The Missouri Persecutions
by B. H. Roberts · English · Gutenberg #49526 · 632,607 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Missouri Persecutions
Author: B. H. Roberts
Release date: July 25, 2015 [eBook #49526]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISSOURI PERSECUTIONS ***
THE MISSOURI PERSECUTIONS.
BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
Author of "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," "A New Witness for God,"
"The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo," "The Gospel," "Succession
in the Presidency," etc.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH:
GEORGE Q. CANNON & SONS CO.,
PUBLISHERS, 1900.
PREFACE.
My chief purpose in publishing this book, and the one which will
immediately follow--"The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo"--is to place in the
hands of the youth of the Latter-day Saints a full statement of the
persecutions endured by the early members of The Church in this last
dispensation, in the States of Missouri and Illinois, that they may be
made acquainted with the sacrifices which their fathers have made for
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And I indulge the
hope that by becoming acquainted with the story of the suffering of the
early saints, the faith of the Gospel will become all the more dear to
the hearts of their immediate posterity and all the youth of Zion for
many generations to come.
I think without depreciating at all any other narrative of these events
in our Church literature, I may claim that the story of the Missouri
Persecutions in these pages is told more thoroughly than in any other
of our present publications. This arises from the fact that this book
deals with but a brief period in the history of The Church--from 1830
to 1838--and therefore admits of such a consideration of details as
could not possibly be given to that period in any general history of
The Church. This detailed treatment of the subject, in the opinion of
the author, is justified because of the very important events which
the treatise covers, and also for the reason that it is a period
of our history which has been very much misrepresented, upon which
misrepresentations false accusations are made against The Church and
its leaders to this day. Those who have thought themselves called upon
to oppose, if not to persecute, The Church in later years, frequently
attempt to justify their present opposition by insinuating that The
Church was driven from Missouri and Illinois for other reasons than
adherence to an unpopular religion. The impression is sought to be
created that it was for some overt acts against the State or National
government, or for some offense against the spirit of American
institutions, or because The Church leaders "were determined to be a
law unto themselves," in disregard of the rights of others.
It is, in part, to correct these false statements, and guard our youth
against the influence of such calumnious insinuations, that I tell this
story of the Missouri Persecutions; not that the history in these pages
is written for the purpose of glozing over the defects in the character
of the early members of The Church, or to claim for them absolute
freedom from errors in judgment, or actual sinfulness in conduct. I
have not written what may be called "argumentative history," only so
far as a statement of the truth may be considered an argument. After
these pages are read I feel sure that no one will be able to accuse me
of failing to point out the errors of the early members of The Church;
indeed, I have been careful to call attention to the complaints which
the Lord made against their conduct; the reproofs of his inspired
servants; and the repeated warnings sent to them by the Prophet Joseph
Smith concerning the results of their conduct if there was not a speedy
repentance.
In Appendices will be found accounts of these same persecutions as
told by writers of Missouri history. I quote these extracts from the
_"History of Jackson County,"_ published by the Union Historical
Company of Kansas City, Missouri, 1881; the _"History of Clay County,"_
published by the National Historical Company, 1885; the _"History of
Daviess County,"_ by D. L. Kort; the _"History of Caldwell County,"_ by
Crosby Johnson; and the _"History of Missouri,"_ published by the Union
Historical Company.
While these alleged histories of the "Mormon War," "Mormons in Jackson
County," "Mormon Exodus," etc., etc., are contemptible for their
distortion of facts and misrepresentations, the reader by having them
at hand will at least have both sides of the story presented to him,
and will be able by the means of comparison thus afforded, to judge
where the truth of the matter lies; and it will contribute to the
making of this book a valuable work of reference to the student of
Church history.
One other thing I ought to say in justice to myself, both in reference
to this book and "The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo." Very much of the
matter contained in the two volumes, indeed most of it, was published
in a series of twenty-four articles some fifteen years ago, in _The
Contributor,_ under the respective titles now used. Since that time
very extensive quotations have been made from those articles, sometimes
with, but often without, acknowledgement of the authorship; and to such
extent has this been the case, that I feel it necessary to make mention
of it, that I myself may not be charged with using the matter prepared
by others, when in reality I am but using my own. Having called
attention to this subject, I feel that it will not be out of place to
say something further upon it. The fault, not to say literary crime,
of plagiarism is by far too common. Some men who would never think of
stealing a man's property, or even of using it without his permission,
sometimes do not hesitate in public speech or in written articles or
books to take all sorts of liberties with another's writings, quoting
without acknowledgement not only sentences and paragraphs, but whole
pages, and often page after page. And thus they bedeck themselves,
not with "old, odd ends stolen out of Holy Writ," but in borrowed
phrases and sentences--the fruits of another's research and thought and
genius, if the writer from whom they steal possesses any. It is true
that plagiarism is not a crime under the law. A man, if he so elects,
may steal both the ideas and the literary construction of another,
without fear of fine or imprisonment, but no writer or speaker worthy
of respect would be found pilfering the thoughts or expressions of
another, any more than a self-respecting, honest man would be found
with stolen goods upon his back. Gradually there is being built up in
The Church a very considerable and stately literature, historical,
doctrinal and poetical; and for one I hope to see it, first of all, of
a character that will be in harmony with the great Dispensation of the
Gospel which it celebrates, that is, that it be honest.
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE FACTS IN WHICH THE CHUCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS HAD
ITS ORIGIN.
CHAPTER II.
The Mission to the Lamanites.
CHAPTER III.
In Search of Zion.
CHAPTER IV.
The Land and the City.
CHAPTER V.
Settlement of the Saints In Missouri--Their Errors--Reproofs and
Warnings.
CHAPTER VI.
Storm Clouds.
CHAPTER VII.
The Storm Breaks.
CHAPTER VIII.
Threats of the Mob--Appeal of the Saints.
CHAPTER IX.
Again the Storm.
CHAPTER X.
The Passively Good.
CHAPTER XI.
A "Bloody Day"
CHAPTER XII.
The "Honor" of a Mob.
CHAPTER XIII.
Scenes on the Banks of the Missouri--Exiled.
CHAPTER XIV.
Aftermath of the Expulsion.
CHAPTER XV.
An "Attempted Vindication" of Law.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Cause of Expulsion--Future Redemption.
CHAPTER XVII.
Importuning at the Feet of the Judge--the Governor--the President.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Zion's Camp.
CHAPTER XIX.
Zelph.
CHAPTER XX.
Dissensions in the Camp.
CHAPTER XXI.
Views Concerning Zion--Mob vs. Storm.
CHAPTER XXII.
Negotiations.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Threatened Judgment--If--!
CHAPTER XXIV.
Attempt at Arbitration.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Pros and Cons of Arbitration Proposition.
CHAPTER XXVI.
An Interim--Blighted Hopes.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Peaceful Exodus from Clay County.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Far West.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Fall of David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery.
CHAPTER XXX.
The Apostasy at Kirtland.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Adam-ondi-Ahman.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Fourth of July, 1838.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Kirtland Camp.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Gallatin.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Boggs in Action--Defense Construed into Offense.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
De Witt.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Millport.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Crooked River.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Exterminating Order of Governor Boggs.
CHAPTER XL.
Haun's Mill.
CHAPTER XLI.
The Betrayal of Far West.
CHAPTER XLII.
Sad Scenes at Far West.
CHAPTER XLIII.
A Prophet's Rebuke.
CHAPTER XLIV.
"A Strong Point for Treason"
CHAPTER XLV.
Exodus from Missouri.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Again the Passively Good--Petitions.
CHAPTER XLVII.
The Escape of the Prophet from Missouri.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
A Prophecy that did not Fail.
CHAPTER XLIX.
A State's Shame.
APPENDICES.
"Mormons" in Jackson County, etc.
THE MISSOURI PERSECUTIONS
CHAPTER I.
THE FACTS IN WHICH THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS HAD
ITS ORIGIN.
The story of the persecutions endured by the Latter-day Saints in
Missouri, one of the sovereign States of the United States of America,
properly begins with the advent of a mission to the Lamanites,[A] at
Independence, Missouri, in the winter of 1830. But in order that those
not acquainted with the history of The Church may understand how there
came to be a mission to the Lamanites in 1830, and how there came to be
a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be persecuted, I think
it proper to state briefly those facts in which The Church had its
origin.
[Footnote A: American Indians]
I know the story has often been told--so often indeed that all novelty
in relation to it has long since passed away. But in history there
are certain foundation facts that are as essential to the right
understanding of some particular phase of history as the employment of
the first principles of the science of mathematics is to the solution
of some particular problem in algebra; and the historical writer is as
much bound to state those foundation facts as the mathematician is to
use the first principles of his science in the solution of his problem.
In the present instance, however, though I deem it necessary to tell
again such a well known story as the rise of The Church, I shall
attempt no embellishment of it; nor shall I deal with the religious
condition of the world at the time of the origin of The Church with
any view to establish the probability of the story; nor stop to call
attention to the reasonableness and strength of it; nor the evidences
of its truth, or necessity, although the temptation to do this is
always strong whenever the facts of that story are passed before me in
review. I shall content myself on this occasion with a mere statement
of the facts, such as an annalist might make, without any further
consideration of them whatsoever; and this because such a statement
will serve my present purpose.
Joseph Smith, the man who, under the direction of God, was the founder
of The Church, was born at the little village of Sharon, Windsor
County, in the State of Vermont, on the 23rd of December, in the year
of our Lord 1805.
When he was ten years of age the Smith family moved from Vermont to the
State of New York, settling in Palmyra, Wayne County. Four years later
the family moved a few miles south to the town of Manchester, Ontario
County.
Here, in the spring of 1820, a great religious revival agitated the
community, and Joseph Smith was much affected by it.
In the course of this religious excitement he was much perplexed over
the discussion and strifes of the different Christian sects, and often
wondered how it was that the Church of Christ could be so divided into
contending factions. "I found," he said some years later when writing
his recollections of those early days of his religious experience--"I
found that there was a great clash in religious sentiment; if I went to
one society they referred me to one plan, and another to another--each
one pointing to his own particular creed as the _summum bonum_ of
perfection. Considering that all could not be right, and that God could
not be the author of so much confusion, I determined to investigate the
subject more fully, believing that if God had a Church it would not be
split up into factions, and that if he taught one society to worship
one way and administer in one set of ordinances, he would not teach
another principles which were diametrically opposed." [B]
[Footnote B: From a letter to Mr. John Wentworth, written in 1842. Mr.
Wentworth at the time was the editor of the _Chicago Democrat_.]
In the midst of these perplexities Joseph's attention was called to the
first chapter of the epistle of James, where it is written: "If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and unbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
This instruction the youth determined to follow, and accordingly
repaired to a secret place in the woods near his father's house, where
he called upon God for wisdom.
While so engaged he was seized upon by some power of darkness which
threw him violently to the ground, and it seemed for a time that he
was doomed to sudden destruction. It was no imaginary power, but some
actual being from the unseen world who thus seized him. His tongue for
a time was bound that he could not speak; darkness gathered about him;
but, exerting all his powers, he called upon God to deliver him out of
the hands of his enemy, and at the very moment he was ready to give up
in despair and abandon himself to destruction, he beheld a pillar of
light immediately over his head descending towards him. Its brightness
was above that of the sun at noonday, and no sooner did it envelop him
than he was freed from the enemy who had held him in his power.
When the light rested upon him he beheld within it two personages
standing above him in the air, whose brightness and glory defied all
description. They exactly resembled each other in form and features.
One of them, pointing to the other, said:
"JOSEPH, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM."
As soon as the youth gained his self-possession, he asked the personage
to whom he was thus introduced, which of all the religious sects was
right, that he might join it.
He was answered that none of the sects were right; that their creeds
were an abomination to God; that their professors were corrupt; that
they drew near to God with their lips but their hearts were far removed
from him; that they taught for doctrine the commandments of men; that
they had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof; and he was
strictly commanded to join none of them: but was informed that at some
future time the fullness of the Gospel would be made known to him.[C]
[Footnote C: Letter to Mr. John Wentworth, 1842.
I cannot refrain at this point from calling attention, at least in a
foot note, to the importance of this great vision which lies at the
very foundation of what the world calls "Mormonism."
At a glance it gives the reason for the existence of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and also the reason for the
proclamation of the new dispensation of the Gospel it presents to the
world.
It makes known the awful fact that the Gospel was not on the earth
at that time; that none of the churches were acknowledged of God as
his; that divine authority to preach and administer the ordinances of
salvation was not among men. Therefore if men were to have the Gospel
of Jesus Christ it must be restored from heaven; the Church of Christ
must be again established; divine authority must be renewed.
Moreover, this splendid vision dispelled the vagaries that men had
conjured up in respect to the person of Deity. Instead of being a
personage without body, parts or passions, it revealed the fact that he
had both body and parts, that he was in the form of man, or, rather,
that man had been made in his image.
The vision clearly proves that the Father and Son are distinct persons,
and not one person as the Christian world believes. The oneness of the
Godhead, so frequently spoken of in scripture, must therefore relate to
oneness of sentiment and agreement in purpose--to likeness.
The great revelation swept away the rubbish of human dogma, tradition
and speculation that had accumulated in all the ages since Messiah's
personal ministry on earth, by announcing that God did not acknowledge
any of the sects of Christendom as his Church, nor their creeds as his
gospel. Indeed, the Lord himself declared that they taught for doctrine
the commandments of men. Thus the ground was cleared for the planting
of the truth.
The vision showed how mistaken the Christian world was in claiming that
all revelation had ceased--that God would no more reveal himself to man.
The vision created a witness for God on the earth: a man lived who
could say to some purpose that God lived and that Jesus was the Christ,
for he had seen and talked with them. Thus was laid anew the foundation
for faith in God.--_Roberts_.]
This heavenly visitation Joseph Smith related to many of his
acquaintances, including some sectarian ministers, who generally
disbelieved his story and ridiculed him for telling it; all said
inspired dreams and revelations from God were no more to be expected.
After an interval of three years Joseph Smith again received a heavenly
visitant. On the 21st of September, 1823, after having retired to his
chamber, he betook himself to prayer, seeking to know his standing
before the Lord. While so engaged his room began to be filled with
beautiful light, in the midst of which he beheld a personage who
announced himself to be Moroni, one of the ancient prophets of the
western hemisphere, now raised from the dead, and made an angel of God.
He said he was sent from the Divine Presence to reveal the existence
of an ancient record engraven upon plates of gold, giving an account
of the origin of the American Indians; of God's hand-dealings with
their forefathers; of the rise and fall of their civilization; of the
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among them after his resurrection
from the dead and of the establishment of the Christian religion and
the Church of God in their midst.
Joseph Smith was also informed that this record was concealed in a hill
not far distant; and that with it would be found a Urim and Thummim,[D]
consisting of two stones fastened in silver bows attached to a
breast-plate, by means of which the record could be translated through
the power of God. The Prophet then beheld in a vision the hill where
the plates were hidden.
[Footnote D: Those who would be informed concerning the Urim and
Thummim and its use among the ancients, should consult the following
scriptures: Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Deut. 33:8; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65; Num.
