Chapter Eight

CHURCH HISTORY IN THE FULNESS OF TIMESJohnson and his wife, Alice, from Hiram, Ohio. Alice’s arm was partiallyparalyzed from rheumatism, and she could not raise it above her head. Asthey talked with the Prophet, one of the visitors asked if there was anyoneon earth who had the power to cure Alice’s lame arm. When theconversation turned to another subject, Joseph went up to Mrs. Johnson,took her by the hand, and with calm assurance said, “Woman, in the nameof the Lord Jesus Christ I command thee to be whole.” As Joseph went fromthe room, leaving everyone astonished and speechless, she raised her arm.The next day she hung out her first wash in over six years without any pain.Ezra Booth and some members of the Johnson family joined the Church as aresult of the healing. The miracle also attracted wide acclaimthroughout northern Ohio. 19That same spring Parley P. Pratt returned to Kirtland with a report onthe mission to the Lamanites and was delighted to see the tremendousgrowth of the Church. He was especially happy that Joseph had moved toOhio. Parley was soon called to go on a mission to a religious group calledthe Shakers in northern Ohio.The Shakers (United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming)originated in England and came to America in 1774 because of persecution.“They derive their name from their manner of worship, which [involved]singing, dancing, and clapping hands” to music, but “their dress and mannerare similar to those of the [Quakers,] so they were sometimes called theShaking Quakers.” The Shaking Quakers were led by Ann Lee from 1754 to1784. She had claimed to be the Messiah returned to earth in female form. Shetaught that men and women were equals and that there should be no marriageamong the believers. 20 Leman Copley, a former Shaker, had converted toMormonism but still believed that the Shakers were correct in many of theirdoctrines, so he asked Joseph for guidance on the matter. 21 The revelationJoseph Smith received repudiated the Shaker doctrines of celibacy, abstainingfrom meat, and God appearing in the form of a woman. Sidney Rigdon, ParleyP. Pratt, and Leman Copley were also called to take the gospel to the Shakers(see D&C 49). The trio visited a settlement of Shakers near Cleveland, Ohio,but according to Parley, “they utterly refused to hear or obey the gospel.” 22Elder Pratt then visited a number of branches of the Latter-day Saints inthe Western Reserve, where he found the same spiritual fanaticism among themembers that Joseph Smith had encountered when he arrived in Kirtland inFebruary. Other elders were also disheartened by what they saw.John Whitmer related, “Some would fancy to themselves that they had thesword of Laban, and would wield it as expert as a light dragoon, some wouldact like an Indian in the act of scalping, some would slide or scoot on the floor,with the rapidity of a serpent, which termed sailing in the boat to theLamanites, preaching the gospel, and many other vain and foolish maneuvers,that are unmeaning and unprofitable to mention. Thus the devil blinded the94