Frederick G. Williams

Frederick Granger Williams (October 28, 1787 – October 10, 1842) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, serving in the First Presidency of the Church of the Latter Day Saints from 1833 to 1837.

He was also one of the first recipients of the controversial Second Anointing ritual, the highest ritual in the LDS Church which guarantees salvation.

Life
Williams was born at Suffield, Connecticut, to William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. He studied the herb-based Thomsonian method of medicine, and worked as a medical doctor. In the War of 1812, Williams was present for battles on the northern frontier. He became a maritime pilot on waterways from Buffalo, New York to Detroit. He married Rebecca Swain in December 1815. By 1828 he was living in Chardon, Ohio, and he moved to Kirtland in 1830. While in Ohio, he associated himself with Sidney Rigdon and the Disciples of Christ. When Oliver Cowdery and other early Latter Day Saints were traveling through Kirtland, they taught and baptized many in Rigdon's congregation, including Williams.

On July 20, 1832, Williams was appointed scribe to Joseph Smith and joined the church's First Presidency the next year. He was a member of the committee appointed to publish the Doctrine and Covenants, a portion of the church's canon, as well as the church's first hymnal from 1835, compiled by Smith's wife, Emma, under the auspices of F.G. Williams & Co.

In 1837, Williams was elected a justice of the peace in Kirtland, appointed an officer in the Kirtland Safety Society, released from the First Presidency, and moved to Far West, Caldwell, County, Missouri. Although there is no record of an excommunication, Williams was rebaptized in August 1838. He was excommunicated in absentia in March 1839 by proceedings in Nauvoo, Illinois, while Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail, Missouri. Interestingly, Williams was at Liberty Jail to see Joseph Smith about the time he was excommunicated. Williams was restored to fellowship at a church conference presided over by Smith in April 1840. Williams died of a pulmonary hemorrhage at Quincy, Illinois in October 1842.

Participation in the Second Anointing
Williams functioned as the scribe, recording minutes at the performance of the first recorded instance of the Second Anointing ritual, the highest ordinance in the Latter-day Saint movement. In this multi-day ceremony hosted by Joseph Smith in January 1833, 12 men (including Williams) had their feet washed by a towel-clad Joseph Smith. During the ceremony, Smith taught that the participants had been "sealed up unto eternal life."

The minutes indicate that towards the conclusion of the ceremony, Williams was "moved upon by the Holy Ghost" and washed the feet of Joseph Smith, as a token of his loyalty to Smith "in life or in death."

Legacy
As Smith's scribe and counselor, Williams became a close friend and confidant of the prophet. Joseph and Emma Smith named one of their sons Frederick Granger Williams Smith (June 20, 1836 – April 13, 1862).

The lineage of Williams continues in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Williams's great-great-grandson, and namesake, Frederick Granger Williams, served as president of the Recife Brazil Temple (2009–12) and then as a professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.