17:21; I Sam. 28:6.]
When this vision was passed the angel quoted a number of ancient
prophecies relating to the gathering of Israel in the last days, and
the judgments of God upon the wicked, all of which he declared would
soon be fulfilled.[E] The angel visited him three times during that
same night, repeating to him each time the message he first announced.
[Footnote E: The passages quoted are as follows: Malachi, part of
chapter 3. (most likely the first part); Malachi, chapter 4; Isaiah 11;
Acts 3:22, 23; Joel 2:28-32.]
The next day Moroni again appeared to him when he was crossing a field,
and announced to him once more the message of the night before, and
instructed the youth to make a confidant of his father, Joseph Smith,
Sen., and make known to him the visitations he had received and the
things revealed, which the youth promptly and gladly did, and from that
hour received consolation and encouragement from his father.
The same day, namely, 22nd of September, 1823, Joseph Smith went to the
place where the record was deposited--called by Moroni, Cumorah--and
there in a rude stone box, the crowning cover of which he could see
above the surface of the hillside, he found the record, together with
the Urim and Thummim.
Moroni appeared to him again while he was viewing the sacred treasure,
and forbade him taking the plates from their place of concealment, as
the time had not yet come for him to take possession of them. He was
required to meet the angel at that place in one year from that time,
and from year to year, until the time should come for the record to be
given to him for translation.
These annual visits at Cumorah continued until the 22nd of September,
1827, when the plates were committed to his keeping with instructions
to translate them. He received a strict commandment to show them to no
man, except such as God would appoint to see them, and bear witness of
their existence and the truth of what they contained; nor was he to
have any other object in view in obtaining and translating the record
than the glory of God and the establishment of his Church in the earth.
With the assistance of a man of the name of Martin Harris, and another
of the name of Oliver Cowdery, the latter acting as his scribe, Joseph
translated the record in about two years and a half, and published it
at Palmyra, New York, early in the spring of 1830.
The stone box in which the record had been preserved, and the record
itself, is thus described by Joseph Smith:
Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario County, New York,
stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in
the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the
top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in
a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the
upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of
it was visible above the ground, but the edge all round was covered
with earth. Having removed the earth, and obtained a lever, which I
got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion
raised it up, I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates,
the Urim and Thummim and the breast-plate, as stated by the messenger.
The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in
some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones
crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates, and the
other things with them.[F]
[Footnote F: Millennial Star, Supplement to Vol. 14, p.6.]
These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of
gold; each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not
quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in
Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of
a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was
something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The
characters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved.
The whole book exhibited many signs of antiquity in its construction
and much skill in the art of engraving.[G]
[Footnote G: Letter to Mr. Wentworth.]
The following is a summary of this interesting record as given by the
Prophet in his letter to Mr. Wentworth:
In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America
is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from
the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages, to the beginning
of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these
records that America in ancient times had been inhabited by two
distinct races of people. The first was called Jaredites and came
directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly
from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ.
They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The
Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from
Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The
principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close
of the fourth century (A.D.) The remnant are the Indians that now
inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made
his appearance upon this continent after his resurrection; that he
planted the gospel here in all its fullness, and richness, and power,
and blessing; that they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and
evangelists; the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances,
gifts, powers and blessings, as were enjoyed on the eastern continent;
that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions;
that the last of their prophets who existed among them were commanded
to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, etc., and to hide
it up in the earth, and that it should come forth and be united with
the Bible for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last
days.
The Book of Mormon was not brought forth without serious opposition.
The commandment not to show the plates to anyone except those whom God
should appoint to be witnesses of their existence and their truth,
necessarily enjoined secrecy upon Joseph Smith, and involved more or
less of mystery in his movements; and yet it became necessary for
some to know of his having the records, or else how could he obtain
the necessary assistance to translate them? These prohibitions upon
the Prophet and the necessary secrecy they involved, gave rise to a
perfect flood of misrepresentations and slanders; enemies pursued
him at every turn; the vilest calumnies were circulated both with
respect to himself and his family; they were charged with the grossest
ignorance, superstition, idleness, and all things that go to the
making of vicious and low characters; and yet it is evident from the
testimony of those who personally knew them, that the Smiths, while
poor, were nevertheless people of upright lives, kind neighbors, and
good citizens. This is not said for the purpose of claiming for Joseph
Smith exemption from many boyish follies, and the common weaknesses of
humanity--the existence of these weaknesses, in fact, he himself freely
admits and deplores; and as much has been made of his own admissions
on that head, I think it proper that what he has said upon the subject
should be given in full, and hence I republish here a letter of his to
Oliver Cowdery which the Prophet wrote upon hearing that Cowdery, in
1834, was about to publish a series of letters on the subject of "Early
Scenes in the Church." Following is the letter:
_Oliver Cowdery:_
DEAR BROTHER: Having learned from the first number of the _Messenger
and Advocate,_ that you were not only about to "give a history of the
rise and progress of the Church of the Latter-day Saints," but that
said history would necessarily embrace my life and character, I have
been induced to give you the time and place of my birth; as I have
learned that many of the opposers of those principles which I have
held forth to the world, profess a personal acquaintance with me,
though when in my presence, represent me to be another person in age,
education, and stature, from what I am.
I was born (according to the record of the same, kept by my parents)
in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on the 23rd of
December, 1805.
At the age of ten my father's family removed to Palmyra, New York,
where, and in the vicinity of which, I lived, or made it my place of
residence, until I was twenty-one; the latter part in the town of
Manchester.
During this time, as is common to most or all youths, I fell into many
vices and follies; but as my accusers are and have been forward to
accuse me of being guilty of gross and outrageous violations of the
peace and good order of the community, I take the occasion to remark
that, though as I have said above, "as is common to most, or all,
youths, I fell into many vices and follies," I have not, neither can
it be sustained, in truth, been guilty of wronging or injuring any
man or society of men; and those imperfections to which I allude, and
for which I have often had occasion to lament, were a light, and too
often, vain mind, exhibiting a foolish and trifling conversation.
This being all, and the worst, that my accusers can substantiate
against my moral character, I wish to add that it is not without a
deep feeling of regret that I am thus called upon in answer to my own
conscience, to fulfill a duty I owe to myself, as well as to the cause
of truth, in making this public confession of my former uncircumspect
walk, and trifling conversation and more particularly, as I often
acted in violation of those holy precepts which I knew came from God.
But as the "Articles and Covenants" of this Church are plain upon
this particular point, I do not deem it important to proceed further.
I only add, that I do not, nor never have, pretended to be any other
than a man "subject to passion," and liable, without the assisting
grace of the Savior, to deviate from that perfect path in which all
men are commanded to walk.
By giving the above a place in your valuable paper, you will confer a
lasting favor upon myself, as an individual, and, as I humbly hope,
subserve the cause of righteousness.
I am, with feelings of esteem, your fellow-laborer in the Gospel of
our Lord, JOSEPH SMITH.
It is clear from this letter that Joseph Smith, while acknowledging
his imperfections, does not accuse himself of any dark crimes of a
nature to disqualify him for his subsequently exalted station or the
great work to which he was called. He goes no further than to confess
to lightness and vanity of mind, resulting in "a foolish and trifling
conversation;" but even that, on account of his quick conscience and
innocent life, occasioned him much remorse.
While the Book of Mormon was in process of translation, namely, in May,
1829, the question of baptism came up between Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery. They repaired to the woods to inquire of the Lord concerning
it, when an angel from heaven appeared to them and announced himself to
be John the Baptist, of the New Testament, now raised from the dead,
and sent to them by the Apostles Peter, James and John, under whose
direction he acted, to confer upon them the Aaronic Priesthood.[H] He
placed his hands upon their heads and said:
[Footnote H Elsewhere the writer has said concerning this event:
"When the work reached that stage of development that men could be
taught repentance, and receive baptism for the remission of sins, who
so qualified or who with more propriety could be sent to deliver the
keys of the priesthood that is especially appointed to cry repentance
and administer baptism, than _the_ teacher of repentance and _the_
Baptist?"--_New Witness for God, p. 221._]
Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer
the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministration
of angels and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism for the
remission of sins, and this shall never be taken from the earth
until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in
righteousness.
They were then commanded to each baptize the other, which they did, and
thus baptism for the remission of sins, under divine authority, was
again commenced on earth. This ordination received under the hands of
the angel gave them the right and power to preach the gospel, call men
to repentance, and baptize them for a remission of their sins. This
they began to do and in a short time quite a number had been baptized.
Soon after this first ordination, namely, some time in the month of
June, 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were again visited by
angels. The ancient Apostles Peter, James and John came to them on the
banks of the Susquehanna River, between Harmony, Susquehanna County,
and Colesville, Broome County, and conferred upon them the holy
Apostleship, the keys of the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood, which
gave them power not only to preach the gospel and administer baptism,
but to lay on hands for the Holy Ghost, together with right to all the
offices in The Church. This Priesthood gave them power to organize The
Church, set in order the affairs thereof in all the world, and preside
over it as God's representatives.
The authority of God thus restored to earth, the way was prepared for
the organization of The Church. Still the young men to whom had been
entrusted these great powers waited further direction from the Lord,
and did not proceed with so great an undertaking until he commanded
them.
At length the commandment came, and the 6th day of April, 1830, was
appointed as the day on which to effect the organization of The Church.
A number of the people who had been baptized met with Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, on the day appointed, at the house of Peter Whitmer,
Sen., in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, to effect that organization.
The meeting was opened by solemn prayer, after which, according to
previous instructions from the Lord, the Prophet Joseph called upon
the brethren present to know if they would accept himself and Oliver
Cowdery as their teachers in religion, and if they were willing that
they should proceed to organize The Church according to the commandment
of the Lord. To this the converts to the faith consented by unanimous
vote. Joseph then ordained Oliver an Elder of the Church of Jesus
Christ; after which Oliver ordained Joseph an Elder of said Church. The
sacrament was administered, and those who had been previously baptized
were confirmed members of The Church, and received the Holy Ghost by
the laying on of hands. Some enjoyed the gift of prophecy, and all
rejoiced exceedingly.
While The Church was yet assembled a revelation was received from the
Lord, directing that a record be kept, and that in it Joseph Smith be
called a Seer, a Translator, a Prophet, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ,
an Elder of The Church; and The Church was commanded to give heed to
all his words and commandments which he should receive from the Lord,
accepting his word as the word of God in all patience and faith. On
condition of their doing this, the Lord promised them that the gates
of hell should not prevail against The Church; but on the contrary he
would disperse the powers of darkness before them, and shake the very
heavens for their good.
In addition to the ordination of Joseph and Oliver to be Elders in The
Church, as stated above, other brethren were called and ordained to
different offices in the Priesthood as the Spirit directed. "And after
a happy time," says the Prophet, "spent in witnessing and feeling for
ourselves the power and blessings of the Holy Ghost, through the grace
of God bestowed upon us, we dismissed with the pleasing knowledge that
we were now individually, members of, and acknowledged of God, The
Church of Jesus Christ, organized in accordance with commandments and
revelations given by him to ourselves in the last days, as well as
according to the order of The Church as recorded in the New Testament."
On Sunday, the 11th of April, the public ministry of The Church may
be said to have begun. Oliver Cowdery on that day preached the first
public discourse of the new dispensation then opening. Of the nature
of the discourse we know little or nothing. The meeting was held by
previous appointment at the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, in Fayette, and
was largely attended by people of the neighborhood, and the preaching
was certainly successful, as upon the same day, and doubtless as a
result of the explanations, teachings, doctrines and spirit of the
discourse, a number came forward for baptism, and a few days later a
number more--thirteen in all. And so the work grew and prospered.
Fayette, in Seneca County, New York, and Colesville, Broome County,
in the same State, were the centers of activity for The Church in
those early days. In both places meetings were occasionally held, and
baptisms were frequent, in the clear, beautiful waters of Seneca Lake.
What historical associations will yet gather about these localities!
Fayette! Seneca Lake! I venture to predict that these places will
in the ages to come be as famous as Capernaum and Lake Gennesaret.
The latter were the scenes of Christ's early ministry. The former
the scenes of Joseph Smiths. The latter were identified with the
Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. The former with the Dispensation
of the Fullness of Times. Capernaum and Gennesaret are associated with
memories of the Christ, with Simon Peter, with John, with Andrew and
Nathaniel, and Mary of Magdala. Fayette and Seneca with Joseph Smith,
with Oliver, with David Whitmer, with Joseph Knight and Newel, his
son, with Emily Coburn and others. Gennesaret was but the widening
of the Jordan; Seneca but one of the river valleys once occupied and
modified by the glaciers which in ancient times filled that land.[I]
The site of the ancient Capernaum is now unknown; so, too, the Fayette
of our Church history is no more; but of the latter as of the former,
and of Seneca as of Gennesaret it may be said: If every vestige of
human habitation should disappear from beside it, and the jackal and
the hyena should howl about the shattered fragments where Joseph once
taught, yet the fact that he chose it as the scene of his ministry will
give a sense of sacredness and pathos to its lovely waters till Time
shall be no more.
[Footnote I: Enc. Brit., Art. New York.]
On the first of June The Church held its first conference as an
organized body. At that conference--held in Fayette--more brethren
were ordained to the various offices of the Priesthood; a number who
had been baptized were confirmed; the sacrament was administered, and
many spiritual manifestations were enjoyed, such as beholding heavenly
visions and prophesying.
Thus The Church was organized and well started upon its career, the
history of which was to be so thrilling; the success of which was to be
so great; and the final victory of which over every opposing power is
assured by the promises of God.
CHAPTER II.
THE MISSION TO THE LAMANITES.
The Book of Mormon, the coming forth of which has already been
detailed, contains many promises to the Lamanites--that is, to the
American Indians, whom it reveals to be the remnants of mighty nations
that once inhabited the Americas, and also proclaims them to be
descendants of the house of Israel. Their present fallen state arises
from their departure from the ways of the Lord, and the instructions
and doctrines of their ancient prophets; the very blackness of their
skin is the result of God's curse upon them for their unrighteousness;
yet are they promised that they shall know their origin--the favored
race from which they are descended; it is promised that the gospel of
Jesus Christ shall be declared among them, and they shall regard it as
a blessing from the hand of the Lord; "and their scales of darkness
shall begin to fall from their eyes, and many generations shall not
pass away among them save they shall be a white and delightsome
people." [A] It is promised that Zion, the New Jerusalem, shall be
built upon the land of their fathers--the Americas--which, according
to the Book of Mormon, is a land especially dedicated to the seed of
Joseph, of Egyptian fame, the son of Jacob, "and they are the ten
thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh;" and
in this great work of building up the Zion of God, the Lamanites are
assigned a special part, which will be a manifestation of God's favor
towards them.[B]
[Footnote A: II Nephi, chap. 30.]
[Footnote B Book of Mormon, Ether 13, and III Nephi 20.]
