crowd there would be no miracle performed that day because the people were so disorderly.”
Henry Carroll, 1885
“The Mormons announced that on a certain day, at the house of my husband’s uncle, Isaac Morley, they would raise the dead. Joseph, the prophet, made protracted efforts to restore to consciousness a child to whom they had administered a soporific, but the scheme failed because they had given an overdose, and the child died.”
SW Hanson, 1885
“I married John Gould’s daughter Harriet. Her father had been thirty years a Free-will Baptist minister in New York, and knew Jo Smith there. He became a Mormon and moved to Kirtland in the spring of 1832. I have often heard my wife and her parents tell about Joseph, the prophet, attempting to restore to consciousness their child which they claimed had been drugged. The child was buried.
James Thompson, 1885
The Last Podcast on the Left did a series of episodes on Mormonism and mentioned this event as well, their colorful discussion about the event is interesting and likely catches the feeling of many in attendance.
A couple brought their dead child into the church. They brought a corpse into the church because this child had died after Joseph had encouraged prayer and faith instead of actual medical treatment.
You know, that Joseph Smith, I’m gonna say a little bit, let’s have a little bit of compassion for Joseph Smith, okay? He is trying to make this work. He is trying to make a career, you have any idea how hard it is to be an independent artist out there? It is hard. And he’s, he’s going for that W and he’s so disappointed in himself cause it’s worked a couple of times. And they bring this corpse in there and you know, he just goes like, f***. Man, this is just, y’all, y’all are brutalized in there today, this is just, this is a lot. So the couple laid the dead child, Joseph’s feet and said, if you’re so goddamn powerful, bring our son back to life because it’s your fault he’s dead.
We don’t know if Joseph actually believed that he could bring the kid back to life or not, but he still gave it a shot. And after several uncomfortable minutes of Joseph just yelling at a corpse. The parents finally just told him to stop. They said, stop it, that’s done, you’re bullshit, you’re stupid, we’re out of here. And we’re taking our dead child with us.
And with that, the air just left the room and everyone just kind of shuffled out. And all that shit that happened with Joseph Smith with the fingers and the old man falling down in the exorcism and the dead child, that was the first day.
Last Podcast On The Left – Episode 380: Mormonism Part III – The Level of Leakage, September 1, 2019 (about 1:00:15 into the espisode)
https://lastpodcastontheleftreadinglist.com/mormonism/
https://podscripts.co/podcasts/last-podcast-on-the-left/episode-380-mormonism-part-iii-the-level-of-leakage
More reading:
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-in-context/ezra-booth-and-isaac-morley?lang=eng
- https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/ezra-booth
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Booth
- https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe/page/190/mode/2up
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/dcv0n6/joseph_smith_failed_to_raise_dead_child/
- https://lastpodcastontheleftreadinglist.com/mormonism/