Ezra Thayre (also spelled Thayer) (October 14, 1791 – September 6, 1862) was an early convert and leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Personal life
Ezra Thayre was born in Randolph, Vermont, to Ezra and Charlotte French Thayre.[2] Thayre was a builder of bridges, dams, and mills in the Palmyra, New York area in the 1820s.[2] In 1810 Thayre married Polly Wells and they had one child.[2] After the 1822 death of Wells, Thayre then married Relief Wales and they had five children.
Conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints
When Hyrum began to speak, every word touched me to the inmost soul. I thought every word was pointed to me. The tears rolled down my cheeks. When Hyrum got through, he picked up a book and said, “Here is the book of Mormon.” I said, “Let me see it.” I then opened the book, and I received a shock with such exquisite joy that no pen can write and no tongue can express. I shut the book and said, “What is the price of it?” “Fourteen shillings,” was the reply. I said, “I’ll take the book.” I opened it again, and I felt a double portion of the Spirit, that I did not know whether I was in the world or not. I felt as though I was truly in heaven.[4]
Shortly after Thayre's baptism, Smith received a revelation that directed Thayre and Northrop Sweet to "open ye your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart ".[5]
Church service
On June 6, 1831, Joseph Smith received a revelation instructing Thayre to depart on a mission to Missouri with Thomas B. Marsh.[6] In preparation for this, Thayre was ordained an elder in the church by Lyman Wight. However, due to a disagreement about property that arose among Thayre and some of the Latter Day Saints living in Thompson, Ohio, Thayre was not prepared to leave when Marsh was ready. A revelation to Smith revoked the mission call to Thayre, assigned Marsh a new companion, and instructed Thayre to "repent of his pride, and of his selfishness".[7] Later in 1832, Thayre did serve a mission to New York with Marsh.
In 1834, Thayre joined Zion's Camp, a group of Latter Day Saints that traveled from Ohio to assist some members of the church in Missouri. However, on June 21, 1834, Thayre contracted cholera, which quickly spread to many of the other Saints in Zion's Camp. However, Thayre went on to make a full recovery.
On March 1, 1835, Thayre was ordained a seventy in the church. However, on May 2, 1835, Thayre's priesthood was suspended after an unspecified complaint of misbehavior filed by Oliver Granger. A disciplinary council was held, and Thayre was eventually restored to full fellowship in the church. In 1838, Thayre became a member of the Adam-ondi-Ahmanstakehigh council. In 1839, he moved with the majority of Latter Day Saints to Nauvoo, Illinois.
In 1844, shortly after being made a member of the Council of Fifty, Thayre departed on a mission with Jedediah M. Grant, George A. Smith and Wilford Woodruff to [[Joseph Smith 1844 presidential campaign
|campaign for Joseph Smith as President of the United States]].
The date of Thayre's death has had some conflicting accounts. Some sources report that he died in 1856 in Massachusetts, but these reports conflict with RLDS Church records that report him being baptized in 1860. Genealogical confusion has also resulted because Thayre's father was also named Ezra, but unlike the junior Thayre, he usually spelled his name Thayer. Other sources report Thayre's birthplace as being Randolph, Massachusetts instead of Randolph, Vermont.[citation needed]
^McBride, Matthew (2016). "Ezra Thayer: From Skeptic to Believer". In McBride, Matthew; Goldberg, James (eds.). Revelations in Context: The Stories behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