Very naturally, of course, those who accepted the Book of Mormon as
true, possessed a lively interest in this people, that is, in the
Lamanites; and anxiously looked forward to the commencement of the
fulfillment of the words of their ancient prophets concerning them; and
hence at the close of a conference held in the last days of September,
and which also extended into the early days of October, "a great
desire," says the Prophet, "was manifested by several elders respecting
the remnants of the house of Joseph--the Lamanites residing in the
west--knowing that the purposes of the Lord were great to that people,
and hoping that the time had come when the promises of the Almighty
in regard to that people were about to be accomplished, and that they
would receive the gospel and enjoy its blessings. The desire was so
great that it was agreed upon that we should inquire of the Lord as
to the propriety of sending some of the elders among them, which we
accordingly did." [C]
[Footnote C Millennial Star, (Supplement), Vol. 14, p. 44.]
The result of this inquiry was a revelation in which Oliver Cowdery,
Peter Whitmer, Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson were called to go on
a mission to the Lamanites who then inhabited the western states and
the Indian Territory. On their journey westward the Indian missionaries
stopped at Kirtland, Ohio, where they converted a number of people to
the gospel, and organized a branch of The Church.
It was here that Sidney Rigdon, a somewhat noted Campbellite preacher,
resided and had a large following. These Campbellites, or Disciples of
Christ, as they preferred to be called, were reformed Baptists: that
is, in addition to believing that immersion is the only acceptable mode
of baptism, they also taught that baptism, when preceded by true faith
in God and sincere repentance, was "for the remission of sins;" and
that forgiveness of sins really followed every proper baptism. It was
on the occasion of this visit of the Indian missionaries to Kirtland,
that Sidney Rigdon first heard of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; and the
first time he ever saw the Book of Mormon was when young Parley P.
Pratt, himself formerly a Campbellite preacher, presented a copy of
it to him to read. I think it important to make this statement here,
because it has been asserted that Sidney Rigdon had much to do with
producing the Book of Mormon; the theory of some being that it was he
who stole from a printer in Pittsburg--a Mr. Patterson--a manuscript
story written by a sort of harebrained, retired minister, of the name
of Solomon Spaulding; and that, after making some changes in the text,
he then connived with Joseph Smith to palm it off upon the world
as a new revelation from God--a theory which, in addition to being
absolutely untrue, always was inadequate as an explanation of the
origin of the Book of Mormon, and is now quite generally abandoned,
since the manuscript of Solomon Spaulding most unexpectedly came to
light in 1884, verbatim copies of which have been widely published;
the original now being in Oberlin College, in the State of Ohio. It
needs only a perusal of the "Manuscript Found" to satisfy anyone
that it never could in the remotest manner have suggested the Book
of Mormon, or any part of it; while the fact that Sidney Rigdon knew
nothing of the Book of Mormon until Parley P. Pratt presented it to him
at Kirtland, Ohio, on the occasion above referred to, is a complete
refutation of the idle stories that he was associated with Joseph Smith
in writing the Book of Mormon.
Sidney S. Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, on the 19th of February, 1793, and was the youngest son
of William and Nancy Rigdon. On his father's side his forefathers
were English; on his mother's, Irish. In his youth and early
manhood he followed the vocation of a farmer and tanner. At the age
of twenty-five he became associated with a Baptist society, and
possessing a natural gift of oratory he drifted into the ministry of
that society. He seems to have been much in doubt as to the Baptist
church possessing the fullness of the truth, and he at last severed
his connection with it and joined in the reform movement inaugurated
by one Alexander Campbell, of Bethany, Virginia, founder of the church
of the "Disciples," or "Christians." This new religious movement was
very successful in what was called the Western Reserve, that region of
country lying south of Lake Erie, and constituting the present State
of Ohio. It derived its name, Western Reserve, from the fact that the
State of Connecticut in ceding its claims upon western lands reserved
to itself this magnificent tract for the purposes of a school fund.
Among the settlers on this Western Reserve, I repeat, the doctrines of
faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, preached by
Alexander Campbell, Sidney S. Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt and others, as
the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, and the means provided in the
gospel for man's salvation, had great success. Sidney Rigdon's labors
in this new ministry led him to settle at Kirtland, where he had a
large congregation, the members of which, in addition to accepting the
primitive faith and ordinances referred to above, were also trying
to carry out that order of things incidentally mentioned in the
early Christian writings,[D] namely, none of them said that which he
possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.
[Footnote D: Acts 4:32-37.]
Such was the state of affairs in Kirtland, and with Sidney Rigdon, when
Parley P. Pratt and his associates arrived there in the fall of 1830,
and presented the Book of Mormon to him, and preached the gospel of the
Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.
Here it may not be amiss to speak a word with reference to the
character of Sidney Rigdon. His subsequent prominence in The Church,
both the good and the injury he did it, warrant my doing so, and will
doubtless be a key to his conduct. That he possessed talents of an
extraordinary nature goes without saying, especially in the line of
public speaking. Few men in The Church, perhaps none, have possessed
the gift of oratory to an equal degree; spontaneous, fervid, rapid,
brilliant, captivating; abounding in flights of fancy, rich in coloring
and original in its wealth of historical illustration, which his wide
and various reading made possible. It can well be imagined how one so
gifted would be useful in the work just beginning to come forth through
the instrumentality of Joseph Smith--what a welcome the young Prophet
would give to such a help-meet, and what influence he would have in The
Church then struggling into existence. The Prophet could receive the
word of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim, and by the visitation
of angels; but at that time he was evidently lacking in ability to
expound it or show that what he brought forth was in harmony with the
predictions of ancient prophets, a part of a great whole, and admirably
dovetailed into the general purposes and designs of God. Neither his
powers of expression nor his historical information fitted him for this
task. Whatever his abilities in the later years of his ministry, in
the earlier days of it he was somewhat slow of speech. He was as Moses
waiting for Aaron, and that Aaron, that spokesman, he found in Sidney
Rigdon, and bade him welcome.
But talented as Sidney Rigdon was, moral, too, and spiritually minded
and sincere as we believe him to have been in these early days of
his career, he possessed traits of character which neutralized to a
very great extent his great abilities. He was vain of his talents;
vainglorious of his importance; too proud of what he regarded as his
sacrifices for the truth. The very qualities which made him brilliant
prevented him from being profound. The fervid imagination which
enabled him to clothe with such splendid imagery his speech, made him
a dangerous man when called to act with reference to stern and often
disagreeable and prosy realities. He was constitutionally unsound.
Remarkably gifted in one or two directions, he was markedly deficient
in others. He was wanting in soundness of judgment, steadiness of
purpose, a high sense of honor. He was moody, petty, jealous, selfish;
and in a word, lacked that mysterious quality so well expressed by
the phrase, "weight of character." But with all his imperfections
he was useful, and for many years was faithful and devoted to the
Prophet and the work of God. He was an instrument in the hands of
the Almighty through whom was accomplished much good. He endured
much for the truth's sake--persecution, poverty, imprisonment, mob
violence, almost death. For such men, whatever may be their defects of
character,--especially when such defects are constitutional, the effect
of temperament--we can have but the kindest sentiments; and only make
mention of such defects as they may have possessed in order to bring to
pass a proper understanding of events with which they were associated.
At Kirtland, Frederick G. Williams, who subsequently occupied an
important station in The Church--counselor to the Prophet Joseph in the
First Presidency--was also baptized. He volunteered to accompany the
Indian missionaries on their journey westward.
The Indian missionaries arrived at Independence, Missouri, in
midwinter. Independence was then a frontier town; one of the outposts
of Anglo-American advancement westward. It was on the line that
divided our frontier from the possessions of the red man west of the
great Missouri River; and it can be very well understood that its
civilization was not of the highest order. Here had drifted many
outcasts from society, and there was, at the time of which we are
writing, very little regard for God, religion, refinement, or for
civilization. As the Indian missionaries were destitute and weary from
the extended journey on foot through what, at that time, was at best
but a sparsely-settled country, and very much of it wilderness--it was
arranged that two of the company who had been tailors should obtain
work at their trade in Independence, while the three others should
cross the frontier line and enter the reservation occupied by the
Shawnees and the Delaware Indians.
The chief of the Delawares, who is described by Elder Parley P. Pratt
as a "venerable looking man," and the "sachem of ten nations or
tribes," called together some forty chief men of his people, and to
these Oliver Cowdery delivered, in substance, the following message:
Aged Chief and Venerable Council of the Delaware nation: We are glad
of this opportunity to address you as our red brethren and friends. We
have traveled a long distance from towards the rising sun to bring you
glad news; we have traveled the wilderness, crossed the deep and wide
rivers, and waded in the deep snows, and in the face of the storms of
winter, to communicate to you great knowledge which has lately come to
our ears and hearts; and which will do the red man good as well as the
pale face.
Once the red men were many; they occupied the country from sea to
sea--from the rising sun to the setting sun; the whole land was
theirs; the Great Spirit gave it to them, and no pale faces dwelt
among them. But now they are few in numbers; their possessions are
small, and the pale faces are many.
Thousands of moons ago, when the red man's forefathers dwelt in peace
and possessed this whole land, the Great Spirit talked with them and
revealed his law and his will, and much knowledge to their wise men
and prophets. This they wrote in a book; together with their history,
and the things which should befall their children in the latter days.
This book was written on plates of gold, and handed down from father
to son for many ages and generations.
It was then that the people prospered, and were strong and mighty;
they cultivated the earth; built buildings and cities, and abounded in
all good things, as the pale faces now do.
But they became wicked: they killed one another and shed much blood;
they killed their prophets and wise men, and sought to destroy the
book. The Great Spirit became angry, and would speak to them no more;
they had no good and wise dreams; no more visions; no more angels
sent among them by the Great Spirit; and the Lord commanded Mormon
and Moroni, their last wise men and prophets, to hide the book in the
earth that it might be preserved in safety, and be found and made
known in the latter day to the pale faces who should possess the
land; that they might again make it known to the red men; in order to
restore them to the knowledge of the will of the Great Spirit and to
his favor. And if the red men would then receive this book and learn
the things written in it, and do according thereunto, they should be
restored to all their rights and privileges; should cease to fight and
kill one another; should become one people: cultivate the earth in
peace, in common with the pale faces, who are willing to believe and
obey the same book, and be good men and live in peace. Then should the
red men become great, and have plenty to eat and good clothes to wear,
and should be in favor with the Great Spirit and be his children,
while he would be their Great Father, and talk with them, and raise up
prophets and wise and good men amongst them again, who should teach
them many things.
This book, which contained these things, was hid in the earth by
Moroni, in a hill called by him Cumorah, which hill is now in the
State of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario County.
In that neighborhood there lived a young man named Joseph Smith,
who prayed to the Great Spirit much, in order that he might know
the truth; and the Great Spirit sent an angel to him, and told him
where this book was hidden by Moroni; and commanded him to get it. He
accordingly went to the place, and dug in the earth, and found the
book written on gold plates.
But it was written in the language of the forefathers of the red men;
therefore this young man, being a pale face, could not understand it;
but the angel told him and showed him, and gave him knowledge of the
language and how to interpret the book. So he interpreted it into the
language of the pale faces, and wrote it on paper, and caused it to
be printed, and published thousands of copies of it among them; and
then sent us to the red men to bring some copies of it to them, and to
tell them this news. So we have now come from him, and here is a copy
of the book, which we now present to our red friend, the chief of the
Delawares, and which we hope he will cause to be read and known among
his tribe; it will do them good.
To these remarks the Indian chief made the following reply:
We feel truly thankful to our white friends who have come so far, and
been at such pains to tell us good news, and especially this news
concerning the book of our forefathers; it makes us glad in here,
[placing his hand on his heart]. It is now winter, we are new settlers
in this place; the snow is deep, our cattle and horses are dying, our
wigwams are poor; we have much to do in the spring--to build houses,
and fence and make farms; but we will build a council house, and meet
together, and you shall read to us and teach us more concerning the
book of our fathers and the will of the Great Spirit.[E]
[Footnote E: Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ch. 8.]
The interest awakened among the Indians by the brethren aroused the
jealousy of sectarian missionaries who were also at work among this
tribe. They falsely charged the Elders with disturbing the peace, and
through their influence with the Indian agents, secured the banishment
of the Mormon mission from the reservation.
The Indian missionaries, after their banishment, met with their
brethren at Independence, on the 14th of February, 1831, for
consultation as to their future movements. It was finally agreed by
the meeting that Parley P. Pratt should return to Ohio, and report
their labors to the Prophet. Elder Pratt immediately set out upon this
long journey, and after enduring much fatigue and sickness, he arrived
early in the spring at Kirtland, where he found the Prophet Joseph
Smith, to whom he reported the labors of himself and companions.
How Joseph Smith came to be in Ohio at this particular time is
of some interest. After joining The Church at Kirtland under the
ministrations of Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt and others, Sidney
Rigdon, in company with Edward Partridge (who had not yet received
baptism), determined upon a personal visit to the Prophet in New York.
They arrived at Fayette, New York, early in the month of December,
and soon thereafter the Prophet received revelations which must have
been a source of great comfort to these brethren. Sidney Rigdon was
declared to have been inspired of God and sent forth to prepare the
way before the coming of the Lord and of Elijah, though he knew it
not. He had baptized by water unto repentance, but those who received
his ministrations did not receive the Holy Ghost; now he was called to
a greater work, and was promised that the baptism of the Holy Ghost,
under his hands, should follow the baptism of the water, even as was
the case with the apostles of old. He was commanded to tarry with
Joseph Smith and assist him in writing and in counseling with him in
relation to the great work that the Lord was bringing forth.
Edward Partridge, who is described by the Prophet as a pattern of
piety, one of the Lord's great men, and, like Nathaniel of old, a man
in whom there was no guile, after some investigation of the truth,
was baptized by the Prophet in Seneca Lake, and was also called by
revelation to the ministry.
The addition of these brethren to The Church greatly strengthened the
ministry; they preached almost daily, and were frequently engaged in
receiving the word of the Lord by revelation and through the revision
of the scriptures; for it had been made known that in consequence of
imperfections in translation in some instances, and the omission of
many plain and precious parts in other instances, the scriptures--the
Old and New Testaments--were imperfect, and hence the necessity for
the revision. Finally the brethren received a commandment that after
they had strengthened The Church in these parts, they should go to
Ohio. The Church in New York was also commanded to gather to Ohio,
which commandment, by the way, is the first one given to The Church to
gather together in this dispensation. Obedient to this commandment,
Joseph Smith, in company with Elders Rigdon and Partridge, and with
his family, about the latter part of January removed to Kirtland,
where he received a hearty welcome, and was there when Parley P. Pratt
arrived from the west with his report of the labors of the Indian
missionaries, as already stated.
What effect this Indian mission report had upon the mind of the
Prophet he has left no word to indicate; but that a deep impression
was made upon him, and that he attached much importance to that
mission, can scarcely be doubted, because of the mighty consequences
which subsequently grew out of it.
Since the departure of the Indian missionaries for the west a very
great amount of knowledge had been revealed concerning the work of
the Lord in the last days. Soon after the arrival of Sidney Rigdon at
Fayette, in New York, as already related, work upon the translation
of scripture was begun, and among the ancient scriptures that were
revealed in the course of this work, was "The Prophecy of Enoch,"
which is alluded to in the writings of Jude,[F] in the New Testament.
