View source for David W. Patten

{{Short description|American Mormon apostle (1799–1838)}}
{{ Infobox Latter Day Saint biography
 | name                = David W. Patten
 | birth_name          = David Wyman Patten
 | birth_date          = {{birth date|1799|11|14}}
 | birth_place         = [[Vermont]]
 | death_date          = {{death date and age|1838|10|25|1799|11|14}}
 | death_place         = [[Ray County, Missouri|Ray County]], [[Missouri]]
 | portals             = Movement
 | position_or_quorum1 = [[Quorum of the Twelve#Members of the Quorum, prior to 1844|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]]
 | president1          = [[Three Witnesses]]
 | start_date1         = {{start date|1835|02|15}}
 | end_date1           = {{end date|1838|10|25}}
 | position_or_quorum2 = [[Latter Day Saint]] [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|Apostle]]
 | president2          = [[Three Witnesses]]
 | start_date2         = {{start date|1835|02|15}}
 | ordination_reason2  = Initial organization of Quorum of the Twelve
 | end_date2           = {{end date|1838|10|25}}
 | reorganization2     = No apostles immediately ordained
 | list_notes          = Killed in the [[Battle of Crooked River]].
}}
'''David Wyman Patten''' (November 14, 1799 – October 25, 1838) was an early leader in the [[Latter Day Saint movement]] and an original member of the [[Quorum of the Twelve|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]]. He was killed at the [[Battle of Crooked River]] and is regarded as a [[martyr]] by members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (Church of Jesus Christ). He is referred to twice in the Church of Jesus Christ's [[Doctrine and Covenants]]—once in section 114 and posthumously in section 124.

==Early life==
Patten was born to Benoni and Edith Cole Patten in Vermont, and moved to [[Theresa, New York]], as a young child.<ref name="Wilson 1904">{{harvnb|Wilson|1904}}</ref><ref name="jspapers">{{citation |url= http://josephsmithpapers.org/person/david-wyman-patten |title= Patten, David Wyman |website=[[The Joseph Smith Papers]] |year= 2012 |publisher= [[Church History Department]], LDS Church}}</ref> He was the 11th of 13 children. He was around 6'1" and of a dark complexion.<ref name=heros/> As a youth, Patten moved to the town of [[Dundee, Michigan|Dundee]] in eastern Michigan.<ref name="Whiting 2003">{{harvnb|Whiting|2003}}</ref>{{rp|1}} While there, at the age of 28 he married [[Phoebe Ann Patten|Phoebe Ann Babcock]] in 1828.<ref name="byubio">{{cite web|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Indexes/BioAlpha/MBRegisterP.aspx |title=Patten, David Wyman (1799-1838) |work=Biographical Registers |publisher=BYU Studies |access-date=2008-09-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114234/http://byustudies.byu.edu/Indexes/BioAlpha/MBRegisterP.aspx |archive-date=May 13, 2008 }}</ref> The two had one stillborn child; they had no children live to adulthood.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|1}} <ref name="Baugh 1992">{{citation |last= Baugh |first= Alexander L. |contribution= Patton, David W. |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/4038 |page= 1068 |editor1-last= Ludlow |editor1-first= Daniel H |editor1-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> Patten allied himself with the local [[Methodist]] congregation during this time, all the while professing a belief that there was "no true religion on the earth."<ref name="Wilson 1904" />

==Conversion==
In 1830, Patten heard about the publication of the [[Book of Mormon]]. He became "greatly agitated in mind and desired to see it." That summer, he had the opportunity to read the preface and the [[Three Witnesses#Testimony of the Three Witnesses|Testimony of the Three Witnesses]] that was attached to the book. Two years later, Patten learned that his brother John had recently joined the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] (the original name of the church founded by [[Joseph Smith]]). Excited, David rode three&nbsp;hundred&nbsp;miles to his brother's house in [[Fairplay, Indiana]], to investigate the church.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|3}} On June 15, 1832, Patten was baptized by his brother.<ref name="Flake 2001">{{harvnb|Flake|2001|pp=351–3}}</ref>

