John P. Livingstone: After having their property taken from them in Manchester, New York, Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith moved about thirty miles to the southeast. They lived close by, near the Seneca River, in the former community of Kingdom in the area of present day Seneca Falls, New York. Lucy commented on the kindness of the people in the neighborhood in welcoming her and her husband into their lives and homes.
Voice for Lucy Mack Smith: “We moved into a house belonging to an individual by the name of Kellog. Shortly after arriving there we were made to realize that the hearts of the people were in the hands of the Lord; for we had scarcely taken our goods out of the wagon when a Mr. Osgood came in and bade us welcome and invited us to drive the stock and teams to his barn-yard, and made us welcome to what feed we needed for them. Mr. Hooper also came with his Lady and expressed great joy that we had arrived there in safety. Mr. Kellog and his Lady paid us a visit early the next day. These all were remarkably kind and frequently brought to me dishes of delicate or rare victuals that they supposed would please our taste. I appreciated most heartily those kind attendants for I had felt the contrast so severely that I was in a situation to realize an office of friendship more than was commonly the case. Having settled ourselves in this place, we established the practice of spending the evenings in singing and praying. The neighbours soon became aware of this, and it caused our house to become a place of evening resort for some dozen or twenty persons.”1
John P. Livingstone: In the cold month of December 1830, two men from northeastern Ohio arrived in the community of Kingdom, New York. The first, Sidney Rigdon, had received the message of the restoration from missionaries passing through Ohio on their way to Indian Territory west of Missouri and had been baptized.2 The second, Edward Partridge, had also heard the message but had come to New York to meet the Prophet Joseph Smith personally before he made a commitment to baptism.3 They entered the Smith home while Joseph was having a meeting. Following Joseph’s sermon, he invited any present to make remarks as they saw appropriate. Edward Partridge arose and stated that he had been to Manchester seeking out the Smith’s and had been directed here. He explained that while in Manchester, he inquired of the Smith’s previous neighbors concerning their character and looked over the good order of the farm they sacrificed for their faith. He declared that he believed the testimony that he had heard “and was ready to be baptized, if, he said, Brother Joseph will baptize me.”4 The next day the Prophet Joseph Smith baptized Edward Partridge in the Seneca River near Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith’s home.
Sidney Rigdon eventually served as First Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the First Presidency of the Church and Edward Partridge was called as the first bishop in this dispensation. Soon after the arrivals of Brothers Partridge and Rigdon, the Lord gave three revelations through the Prophet, which were most likely received in the Smith home here in the area of Old Kingdom. Sidney, being called as Joseph’s scribe in inspired translation of the Bible and Edward to preach the gospel and the commandment which dramatically affected all the lives of the Saints living in New York, calling them to remove from New York to the state of Ohio, some 275 miles to the west.5 Although their stay was brief in Kingdom, the events that occurred here and the revelations received here were of great import for the young Church of Christ.
1 Lucy’s Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith’s Family Memoir, ed. Lavina Fielding Anderson, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001), 501-502.
2 The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents, Volume 1, July 1828-June 1831, eds. Michael Hubbard MacKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, Grant Underwood, Robert J. Woodford, William G. Hartley, (Salt Lake City: The Church Historians Press, 2013), 211-214,
3 Ibid., 224-225.
4 Lucy’s Book, 504.
5 Joseph Smith Papers: Documents, 1:220-223, 225-227. These are now published as Doctrine and Covenants sections, 35, 36, and 37. The location of the last of these revelations is uncertain, but is identified as Canandaigua in the heading likely created by John Whitmer for Revelation Book 1.