According to this "Prophecy of Enoch" the Lord revealed to that
patriarch very much that would take place in the last days, among
which is the following:
[Footnote F: Jude 14, 15 and 16.]
And righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with
a flood, to gather out mine own elect from the four quarters of the
earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, a holy city, that my
people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of
my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called
Zion, a New Jerusalem. And the Lord said unto Enoch, then shall you
and all your city meet them there, and we will receive them unto our
bosom, and they shall see us, and we shall fall upon their necks, and
they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other, and there
shall be my abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of
all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand
years shall the earth rest.[G]
[Footnote G: Prophecy of Enoch, Pearl of Great Price.]
This is the city also spoken of in the Book of Mormon, to which
reference before has been made.[H]
[Footnote H: Page 24.]
Again, before the Prophet and his companions departed from Fayette, in
the month of January, speaking of the provisions that he would make for
the poor, the Lord said:
I have made the earth rich; and behold it is my footstool, wherefore,
again I will stand upon it; and I hold forth, and deign to give unto
you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk
and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh:
and I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you
seek it with all your hearts. And this shall be my covenant with
you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the
inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and
ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.[I]
[Footnote I: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 380.]
After the Prophet's arrival in Kirtland, the branch of The Church
there in the meantime having increased to about one hundred members,
the elders of The Church were sent out into the surrounding country,
two and two, to preach the gospel; and a promise of a future mission
was given to them in which it was said:
And from this place ye shall go forth into the regions westward; and
inasmuch as ye shall find them that will receive you, ye shall build
up my Church in every region, until the time shall come when it shall
be revealed unto you from on high, when the city of the New Jerusalem
shall be prepared, that ye may be gathered in one, that ye may be my
people and I will be your God.[J]
[Footnote J: Ibid Sec. 42.]
Moreover, in the same revelation, something of the law under which the
holy city is to be built up unto the Lord was revealed, of which we
shall say more in the course of this history.
In the latter part of February a brief revelation was given, making
known that it was the will of the Lord that the elders who had been
sent out to preach in the regions round about should be called
together; and this led to the appointment of a somewhat notable
conference of The Church that was called to meet on the sixth day of
June ensuing. On the 7th of March (1831), the Lord gave a somewhat
lengthy revelation setting forth the judgments that should come upon
the generation in which this new dispensation of the gospel came forth,
in the course of which it is said:
Wherefore I, the Lord, have said, gather ye out from the eastern
lands, assemble ye yourselves together ye elders of my Church; go
ye forth into the western countries, call upon the inhabitants to
repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me; and
with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may
purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you,
and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of
refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; and the
glory of the Lord shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not
come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.
And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will
not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for
safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under
heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one
with another. And it shall be said among the wicked, Let us not go
up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible;
wherefore we cannot stand.[K]
[Footnote K: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 45.]
For a time, however, both the saints who had come from New York in
obedience to the commandment from the Lord, and also the saints in
Ohio, were commanded by revelation to remain in Ohio for the present,
the saints in the latter State being called upon to share their lands
with their eastern brethren. "It must needs be necessary," continues
the revelation, "that ye save all the money that ye can, and that ye
obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye may be enabled
to purchase land for an inheritance, _even the city._ The place is not
yet to be revealed, but after your brethren come from the east, there
are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall be given to know
the place, or to them it shall be revealed. And they shall be appointed
to purchase the lands, and to make a commencement to lay the foundation
of the city." [L]
[Footnote L: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 48]
Thus it will be seen that considerable knowledge had been imparted
to The Church concerning "Zion" during the absence of the Indian
missionaries; and as all the revelations indicated that the location
of Zion was in the west, very naturally the interest of The Church was
intense concerning this Indian mission operating on the very western
borders of American civilization.
This brings us to the before mentioned conference, appointed for the
6th of June, 1831.
CHAPTER III.
IN SEARCH OF ZION.
The conference of The Church appointed for the 6th of June assembled
on that date, in Kirtland. It was an occasion of great importance. In
what way it was done is not recorded, but the Prophet in speaking of
the matter says: "The Lord displayed his power in a manner that could
not be mistaken." He further recounts that the Man of Sin was revealed,
and the authority of the Melchisedek Priesthood was manifested and
conferred for the first time upon several of the elders. "It is clearly
evident," says the Prophet, "that the Lord gives us power in proportion
to the work to be done, and strength according to the race set before
us, and grace and help as our needs require."
The day following (June 7th), the Lord, in a revelation given through
the Prophet, appointed the next conference to convene in Missouri,
"upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are a
remnant of Jacob, and them who are heirs according to the covenant.
Wherefore, verily I say unto you, let my servants Joseph Smith, Jr.,
and Sidney Rigdon take their journey as soon as preparations can be
made to leave their homes, and journey to the land of Missouri. And
inasmuch as they are faithful unto me, it shall be made known unto them
what they shall do; and it shall also, inasmuch as they are faithful,
be made known unto them the land of your inheritance."
This announcement caused great joy to the conference. The place for
the Zion of God--the New Jerusalem--was to be made known! It was to be
the land of their inheritance! The city which Enoch, the seventh from
Adam, saw in its splendor--the city of refuge for the righteous in the
last days; the city of peace; the joy of the godly; the terror of the
wicked--this city was to be located, and they were to be instruments
in the founding of it! Small wonder if the thought of it exalted them
until even the weak felt strong, and the strong yet more powerful.
Twenty-eight elders in all were called by name to go in different
directions through the western states, two by two--"preaching by the
way in every congregation, baptizing by water and the laying on of
hands by the water's side." They were to meet in western Missouri in
a conference appointed at that place, and there learn the location of
Zion.
Soon after the close of the conference the elders started upon this
mission, some going on foot, others going part way by stage and
steamboat. The Prophet, in company with Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris,
Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Joseph Coe, A. S. Gilbert and wife,
left Kirtland for Missouri _via_ Cincinnati and St. Louis.
At Cincinnati the Prophet Joseph had an interview with Rev. Walter
Scott, the associate of Alexander Campbell in founding the sect of
"The Disciples," or "Campbellites." It was with these gentlemen that
Sidney Rigdon was associated in a religious reform movement, to which
reference has already been made. Their design was to re-establish
primitive Christianity. This object they proposed to achieve by
discarding all man-made creeds and accepting the Bible alone--and
especially the New Testament--as the authority and groundwork of
their faith. Their cardinal doctrines were, faith in God and in Jesus
Christ, repentance of sin, and baptism by immersion for the remission
of sins, followed by righteousness of life. This unquestionably was a
good beginning in the way of restoring the primitive Christian faith.
Most of the fundamentals of the Christian faith are here; and if
Sidney Rigdon, as the Lord declared, was sent forth even as John the
Baptist to prepare the way before the Lord Jesus and Elijah--though
he knew it not--then undoubtedly Alexander Campbell and Walter Scott,
who were engaged in the same work, were also sent forth to prepare
the way before the Lord. Certain it is that Alexander Campbell did a
great work among the Protestant sects of the United States in getting
them to turn from the creeds of men to the scriptures; and the elders
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have found in the
sect of "The Disciples" more who would listen to their teachings, and a
greater proportion of them who would accept the fullness of the gospel,
than among any other sect. And those among them who have rejected the
fullness of the gospel when it was presented to them, have failed to
understand aright the meaning of the Campbell-Scott-Rigdon reform
movement--they have failed to recognize in that movement merely a
preparation for the incoming of the fullness of the gospel.
That their teaching was not a complete return to the Christianity of
the New Testament ought to have been clear to them, especially to the
originators of the movement. They lacked divine authority--divine
commission from God to administer the sacraments of the gospel. They
baptized only with water for the remission of sins. The baptism
of the Holy Ghost--apparently unknown to them--is equally a vital
part of primitive Christianity, and is as plainly taught in the New
Testament as an essential to salvation as water baptism. They lacked
the organization of the primitive Church--apostles, prophets, bishops,
elders, teachers, deacons, etc., etc.; and especially were they lacking
in the enjoyment of those spiritual gifts of the gospel, so prominent a
characteristic of the primitive Christian Church.
Unfortunately, and very unlike Sidney Rigdon, both Mr. Campbell and
Mr. Scott violently opposed the work of God brought forth by Joseph
Smith. Alexander Campbell, through his "Millennial Harbinger," bitterly
assailed both the Book of Mormon and the character of Joseph Smith; and
Mr. Scott in this Cincinnati interview with the Prophet, opposed the
work strenuously for that it set forth that men accepting the gospel
of Jesus Christ were now entitled to the same spiritual powers and
gifts as were enjoyed in the primitive Church. "Before the close of
our interview," says the Prophet, "he manifested one of the bitterest
spirits against the doctrine of the New Testament, (that these signs
shall follow them that believe, as recorded in the 16th chapter of the
Gospel according to St. Mark), that I ever witnessed among men."
From St. Louis, those who continued in the company of the Prophet made
the journey on foot to Independence, where they arrived about the
middle of July.
In a few days the other elders of this mission through the western
states began to arrive. These men had suffered all the hardships
incident to a long journey performed for the most part on foot through
a sparsely settled country and in the hot summer months; but the
consciousness that they were seeking the place of the city of Zion;
that they had been promised, on condition of their faithfulness, that
its location would be revealed to them; that it should be the land of
their inheritance--sustained them in every trial and made the journey
pleasant to them.
The meeting between these brethren from the eastern states and the
elders of the Indian mission who had remained at Independence since
the departure of Elder Pratt to report their operations to the Prophet
at Kirtland, was a memorable one. Those from the east could tell
their brethren of the west of the expansion of The Church both in
numbers and in doctrine; of the commandment of The Church to gather
from New York to Ohio; of the appointment of a Bishop in The Church;
of the revelation of the prophecy of Enoch, in which they had learned
more about the city of Zion; of the other revelations that had been
given upon that same subject--the city of Zion--the promise of God
to reveal the place where eventually it is to be founded; the laws
that must govern its inhabitants; of the glory which at last it shall
possess; and finally of their God-commanded journey toward the place
where it had been indicated its location was, and all the incidents
that had happened on the way westward. All these and a thousand other
things--their hopes for the advancement of the Kingdom; the peace of
Zion that shall be; the safety, the glory;--all these were interesting
themes for conversation.
Of their meeting the Prophet himself said:
The meeting with our brethren who had long waited our arrival, was
a glorious one, and moistened with many tears. It seemed good and
pleasant for brethren to meet together in unity. But our reflections
were great, coming as we had from a highly cultivated state of society
in the east, and standing now upon the confines or western limits
of the United States, and looking into the vast wilderness of those
that sat in darkness; how natural it was to observe the degradation,
leanness of intellect, ferocity and jealousy of a people that were
nearly a century behind the times, and to feel for those who roamed
about without the benefit of civilization, refinement or religion;
yea, and to exclaim in the language of the prophets: When will the
wilderness blossom as the rose? When will Zion be built up in her
glory, and where will Thy temple stand, unto which all nations shall
come in the last days?
The brethren were not long left in doubt upon this subject, for within
a day or two--the date of the revelation is not definitely known
further than the fact that it was given in July--a revelation was given
in which the Lord made known that Missouri was the land which the
Lord had appointed and consecrated for the gathering of his people:
"Wherefore this is the land of promise," said the Lord, "and the place
for the city of Zion," and "behold, the place which is now called
Independence, is the center place, and a spot for the temple is lying
westward, upon a lot which is not far from the court house." [A]
[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 57.]
The Saints were commanded to purchase this land, and that lying
westward to the extent of their ability, that they might "obtain it as
an everlasting inheritance."
Sidney Gilbert was appointed an agent to The Church to receive money
and to purchase lands, and also to engage in the business of a general
merchant, the proceeds of which business were to be used in the
purchase of lands.
Edward Partridge, by virtue of his office as bishop, was to divide to
the Saints their inheritance as the lands were purchased.
W. W. Phelps was to be established as a printer and publisher to The
Church in Zion, assisted by Oliver Cowdery.
Immediate preparations were to be made by the bishop and his agents for
settling the families then on their way from the east to settle in Zion.
The first Sunday after the arrival of the elders of this western
mission, a public meeting was held over the western boundary of the
United States. Such a congregation was present as was only possible
in an American frontier district--Indians, Negroes (then slaves),
and all classes and conditions of people from the surrounding
counties--Universalists, Atheists, Deists, Presbyterians, Methodists,
Baptists, both priests and people--a motly crowd, truly! At the
conclusion of the services two were baptized, but they were not the
fruits of this meeting as they previously believed the gospel.
During the week following, the Colesville branch of The Church, which
had emigrated bodily from Colesville, Broome County, State of New York,
arrived and settled in the edge of an extensive prairie about twelve
miles west of Independence, and in what must now be the suburbs of
Kansas City. It is worth while observing as we pass, that this branch
of The Church was made up wholly of northern people, and therefore
constituted a different class of settlers from the old inhabitants of
Independence, who came chiefly from the south. They had been commanded
to come to western Missouri in a body, with a view to permanently
settling in the land of Zion, when that place should be designated;
and in this their mission differed from that given to the twenty-eight
elders who were commanded to travel two and two, preaching the gospel
through the western states en route for Missouri.
These people were unquestionably plunged into new conditions. They
had been reared in a district of New York where the land was heavily
timbered, and where to clear a farm for cultivation took well-nigh the
lifetime of one generation. But here they found alternate woodland
and prairie, great stretches of open country which only needed to be
fenced to be ready for plowing, and doubtless their hearts swelled with
gratitude when they contemplated the possibilities and prosperity that
could come to the industrious in such a goodly land.
They soon set about their work of founding Zion, for on the 2nd day
of August they began the erection of a log house. The first log was
carried and placed by twelve men--of whom the Prophet was one--in honor
of the twelve tribes of Israel; and Sidney Rigdon who had arrived at
Independence sometime after the Prophet, from whom he separated at St.
Louis, dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of God's people.
"It was a season of joy to those present," writes the Prophet, "and
afforded a glimpse of the future which time will yet unveil to the
satisfaction of the faithful."
Sidney Rigdon was also commanded to write a description of the land of
Zion, but of that more later.
It will be remembered that a site for the temple in Zion was also
revealed at the time Independence was declared to be the center place
thereof, and that it was described as lying a short distance west from
the court house. A scant half mile from the latter place one comes to
the summit of a hill--
A gentle hill of mild declivity
--the crown of which is about an acre and a half in area, perhaps more.
On the 3rd day of August, 1831, upon this spot then covered with a rich
growth of timber, the Prophet and a number of the brethren, among whom
were Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery,
Martin Harris and Joseph Coe--assembled to dedicate the place as the
temple site in Zion. In the course of the impressive ceremonies then
conducted, the 87th Psalm was read:
His foundation is the holy mountains.
The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold
Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her; and
the Highest himself shall establish her.
The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people, that this man was
born there.
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all
my springs [i. e. hopes] are in thee.