== Missions and church service ==
Patten served several short missions for the church, and was one of the first missionaries to visit the southern United States.<ref name=heros>{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Marlene Bateman|title=Latter-Day Saint Heroes & Heroines|year=1999|publisher=Aspen Books|location=Salt Lake City|isbn=1562362429|pages=105–109}}</ref> Two days after his baptism, Patten was [[Ordination|ordained]] an [[Elder (Latter Day Saints)|elder]] by [[Elisha H. Groves]], and soon after sent on a [[Missionary (LDS Church)|mission]] to [[Michigan Territory]].<ref name="Baugh 1992" /><ref name="Flake 2001" /> On this trip, he was [[Missionary (LDS Church)#Companionships|accompanied]] by another recent [[Religious conversion|convert]], Joseph Wood. Together, the two traveled for 23 days without much food or money, instead relying on nearby families for sustenance and a place to sleep. This assignment lasted "a short season," during which time Patten baptized his wife. [[Faith healing#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Healing]] was a distinctive feature of Patten's missionary labors. [[Abraham O. Smoot]] said that "he never knew an instance in which David's petition for the sick was not answered."<ref name="Wilson 1904" /> Patten described some accounts of his healing: "Jesus called upon me to lay hands on [Brother] Coltrain who accidentally burned his hand and he received no harm. Brother William Smith had a pain in his eye and I laid my hand on him in the name of Jesus Christ and the pain left him."<ref name="Whiting 2003" />

Patten was [[Ordination|ordained]] a [[High priest (Latter Day Saints)|high priest]] by [[Hyrum Smith]] on September 2, 1832.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|4–7}}

At the end of 1832, several missionaries, including Patten, were sent to states on the [[East Coast of the United States|east coast]] in response to a [[Revelation (Latter Day Saints)|revelation]] received by [[Joseph Smith]] in September of the same year. Over the next few months, Patten traveled with other missionaries, including [[John Murdock (Mormon)|John Murdock]], [[William Smith (Latter Day Saints)|William Smith]], [[Zebedee Coltrin]], [[John F. Boynton]], [[Hyrum Smith]], and [[Reynolds Cahoon]].<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|12}} Patten began preaching in Ohio and made his way to Pennsylvania, and then to New York and back to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], the headquarters of the church. He returned home on February 15, 1833, and within a month was called on his third mission, this time to preach near [[Theresa, New York]], where his mother and some of his siblings lived.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|13–20}} Patten left on March 25, 1833, accompanied by [[Reynolds Cahoon]]. During their journey, the two visited congregations of church members along the way and advised them to move to Kirtland. During one of these visits, a heckler interrupted a meeting in [[Avon (town), New York|Avon, New York]], ridiculing the missionaries and refusing to be quiet. Patten told him to be quiet or he would "put him out", to which the heckler responded, "You can't do it." Patten answered "In the name of the Lord, I will" and picked the man up with both hands, took him to the back door, and reportedly threw him ten feet into a wood pile. This story became a popular tale for early members of the church.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|23–24}}

Patten was known to sing using the gift of Tongues. On February 27, 1833 [[Sidney Rigdon]] interpreted a song of Patten's and transcribed it into Revelation Book 2. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-book-2/58#foot-notes|title=Revelation Book 2, Page 48|website=www.josephsmithpapers.org}}</ref> They hymn was about Enoch's vision as found in Joseph Smith's revision of Genesis. The interpreted hymn was mailed to Independence, MO where W.W. Phelps published it, unattributed, in the May 1833 edition of the Evening and Morning Star. Sometime before publication the text was adapted into a song with meter and rhyming. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-in-context/man-was-also-in-the-beginning-with-god?lang=eng|title=Man Was Also in the Beginning with God|first=Matthew|last=McBride|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref> The original hymn was never published.

By May 1833, Patten and his companion had arrived at Theresa. They stayed their first night there at the house of Patten's brother Archibald. After remaining in Theresa and preaching for a few weeks, on May 20, 1833, Patten's mother was [[Baptism (Latter Day Saints)|baptized]] by [[Brigham Young]], as were two of Patten's brothers, Ira and Archibald, and two sisters, Polly and Betsy. After a while, Patten traveled south to [[Henderson, New York]], where he preached and converted eighty&nbsp;people. After that, Patten returned to Kirtland. In the time following his mission, he worked on constructing the [[Kirtland Temple]] and moved his family from Michigan to Ohio.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|22–31}}

Altogether, Patten served twelve short missions for the church in the [[eastern United States]] in 1832 and 1833 and in Tennessee with [[Warren Parrish]] in 1834.<ref name="byubio"/> During this time, he was persecuted by mobs while establishing numerous [[Branch (Mormonism)|branches]] of the church.<ref name="Flake 2001" />

Nancy Alexander Tracy, an early member of the church who converted at age sixteen, wrote of Patten: "I could at a glance see the noble spirit he possessed beaming in his countenance, and when he began to speak it was with such force and power. Before he was half through I could have borne my testimony of the truth of the gospel and doctrine he was preaching."<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|29}}<!-- find original quotation in her autobiography, page 35 -->

[[File:Rifle Carried By David W Patten at battle of Crooked River.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Rifle, shot pouch, powder horn, and pocket watch carried by Patten into the battle of Crooked River. Rifle is made of curly maple wood.]]
==Apostleship==
Patten became one of the original [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostles]] of the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of the Latter Day Saints]] on February 15, 1835, receiving his ordination from [[Oliver Cowdery]], [[David Whitmer]], and [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], jointly known as the [[Three Witnesses]]. He served as an apostle from 1835 until his death in 1838.<ref name="byubio"/>

