[citation needed] In June 1835, Knight moved his family to Kirtland, Ohio, to gather with other Latter Day Saints.
[citation needed] They settled in Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County, where Knight was appointed bishop on June 28, 1838.
One evening, as Martha was sitting in the grape arbor behind the house, Vinson returned home carrying a basket.
Vinson explained to Martha that he had been told to enter plural marriage and that, if he had to, this Sister Merrick would be the one he could help best.
Because the conversation at the grape arbor apparently occurred in the fall of 1841, it is possible Vinson's initial activities related to plural marriage were not authorized by Joseph Smith.
[4] However it appears that by the spring of 1842, Vinson Knight had repented of any unauthorized plural marriage activity he may have been engaged in.
This is seen in the minutes of the Women's Relief Society of Nauvoo, of which Knight's wife, Martha, was a founding member.
"[5] Martha Knight was possibly present on March 31, 1842, when Emma Smith read a letter warning the women of Relief Society about seducers.
"there are those, and we therefore warn you, & forewarn you, in the name of the Lord, to check & destroy any faith that any innocent person may have in any such character; for we do not want any one to believe any thing as coming from us... you are authoriz'd on the very first intimation of the kind, to denounce them as such, & shun them as the flying fiery serpent, whether they are prophets, Seers, or revelators; Patriarchs, twelve Apostles, Elders, Priests, Mayers, Generals, City Councillors, Aldermen, Marshalls, Police, Lord Mayors or the Devil, are alike culpable & shall be damned for such evil practices..."[6] Just when he was increasingly involved in the affairs of Nauvoo, Knight suddenly took ill[citation needed] and died on July 31, 1842, in Nauvoo.
"[7] One month later, on September 3, 1842, Martha lost her and Vinson's youngest child, Rodolphus Elderkin Knight, who was less than one year old.
"[8] As one other men mentioned in the 23 June journal entry had died and another had suffered a heart attack, the reference to saving may refer to the fact that Vinson died despite likely attempts to prolong his life via faith healing, rather than asserting that Vinson was damned for the "loose conduct."
The woman traditionally considered to have become Knight's plural wife in 1841, Philindia Clark Eldredge Merrick (Myrick), also declined to unite herself with Vinson in eternity.