The Prophet Joseph then dedicated the spot where the temple is to be
built--a temple, by the way, on which the glory of God shall visibly
rest; yea, the Great God hath so declared it, saying: "Verily this
generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto
the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even
the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house; * * * the sons of
Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering
and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built
unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have
appointed." [B]
[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84:4-6, 31.]
On the 4th of August a conference was held at the house of Joshua
Lewis, in Kaw Township, Jackson County, among the Colesville saints.
This was the conference that was appointed to convene by the revelation
received on the 7th of June, directing the elders to go westward in
search of Zion.
Thus the work of building up the center place of Zion was commenced,
and although the commencement was humble in the extreme, the final
result shall be the erection of a city that shall be the crowning glory
of the western world--a city from which shall go forth the law of the
Lord unto all nations, for it is written: "The law shall go forth from
Zion." [C]
[Footnote C: Isaiah 2:3.]
It shall be a city of refuge, for the Lord has said that "every man
that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto
Zion for safety." [D]
[Footnote D: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 45:68.]
The wicked will consider her inhabitants terrible, while the righteous
out of every nation will come unto her with songs of everlasting joy in
their hearts.[E]
[Footnote E: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 45:69-71.]
CHAPTER IV.
THE LAND AND THE CITY.
The land in which the city of Zion is to be built will ever be of
interest to the saints, and I therefore give the following description
of that section of Missouri.
The Missouri River, though flowing east in the main, takes a meandering
course through the State to which it has given its name. The "river
bottom" is a low strip of land on either bank of the stream, and varies
in width from a few hundred yards to several miles. The character of
the soil in the bottom is, of course, alluvial, and very fertile. The
Missouri is said to be a "treacherous stream" by the people living on
its banks. By that they mean it frequently changes its channel. Several
places were pointed out to me, as I passed down it, that used to be the
main channel of the stream; but which are now overgrown with trees,
underbrush, and fields of waving corn; while here and there the stream
is cutting its banks, and mass after mass of sandy, alluvial deposit
of former times is caving in--the river is cutting for itself a new
channel--or moving obstructions from an old one in which it flowed ages
ago.
But however often the Missouri may change its banks, the main stream
never leaves the river bottoms, for the reason that these bottoms are
walled in by the "bluffs." The word bluff naturally suggests to the
mind rugged cliffs rising almost perpendicularly from the bottoms to
dizzy heights--but such are not the bluffs of the Missouri. While
occasionally one may see a bold cliff rising from the water's edge,
yet they are not numerous. The Missouri bluffs are sharp, rolling
hills that run parallel with the river on either side, and are usually
timbered. They vary in width, sometimes extending ten or fifteen miles,
and then again narrowed down to a few hundred yards by some patch of
prairie that approaches very nearly to the river bank.
Back from these bluffs are stretched out great rolling prairies, the
extent of which quite bewilders one. They are divided into what appear
to be immense meadows by the strips of timber land which invariably
border the winding streams. Standing on an eminence that overlooks
these alternate prairie and timber lands, extending as they do as far
as the eye can reach--with here and there a crowning hill ornamented
with a pretentious farm house, or some more humble dwelling half hidden
from your view by the thick foliage of the trees, with cattle feeding
on a thousand hills--all this is very likely to make the beholder
imagine himself in some enchanted realm. But to be more particular:
Jackson County, which is the center place of Zion, is in ninety-four
west longitude, and thirty-nine north latitude, being nearly equally
distant from the northern boundary of the United States and the Gulf of
Mexico. It is also about midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans, making it the most central point within the United States, and,
with reference to both North and South America, a central place in
this western hemisphere, of which in the future it will be the great
capital. The climate is delightful, being mild at least three-fourths
of the year The soil of Missouri is, for the most part, a rich, black
loam, in places intermingled with sand and clay, and is from two to
ten feet in depth, with a sub-soil of a fine quality of clay. Both
climate and soil are favorable to the production of all the fruits and
vegetables of the warm temperate climate: not only the hardy cereals,
such as oats, barley, wheat, rye, buck-wheat, corn, etc., but also
tobacco, cotton, flax, sweet-potatoes and all other common vegetables,
as also fruit, apples, pears, apricots, persimmons, plums of many
varieties, the luscious peach, the delicious grape, and a great many
kinds of berries grow in abundance. It is either Stanley or Livinstone
who, in speaking of some parts of Africa, says: "The people tickle the
soil with a hoe, and it laughs with plenty." It is so with the land of
Zion.
Though the supply of timber useful for lumber purposes is nearly
exhausted, you still find luxuriant growths of hickory, some black
walnut, a variety of oaks, plenty of elm, cherry, honey-locust,
mulberry, bass-wood and boxelder; huge sycamores and cottonwoods grow
in the river bottoms, as also hard and soft maple.
Formerly many wild animals roamed over the prairies or lived in the
woods; such as the buffalo, elk, deer, bear, wolf, beaver, and many
smaller animals; wild turkeys, geese, quail, and a variety of singing
birds: in short, it was once the hunter's paradise. Civilization,
however, has driven away nearly all these animals, especially the
larger ones; but they are replaced by the domestic species so useful
to man, both for food and clothing, as well as being of valuable
assistance in his labors.
The clay, of which there is unlimited quantities, makes a fine quality
of brick. Stone quarries which supply a good quality of light-colored
sand-stone, are abundant, so that substantial building material may be
said to be plentiful. Such is the land of Zion as I found it--a land
with resources well-nigh unlimited, a land yielding an abundance of all
useful products though but indifferently cultivated by the husbandmen
who possess it--a land of surpassing loveliness, though its beauties
are often marred rather than increased by those who inhabit it; while
its magnificent resources are very far from anything like complete
development.
The land being thus beautiful in its products when only partially
developed, the mind naturally inquires what will it be when its
resources are fully developed--when the idleness and indifference of
its people shall be banished--when it shall be possessed by the saints
of the Most High, who will consecrate their substance for the building
of Zion; and all their exertions will be to glorify God, and benefit
mankind--when covetousness is subdued and virtue and righteousness
shall reign in every heart--and when under the blessings of Jehovah the
land shall yield in its strength! When the glory of Lebanon shall be
brought to Zion, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box tree together;
when for brass, will be brought gold; and for iron, silver; for wood,
brass; and for stones, iron, to glorify the place of God's sanctuary!
Surely when this shall come to pass, the land of Zion shall be the
perfection of beauty.
Independence, designated as the center place of Zion, is in the
northern part of Jackson county, about three or four miles south of
the Missouri River. It is located nearly midway between two small
rivers which flow northward and empty into the Missouri; the stream
on the west is called "Big Blue," and the one on the east "Little
Blue." The town is situated in the river bluffs already described as
sharp, rolling hills, many of which at one time were covered with fine
growths of timber and even now some of them are partially covered
with beautiful groves. Independence in 1831, as stated in a previous
chapter, was a frontier town with all the disadvantages implied by that
term. It had a mixed population of white men from many sections of the
Union, chiefly, however, from the south, some of whom had moved into
the western wilderness to escape the consequences of unlawful deeds
committed elsewhere; vagabond Indians and renegades who had mingled
with them; besides a number of negro slaves. Society was as varied as
the character of the population, but on the whole may be described as
being without stability, regard for law, or religion. Of late years,
of course, the character of Independence has been entirely changed.
Western Missouri is no longer the frontier of the United States, nor is
Independence a frontier town. It is now a delightful residence suburb
of Kansas City, Missouri, with many attractive homes.
Having given a description of the land of Zion and the town of
Independence, it may be interesting to learn something concerning
the city of Zion that shall yet stand there to the glory of God. Of
necessity the description will be imperfect, as the available materials
for such description are very meagre. While the prophets have written
much concerning Zion and her future glory, their rapturous effusions
do not furnish matter for a definite description of the city. In June,
1833, however, Joseph Smith and the elders in Kirtland, Ohio, sent a
plat of the city to the brethren in Missouri. We have been unable to
find the plat, but an explanation of it is recorded in the history of
Joseph Smith,[A] from which we learn the following:
[Footnote A: Millennial Star, Vol. 14, p. 438]
The city plat is one mile square, divided into blocks containing ten
acres each--forty rods square--except the middle range of blocks
running north and south; they will be forty by sixty rods, containing
fifteen acres, having their greatest extent east and west. The streets
will be eight rods wide, intersecting each other at right angles.
The tier of blocks forty by sixty rods will be reserved for public
buildings, temples, tabernacles, school houses, etc.[B]
[Footnote B: By this arrangement, it will be observed that the blocks
in the city cannot be uniformly forty rods square (if the middle range
of blocks running north and south are made forty by sixty), as the
plat east and west would lack twenty-eight rods, and north and south
eight rods, of being sufficient for such an arrangement. Either the
outside tier of blocks must be less than forty rods square, or the city
plat must be more than a mile square. It must be three hundred and
forty-eight rods east and west, (instead of three hundred and twenty)
by three hundred and twenty-eight north and south.--B. H. R.]
All the other blocks will be divided into half-acre lots, a four rod
front to every lot, and extending back twenty rods. In one block the
lots will run from the north and south, and in the next one from the
east and west, and so on alternately throughout the city, except in
the range of blocks reserved for public buildings. By this arrangement
no street will be built on entirely through the street; but on one
block the houses will stand on one street, and on the next one on
another street. All of the houses are to be built of brick or stone;
and but one house on a lot, which is to stand twenty-five feet back
from the street, the space in front being for lawns, ornamental trees,
shrubbery, or flowers according to the taste of the owners; the rest of
the lot will be for gardens, etc.
It is supposed that such a plat when built up will contain fifteen or
twenty thousand population, and that they will require twenty-four
buildings to supply them with houses for public worship and schools.
These buildings will be temples, none of which will be less than
eighty-seven feet by sixty-one, and two stories high, each story
to be fourteen feet, making the building twenty-eight feet to the
square. I say none of these temples will be smaller than this, but of
course there will be others much larger; the above, however, are the
dimensions of the one the saints were commanded to build first.
Lands on the north and south of the city will be laid off for barns and
stables for the use of the city, so there will be no barns or stables
in the city among the homes of the people.
Lands for the agriculturist are also to be laid off on the north and
south of the city plat, but if sufficient land cannot be laid off
without going too great a distance, then farms are to be laid off
on the east and west also; but the tiller of the soil as well as
the merchant and mechanic will live in the city. The farmer and his
family, therefore, will enjoy all the advantages of schools, public
lectures and other meetings. His home will no longer be isolated, and
his family denied the benefits of society, which has been, and always
will be, the great educator of the human race; but they will enjoy the
same privileges of society, and can surround their homes with as much
refinement as will be found in the home of the merchant or banker.
"When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in the
same way," said Joseph to those to whom the city plat was sent, "and
so fill up the world in these last days, and let every man live in the
city, _for this is the city of Zion._"
CHAPTER V.
SETTLEMENT OF THE SAINTS IN MISSOURI--THEIR ERRORS--REPROOFS AND
WARNINGS.
On the 4th of August, 1831, a conference was held among the Colesville
saints, at the house of Joshua Lewis, in Kaw Township; and about this
time a number of revelations were given in which the Lord made known
his will to his servants and gave his reasons for calling them to
Missouri. Those reasons were:
1. That the Lord's servants might give to him a witness of their
obedience;
2. That they might have the honor of laying the foundation of Zion;
3. That they might bear record in all their travels hereafter, where
the city of Zion shall stand;
4. That the testimony of these things might go forth from "the city of
the heritage of God." [A]
[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 58:1-13]
The Lord commanded the saints to purchase lands in Jackson County,
to the extent of their ability; and for the better accomplishment of
this object, Sidney Gilbert was appointed agent for The Church. Having
accomplished these things, the elders, except Edward Partridge and a
few others whom the Lord appointed to settle permanently in Missouri,
were commanded to return to their homes, bearing record by the way of
what had been revealed.
The saints and elders who remained in the land of Zion began the work
of building up permanent homes. They had arrived too late to raise
crops that season, but they cut hay for their cattle, and prepared some
ground for cultivation. The fall and winter were occupied in building
log cabins; but with all their industry they were not able to provide
shelter for all. Through that long, cold winter the saints cheerfully
submitted to all kinds of inconveniences, such as several families
living in an open, unfinished log room, without windows, and nothing
but the frozen ground for a floor. Their food consisted chiefly of beef
and a little bread, made of coarse corn meal, manufactured by rubbing
the ears of corn on a tin grater. The spirit of peace, union and love,
however, was in their midst, and at their prayer meetings, and in their
family worship, they were blessed with many seasons of refreshing from
the presence of the Lord.
Thus the winter of 1831 passed away.
As soon as the churches scattered abroad learned that the Lord had
revealed the place where the city of Zion was to be built, preparations
to purchase inheritances absorbed the minds of the faithful; and money
was sent to The Church agent from all quarters to buy lands. Edward
Partridge had been appointed the bishop in Zion, and it was made
his duty to divide unto the saints their inheritances.[B] As early
as February, 1831, the Lord had said that those who loved him would
remember the poor, and consecrate of their property to sustain them,
for inasmuch as they did it to the poor, they did it unto him; and that
which was consecrated to the poor, should be imparted to them with a
deed and a covenant that could not be broken. Moreover every man was to
be made a steward over his own property.[C]
[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 57:7.]
[Footnote C: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 42:29-35.]
This law of consecration and stewardship was as follows: Every
man was to consecrate his property to the bishop of The Church
without reserve, with a covenant that could not be broken; and then
from this consecrated property receive an inheritance from the
bishop--sharing equally with his brethren, according to his family and
circumstances--this inheritance being deeded [D] to him by the bishop;
which inheritance then became his stewardship, upon which he was to
improve according to the measure of wisdom he possessed. Every man is
to be independent in the management of his stewardship. By every man
consecrating his property to the bishop, and then receiving back as his
stewardship only sufficient for his support, there was a surplus left
in the hands of the bishop to be placed in the Lord's storehouse. Then
if in the management of his stewardship a man obtained more than was
needful for his support, it, too, was put into the Lord's storehouse,
and that, as well as the surplus first named, was to be used in
giving inheritances to the poor; and in assisting the brethren in the
improvement of their respective stewardships, as should be appointed by
the high council of The Church, and the bishop and his counselors.[E]
And thus the saints were to be made equal in temporal things as well as
in things that are spiritual.[F]
[Footnote D: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 51:4.]
[Footnote E: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 42:33, 53-55.]
[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 78.]
The hearts of the saints in Zion were made glad in the spring of 1832
by a visit from their youthful Prophet and Sidney Rigdon, both of whom
had suffered much for the truth's sake, during the winter that had just
past, at the hands of a furious mob in Ohio.
At the time the mobbing referred to occurred, the Prophet was living
at the house of a Brother John Johnson, Sen., (usually called "Father
Johnson" by Joseph and the saints), in the little town of Hiram,
Portage County, Ohio, about thirty miles from Kirtland. Before removing
to that place, the Prophet's wife had taken two children (twins) to
rear, their mother, the wife of a Brother John Murdock, having died
when the children were a few days old. Emma Smith received them when
they were nine days old, and at the time of the event to be related
they were eleven months old.
