“To whom it may concern: This certifies that Elijah Abel has been received into the church of the Latter Day Saints, organized on the sixth of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred & thirty, & has been ordained an Elder according to the rules & regulations of said church, & is duly authorized to preach the gospel agreeably to the authority of that Office. From the satisfactory evidence which we have of his good moral character, & his zeal for the cause of righteousness, & diligent desire to persuade men to forsake evil & embrace truth, we confidently recommend him to all candid & upright people as a worthy member of society.“ — Joseph Smith in Elijah Abel's Elder Certificate1
Elijah Able, an African-American convert, was a significant early Latter-day Saint figure. Born around 1810 in Maryland, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and was baptized in 1832. In 1836, he received the Melchizedek priesthood and was ordained an Elder. He washed and anointed in the Kirtland Temple, received his patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith Sr. and joined the Third Quorum of the Seventy.2 In 1838 he served a mission to New York and Canada.3
