Around the year 1830, Johnson sold his farm in Pomfret and moved to
Amherst, Ohio. It was in Amherst where Johnson was baptized a member of the
Church of Christ on June 1, 1831. Soon afterwards, he became president of the church's Amherst branch. He went on a mission to New York in 1832.
Kirtland and Ramus In 1833, Johnson moved to
Kirtland, Ohio, where he operated a
saw mill. He went on another mission to both Ohio and
Kentucky in 1835 during which he engaged in strong debates with Campbellites, on one occasion turning their rejection of Aaronic and Melchezidek priesthood on its head by insisting if not in either of these orders their leaders must be of the order of the priests of Baal. and often preached and
baptized in the vicinity of Kirtland. Johnson later had a large amount of success in baptizing families that lived along
Crooked Creek. In April 1839 he organized these converts as the Crooked Creek Branch. After this, Johnson directed his new converts in the forming of the town of Ramus (now
Webster, Illinois). In February 1840 Johnson moved to the area, where he purchased a sawmill. The Ramus
Stake was organized on July 4, 1840, with Johnson as president. After this the stake under Johnson's direction set about laying out a town site. In 1846, mobs forced Johnson to flee Ramus and move to
Knox County, Illinois. "... Or prove the gospel was not true / Because old Paul the Saints could kill? / Because the Jews its author slew, / and now reject their Saviour still? … / Or Book of Mormon not his word / because denied by Oliver?" Defenders of Cowdery argue that to Johnson, supporting the Book of Mormon and following the leaders of the church were one and the same, and that in 1841 Cowdery had been excommunicated from the church. They also note that the use of "denied" in the poem may mean to set aside, and not to speak against, and that this poem involves many statements that are not strictly true, such as that
Paul had killed Christians. In other words, it is argued that poetry should not be taken as analytical evidence when it has not been collaborated. He served as a
justice of the peace and as
bishop of the Mill Creek
Ward. Johnson built a saw mill in Mill Creek Ward from 1849 to 1851 at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. In 1849 and 1850, Johnson served in the
Utah Territorial Legislature. Johnson later helped settle southern Utah. In 1853, he was appointed to serve as a
missionary among the
Piedes of
Iron County, Utah. ==Poetry and hymns==