John and Elsa Johnson Home

The John and Elsa Johnson Home in Hiram, Ohio, was the home of the Johnson family, a large and prominent family in Portage County, Ohio. In 1818, John and Alice “Elsa” Johnson first moved with their eight children (aged 2 to 17) to Ohio from Vermont. They purchased one hundred acres in the newly established Western Reserve near Hiram Township, approximately 50 miles southeast of Cleveland. By 1831, when news of the Latter-day Saint arrival in the area first reached the Johnson Family, their farm had grown to 260 acres and included productive fields, pasturage, and dairy operations.

The Johnsons were well-respected members of the Hiram community and active members of the local Methodist congregation led by Ezra Booth. In February 1831, while visiting Kirtland, the Johnson’s 19-year-old son, Lyman, attended several meetings where Latter-day Saint missionaries preached. Convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel, Lyman was soon baptized. Concerned by what they saw as a hasty decision, John and Elsa sought the advice of their minister, Ezra Booth. Booth obtained a copy of the Book of Mormon, and the three “sat up all night reading it.”¹ As they read, Elsa became convinced not only that the book was true, but that Joseph Smith could heal her debilitating rheumatism. Shortly after, the Johnsons, Booth, and the Johnson family physician traveled to Kirtland, where they met Joseph Smith at the home of Newel and Elizabeth Ann Whitney. During this meeting, Elsa asked that Joseph heal her. “Do you believe that the Lord is able to make me an instrument in healing your arm?” Joseph asked her. Saying that she did, Elsa allowed Joseph Smith to take her by the arm. He bowed his head in silent prayer, then pronounced her arm whole. She was healed.²

A short time later, John and Elsa were baptized. The Johnsons became close friends and benefactors of the prophet and, in September 1831, invited Joseph and Emma Smith to live in their home. During the year that Joseph and Emma lived in Hiram, Joseph received a significant number of revelations, including sixteen that are now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. During a two-week conference of a dozen elders held in the Johnson Home in late 1831, the decision was made to publish Joseph Smith’s revelations.

During his time in Hiram, Joseph Smith also continued work on his revised translation of the Bible. This work was the impetus for many of the revelations that he received during this time. In February 1832, while translating the Gospel of John, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and learned of different kingdoms of glory that people will inherit after they are resurrected (see Doctrine and Covenants 76).

On Saturday, March 24, 1832, a mob composed of members of the local militia broke into the Johnson home and tore Joseph from his bed. Forcing him outside, they carried him to a meadow some distance away where he and Sidney Rigdon were tarred and feathered. After Joseph stumbled home, Emma nursed his wounds and cleaned the tar and feathers from his skin. The following day, Joseph attended the regularly scheduled Sabbath services. “With my flesh all scarified and defaced,” Joseph recounted, “I preached to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized three individuals.”³

The Johnson Home has been restored and is available for free tours.

Read more about the Johnson Home in chapter 14 of Saints, Volume 1.

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1. Marinda Johnson Hyde as quoted in Edward Tullidge, Women of Mormondom (1877), 403.
2. Based on Philo Dibble, “Philo Dibble’s Narrative,” in Early Scenes in Church History (1882), 79.
3. Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume A-1, p. 208. www.josephsmithhistory.org.

360° Walkthrough

What to Expect

The Johnson Home is part of a guided tour given by missionaries.