Failure of the Kirtland Safety Society In 1836, Joseph Smith organized the
Kirtland Safety Society Antibanking Company, a joint-stock company with note issuing powers. Parrish later became the company's treasurer. Smith encouraged church members to invest in the Kirtland Safety Society. By 1837, the "bank" had failed, which according to the Mormon leader
George A. Smith was partly as the result of Parrish and other bank officers stealing funds. Parrish's alleged role in this was cited in his
excommunication from the church. From this time forward, Parrish sought to destroy Joseph Smith and the church, and as a result Smith was forced to leave Kirtland. Soon after Smith and
Sidney Rigdon left on July 26, 1837, a crisis formed within the church at Kirtland during their absence.
Armed confrontation in the Kirtland Temple In addition to Parrish, the failure of the bank caused a major rift among some other church leaders as well, who concluded that Smith could not be a true prophet if he could not foresee that the "bank" would be unsuccessful. Parrish and those supporting him soon claimed ownership of the Kirtland Temple.
Eliza R. Snow relates that Parrish and a group of others came into the temple during Sunday services "armed with pistols and bowie-knives and seated themselves together in the Aaronic pulpits, on the east end of the temple, while father Smith [Joseph Smith, Sr.] and others, as usual, occupied those of the Melchizedek priesthood on the west." Parrish's group interrupted the services and, according to Snow "a fearful scene ensued—the apostate speaker becoming so clamorous that Father Smith called for the police to take that man out of the house, when Parrish, John Boynton, and others, drew their pistols and bowie-knives, and rushed down from the stand into the congregation; John Boynton saying he would blow out the brains of the first man who dared to lay hands on him." Police arrived and ejected the troublemakers, after which the services continued. In one such letter, Parrish claims that "Martin Harris, one of the subscribing witnesses; has come out at last, and says he never saw the plates, from which the book purports to have been translated, except in vision; and he further says that any man who says he has seen them in any other way is a liar, Joseph not excepted; – see new edition, Book of Covenants, page 170, which agrees with Harris's testimony." Wilford Woodruff recorded his reaction to some of Parrish's writings in his journal entry of April 4, 1838, stating that they were "full of slander and falsehoods against Joseph Smith Jr."
Parrish's Church of Christ Parrish eventually led a group of dissenters that formed a new church based in Kirtland, which they called the Church of Christ, after the original name of the church organized by Joseph Smith.
George A. Smith wrote that the group intended "to renounce the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and take the 'Mormon' doctrines to overthrow all the religions in the world, and unite all the Christian churches in one general band, and they to be its great leaders." Among those who associated themselves with this church was
Martin Harris. Parrish's group believed that Joseph Smith had become a fallen prophet. By the beginning of 1838, Parrish's church had taken control of the
Kirtland Temple as Smith and those loyal to him left Kirtland to gather in
Far West, Missouri. This resulted in a permanent division between Parrish's supporters and other leaders, including Martin Harris, who cautioned them not to reject the book. Cyrus Smalling,
Joseph Coe and several others "declared [Harris's] testimony was true." Parrish's church dissolved soon after this division.
Later life In 1840, Parrish and his family were living in Chardon, Geauga County, Ohio. In 1844, Parrish was working as a
Baptist minister in the Fox River area of Wisconsin and Illinois for a salary of $500 per year. In 1850, Parrish, wife Martha, daughter Mary (22 years old) and daughter Martha (13 years old) were living in
Mendon, New York; and he was working as a clergyman. In 1855, Parrish and his family were living in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois. In 1860, Parrish, his wife Martha and his daughter Martha (22 years old) were living in Rockford. On June 15, 1860, Parrish was excluded from the Baptist church. In 1870, Parrish and his wife Martha were living in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas. On July 14, 1875, Parrish's wife Martha died in Emporia and was soon buried in the Maplewood Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Emporia. On January 3, 1877, Parrish died in Emporia and was soon buried in the Maplewood Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Emporia. ==Notes==