- Francis M. Lyman
LDSApostleshipinfo
English name = Francis M. Lyman
birth_name=Francis Marion Lyman
birth_date=birth date|1840|01|12
birthplace=Good Hope,Illinois
death_date=death date and age|1916|11|18|1840|01|12
deathplace=Salt Lake City ,Utah
president_who_called=John Taylor
apostledate=death date and age|1880|10|27|1840|01|12
ordination_reason=Reorganization of First Presidency [Lyman andJohn Henry Smith were ordained apostles on the same date. After their ordinations, there were still only 11 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.]
end_date=death date and age|1916|11|18|1840|01|12
end_reason=Death
reorganization=Stephen L Richards ordainedFrancis Marion Lyman (
12 January 1840 –18 November 1916 ) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the President of the Quorum from 1903 until his death.Lyman's father and son were also apostles in the church: his father was
Amasa M. Lyman and his son wasRichard R. Lyman . Both his father and son were excommunicated from the church while serving as apostles.Early life
Francis M. Lyman was born as the first son to
Amasa M. Lyman and Louisa Maria Tanner inGood Hope, Illinois . That spring the family moved toIowa . From there, about one year later, they moved toNauvoo, Illinois to be with the church. In 1843, they moved again toAlquina, Indiana . After the martyrdom ofJoseph Smith, Jr. , they moved back to Nauvoo in 1844.His father left with the first group to travel on the
Mormon Exodus to the West. His family moved toWinter Quarters in June of 1846 under the care of his maternal grandfather. His family set out to theSalt Lake Valley to join theLatter-day Saints in 1848. Though only 8 years old, he helped drive a yoke of cattle and the wagon. He was baptized by his father in theElkhorn River onJuly 1 ,1848 . He arrived in the Salt Lake ValleyOctober 19 ,1848 .By 1851, at 11 years of age, his father had purchased land along with Elder
Charles C. Rich inSan Bernardino, California . Together, he helped drive the animals from Salt Lake toCalifornia . They settled there and he became busy with tending the animals and driving them betweenUtah and California across the desert. He was present at the laying of the cornerstone of theSalt Lake Temple in April of 1853.Adult life and service
In 1856, at about 16 years of age, he was given the
Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained an elder by his father. In 1857 he was called on a mission toGreat Britain . He was stopped atSalt Lake City, Utah and told to turn back and bring the settlers in California in to the valley. TheUtah War had prevented his mission at this time.He married Rhoda Ann Taylor on
November 18 ,1857 .In 1859, his family settled in
Farmington, Utah . His ordination to the seventy followed shortly thereafter. John S. Gleason ordained him onJanuary 7 ,1860 . Prior to his departure on his previously called mission, he built a cabin inBeaver, Utah for his wife and one son. He left for his mission in the spring of 1860.Mission in England
Arriving in
Kirtland, Ohio , he was shown through theKirtland Temple by Martin Harris. He left through the port of New York and arrived by steamer inLiverpool, England onJuly 27 ,1860 .He served diligently for roughly two years. Upon release from his mission, he accompanied about 800 immigrants back to the
United States . They arrived in New York onJune 25 ,1862 . In New York, he was appointed president of the group. By early July, they had arrived inFlorence, Nebraska , which is now a neighborhood on the north end Omaha. It was not until the middle of October that he arrived back to his wife and homestead in Beaver.Fillmore
In March of 1863, Church President
Brigham Young asked Francis to settle inFillmore, Utah . The next fourteen years of his life were spent there, and he engaged himself in leadership in church, politics, business, and manufacturing there. Among his positions and honors were:
*assistant assessor of United States internal revenue
*lieutenant-colonel of the first regiment of militia in the Pauvan District at 25
*member of the House of the General Assembly of theState of Deseret
*a member of the 17th, 18th, 22nd and 23rd sessions of the Utah Territorial legislature
*county clerk and recorder
*superintendent of schools
*prosecuting attorneyWhen a stake was formed in Fillmore, he was ordained to the office of high priest. Later he was called to the High Council.
