I’m not sure how I missed your comment when you left it in March. To answer, yes, I’m sure that this is James Covel the Methodist. He was not a Deacon, no—he was an ordained Elder. And Methodists didn’t/don’t actually have “priests” (most Protestants of the era rejected the title because of its connotations with Catholicism). Among early LDS, of course, “priest” was a term applied indiscriminately in describing both Catholic and Protestant clergy, and my guess is that’s exactly what’s going on here.

John Whitmer may have never met Covill and sources don’t call “James”, James Covill until 1839 in A1.

James Covel, I think, was deacon not a priest.

If it was a Covill (BC says “C.”) are we sure it was not James Covel from Galen, NY near Fayette?

I did a quick google books search and that verbiage is ubiquitous; but it does appear to be used by baptists in conjunction with their particular beliefs. E.g.The Millennial Harbinger: “Then we would say, ‘Arise and be baptized;’ and in the liquid, emblematic grave of Jesus, ‘wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’”

It would take more work to see if it grew to have a particularly Baptist flavor.

I was very interested to find out recently that some of my ancestors lived in the area of Cane Ridge, Kentucky, which was one of the sites associated with the beginning of the Second Great Awakening. I wish I knew more about their involvement in the movement and what, if any, influence it had on their grandson joining the church years later.