Family Background

1800. Born David Wyman Patten in Theresa (near Indian Falls), New York. He married Phoebe Ann Babcock in 1828.

Missionary

1832. Baptized by his brother John, David Patten immediately left on a mission to Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

1834. Began a mission to Tennessee, where he served with Abraham O. Smoot and Wilford Woodruff. One day, "riding along the road on my mule, I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me. He walked along beside me for about two miles. His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in the saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight."

Patten also rebuked the disease of a woman who had been seriously ill for several years, commanding, "In the name of Jesus Christ, arise!" Arising from her bed, she walked a mile to a stream, where Patten baptized her. Remembering her seven years of childless marriage, he promised children. Within a year she gave birth to a son, whom she named David Patten.

Wilford Woodruff told Abraham H. Cannon that one day Patten found his mule "on the ground nearly dead with the colic. Brother Patten said: 'See here, old fellow, this won't do! You have got to carry me 40 miles today,' and with these words he stepped up to the animal, laid his hands on the animal, and blessed him. The mule immediately arose, and made the journey. Pres. Woodruff said that was the only time in his life when his faith had been tried, but he thought it strange for an Elder to administer to a mule, and thus do what seemed sacrilege in his mind at that time."

Member of the Original Quorum of the Twelve

1835. Called to the original Quorum of the Twelve by the Three Witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. Patten, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball were the only members of the original Quorum never disfellowshipped or excommunicated.

1836. Patten filled a second mission to Tennessee.

1837. July: During a disagreement, the Prophet "kicked him out of the yard." Whatever the cause of this fracas, Joseph "later forgave him."

1838. As general authorities acting in a local capacity, Patten, Brigham Young, and Thomas B. Marsh were called "Presidents Pro Tem" of the Church in Missouri.

"Captain Fearnaught"

1838. Clashes with Missourians had been common since 1833, when the Saints were driven from Jackson County. Caldwell County provided safety for a short time, but as opposition rose, Mormon men formed a secret, quasi- military band commonly known as "Danites."

Death

1838. October 24: Captain Samuel Bogard of the Caldwell County militia ordered a number of Mormon families to leave the state and took three men into custody. When word reached Far West, "Captain Fearnaught" Patten rallied seventy-five Mormons and set out to rescue the prisoners. Under cover of darkness, they attacked the encamped militia at Crooked River. In his white duster, Patten was an easy target. He was wounded in the bowels and died the next day at the age of thirty-eight.

Patten's comrade-in-arms John D. Lee later wrote, "I admit up to this time that I frankly believed what the Prophet and his apostles had said on the subject. I had considered that I was bullet proof, that no Gentile ball could ever harm me, or any Saint, and I had believed that a Danite could not be killed by Gentile hands. I thought that one Danite could chase a thousand Gentiles, and two could put ten thousand to flight. Alas! my dreams of security were over. One of our mighty men had fallen, and that by Gentile hands!"

Erroneous intelligence communications, coupled with a Thomas B. Marsh-Orson Hyde affidavit confirming the existence of the Danites, led Governor Lilburn W. Boggs to believe reports that Patten's company had "massacred Captain Bogard and all his company," and that Richmond was "laid in ashes this morning." The governor issued his infamous "Mormon Extermination Order" on October 27: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description."

Burial in Far West

1838. At Patten's funeral, Joseph Smith said, "There lies a man who had done just as he said he would: he had laid down his life for his friends." Patten was buried in Far West, Missouri.

Sources
Berlin. Elliott. "Abraham Owen Smoot, Pioneer Mormon Leader." Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1955.
Jenson, Andrew. LDS Biographical Encyclopedia. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson Historical Company, 1901-1936.
Lee, John D. Mormonism Unveiled. Saint Louis: Bryan, Brand, & Co., 1877.
Millennial Star, 16:408.
Report of Sashiel Woods and Joseph Dickson to Governor Boggs. Documents, Correspondence, Orders, etc., in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons. Published by order of the Missouri Legislature, 1841.
Salt Lake City, Utah. LDS Church Archives. Abraham H. Cannon Journal.
_____.  Wilford Woodruff Journal, 25 June 1857.
Wilson, Lycurgus Arnold. the Life of David Patten: The First Apostolic Martyr. Salt Lake City, 1900.