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Robert Blashel Thompson (October 1, 1811 – August 27, 1841)[1] was an associate of Joseph Smith Jr., a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Danite, and an official historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Thompson was born in Great Driffield, England on October 1, 1811.[2] He joined the Methodists at an early age and participated in preaching in Yorkshire. In 1834, Thompson emigrated to Upper Canada and settled in Toronto.[3] In May 1836, he was baptized a member of the Church of the Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt. On July 22, 1836, Thompson was ordained an elder in the church by John Taylor.[1]
Thompson moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where the majority of Latter Day Saints were gathering, in May 1837.[2] He married Mercy Rachel Fielding in Kirtland on June 4, 1837.[4] Later that month, the couple traveled to Upper Canada as missionaries for the church. They returned to Kirtland in March 1838.[citation needed] They had one child, Mary Jane Thompson.[1] The Thompsons traveled to Far West, Missouri with the family of Hyrum Smith in May 1838.[2]
While in Missouri, Thompson was a Danite and participated in the 1838 Mormon War. He was standing next to apostle David W. Patten when Patten was killed at the Battle of Crooked River.[5]
In March 1839, Thompson was the clerk to the disciplinary council convened by Brigham Young that excommunicated a number of prominent Latter Day Saints, including George M. Hinkle, Sampson Avard, John Corrill, W. W. Phelps, Frederick G. Williams, Thomas B. Marsh, and others.[6] At a conference of the church in May 1839, Thompson, Almon W. Babbitt and Erastus Snow were appointed to be a traveling committee that was charged with "gather[ing] up and obtain[ing] all the libelous reports and publications which had been circulated against the Church."[7]
When the Latter Day Saints were forced to leave Missouri, Thompson moved to Quincy, Illinois.[2] He then moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he worked as a scribe for Joseph Smith.[1]
On September 15, 1840, Thompson delivered the funeral oration at the funeral of Joseph Smith Sr., the presiding patriarch of the church.[8] In October 1840, Thompson succeeded Elias Higbee as official Church Historian, and in November of that year, Thompson and Higbee together drafted a petition to the United States Congress for redress of the grievances of the Latter Day Saints from their experiences in Missouri.[9]
Thompson was a colonel and an aide-de-camp in the Nauvoo Legion.[10] He became Associate Editor of the Times and Seasons newspaper in Nauvoo.[1] Due to the unhealthy conditions in the offices of the Times and Seasons,[citation needed] Thompson and Don Carlos Smith both died from pneumonia in August 1841.[1] He was survived by his wife and daughter and was buried at the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo.[11]
Thompson wrote the words to a hymn called "See, the Mighty Angel Flying", which is included in the 1985 English-language LDS Church hymnal as hymn number 330.
- Robert B. Thompson receipt fragment, 1840 August 18, Vault MSS 76 Series 1 Sub-Series 5 Item 29, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Robert B. Thompson receipt for Elias Higbee, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
- Robert B. Thompson receipt for Hyrum Smith, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
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