Nothing of unusual importance had occurred in Hiram since the Prophet's
arrival. He had occupied his time in the revision of the Bible that
he had been commanded to make, and in holding public meetings in the
evenings and on the Sabbath day. Here, too, he received a number
of revelations, among them the one called the "Vision," [G] which
describes the different degrees of glory to which men may attain in the
future life.
[Footnote G: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 76.]
A number of men, however, had apostatized from the truth and left The
Church; among them one Ezra Booth, formerly a Methodist minister. He
had been converted on seeing a person healed of an infirmity of many
years' standing, and, as is so frequent in such cases, he required a
constant succession of miracles to keep him in The Church. "But when,"
as the Prophet remarks in stating his case, "he actually learned that
faith, humility, patience, and tribulation were before blessing, and
that God brought low before he exalted; that instead of the Savior's
granting him power to smite men and make them believe (as he said he
wanted God to do with him), he found he must become all things to
all men, that he might peradventure save some; and that, too, by all
diligence, by perils, by sea and land, as was the case in the days of
Jesus"--when he found this was the course the servants of God must run,
he was disappointed and turned away from the faith and The Church. So,
too, did one Simonds Rider, and also Eli Johnson, Edward Johnson, and
John Johnson, Jr.
This by way of introducing the matter, the rest is as related by the
Prophet himself:
On the 25th of March, 1832, the twins before mentioned, which had
been sick of the measles for some time, caused us to be broke of our
rest in taking care of them, especially my wife. In the evening I
told her she had better retire to rest with one of the children, and
I would watch with the sickest child. In the night she told me I had
better lie down on the trundle bed, and I did so, and was soon after
awakened by her screaming _murder!_ when I found myself going out of
the door in the hands of about a dozen men, some of whose hands were
in my hair, and some hold of my shirt, drawers and limbs. The foot of
the trundle bed was towards the door, leaving only room enough for the
door to swing. My wife heard a gentle tapping on the windows which she
then took no notice of, (but which was unquestionably designed for
ascertaining whether we were all asleep), and soon after the mob burst
open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant, and as I said,
the first thing I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an
infuriated mob. I made a desperate struggle as I was forced out, to
extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which I made a pass
at one man and he fell on the door steps. I was immediately confined
again, and they swore by God they would kill me if I did not be still,
which quieted me. As they passed around the house with me, the fellow
that I kicked came to me and thrust his hand into my face, all covered
with blood, (for I hit him on the nose,) and with an exulting hoarse
laugh, muttered, "Gee, gee, God damn ye, I'll fix ye."
They then seized me by the throat, and held on till I lost my breath.
After I came to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from
the house, I saw Elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground whither they
had dragged him by the heels. I supposed he was dead.
I began to plead with them, saying, "you will have mercy and spare
my life, I hope?" To which they replied, _"God damn ye, call on yer
God for help,_ we'll show ye no mercy;" and the people began to
show themselves in every direction; one coming from the orchard had
a plank, and I expected they would kill me and carry me off on the
plank. They then turned to the right and went on about thirty rods
further--about sixty rods from the house and thirty from where I saw
Elder Rigdon, into the meadow, where they stopped, and one said,
"Simonds, Simonds," (meaning, I supposed, Simonds Rider,) "pull up his
drawers, pull up his drawers, he will take cold." Another replied,
"a'nt ye going to kill 'im, a'nt ye going to kill 'im?" A group of
mobbers collected a little way off, and said: "Simonds, Simonds, come
here;" and Simonds charged those who had hold of me to keep me from
touching the ground (as they had done all the time), lest I should
get a spring upon them. They went and held a council, and as I could
occasionally overhear a word, I supposed it was to know whether it was
best to kill me. They returned after awhile, when I learned they had
concluded not to kill me, but pound and scratch me well, tear off my
shirt and drawers, and leave me naked. One cried, "Simonds, Simonds,
_where's the tar bucket?"_ "I don't know," answered one, _"where 'tis,
Eli's left it."_ They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when one
exclaimed, _"God damn it, let's us tar up his mouth;"_ and they tried
to force the tar paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around so
that they could not; and they cried out, _"God damn ye, hold up yer
head and let us give ye some tar."_ They then tried to force a vial
into my mouth and broke it in my teeth. All my clothes were torn off
me except my shirt collar; and one man fell on me and scratched my
body like a mad cat, and then muttered out: _"God damn ye, that's the
way the Holy Ghost falls on folks."_
They then left me and I attempted to rise, but fell again; I pulled
the tar away from my lips, so that I could breathe more freely, and
after awhile I began to recover, "and raised myself up, when I saw two
lights. I made my way towards one of them, and found it was Father
Johnson's. When I had come to the door I was naked, and the tar made
me look as though I was covered with blood, and when my wife saw me
she thought I was all mashed to pieces, and fainted. During the affray
abroad, the sisters of the neighborhood had collected at my room. I
called for a blanket; they threw me one and shut the door: I wrapped
it around me and went in.
* * * * * * * *
My friends spent the night in scraping and removing the tar, and
washing and cleansing my body; so that by morning I was ready to be
clothed again. This being Sabbath morning, the people assembled for
meeting at the usual hour of worship, and among those came also the
mobbers, viz.: Simonds Rider, a Campbellite preacher and leader of the
mob; one McClentic, son of a Campbellite minister; and Pelatiah Allen,
Esq., who gave the mob a barrel of whiskey to raise their spirits;
and many others. With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached
to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day
baptized three individuals.
It was during this visit to Missouri in the spring of 1832, that Joseph
was acknowledged by The Church and Priesthood in Zion, "President
of the High Priesthood." It was on the occasion of this visit, too,
that he sought to so "organize The Church that the brethren might,
eventually, be independent of every incumbrance beneath the celestial
kingdom, by bonds and covenants of mutual friendship and mutual love."
[H]
[Footnote H: History of Joseph Smith. Millennial Star Vol. 14, p. 162.]
In a revelation given July, 1831, W. W. Phelps had been appointed a
printer unto The Church in the land of Zion. Accordingly a press and
type were purchased, and in June, 1832, the first number of a monthly
paper was issued, called the _Evening and Morning Star._ This was the
first periodical published by The Church. According to its prospectus
it was to be a messenger of truth; a harbinger of peace and good will;
to bring good tidings of great joy to all people, but more especially
to the house of Israel scattered abroad, telling them that the day of
their redemption was near; to proclaim the ensign to which all nations
must come, in order to worship God acceptably; to declare that goodness
consists in _doing_ good, not merely in teaching it; and to show that
all men's religion is vain without charity; and as the paper was to be
devoted to the great concerns of eternal things, and the gathering of
the saints, it would leave politics, broils, the gainsayings of the
world, and many other matters for their proper channels.[I]
[Footnote I: Millennial Star Vol. 14:146-8.]
So rapidly did the saints gather to Zion during this summer that the
_Star_ for November reported eight hundred and thirty souls in the
new settlements. The Lord had blessed them both with food and with
raiment, and there was plenty in Zion. A feeling of insubordination,
however, existed among the brethren of the priesthood. Seven high
priests had been appointed to preside over the affairs of The Church
in Zion, viz., Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps, John Whitmer, Sidney
Gilbert, Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley and John Corrill. These
brethren, with the common consent of the several branches comprising
The Church in Missouri, were to appoint elders to preside over the
respective branches, and attend to all the affairs of The Church in
that land. But a number of those high priests and elders who went up
to Zion, ignored the authority of the seven who were placed there to
preside, and began setting some of the branches in order without being
appointed to do so; and it resulted in some confusion. Others who went
there sought to obtain inheritances in some other way than according to
the laws of consecration and stewardship; and these things, together
with jealousies, covetousness, light-mindedness, unbelief, and general
neglect to keep the commandments of God, enkindled the displeasure of
the Almighty against Zion and her inhabitants.
This state of affairs coming to the knowledge of the Prophet Joseph,
through his correspondence with the leading elders in Zion, he wrote
a letter to the saints in Missouri, severely reproving them for their
neglect to keep the commandments of God; and as the communication
is full of prophecy of those calamities which eventually befell the
Church, I quote it entire:
KIRTLAND, January 11, 1833.
_Brother Wm. W. Phelps:_
I send you the Olive Leaf which we have plucked from the tree of
Paradise, the Lord's message of peace to us; for though our brethren
in Zion indulge in feelings towards us which are not according to
the requirements of the new covenant, yet we have the satisfaction
of knowing that the Lord approves of us and has accepted us, and
established his name in Kirtland for the salvation of the nations;
for the Lord will have a place from which his word will go forth, in
these last days, in purity, for if Zion will not purify herself, so as
to be approved of in all things, in his sight, he will seek another
people; for his work will go on until Israel is gathered, and they
who will not hear his voice must expect to feel his wrath. Let me say
unto you, seek to purify yourselves, and also the inhabitants of Zion,
lest the Lord's anger be kindled to fierceness. Repent, repent, is the
voice of God to Zion; and strange as it may appear, yet it is true,
mankind will persist in self-justification until all their iniquity
is exposed, and their character past being redeemed, and that which
is treasured up in their hearts be exposed to the gaze of mankind. I
say to you (and what I say to you, I say to all), hear the warning
voice of God, lest Zion fall, and the Lord swear in his wrath, "The
inhabitants of Zion shall not enter into my rest."
The brethren in Kirtland pray for you unceasingly, for, knowing the
terrors of the Lord, they greatly fear for you. You will see that the
Lord commanded us, in Kirtland, to build a house of God, and establish
a school for the prophets; this is the word of the Lord to us, and
we must, yea, the Lord helping us, we will obey; as on conditions
of our obedience he has promised us great things; yea, even a visit
from the heavens to honor us with his own presence. We greatly fear
before the Lord lest we should fail of this great honor, which our
Master proposes to confer upon us; we are seeking for humility and
great faith lest we be ashamed in his presence. Our hearts are greatly
grieved at the spirit which is breathed both in your letter and that
of Brother G----'s; the very spirit which is wasting the strength of
Zion like a pestilence; and if it is not detected and driven from you,
it will ripen Zion for the threatened judgments of God. Remember, God
sees the secret springs of human action, and knows the hearts of all
living.
Brother, suffer us to speak plainly, for God has respect for the
feelings of his saints, and he will not suffer them to be tantalized
with impunity. Tell Brother G----that low insinuations God hates; but
he rejoices in an honest heart, and knows better who is guilty than
he does. We send him this warning voice, and let him fear greatly for
himself, lest a worse thing overtake him; all we can say by way of
conclusion is, if the fountain of our tears is not dried up, we will
still weep for Zion. This from your brother who trembles for Zion, and
for the wrath of heaven which awaits her if she repent not.
JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
P. S.--I am not in the habit of crying peace, when there is no peace,
and, knowing the threatened judgments of God, I say, Woe unto them
that are at ease in Zion; fearfulness will speedily lay hold of the
hypocrite. I did not expect that you had lost the commandments, but
thought from your letters you had neglected to read them, otherwise
you would not have written as you did.
It is in vain to try to hide a bad spirit from the eyes of those who
are spiritual, for it will show itself in speaking and in writing, as
well as in all our other conduct. It is also needless to make great
pretensions when the heart is not right; the Lord will expose it to
the view of his faithful saints. We wish you to render the _Star_ as
interesting as possible, by setting forth the rise, progress and faith
of our Church, as well as the doctrine; for if you do not render it
more interesting than at present, it will fall, and The Church suffer
a great loss thereby.
J. S.
A council of high priests at Kirtland also appointed Hyrum Smith and
Orson Hyde to write a letter of reproof and warning, in which they
cried, "Repent! repent! or Zion must suffer, for the scourge and
judgment must come upon her." The whole of this communication, however,
is likewise so full of prophetic warning to the saints in Zion that I
consider it too important to be omitted, and hence give it _in extenso:_
KIRTLAND MILLS, GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO,
January 14, 1833.
_From a conference of twelve High Priests, to the Bishop, his Council,
and the inhabitants of Zion:_
Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith being appointed by the said conference to
write this epistle in obedience to the commandment, given the 22nd and
23rd of September last which says: "But verily I say unto all those
to whom the kingdom has been given, from you it must be preached unto
them that shall repent of their former evil works, for they are to
be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief; and your brethren in
Zion, for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you."
Brother Joseph, and certain others, have written to you on this
all-important subject, but you have never been apprized of these
things by the united voice of a conference of those high priests that
were present at the time this commandment was given.
We, therefore, Orson and Hyrum--the committee appointed by said
conference to write this epistle--having received the prayers of said
conference, that we might be enabled to write the mind and will of God
upon this subject, now take up our pen to address you in the name of
the conference, relying upon the arm of the great Head of The Church.
In the commandment alluded to, the children of Zion were all, yea,
even every one, under condemnation, and were to remain in that state
until they repented and remembered the new covenant, even the Book of
Mormon, and the former commandments, which the Lord had given them,
not only to say but to do them, and bring forth fruit meet for the
Father's Kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and a judgment
to be poured out upon the children of Zion; for "shall the children of
the kingdom pollute the holy land? I say unto you, nay!"
The answers received from those letters which have been sent to you
upon this subject, have failed to bring to us that satisfactory
confession and acknowledgment, which the spirit of our Master
requires. We, therefore, feeling a deep interest for Zion, and knowing
the judgments of God that will come upon her except she repent, resort
to these last and most effectual means in our power to bring her to a
sense of her standing before the Most High.
At the time Joseph, Sidney and Newel left Zion, all matters of
hardness and misunderstanding were settled and buried (as they
supposed), and you gave them the hand of fellowship; but afterwards
you brought up all these things again, in a censorious spirit,
accusing Brother Joseph in rather an indirect way of seeking after
monarchial power and authority. This came to us in Brother Carroll's
letter of July 2nd. We are sensible that this is not the thing Brother
Joseph is seeking after, but to magnify the high office and calling
whereunto he has been called and appointed by the command of God, and
the united voice of this Church. It might not be amiss for you to call
to mind the circumstances of the Nephites, and the children of Israel
rising up against their prophets, and accusing them of seeking after
kingly power, etc., and see what befell them, and take warning before
it is too late.
Brother Gilbert's letter of December 10th has been received and read
attentively, and the low, dark, and blind insinuations which were in
it were not received by us as from the fountain of light, though his
claims and pretensions to holiness were great. We are not unwilling
to be chastened or rebuked for our faults, but we want to receive it
in language that we can understand, as Nathan said to David, "Thou
art the man." We are aware that Brother G----is doing much and has
a multitude of business on hand, but let him purge out all the old
leaven, and do his business in the spirit of the Lord, and then the
Lord will bless him, otherwise the frown of the Lord will remain
upon him. There is manifestly an uneasiness in Brother Gilbert, and
a fearfulness that God will not provide for his saints in these last
days, and these fears lead him on to covetousness. This ought not to
be, but let him do just as the Lord has commanded him, and then the
Lord will open his coffers, and his wants will be liberally supplied.
But if this uneasy, covetous disposition be cherished by him, the Lord
will bring him to poverty, shame and disgrace.
