Agreeing to take on plural marriage, then practiced by the church, Kimball eventually married 43 women, but some relationships were for caretaking.

[3] Due to the embargo on trade with Britain preceding the War of 1812, his father lost his investments and the family moved to western New York.

Kimball left school at age 14,[citation needed] trained as a blacksmith and potter,[3] and moved with his brother in about 1820 to Mendon, Monroe County, New York.

In 1823, Kimball received the three craft degrees of Freemasonry in the lodge at Victor Flats, Ontario County, New York.

According to his autobiography, he subsequently learned that it "took place the same evening that Joseph Smith received the records of the Book of Mormon from the Angel Moroni."

He had seen "a white smoke" arising on the horizon, growing "clear and transparent of a bluish cast" to reveal an army on the move "in platoons": We could see distinctly the muskets, bayonets, and knapsacks of the men, who wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; also their officers with their swords and equipage, and heard the clashing and jingling of their instruments of war and could discover the form and features of the men.

When the front rank reached the Western horizon a battle ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of the arms and the rush.

He marched with Zion's Camp[3] in 1834;[citation needed] however, after contracting cholera, he returned to Kirtland before the rest of the crew.

[15] Kimball returned with a small party to make travel arrangements for the groups and discovered the Latter Day Saints were undergoing considerable strife and pressure in the state of Missouri.

While Smith was imprisoned in the Liberty Jail, Brigham Young (now ranking leader of the Quorum) and Kimball organized the removal of approximately 12,000 Latter Day Saint refugees across the border into Illinois.

He made stops at Kirtland to encourage the remaining Saints there to move to Nauvoo and other places and had a long layover in New York City.

[19] The missionaries began organizing groups of British converts to travel to the United States, beginning in 1840, and to join the main body of the church.

Young led the majority of church members across the state line into Iowa and eventually to the Salt Lake Valley.

[20] He established his families in Utah Territory (he had three wives) and supported them by farming, ranching, milling at the Heber C. Kimball Gristmill, and freighting, in addition to church responsibilities.

[citation needed] While in the First Presidency, Kimball received special assignments to supervise the ongoing British Mission and to conduct temple ordinances.

"[28] Kimball died the following day on June 22, 1868, at age 67, in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, from the effects of a fall.

[3] He was buried in the Kimball-Whitney Cemetery (40.772949, -111.889755), located on the south slope of what's now known as Capitol Hill, an area then called "Heber's Bench" after him.

His first wife, Vilate Murray Kimball, accepted plural marriage after reportedly claiming independent revelation directly to her that it matched what "the Lord has shown me”[30][31] and welcomed the additional wives as sisters.

Heber and Vilate agreed to give their 14-year-old daughter Helen Mar as a plural wife of Joseph Smith.

"[32] Kimball eventually married a total of forty-three women,[6] although it is stated that many of these marriages were merely caretaking arrangements lacking physical intimacy.