John Johnson

John Johnson Sr. (April 11, 1778 – July 30, 1843) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement in Ohio.

Early life and family Johnson was born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. He became a farmer and farmed near Pomfret, Vermont. He married Mary Elsa (Alice) Jacobs in 1800 and they were the parents of 15 children: Alice (Elsa), Robert, Fanny, John Jr., Luke, Olmstead, Lyman, Emily, Marinda (married Orson Hyde), Mary, Justin, Edwin, Charlotte, Albert, and Joseph.

Conversion to Mormonism

In early 1831, Johnson's sons Luke and Lyman were baptized into the Church of Christ, which had been founded by Joseph Smith the previous year. After their sons were baptized, Johnson and his wife travelled with Methodist preacher Ezra Booth to Kirtland, Ohio, to learn more about the church. While in Kirtland, Johnson's wife reported that she experienced a miraculous healing at the hands of Smith:

"Elsa Johnson had been afflicted for many years with a rheumatic arm. She experienced so much pain and difficulty in movement that for two years she hadn’t been able to raise her hand to her head. As the Johnsons and others from the Hiram area visited with Joseph Smith in the Newel K. Whitney home, they discussed the gifts of the Spirit as held in the early Church. Someone asked whether God had given power to men today to heal people like Elsa Johnson. After the conversation had turned to another subject, the Prophet [Smith] walked up to Elsa and said, 'Woman, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command thee to be whole,' and then he walked out of the room. Elsa was instantly healed, and the next day she did her washing 'without difficulty or pain.'" Some sources report that he was excommunicated from the church. A more recent work indicates that the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that Johnson did not lose his membership.

Death Johnson remained in Kirtland when the Latter Day Saints moved on to Missouri. He died in Kirtland and is buried in the Kirtland Cemetery across the street from the Kirtland Temple.