Brother Phelps' letter of December 15th, is also received, and
carefully read, and it betrays a lightness of spirit that ill becomes
a man placed in the important and responsible station that he is
placed in. If you have fat beef and potatoes, eat them in singleness
of heart and boast not yourselves in these things. Think not,
brethren, that we make a man an offender for a word; this is not the
case; but we want to see a spirit in Zion, by which the Lord will
build it up; that is the plain, solemn, and pure spirit in Christ.
Brother Phelps requested in his last letter that Brother Joseph should
come to Zion; but we say that Brother Joseph will not settle in Zion
until she repent and purify herself and abide by the new covenant, and
remember the commandments that have been given her, to do them as well
as to say them.
You may think it strange that we manifest no cheerfulness of heart
upon the reception of your letter; you may think that our minds are
prejudiced so much that we can see no good that comes from you, but
rest assured, brethren, that this is not the case.
We have the best of feelings, and feelings of the greatest anxiety
for the welfare of Zion; we feel more like weeping over Zion than
rejoicing over her, for we know that the judgments of God hang over
her, and will fall upon her except she repent, and purify herself
before the Lord, and put away from her every foul spirit. We now say
to Zion, this once, in the name of the Lord, Repent! repent! awake,
awake, put on thy beautiful garments, before you are made to feel the
chastening rod of him whose anger is kindled against you. Let not
Satan tempt you to think we want to make you bow to us, to domineer
over you, for God knows this is not the case; our eyes are watered
with tears, and our hearts are poured out to God in prayer for you,
that he will spare you, and turn away his anger from you.
There are many things in the last letters of Brothers G----and
P----that are good, and we esteem them much. The idea of having
"certain ones appointed to regulate Zion, and traveling elders have
nothing to do with this part of the matter," is something we highly
approbate, and you will doubtless know before this reaches you, why
William E. McLellin opposed you in this move. We fear there was
something in Brother Gilbert when he returned to this place from New
York last fall, in relation to his brother William, that was not
right. For Brother Gilbert was asked two or three times about his
brother William, but gave evasive answers, and at the same time he
knew that William was in Cleveland; but the Lord has taken him. We
merely mention this that all may take warning to work in the light,
for God will bring every secret thing to light.
We now close our epistle by saying unto you, the Lord has commanded
us to purify ourselves, to wash our hands and our feet, that he may
testify to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God, that
we are clean from the blood of this generation; and before we could
wash our hands and our feet we were constrained to write this letter.
Therefore, with the feelings of inexpressible anxiety for your
welfare, we say again, Repent, repent, or Zion must suffer, for the
scourge and judgment must come upon her.
Let the bishop read this to the elders that they may warn the members
of the scourge that is coming, except they repent. Tell them to read
the Book of Mormon and obey it; read the commandments that are printed
and obey them: yea, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
that peradventure he may turn away his anger from you. Tell them that
they have not come up to Zion to sit down in idleness, neglecting the
things of God, but they are to be diligent and faithful in obeying the
new covenant.
There is one clause in Brother Joseph's letter which you may not
understand; that is this, "If the people of Zion did not repent, the
Lord would seek another place and another people." Zion is the place
where the temple will be built, and the people gathered, but all
people upon that holy land being under condemnation, the Lord will cut
them off, if they repent not, and bring another race upon it that will
serve him. The Lord will seek another place to bring forth and prepare
his word to go forth to the nations, and as we said before, so we
say again, Brother Joseph will not settle in Zion, except she repent
and serve God, and obey the new covenant. With this explanation the
conference sanctions Brother Joseph's letter.
Brethren, the conference meets again this evening to hear this letter
read, and if it meets their minds, we are all agreed to kneel down
before the Lord, and cry unto him with all our hearts, that this
epistle, and Brother Joseph's, and the revelations also, may have
their desired effect, and accomplish the thing whereunto they are
sent, and that they may stimulate you to cleanse Zion, that she mourn
not. Therefore, when you get this, know ye that a conference of
twelve high priests have cried unto the Lord for you, and are still
crying, saying, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thy heritage
to reproach. We now feel that our garments are clean from you and
all men, when we have washed our feet and hands according to the
commandment.
We have written plain at this time, but we believe not harsh.
Plainness is what the Lord requires, and we should not feel ourselves
clear, unless we had done so: and if the things we have told you be
not attended to, you will not long have occasion to say, or to think
rather, that we may be wrong in what we have stated. Your unworthy
brethren are determined to pray unto the Lord for Zion, as long as
we can shed the sympathetic tear, or feel any spirit to supplicate a
throne of grace in her behalf.
The school of the prophets will commence, if the Lord will, in two
or three days. It is a general time of health with us. The cause of
God seems to be rapidly advancing in the eastern country; the gifts
are beginning to break forth so as to astonish the world, and even
believers marvel at the power and goodness of God. Thanks be rendered
to his holy name for what he is doing. We are your unworthy brethren
in the Lord, and may the Lord help us all to do his will, that we may
at last be saved in his kingdom.
ORSON HYDE. HYRUM SMITH.
N. B.--We stated that Brother Gilbert knew that William was in
Cleveland last fall when he was in Kirtland. We wrote this upon the
strength of hearsay: but William being left at St. Louis, strengthened
our supposition that such was the fact. We stated further,
representing this matter, or this item, than the testimony will
warrant us. With this exception the conference sanctions this letter.
These words of reproof and warning had the effect of awakening in the
hearts of the saints the spirit of repentance. A solemn assembly was
called at which a sincere and humble repentance was manifested. A
general epistle to The Church authorities in Kirtland, bearing date of
26th of February, 1833, was adopted at a conference of the saints in
Zion, expressing their repentance, and desires to keep the commandments
of God in the future. This was satisfactory to the brethren in
Kirtland; and the Lord said in a revelation given the 8th of March,
that the brethren in Zion _"began"_ to repent; and that the angels
rejoiced over them. Still there were many things with which the Lord
was not well pleased, and he said that he would contend with Zion, and
plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcame.[J]
[Footnote J: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 90:32-36.]
CHAPTER VI.
STORM CLOUDS.
The spring of 1833 opened early in western Missouri. The streams,
which had been so long locked up in ice, broke loose under the genial
rays of the returning sun, and rushed madly on to swell the majestic
current of the Missouri. The winter snows early melted before the balmy
breath of spring, and grass and flowers in rich profusion and of varied
hue clothed the great rolling prairies of the west in their loveliest
attire. The forests along the water courses put forth their tender
buds, and the birds that had migrated to the south in the autumn, to
escape the severity of the winter, joyfully returned to build their
nests in the same old woods, and make the wilderness glad with their
sweet songs. All nature rejoiced, and the saints who had gathered to
that land to build up Zion rejoiced with her. They had repented of the
sins which had called forth the reproofs of the servants of God: and
although there were some persons among them with whom the Lord was not
well pleased, yet they had received assurances from God that the angels
rejoiced over them.
Under these auspicious circumstances eighty officials and a large
number of the members of The Church met for the service of God, and
to be instructed in the things of eternal life, at the Ferry on Big
Blue, a small forest-lined stream a few miles west of Independence.
Their conversation and discourses ranged over immense periods of time;
extending back to that time when the morning stars sang together, and
the sons of God shouted for joy in anticipation of the blessings that
would follow the creation of this earth.[A] They spoke of the cruel
persecutions endured by the disciples of Jesus in former ages, little
dreaming that the time was at hand when they, too, would be required
to endure like trials for the truth's sake--for the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus. Their minds were absorbed in contemplating
the future glory of Zion; their souls were filled with joy
unspeakable--filled with that spirit which ages before caused men and
angels to unite in singing, "Peace on earth; good will to man." This
occurred on the 6th of April, and was the first attempt of The Church
to celebrate the anniversary of her birthday. Only three years before,
in the house of Peter Whitmer The Church had been organized; and now
the saints in Missouri were exclaiming, How The Church has grown! How
much has been accomplished! The Gospel had been preached in nearly all
the states of the Union: thousands had hailed the message with delight,
and numerous branches of The Church had been established. The place of
the city of Zion had been revealed, and nearly a thousand of the saints
gathered there. A printing establishment had been founded, and the
precious truths from heaven were being published to the world; and all
this had been accomplished in the face of poverty and bitter opposition.
[Footnote A: Job 38:3-7.]
During the summer of 1833, a school for the elders was organized in
Zion, presided over by Elder Parley P. Pratt, who labored with all
the zeal of an apostle in teaching them the things of God. They held
their meetings in the shady groves--in "God's first temples," and their
instructor frequently walked several miles bare-footed to meet with
them. How strange it seems to record the above as occurring in this
age! It appears to be quite out of joint with the times, and smacks
rather of that age in which John the Baptist preached the gospel in
the wilderness of Judea, clothed with camel's hair, and a girdle of
skin about his loins; and whose food was locusts and wild honey. Some
day, however, when a parallel shall be drawn between the introduction
of the gospel in this dispensation, and that in which John figured, it
will appear that the men who have been chosen of the Lord in this age
to perform his work, possess the same simplicity of character as those
whom he chose in Judea, nineteen hundred years ago--the same guileless
honesty of purpose; the same child-like confidence in God, and the same
unwavering fidelity to their Master's cause; as willing to undergo
privations, hunger and cold, and toil and nakedness; as willing to
endure the scorn and hatred of the world; as willing to suffer bonds
and even death.
The migration of the saints to Missouri in the early summer of 1833,
exceeded that of the previous season; but they were settling among
a people who possessed characteristics with which, from the nature
of things, they were bound to be at variance. The "old settlers" of
Jackson County were principally from the mountainous portions of the
Southern States. They had settled along the water-courses, in the
forests which lined their banks, instead of out on the broad and
fertile prairies, which only required fencing to prepare them for
cultivation. It was the work of years to clear a few acres of the
timber lands, and prepare them for cultivation, but with these small
fields the "old settlers" were content. They had no disposition to
beautify their homes, or even make them convenient or comfortable. They
lived in their log cabins without windows, and very frequently without
floors other than the ground; and the dingy, smoked log walls were
unadorned by pictures or other ornaments. They were uneducated; those
who could read or write being the exception and not the rule; and they
had an utter contempt for the refinements of life. It is needless to
add that they were narrowminded, ferocious, and jealous of those who
sought to obtain better homes, and who aspired to something better in
life than had yet entered into the hearts of these people.
There was another element in western Missouri which did not tend to the
improvement of its society. Western Missouri at the time of which I
write, and as before remarked, was the frontier of the United States,
and therefore a place of refuge for those who had outraged the laws of
society elsewhere. Here they were near the boundary line of the United
States, and if pursued by the officers of the law, in a few hours they
could cross the line out of their reach, as the officers could not
operate outside of their own nation. These outcasts helped to give a
more desperate complexion to the already reckless population of western
Missouri.
The Saints could not join the Missourians in their way of life--in
Sabbath-breaking, profanity, horse-racing, idleness, drunkenness, and
debauchery. They had been commanded to keep the Sabbath day holy,
to keep themselves unspotted from the sins of the world. The fact
of people having so little in common with each other was of itself
calculated to beget a coldness and suspicion, which would soon ripen
into dislike. The saints, too, had come, for the most part, from the
Northern and New England States, and the hatred that existed at that
time between the people of the slave-holding and free states, was
manifested toward the saints by their "southern" neighbors. Moreover,
the old settlers were dear lovers of office, and the honors and
emoluments growing out of it; and they greatly feared that the rapidly
increasing saints would soon outnumber them, and that the offices
would be wrested from them. Political jealousy is always cruel and
unscrupulous; and is not slow to find excuses for destroying the object
of its hatred. To the politician as well as to the lover,
"Trifles light as air,
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of Holy Writ."
And where these "trifles" do not exist, we shall see in the progress
of our narrative that sectarian meanness and political jealousy do not
hesitate to manufacture them.
As early as the spring of 1832 there began to appear signs of an
approaching storm. In the deadly hours of the night the houses of
some of the saints were stoned, the windows broken, and the inmates
disturbed. In the fall of the same year a large quantity of hay in the
stack belonging to the saints was burned, houses shot into, and the
people insulted with abusive language. In the month of April, 1833, the
old settlers to the number of some three hundred met at Independence,
to consult upon a plan for the destruction, or immediate removal, of
the "Mormons" from Jackson County. They were unable, however, to unite
on any plan, and the mob becoming the worse for liquor, the affair
broke up in a "Missouri row."
The secret of their failure in accomplishing anything was this: A few
of the brethren, learning that such a meeting was being held, met for
secret prayer, and petitioned the Father to frustrate the plans of this
ungodly mob, who were seeking their destruction. The Lord, in view
of the fact, doubtless, that this people were partially repenting of
the evils for which they had been reproved, in his mercy heard their
prayers, and thwarted the designs of their enemies. But the angry
clouds of the threatened persecution had been merely drifted aside,
not driven from the horizon; and in a few months they assumed a more
threatening aspect than on their first appearance.
The sectarian priests inhabiting Jackson and the surrounding counties
were earnestly engaged in fanning the flames of prejudice, already
burning in the public mind. The Rev. Finis Ewing, the head and front
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, published this statement: "The
'Mormons' are the common enemies of mankind and ought to be destroyed."
The Rev. Pixley, who had been sent out by the Missionary Society to
Christianize the savages of the west, spent his time in going from
house to house, seeking to destroy The Church by spreading slanderous
falsehoods, to incite the people to acts of violence against the saints.
Early in July, a document was in circulation known as the "Secret
Constitution," setting forth the alleged grievances of the mob, and
binding all who signed it to assist in "removing the 'Mormons.'" The
document set forth the following: The signers believed an important
crisis was at hand in their civil society, because a pretended
religious sect--the "Mormons"--had settled in their midst. The civil
law did not afford them a sufficient guarantee against the threatening
evils, and therefore they had determined to rid themselves of the
"Mormons," "peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must;" and for
the better accomplishment of this object, they had organized themselves
into a company--pledging to each other their "bodily powers, their
lives, fortunes, and sacred honors!"
The saints are represented as being the very dregs of that society from
which they came; and also as being poor, "idle, lazy, and vicious."
They are accused of claiming to receive direct revelation from God; to
heal the sick by the laying on of hands; to speak in unknown tongues by
inspiration; and, in short, "to perform all the wonder-working miracles
wrought by the inspired apostles and prophets of God;" all of which,
the document claims, "is derogatory of God and religion, and subversive
of human reason."
The signers of this document also accuse the saints of sowing
dissensions and inspiring seditions among their slaves. They further
charge that the "Mormons" had invited "free people of color" to
settle in Jackson County; and state that the introduction of such a
caste among their slaves, would instigate them to rebel against their
masters, and to bloodshed.
The "Mormons" are also charged with having openly declared that God
had given them the land of Jackson County; and that sooner or later
they would possess it as an inheritance. The document then concludes
by saying that if after timely warning, and receiving an adequate
compensation for what property they could not take with them, the
saints shall refuse to leave the county, such means as might be
necessary to remove them were to be employed; and calls a meeting
of the signers to convene at the court-house in Independence on the
twentieth of July, to consult on subsequent movements.[B]
[Footnote B: The document of which the foregoing is a summary was
published in the December number (1833) of the Evening and Morning
Star.]