In late 1836, Patten settled in [[Far West, Missouri]]. On February 10, 1838, [[Thomas B. Marsh]] and Patten were called to serve as Presidents ''[[pro tempore]]'' of the church in Missouri until the president of the church, [[Joseph Smith]], and his counselor [[Sidney Rigdon]] returned.<ref name="Roberts 1905">{{cite book |last= Roberts |first= Brigham Henry |author-link= B. H. Roberts |title= History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Volume 3) |publisher= Deseret News |year= 1905|title-link= History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints }}</ref>{{rp|[https://archive.org/stream/historyofchurcho03robe#page/6/mode/2up 6]}} Later that year, on April 6, 1838, when Marsh was called to be President ''pro tempore'' of the church by himself, Patten was appointed to be Marsh's assistant; fellow apostle [[Brigham Young]] also served as an assistant to Marsh.<ref name="Roberts 1905" />{{rp|[https://archive.org/stream/historyofchurcho03robe#page/14/mode/2up 14]}} Latter Day Saints in Missouri began to refer to Patten by the nickname "Captain Fear-Not."<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|165}}

[[Doctrine and Covenants]] section 114, delivered April 17, 1838, is directed to Patten, in which he is called to serve another mission.<ref>{{lds|Doctrine and Covenants|dc|114|1}}</ref>

==Story of meeting Cain==
Patten is reportedly the source of a story which has become a part of [[Mormon folklore]]. As related by [[Abraham O. Smoot]] after Patten's death, Patten says he encountered a very tall, hairy, dark-skinned man in [[Paris, Tennessee]], who said that he was [[Cain and Abel|Cain]]. The account states that Cain, the son of [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]] from the Bible, had earnestly sought death but was denied it, and that his mission was to destroy the souls of men.<ref name="Wilson 1904" /><ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|85}} 

The recollection of Patten's story is quoted in [[Spencer W. Kimball]]'s ''[[The Miracle of Forgiveness]]''.<ref>{{citation |author-link= Spencer W. Kimball |first= Spencer W. |last= Kimball |year= 1969 |title= The Miracle of Forgiveness |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= Bookcraft |isbn= 0-88494-444-1|title-link= The Miracle of Forgiveness }}</ref>{{rp|127–128}} In the 1980s, Patten's story was used by some Latter-day Saints to explain [[Bigfoot]] sightings in [[South Weber, Utah]].<ref>{{citation |first1= Lynn |last1= Arave |first2= Jody |last2= Genessy |title= Living in Utah: A guide to separate reality from myths |url= https://www.deseret.com/2003/7/24/19737125/living-in-utah/ |newspaper= [[Deseret Morning News]] |date= 2003-07-24 |page= A1 |access-date= 2013-06-24 |archive-date= 2016-10-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161022154641/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/998728/Living-in-Utah.html?pg=all |url-status= live }}</ref>

==Battle of Crooked River==
{{Main|Battle of Crooked River}}
[[File:Battle of Crooked River.jpg|thumb|right|A map of the Battle of Crooked River.]]
Patten died due to wounds received in the [[Battle of Crooked River]]. This conflict was primarily caused by  deteriorating conditions between [[Mormon]] settlers and other religious groups in Missouri. As tensions between Mormon and non-Mormon groups increased, a group of men from the state militia abducted three Mormon men on October 24, 1838.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|153–156}} In response, Patten led a group of Mormon men to rescue the men.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|157}} Before daybreak on the 25th, as the Mormon militia approached the ford where the state militia was camped, a non-Mormon guard, John Lockhart, called out, "Who goes there?" and immediately fired at the Mormons. The shot hit Patrick O'Bannion, one of Patten's guides, and mortally wounded him. Crying, "God and liberty," Patten ordered a charge and led the Mormon militia in the attack.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|159–60}} Patten, who was serving as commander of the Mormon militia group, was shot in the bowels. The three men who had been held by the state militia were rescued.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|162}} <!-- took place along the banks of [[Crooked River (Missouri)|Crooked River]] in northern [[Ray County, Missouri]], between mob forces under the command of [[Methodist]] minister Samuel Bogart and a section of the [[Caldwell County, Missouri|Caldwell County]] militia of Missouri, which was composed entirely of Latter Day Saints.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=06f2759235d0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616110314/http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=06f2759235d0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-06-16|title=From High Hopes to Despair: The Missouri Period, 1831–39|last=Baugh|first=Alexander L.|date=July 2001|work=Ensign|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|pages=44|access-date=2008-09-20}} Under the "Civil Conflict and Exodus" Section.</ref> -->

