Elijah Banta was born in 1823 in Kentucky, the ninth of ten children. When he was only 6 his mother died, and his father moved the family to Indiana. Elijah grew up doing hard work on the large family farm, cultivating hundreds of acres. At 21, he traveled to Iowa and joined the Latter Day Saints (LDS) church, rocked by the recent killing of founder Joseph Smith Jr. Elijah moved to Pittsburgh to follow Sidney Rigdon, a prominent contender to lead the church. While there he worked in foundries, mines, and lumber camps. In 1846, he married Emeline Hodges Campbell, sister of Marietta Hodges Walker.
Two years later, his father fell ill which drew him back to Indiana to run the family farm. Elijah was disillusioned with Rigdon and religion, so he got into politics, serving as a county auditor and later (1864) in the Indiana House of Representatives. During the Civil War, he joined the 132nd Indiana Volunteers and was stationed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but saw no combat.
Elijah’s faith was rekindled in 1863 at the Amboy Conference of the Reorganized Latter Day Saints (RLDS) church in Illinois, where he asked to be re-baptized. He became a devoted follower, moving to Sandwich, Illinois, to serve as a pastor. This put him close to RLDS President Joseph Smith III, the founder’s son, and he even officiated Joseph’s wedding to Bertha Madison. Joseph carried the weight of his father’s legacy, yet he found solace in the Banta home, where Elijah, Emeline, and her sister Marietta resided. Elijah, shy of 10 years Joseph’s senior, was a steadfast friend with an optimistic spirit. Emeline provided comfort through her nourishing meals, while Marietta engaged him in stimulating conversations, listening with genuine interest. Years later, on Marietta’s seventy-seventh birthday, Joseph reflected on that time, likening the Banta home to the household of Lazarus. He saw Elijah as his Lazarus, Emeline as his Martha, and Marietta as his Mary. This close bond inspired many of the early initiatives in both Lamoni and the church.
Joseph had such respect for Elijah’s political insight that in 1866, he invited Elijah to accompany him to Washington, D.C., where Joseph was asked to testify before Congress on legislation concerning the Utah Territory.
Though once burdened by his stutter, Elijah became known for his fluent and persuasive speaking in the pulpit and in politics. As a missionary, he visited church members and helped establish new congregations across the Eastern states and the West Coast. To get to California he travelled by sea, crossed the Isthmus of Panama, preached along the way, and returned in 1869 as one of the first passengers on the transcontinental railway.
The RLDS church was scattered across several state but yearned for a gathering place. Elijah compelled David Dancer, Israel Rogers, and other investors to pool their resources to buy land and develop it for such a settlement. In 1870, the Order of Enoch was founded, with Elijah as president, overseeing land purchases and development for what would become Lamoni. By late 1871, the Order had acquired 3,330 acres in Decatur County, Iowa and had started selling plots to settlers. Elijah was a passionate advocate for this fertile and pastoral area, and he undoubtedly inspired Joseph Smith, who was not part of the Order, to support this settlement as the church’s new headquarters. Of the 72 shareholders, Elijah held one of the largest stakes, alongside David Dancer and Israel Rogers, with Marietta Walker as the only major female investor.
In 1874, it was Elijah, Joseph Smith, and Jason Briggs who designed the first RLDS church seal—having a lion, a lamb, and the word "Peace." It held for 43 years before a child was added between the lion and lamb.
Tragedy struck in 1876 when Emeline, Elijah’s wife of 31 years, passed away. Eighteen months later, he married Hattie Crosby, whom he met during missionary work. They moved to Lamoni, where they had four children: William, who died in infancy, and Mary, Ethel, and Albert. Elijah built many of Lamoni's first houses, including his own on South State Street in 1882—years later it became the church orphanage called Children’s Home.
Because of his real estate expertise Elijah helped the church secure ownership of the Kirtland Temple in 1878, which was embroiled in a legal dispute. In 2024, the Community of Christ sold the Kirtland Temple to the LDS (Mormon) Church, owing a debt of gratitude to Elijah for safeguarding the site 146 years before.
In 1879, seeing that the railroad would bypass town, Elijah and his associates pledged individual financial support, and the Order of Enoch donated 200 acres in exchange for a promise to extend the CB&Q railway through town. It had to be located 1½ miles north of the existing settlement, known as The Colony, and the Sedwick post office, which shifted the town center to where it is now.
Elijah suggested “Lamoni” as the town name, prevailing in an 1879 vote over Sedgwick and The Colony. Elijah filed the necessary paperwork, securing Lamoni’s place on the map before the new railway station and post office were completed in 1880. The name “Lamoni” was not an unexpected choice, since Elijah named the first RLDS congregation in town the “Lamoni Branch” years earlier.
Elijah’s influence touched every element of Lamoni’s establishment. As pastor of the first RLDS Lamoni congregation, he helped build the “Brick Church” on West Main in 1881, contributing $1,000 to ensure it had two towers. He was elected as a county board supervisor and served as president of the Lamoni public school board, overseeing the construction of a school on East Main. In October 1885, he was a petitioner for Lamoni's incorporation, and while at the courthouse for that process, he and the Dancers arranged to establish a city cemetery, Rose Hill, managed by a board of trustees, with Elijah as its first president and Rosalia Dancer as vice president. In 1883 he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives and after his term expired he wanted to retire from politics, narrowly missing being elected mayor of Lamoni in a write-in campaign in 1886 without his consent. For years, he also served as treasurer of the board of publication for the Saints’ Herald, a church publication that included community news about Lamoni and its residents.
Elijah Banta died in 1889 after a prolonged illness, remembered as “The Honorable Elijah Banta” for being a state legislator in both Indiana and Iowa. He left behind a legacy as a community leader and was fondly remembered by fellow church members, who honored his memory and vision for a peaceful, prosperous community. Elijah’s wife Hattie lived until 1896, raising their children Mary, Ethel, and Albert in the town he helped establish. Elijah’s dedication to Lamoni and his church left a lasting impact on the lives and faith of generations to come.