On
October 4 ,1869 , he practicedpolygamy by marrying his second wife, Clara Caroline Callister. Her grandfather was John Smith, Joseph Smith's uncle, and her sonRichard R. Lyman would go on to serve as an apostle from 1918 to 1943.He was called to a second mission to
England and leftSalt Lake City onOctober 20 ,1873 and arrived inLiverpool onNovember 12 . During his mission, he also visited and proselyted inWales ,Scotland ,Denmark ,Germany ,Switzerland andFrance . He arrived with 300 saints in Utah, returning to Fillmore onOctober 11 ,1875 .Tooele County
In April 1877, he was called to preside over the Tooele Stake, which was organized
June 24 ,1877 inTooele County, Utah . He involved himself in the politics of that county as well. By August of 1878, he was elected county recorder and representative to the legislature.At that time, since 1874, Tooele County was in the hands of the Liberal Party, and nicknamed the
Tooele Republic . The legislature in 1878 passed a resolution providing for the registration of voters. After allegations of corruption and excessive spending by the Liberal Party, leaving the county in deep debt, the People's Party won the election of 1878. However, the Liberal Party officials refused to count the votes, and declared themselves the winner of the election.Francis M. Lyman was key in challenging the election and after hearing cases in the district and supreme courts, the People's Party were declared the winners on
March 29 ,1879 . He earned a reputation for fighting corruption due to his zeal and effectiveness in winning this battle.Apostleship
At the October General Conference held
October 10 ,1880 he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles along withJohn Henry Smith . Having been on a mission to survey parts of southern Utah,Nevada , andArizona , he wasn't ordained untilOctober 27 by Church President John Taylor. Upon his call and ordination, he completely devoted himself to church service.Lyman visited nearly every town that had members of the church in the West during his apostleship. He also maintained a daily record of his business as an apostle in detail.
In early 1883, he served a mission to the Indian people of the Unitah and Ouray in Utah at the call of President Taylor. He was overwhelmed with the calling. Climbing to the summit of a mountain on the borders of the Indian territories, he found a flat spot and felt inspired to pray. He poured out his heart on the mountain, and turned towards the work. Facing
anti-Mormon Indian agents and working among a people he knew very little about was a daunting task.With his company of men, he set out and preached vigorously. The Indian agents were receptive and allowed them to preach freely. Members of the Utes had joined them, and they were most effective in preaching to their brethren. Many Indians received the Book of Mormon and their preaching and were baptized. He served the Indians both spiritually and temporally.
He returned to
Provo, Utah onMay 28 ,1883 and continued serving diligently in other callings.Lyman was called to minister over the European Mission in 1901. He set about several key reforms and expanded the number of mission homes throughout Europe. In 1903, Lyman and
Joseph J. Cannon visited and preached inFinland andRussia .In the spring of 1902 he visited
Palestine and offered up a solemn prayer on theMount of Olives .In 1903,
Brigham Young, Jr. died, making Lyman thePresident of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles . He returned to Utah in 1904.Soon after returning home, he went to
Washington, D.C. to testify in theReed Smoot Investigation before the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections.Lyman died in his home of
pneumonia onNovember 18 ,1916 . [ [http://images.archives.utah.gov/data/81448/2229574/2229574_0001222.jpgState of Utah Death Certificate] .]Stephen L Richards was called to replace him in the Quorum of the Twelve after his death.Heber J. Grant replaced him as President of the Quorum.Lyman's style was one of reconciliation and the ability to say unpleasant things in an uplifting way. He was known for his sincerity and at times sharpness. But everyone who met him came away a better person, no matter what his personal message was for them. He was hardened by years of hard work starting with crossing the plains at the age of 8 and driving livestock to California at the age of 11, yet he was known for his kindness and sincerity by members of the church.
Notes
External links
* [http://gapages.com/lymanfm1.htm Grandpa Bill's G.A. Pages: Francis M. Lyman]
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