In order to be baptized, the ice, which was one foot thick, had to be cut: "It was a cold day, but Zebedee implied that he was warmed with the fervor of his newfound faith.
Only weeks later, Coltrin was assigned to go to Missouri as a church missionary with Levi W. Hancock (Solomon's brother, who, in addition to being a future witness of the Book of Commandments, would be a fellow President of the Seventy).
[3] On July 17, 1832, Coltrin was ordained a high priest by Hyrum Smith and future presiding bishopric and Council of Fifty member Reynolds Cahoon at Kirtland, Ohio (which was then Church headquarters), and in 1834 he served another mission, this time to Upper Canada.
From January to April 1833, Coltrin participated with a few select Latter Day Saint leaders (referred to as "the first elders of the Church") in the School of the Prophets at Kirtland.
The School was a gathering in brotherly fellowship for learning, instruction, and purification—all in preparation for what the Prophet Joseph Smith had promised would be the exquisite, intensely sublime spiritual experiences.
[5] Also in 1834, Coltrin joined Zion's Camp (contributing financially all he had) and marched with the Smith and more than 200 others—a journey from Ohio to Missouri—for the purpose of assisting and protecting the Missouri Latter Day Saints who had recently been forcibly expelled from Jackson County by mobs.
[6] Coltrin became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy February 28, 1835, under the hands of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who promised him: "You shall have heavenly visions and the ministry of Angels shall be your lot."
"[7] Two additional quorums of Seventy were organized by the Seven Presidents over the next two years, with Coltrin ordaining and setting apart many of their number, including, on December 20, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, Elijah Abel—one of the first African Americans originally permitted by Joseph Smith to hold the priesthood.
Coltrin left Nauvoo sometime after March 1846, and by December of that year he was living at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, where, along with his brother Graham, he served as part of Hosea Stout's 30-man police force.
[10] Within weeks of arriving in the Great Basin, Coltrin was made a "captain of ten" (see D&C 138:3) and returned to Winter Quarters to retrieve his wife and family and also assist other Saints to continue their trek West.
With the assistance of the Perpetual Emigration Fund (PEF), Coltrin returned to Salt Lake City with his family in 1851, settling on Main Street near to where the Joseph Smith Memorial Building now stands.
There, he assisted in the construction of Palmyra, Utah's sturdy Fort Saint Luke for protection against attack by native Timpanogos Ute Indians.
Julia's death was mourned in the Latter Day Saint Times and Seasons newspaper: She fell asleep in full faith of a glorious resurrection, saying to her husband, as her farewell address: 'Let me go!
Coltrin would later wed Hannah Husted and Sarah Oyler at Nauvoo (1846), and Lavinia Elizabeth Fullmer (1857) and Marriet Chaddock (1874) at Salt Lake City.
On May 31, 1873, in a meeting presided over by Brigham Young, apostle John Taylor ordained Coltrin to be a church patriarch, a position he held for fourteen years until his death in Spanish Fork at the age of 82.
Coltrin had been Spanish Fork's traditional orator for Mormon pioneer exodus; he had frequently ridden in military escorts in Days of '47 parades.
[15] Upon his death, the Deseret News called Coltrin a "respected and venerable man" who left to future generations of Latter-day Saints "an excellent record for faithfulness.