Amasa Lyman - Early Life and Conversion

Early Life and Conversion

Amasa Lyman was born in 1813 in Lyman, New Hampshire, the third son of Roswell Lyman and Martha Mason. In the spring of 1832, Lyman met two traveling Latter Day Saint missionaries, Orson Pratt and Lyman E. Johnson. He was baptized a member of the Church on 27 April 1832 by Johnson. On 28 April, Lyman was confirmed by Pratt.

After becoming a Latter Day Saint, Lyman traveled 700 miles to Palmyra, New York, where he hoped to meet Joseph Smith and Martin Harris. (Smith and Harris had lived in the Palmyra area when they published the Book of Mormon and organized the Church in 1830). When Lyman arrived in Palmyra, he discovered that Smith had moved to Ohio the previous year, and was visiting to Missouri.

Determined to join the Latter Day Saints in Ohio, Lyman found temporary employment on the farm of Thomas Lackey, who had bought Harris' farm. (Harris sold it to raise money for the publication of the Book of Mormon). After working for two weeks, Lyman earned enough money to take a ship from Buffalo, New York to Cleveland, Ohio. From Cleveland, Lyman walked the 45 miles to Hiram, where he was told Smith and his family were living. When Lyman met John Johnson, the owner of the Smiths' house, he discovered Johnson was the father of the missionary who had baptized him just weeks before. Johnson invited Lyman to live at his house and work on his farm. Lyman did so from 5 June until August 1832. Lyman met Joseph Smith on 1 July, when Smith returned to Hiram from his Missouri visit.