Robert D. Foster

Robert D. Foster (14 March 1811 – 1 February 1878) was a 19th-century physician and an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, being baptized into the Church of Christ (later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) sometime before October 1839.[1]

Early life

Foster was born in Braunston, England on March 14, 1811.[1] He was the son of John Foster and Jane Knibb.[2] He was the brother of Charles A. Foster.[3] Foster married Sarah Phinney on July 18, 1837 at Medina County, Ohio.[1] He and Phinney had two children: a son and a daughter.[4] Foster was baptized into the Church of Christ, and, in October 1839, he was ordained to be an elder of the church while living in Nauvoo, Illinois.[1]

Latter Day Saint movement

After joining the church, Foster accompanied Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, to Washington, D.C. in March 1840 to help "draft Senate Committee reports"[4] on the Missouri redress issue.[5] Foster was then mentioned by name in a revelation dated January 19, 1841, in which Joseph Smith states that Foster should build Smith a house in Nauvoo:[1][6]

And again, verily I say unto you, if my servant Robert D. Foster will obey my voice, let him build a house for my servant Joseph, according to the contract which he has made with him, as the door shall be open to him from time to time.

And let him repent of all his folly, and clothe himself with charity; and cease to do evil, and lay aside all his hard speeches;

And pay stock also into the hands of the quorum of the Nauvoo House, for himself and for his generation after him, from generation to generation;

And hearken unto the counsel of my servants Joseph, and Hyrum, and William Law, and unto the authorities which I have called to lay the foundation of Zion;

Foster helped build and purchased stock in the resulting Mansion House.[7]

Foster was appointed surgeon general in the Nauvoo Legion in March 1841 and he was a Regent of the University of Nauvoo from 1841 to 1844. He was also involved in the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge[1] and the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufacturing Association.[5] Foster also served as Hancock County Magistrate.[4]

In April 1843, Foster traveled to Tioga County, New York to serve a mission. However, after his return, he began to gamble and speak out against the church.[4] Foster was excommunicated from the church on 18 April 1844, in Nauvoo[1] for "immorality and apostacy"[4] after Joseph Smith charged Foster with character defamation, lying, and endangering his life in the Nauvoo High Council.[7] He was subsequently released from his position in the Nauvoo Legion.[4]

Nauvoo Expositor and death of Joseph Smith
See also: Nauvoo Expositor and Death of Joseph Smith

After his excommunication, Foster became a publisher of the Nauvoo Expositor,[1] which was critical of the church and Smith.[8] Foster helped write the June 7, 1844 issue of the newspaper[4] that led Smith to order the destruction of the press, leading to Smith's arrest and ultimately to his death.[8] Foster had previously joined discussions in which the murder of Joseph Smith was planned, but never saw these efforts through himself. After Joseph and Hyrum Smith were shot and killed at Carthage Jail, Foster was "charged and acquitted of their murder."[7] In a conversation with Abraham Hodge, Foster expressed regret at having played a hand in Joseph's and Hyrum's deaths.[7]

Additionally, there is evidence that Smith may have propositioned Foster's wife to become one of Smith's plural wives, but was turned down. Foster's wife denied this claim multiple times, and only admitted it when he held a gun to her head.[9][10]

Foster was an apostle in the church formed by First Presidency member William Law.[1]

Later life

In 1850, Foster moved to Canandaigua, New York and worked there as a physician.[5] In 1860, he moved to Loda, Illinois,[1] where he died on February 1, 1878.[2] He was 67 years old.[7]

References
  1. "Foster, Robert D. – Biography". The Joseph Smith Papers. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  2. Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Robert D. Foster". www.churchhistorianspress.org. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. "Uncle Dale's Old Mormon Articles: Sangamo Journal (1844)". www.sidneyrigdon.com.
  4. McCune, George M. (1991). Personalities in the Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith–History. Salt Lake City, Utah: Hawkes Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 9780890365182.
  5. "BYU Studies - Biographical Registers". Byustudies.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  6. Doctrine and Covenants 124:115.
  7. Black, Susan Easton. "Robert D. Foster". Doctrine and Covenants Central. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  8. "Polygamy, Persecution And Power" Archived 12 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Salt Lake Tribune, June 16, 1996, paragraph 16, 17
  9. Ostlings, 14.
  10. On the legal issues, see Edwin Brown Firmage and Richard Collin Mangrum, Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988) pp. 106–13.
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