The wounded Patten was carried from the battlefield to the home of Stephen Winchester, four miles distant. En route he was visited by [[Joseph Smith]], [[Hyrum Smith]], and his wife. Patten reiterated his testimony of the church to his visitors. Upon seeing her husband dying, Ann Patten exclaimed, "Oh God! Oh my husband! How pale you look."<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|164}} His final words to his wife were, "Whatever you do else, O do not deny the faith," after which he addressed the others in the room.<ref name=heros/> Moments after this, about 10 p.m., he died. Regarding Patten's death, Joseph Smith said, "There lies a man who has done just as he said he would—he has laid down his life for his friends."<ref name="Flake 2001" /> Patten was buried in an unmarked grave on October 27, 1838, in Far West, Missouri.<ref name="Whiting 2003" />{{rp|166}}
[[Image:The Battle of Crooked River by C.C.A. Christensen.png|left|thumb|A painting of the Battle of Crooked River]]

==Legacy==
After Patten's death, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles did not have twelve apostles again until 1841, when [[Lyman Wight]] was ordained. Between Patten’s death and Wight's ordination, [[John E. Page]], [[John Taylor (Latter Day Saints)|John Taylor]], [[Wilford Woodruff]], [[George A. Smith]], and [[Willard Richards]] had been ordained and added to the Quorum to replace Patten and apostles who had been excommunicated.

Shortly after the Battle of Crooked River, [[Missouri Executive Order 44]] was issued by [[List of Governors of Missouri|Missouri Governor]] [[Lilburn W. Boggs]]. Only days later, the Latter Day Saints living in the community of [[Haun's Mill Massacre|Haun's Mill]] were attacked by a mob and experienced many casualties. These events ultimately led to the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from Missouri.

After Patten's death, [[Wilford Woodruff]] lionized Patten as a martyr and ascribed unspecified miraculous healings to his administration.<ref name="Wilson 1904" /> In Doctrine and Covenants section 124, a revelation states, "David Patten I have taken unto myself; behold, his priesthood no man taketh from him."<ref>{{lds|Doctrine and Covenants|dc|124|130}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Latter Day Saint martyrs]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{Citation
 | editor-last  = Flake
 | editor-first = Lawrence R.
 | title        = Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation
 | publisher    = [[Deseret Book Co.]]
 | place        = Salt Lake City, UT
 | year         = 2001
 | isbn         = 1-57345-797-3
 }}.
*{{Citation
 | last1        = Patten
 | first1       = David W
 |title= History of David W. Patten (Compiled principally from his own journal)
|url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/MStar/id/27922
 | magazine= [[Millennial Star]]
 | volume       = 26
|issue=26
 | pages        = 406–408
 | date= June 25, 1864
 }}.  Continues in:
**No. 27, pp. 422–424 (July 2, 1864)
**No. 28, pp. 439–441 (July 9, 1864)
**No. 29, pp. 454–455 (July 16, 1864)
*{{Citation
 | last       = Whiting
 | first      = Linda Shelley
 | title      = David W. Patten Apostle and Martyr
 | publisher  = Cedar Fort
 | place      = Springville, UT
 | year       = 2003
 | isbn       = 1-55517-682-8
 | oclc       = 51293310
 }}.
*{{Citation
 | last       = Wilson
 | first      = Lycurgus A
 | title      = Life of David W. Patten: The first Apostolic martyr 
 | publisher  = [[Deseret News]]
 | year       = 1904
 | orig-year   = 1900
 | url        = https://archive.org/details/lifeofdavidwpatt00wilsrich
 | lccn       = 44013747 
 | oclc       = 4922706
 }}.

== External links ==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200203091214/http://www.gapages.com/pattedw1.htm Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: David W. Patten]}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|[[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of the Latter Day Saints]] titles<br><small>Renamed ''Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'' in 1838</small>}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Quorum of the Twelve|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]]
 | years  = February 15, 1835&ndash;October 25, 1838
 | before = [[Thomas B. Marsh]]
 | after  = [[Brigham Young]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{LDSApostles}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, David Wyman}}
[[Category:1799 births]]
[[Category:1838 Mormon War]]
[[Category:1838 deaths]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saint leaders]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saint missionaries]]
[[Category:American faith healers]]
[[Category:Apostles of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)]]
[[Category:Converts to Mormonism from Methodism]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Missouri]]
[[Category:Doctrine and Covenants people]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint martyrs]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint missionaries in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Dundee, Michigan]]
[[Category:People from Far West, Missouri]]
[[Category:People from Theresa, New York]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from Vermont]]
[[Category:Victims of religiously motivated violence in the United States]]