"A poor persecuting booby, by the name of Grandison Newel, and who in fact was scarcely a grade above the beast that perish, went and swore out a state’s warrant against the editor of this paper, saying that he was afraid of his life." — Elders' Journal1
Grandison Newell was a prominent antagonist to Joseph Smith and the early Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. Residing in a neighboring town, Newell's resentment towards the Saints grew as they began to establish themselves in the area. He began to employ various tactics (including spending time and money) to undermine the Church and its leaders.2
With the establishment of the Kirtland Safety Society in 1837, Newell saw a new opportunity to attack the Saints. He hoarded the Society's banknotes, aiming to destabilize the fledgling financial institution by demanding hard currency for them, a move that threatened to deplete its reserves. His aggressive strategies intensified when he funded the gathering of defamatory statements against Joseph Smith, collaborating with people like Doctor Philastus Hurlbut.2
