Ezra Booth was a Methodist minister who joined Joseph Smith’s church in 1831 and abandoned it only a few months later. His time inside the movement was brief, but the nine letters he published after leaving became one of the earliest detailed critiques written by a former Mormon participant.
Booth was born in Newtown, Connecticut, on February 14, 1792. He entered the Methodist ministry in 1816, became a deacon in 1818, and was ordained an elder in 1820. By 1831, he was serving as a Methodist minister in Mantua, Ohio. He had years of preaching experience and a reputation that gave weight to his sudden conversion to the new church. [1]
Latter-day Saint accounts connect Booth’s conversion to a reported healing. Booth accompanied John and Elsa Johnson to meet Joseph Smith. Elsa had limited movement in one arm, and Smith was said to have restored it. Booth accepted the healing as miraculous and was baptized. He was ordained a high priest on June 4, 1831, then assigned by revelation to travel to Missouri with Isaac Morley. [2][3]
The trip changed his view of Joseph Smith and the church. Booth expected to find a thriving body of converts in Missouri, but the group there was small. He also resented that he and other missionaries traveled on foot while Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received money to use faster transportation. After returning to Ohio, Booth was silenced from preaching at a church conference on September 6. He then began preparing a public account of what he had experienced. [2][4]
Booth addressed his letters to Ira Eddy, a Methodist minister and longtime acquaintance. The Ohio Star published the first on October 13, 1831, followed by eight more through December 8. Together, they trace his conversion, his mission to Missouri, and the collapse of his confidence in Joseph Smith.
The letters cover far more than Booth’s personal disappointment. He challenged claims of prophecy and miraculous gifts, described disputes settled through revelation, criticized the handling of money and property, and questioned the treatment of missionaries. He also reproduced or discussed early revelations, giving readers access to Mormon teachings that were not yet widely available in print. [4]
The complete series can be read on Lucifer’s Lantern in the Full Text of the Ezra Booth Letters.
Booth was not writing as a neutral observer. He wanted to undo the influence his conversion had carried and convince friends that he had made a mistake. His anger, embarrassment, and religious commitments shaped the account. Still, he had attended church meetings, traveled with members, participated in missionary work, and dealt personally with several early leaders. His statements can be compared with surviving minutes, revelations, and correspondence rather than accepted or rejected as a single block.
The letters reached readers almost immediately. They circulated in Ohio newspapers and were later reprinted in Eber D. Howe’s 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed, which carried Booth’s accusations to a much larger audience. His writing became an early source for critics trying to describe Joseph Smith’s leadership from the testimony of someone who had recently belonged to the church. [5]
Church leaders responded while the series was still appearing. A revelation dated December 1, 1831, now published as Doctrine and Covenants 71, instructed Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to temporarily stop their other work and preach publicly in response to hostile reports. The historical introduction in the Joseph Smith Papers identifies Booth’s letters and Symonds Rider’s opposition as part of the immediate setting for that revelation. [6]
Ezra Booth did not remain a major public opponent of Mormonism for the rest of his life. He later moved to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and died in 1873. His nine letters, however, remained in circulation. Their value does not depend on treating every accusation as proven. They preserve the reaction of an educated minister who joined quickly, gained access to the movement’s leadership, and then rejected the claims that had first persuaded him. [1]
Sources
[1] Joseph Smith Papers, “Booth, Ezra,” Biographical Directory.
[2] “Minutes, 6 September 1831,” Joseph Smith Papers, Minute Book 2.
[3] “Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52],” Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation Book 1, 87–89.
[4] Ezra Booth, “Mormonism,” nine letters published in the Ohio Star, October 13–December 8, 1831.
[5] Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, Ohio: E. D. Howe, 1834), chapter 15.
[6] “Revelation, 1 December 1831 [D&C 71],” Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation Book 1, 121–122.
A Methodist Minister Joins Mormonism
Booth was born in Newtown, Connecticut, on February 14, 1792. He entered the Methodist ministry in 1816, became a deacon in 1818, and was ordained an elder in 1820. By 1831, he was serving as a Methodist minister in Mantua, Ohio. He had years of preaching experience and a reputation that gave weight to his sudden conversion to the new church. [1]
Latter-day Saint accounts connect Booth’s conversion to a reported healing. Booth accompanied John and Elsa Johnson to meet Joseph Smith. Elsa had limited movement in one arm, and Smith was said to have restored it. Booth accepted the healing as miraculous and was baptized. He was ordained a high priest on June 4, 1831, then assigned by revelation to travel to Missouri with Isaac Morley. [2][3]
The trip changed his view of Joseph Smith and the church. Booth expected to find a thriving body of converts in Missouri, but the group there was small. He also resented that he and other missionaries traveled on foot while Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received money to use faster transportation. After returning to Ohio, Booth was silenced from preaching at a church conference on September 6. He then began preparing a public account of what he had experienced. [2][4]
The Ezra Booth Letters
Booth addressed his letters to Ira Eddy, a Methodist minister and longtime acquaintance. The Ohio Star published the first on October 13, 1831, followed by eight more through December 8. Together, they trace his conversion, his mission to Missouri, and the collapse of his confidence in Joseph Smith.
The letters cover far more than Booth’s personal disappointment. He challenged claims of prophecy and miraculous gifts, described disputes settled through revelation, criticized the handling of money and property, and questioned the treatment of missionaries. He also reproduced or discussed early revelations, giving readers access to Mormon teachings that were not yet widely available in print. [4]
The complete series can be read on Lucifer’s Lantern in the Full Text of the Ezra Booth Letters.
Booth was not writing as a neutral observer. He wanted to undo the influence his conversion had carried and convince friends that he had made a mistake. His anger, embarrassment, and religious commitments shaped the account. Still, he had attended church meetings, traveled with members, participated in missionary work, and dealt personally with several early leaders. His statements can be compared with surviving minutes, revelations, and correspondence rather than accepted or rejected as a single block.
Impact on Mormon History
The letters reached readers almost immediately. They circulated in Ohio newspapers and were later reprinted in Eber D. Howe’s 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed, which carried Booth’s accusations to a much larger audience. His writing became an early source for critics trying to describe Joseph Smith’s leadership from the testimony of someone who had recently belonged to the church. [5]
Church leaders responded while the series was still appearing. A revelation dated December 1, 1831, now published as Doctrine and Covenants 71, instructed Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to temporarily stop their other work and preach publicly in response to hostile reports. The historical introduction in the Joseph Smith Papers identifies Booth’s letters and Symonds Rider’s opposition as part of the immediate setting for that revelation. [6]
Ezra Booth did not remain a major public opponent of Mormonism for the rest of his life. He later moved to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and died in 1873. His nine letters, however, remained in circulation. Their value does not depend on treating every accusation as proven. They preserve the reaction of an educated minister who joined quickly, gained access to the movement’s leadership, and then rejected the claims that had first persuaded him. [1]
Sources
[1] Joseph Smith Papers, “Booth, Ezra,” Biographical Directory.
[2] “Minutes, 6 September 1831,” Joseph Smith Papers, Minute Book 2.
[3] “Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52],” Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation Book 1, 87–89.
[4] Ezra Booth, “Mormonism,” nine letters published in the Ohio Star, October 13–December 8, 1831.
[5] Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, Ohio: E. D. Howe, 1834), chapter 15.
[6] “Revelation, 1 December 1831 [D&C 71],” Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation Book 1, 121–122.
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