The entry of the Mormons into Ohio as
well as the reasons for their success there are carefully preserved in an
account written by John Corrill who lived in Ashtabula County, Ohio, some
thirty miles east of Kirtland. (John Corrill, A
Brief History of the Church of the Latter-day Saint [Jefferson City,
Missouri, 1839], p. 6. Hereafter cited as A Brief History) Pratt and his
companions passed through this area in late October. They took every occasion to
expound their message as they travelled, and their astounding story of the Angel
with the plates went before them as the chief topic of conversation all along
the route. Curious and interested, residents of the area flocked to hear their
sermons. John Corrill heard them and soon obtained a copy of the Book of
Mormon. He was but mildly interested in their claims and his enthusiasm was
not increased by a promiscuous reading of the book. He laid it aside with the observation
that it was definitely a fraud and refused to concern himself with it any more.
Aside from notoriety, the Mormons achieved no success until they came to
Kirtland. When Corrill learned that the Mormons had gone there he was pleased
because he knew that this was the location of Sidney Rigdon’s congregation and
he felt sure that this famous preacher would set the Mormons straight and prove
their claims to be silly delusions. No one in the entire Western Reserve was
better acquainted with the Bible, in Corrill’s estimation, than Rigdon. He was
utterly dumbfounded to learn, within a few days, that Rigdon, together with
other persons whom Corrill considered to be substantial and respected men, had
been converted and that Rigdon himself was about to be baptized. Somewhat shaken
in his conviction that Mormonism was a fraud, Corrill resolved to go to
Kirtland and, if possible, bring Rigdon out of the Mormon influence in the hope
that he might persuade him of his error. Before Corrill arrived, seventeen
persons had been converted by the Mormons and Rigdon had already been baptized.
In Kirtland, Corrill found the new converts rejoicing together and enjoying what
they called “spiritual gifts.” They were beyond local persuasion and Corrill, unable
to convince them of their error, returned to his home.
The Kirtland visit was a shock to Corrill’s
peace of mind and he concluded that he had best make a careful investigation “lest
he be found to fight against God.” Emanating from Kirtland came all manner of
evil reports concerning the actions of the members of the new sect which,
however, Corrill discovered to his own satisfaction to be without foundation in
fact. He went to Kirtland again to make observations at first hand. He attended
a meeting which had been called for the purpose of “laying on hands” for the
gift of the Holy Ghost. Here, he thought, he would catch the Church in fraud
and hypocrisy. He records: “The meeting lasted all night and such a meeting I
never attended before. They administered the sacrament and laid on hands, after
which I heard them prophesy and speak in tongues unknown to me.” (Ibid.,
p. 7) Non-participants who observed these scenes with him said the tongues were
Indian dialects and that the persons speaking them had not learned them from
the Indians. Corrill himself was convinced that they were spoken by the aid of
some supernatural power. At home during the ensuing six weeks he systematically
studied the Mormon claims and at length joined the Church. (Corrill, A Brief
History, p. 12, gives the date of his baptism as 10 January, 1831,
indicating that his conversion involved considerable thought and study). (Robert
Kent Fielding, “The Growth of the Mormon Church in Kirtland, Ohio” [PhD Dissertation;
Indiana University, May 1957], 30, 32-34)
Commenting
on Corrill’s report of speaking in tongues, Fielding noted that:
It is definitely stated here that the
Mormon converts spoke in tongues. The generally accepted belief of the Church
is that tongues were not introduced until Brigham Young visited Kirtland in
November of 1832. See Smith, History, I, p. 297. Smith simply claims
that Brigham’s use of tongues was the first he had heard in the Church. Corrill
could hardly have been wrong in his impression. He is confirmed by the opinion of
Ezra Booth who joined the Church early in 1831, made the trip to Missouri in
Midsummer, left the Church in September, and published his opinion that month
in the Ravena, Ohio Star. See E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, p. 184.
(Ibid., 33 n. 13)