It may not be amiss here to notice the charges made against the saints:
The statement made by the mob that the "civil law did not afford them
a sufficient guarantee against the threatening evils" of which they
complained, is good evidence that the saints, although they may have
fallen far short of coming up to the full requirements of the high
moral and spiritual laws of the gospel of Jesus Christ, had violated
none of the laws of man--it is an acknowledgement that they lived above
that law.
As to the saints being the dregs of the society from which they
came--it is untrue; they had a respectable standing in the society from
which they came, and that society was far in advance in civilization
and enlightenment of the people of western Missouri. This is an old
and oft repeated charge against the early members of The Church--this
charge that they were of the "dregs of the society from which they
came," and I repeat again that it is not true. I know the usual method
of defense is to concede the charge, and then quote the well-known and,
I may add also, the well-worn passage from Paul's writings, where, in
speaking of the early Christians, he says: "For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world, * * * the weak things of the world, * * * and base things
of the world, and things which are despised, * * * and things which
are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should
glory in his presence." [C] But however complete such an answer may
have been in the days of Paul with reference to the Christians of the
first century; and however satisfying it may be now in some particulars
as to the character of the early membership of The Church, so far
as the charge, that the early members thereof were of the "dregs of
that society from which they came," is concerned, there is a better
course to pursue, a more direct and perfect answer, a more complete
argument; and that better course, that more complete answer, is to
deny _in toto_ the charge. I do deny it. It is not true. Nobler men
and women than those who first embraced the gospel of the Son of God
in this last dispensation are not to be found; nobler spirits were not
on earth. It counts for nothing that in the main they were poor in
this world's goods. It is of little moment that they were not famous
for learning in the schools of men. I care nothing about their not
being regarded as constituting "polite society," having neither the
leisure nor the means to cultivate the special graces supposed to go to
the making of "polished" gentlemen and ladies. But honesty of heart,
purity of motive, nobility of soul, righteousness of life, devotion to
God--all characteristics and all attributes which go to the making of
a people worthy in the sight of God, may exist quite apart from all
that man considers essential to entitle certain of their fellow-men
to be considered as forming "good society;" and these attributes the
early members of The Church possessed. The Smiths, the Whitmers, the
Cowderys, the Johnsons, the Pages, the Corrills, the Knights, the
Partridges, the Pratts, the Morleys, the Rigdons, the Whitneys, the
Gilberts, the Allens; and a little later, the Youngs, the Snows, the
Kimballs, the Taylors, the Richardses--and a host of others whose names
do not appear so prominently in the very early history of The Church,
were a class of people of whom both The Church and God might well be
proud. So far removed were they from being the dregs of society that
they were the very choicest part of it; respected and honored because
possessed of those cardinal virtues which always command respect,
however fallen the material fortunes, or humble the station or calling
of those who possess them. Nor is this general statement concerning
the respectability of the early members of The Church to be weakened
because some of them were unhappily overcome of the world, the flesh
and the devil. It is not to be supposed that all who start in the way
of salvation will be equal to the task of persevering to the end. The
inherent weakness of human nature forbids us to hope for that. The
innate weakness of many of the saints was made apparent. The gospel
is calculated to do that. "If men come unto me I will show them their
weakness," [D] is the word of the Lord in the Book of Mormon, and
indeed it is self-evident that if men are to be perfected--and that is
the mission of the gospel--then it is necessary that their defects be
pointed out to them; for the first step in reformation is to learn in
what particular direction reformation is needed. All that can be said,
then, against some of the early saints of this dispensation is that
they manifested some of the sinfulness common to humanity, and much of
that weakness which is the heritage of the sons of Adam; and some of
them--many of them if you will--were not quite equal to the great task
of overcoming that sinful nature, that human frailty. Meantime, their
future is in the hands of God, and he alone will judge them. To the
world we may say: "Who art thou that judgeth another man's servants? To
his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up; for
God is able to make him stand." [E]
[Footnote C: I Cor. chap. I.]
[Footnote D: Ether 12:27.]
[Footnote E: Rom. 14:4.]
The charge of idleness comes with a bad grace from the slave-holders of
Missouri. Especially so since the charge is made against people chiefly
from New England; who, whatever other faults they may possess, can
never be truthfully charged with idleness. In addition to the saints
who settled in Missouri having been trained from childhood to habits of
industry in their former homes, they had received an express command
from God to labor, and the idler was not to eat the bread nor wear the
garment of the laborer,[F] and unless the idler repented, he was to be
cast out of The Church.[G]
[Foonote F: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 42:42.]
[Footnote G: Ibid, Sec. 75:28.]
The saints in Missouri, it is true, claimed to receive revelations
from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith; and they also enjoyed the
gifts of tongues, and of healing the sick through the anointing with
oil and the prayer of faith, in fulfillment of the promises of the
Lord;[H] but how all this can be "derogatory of God and true religion,"
when these blessings of revelation and the enjoyment of the spiritual
gifts enumerated are the same as those that were possessed by the
primitive Christians, which they were encouraged to "desire," [I] and
have ever been regarded as a crowning glory of the early Church; or how
they could be "subversive of human reason," can only be comprehended
by a Missouri mob, seeking a vain excuse for the destruction of an
unoffending people.
[Footnote H: St. James 5:14, 15.]
[Footnote I: 1 Cor. 14:1.]
The charge of sowing dissensions and inspiring seditions among the
slaves, and inviting free people of color to settle in Jackson County,
has no foundation in truth. The July number of the _Evening and Morning
Star,_ for 1833, contains an article on "Free People of Color," and
publishes the laws of Missouri relating to that class of people. "Free
people of color" were negroes or mulattoes who were set free through
the kindness of their masters, or who, by working extra hours, for
which they were sometimes allowed pay, were able at last to purchase
their liberty. Concerning such people the Missouri laws provided that:
If any negro or mulatto come into the State of Missouri, without a
certificate from a court of record in some one of the United States,
evidencing that he was a citizen of such State, on complaint before any
justice of the peace, such negro or mulatto could be commanded by the
justice to leave the State; and if the colored person so ordered did
not leave the State within thirty days, on complaint of any citizen,
such person could be again brought before the justice who might commit
him to the common jail of the county, until the convening of the
circuit court, when it became the duty of the judge of the circuit
court to inquire into the cause of commitment; and if it was found
that the negro or mulatto had remained in the State contrary to the
provisions of this statute, the court was authorized to sentence such
person to receive ten lashes on his or her bare back, and then order
him or her to depart from the State; if the person so treated should
still refuse to go, then the same proceedings were to be repeated,
and punishment inflicted as often as was necessary until such person
departed.
And further: If any person brought into the State of Missouri a free
negro or mulatto, without the aforesaid certificate of citizenship,
for every such negro or mulatto the person offending was liable to a
forfeit of five hundred dollars; to be recovered by action of debt in
the name of the State. The editor of the _Star_ commenting upon this
law said:
Slaves are real estate in this and other states, and wisdom would
dictate great care among the branches of The Church of Christ on this
subject. So long as we have no special rule in The Church, as to
people of color, let prudence guide; and while they, as well as we,
are in the hands of a merciful God, we say: shun every appearance of
evil.
Publishing this law, and the above comment, was construed, by the old
settlers, to be an invitation to free people of color to settle in
Jackson County! Whereupon an extra was published to the July number of
the _Star_ on the sixteenth of the month, which said:
The intention in publishing the article, "Free People of Color," was
not only to stop free people of color from emigrating to Missouri, but
to prevent them from being admitted as members of The Church.[J] * * *
* To be short, we are opposed to having free people of color admitted
into the State.
[Footnote J: In making the statement that it was the intention of the
_Star_ article not only to stop "free people of color" emigrating to
Missouri, but also to "prevent them from being admitted as members
of The Church," the editor of the _Star_ goes too far; if not in his
second article, explaining the scope and meaning of the first, then
in the first article; for he had no business to seek to prevent "free
people of color" from being admitted members of The Church. And in
forming a judgment of this matter the reader must remember that it is
the statement of the editor of the _Star,_ and by no means represents
the policy of The Church. As a matter of fact there were very few if
any "free people of color" in The Church at that time. The "fears" of
the Missourians on that head were sheer fabrications of evil-disposed
minds.]
But in the face of all this the mob still claimed that the article
was merely published to give directions and cautions to be observed
by colored brethren, to enable them upon their arrival in Missouri,
to "claim and exercise the rights of citizenship." "Contemporaneous
with the appearance of this article"--the above article in the
_Star_--continued the charge published in the _Western Monitor_--"was
the expectation among the brethren, that a considerable number of this
degraded caste were only waiting this information before they should
set out on their journey." [K] And this base falsehood was used to
inflame the minds of the old settlers against the saints.
[Footnote K: Western Monitor for the 2nd of August, 1833.]
That the saints may have said the Lord would yet give them the land of
Missouri for their inheritance, is doubtless true; but that they were
to obtain it in any other than a legal way never entered their minds.
They had been commanded of the Lord to purchase [L] the land for an
inheritance. Besides, the elders stationed in Zion about this time,
addressed an epistle to the churches abroad, in which they alluded to
the gathering of ancient Israel, and pointing out the difference in
their circumstances and those by which the saints now were surrounded.
Ancient Israel had been compelled to obtain the lands of their
inheritance by the sword. "But," the address adds, "to suppose that
we can come up here, and take possession of this land by the shedding
of blood, would be setting at naught the law of the glorious gospel
and also the word of our Great Redeemer: and to suppose that we can
take possession of this country without making regular purchases of
the same, according to the laws of our nation, would be reproaching
this great republic, in which most of us were born, and under whose
auspices we all have protection." [M] Nothing then can be clearer than
that while the saints may have said that Missouri would eventually be
the land of their inheritance, they were expecting to obtain it in a
perfectly legitimate manner--by purchase.
[Footnote L: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 57:3, 5.]
[Footnote M: Evening and Morning Star, July, 1833.]
I have been particular in examining the charges made against the saints
by their enemies in Jackson County, in order that my readers may know
that wherein the things charged were not in and of themselves innocent,
and no cause for offense whatever, they were utterly without foundation
in truth.
CHAPTER VII.
THE STORM BREAKS
In answer to the call made for the citizens of Jackson County to
assemble at the court house on the twentieth of July, 1833, to devise
means to rid the county of the "Mormons," between four and five hundred
gathered in from all parts of the county. Colonel Richard Simpson was
elected chairman of the meeting, and James H. Flournoy and Colonel S.
D. Lucas were chosen secretaries. A committee of seven was appointed by
the chair to draft an address to the public, in relation to the object
of the meeting; the following was the committee: Russel Hicks, Esq.,
Robert Johnson, Henry Childs, Esq., Colonel Jas. Hambright, Thomas
Hudspeth, Joel F. Childs and Jas. M. Hunter.
The address this committee reported repeated the falsehoods concerning
the saints interfering with slaves, inviting free people of color to
settle in Jackson County; and of the saints being the very dregs of
the society from which they had emigrated; again charged them with
most abject poverty, idleness, and of coming to obtain inheritances in
Jackson County, "without money and without price." It declared that
the evils which threatened their community, by the "Mormons" settling
among them, were such as no one could have foreseen, and therefore they
were unprovided for by the laws; and the delays incident to legislation
would put the mischief beyond all remedy. It expressed the fear that if
the saints were not interfered with, the day would not be far distant
when the civil government of the county would be in their hands; when
the sheriff, the justices, and the county judges would be "Mormons"
or persons wishing to court their favor from motives of interest or
ambition; and then the following:
What would be the fate of our lives and property in the hands of
jurors and witnesses who do not blush to declare, and would not, upon
occasion, hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles, and
have been the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures, have
conversed with God and his angels, and possess and exercise the gifts
of divination, and of unknown tongues, and fired with the prospects of
obtaining inheritances without money and without price--may be better
imagined than described.[A]
[Footnote A: Western Monitor, August 2, 1833.]
However, in speaking of the gifts of the Spirit which the saints
enjoyed--revelation, prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing the sick,
etc., the committee proposed to have nothing to say, but piously close
the clause which refers to these things with the words: _"Vengeance
belongs to God alone!"_ For the other things with which they charged
the saints--each and all of them were utterly false except it might be
in the matter of poverty. But even in this the truth was not stated.
A few cases aside, the "poverty" in question was that poverty of the
pioneer newly arrived in the wilderness which is to be the subsequent
field of his enterprises and triumphs. Quite generally the saints went
into Jackson County prepared to purchase lands and build homes; but
pending the accomplishment of that, there was much inconvenience and
some suffering for want of shelter and clothing; but "abject poverty,"
apart from this, there was none.
The conclusion of the mob in the whole matter was thus stated:
That no Mormon shall in future move to or settle in this (Jackson)
county; that those now here, who shall give a definite pledge of their
intention, within a reasonable time, to remove out of the county,
shall be allowed to remain unmolested, until they have sufficient time
to sell their property, and close their business without material
sacrifice; that the editor of the _Star_ be required forthwith to
close his office, and discontinue the business of printing in this
county; and as to all other stores and shops belonging to the sect,
their owners must, in every case, strictly comply with the terms of
the second article of this declaration, and upon failure, prompt and
efficient measures will be taken to close the same; that the Mormon
leaders here are required to use their influence in preventing any
further immigration of their distant brethren to this county, and
to counsel and advise their brethren here to comply with the above
requisitions; that those who fail to comply with these requisitions be
referred to those of their brethren who have the gifts of divination,
and of unknown tongues, to inform them of the lot that awaits them.[B]
[Footnote B: Western Monitor, August 2, 1833.]
This address was unanimously adopted by the meeting, and a committee
of twelve appointed to wait upon the "Mormon" leaders, and see that
the foregoing requisitions were assented to by them. In case of a
refusal on the part of the "Mormons" to comply with these demands, the
committee, acting as the organ of Jackson County, were to inform them
that it was the fixed determination of the mob to adopt such means as
would enforce their removal.
The committee called upon Edward Partridge, A. S. Gilbert, John
Corrill, Isaac Morley, John Whitmer, and W. W. Phelps, and demanded
that they cease publishing the _Star_ and close the printing office,
and that, as elders of the "Mormon Church," they agree to move out of
the county forthwith. Three months was asked for by these elders in
which to consider the proposition, and to give them time to counsel
with The Church authorities in Ohio; as closing a printing office and
removing twelve hundred people from their homes was a work of no small
moment. But this time was denied them. They asked for ten days; but
that was not granted; fifteen minutes only was allowed them in which
to decide. At this the conference broke up, and the mob returned to
the courthouse and reported to the meeting that they had called upon
the "Mormon" leaders and that they refused to give a direct answer,
but asked for time to consider the propositions and counsel with their
brethren in Ohio. The meeting then resolved that the printing office be
razed to the ground, and the type and press destroyed.
With demoniac yells the mob surrounded the printing office and house
of W. W. Phelps. Mrs. Phelps, with a sick infant in her arms, and the
rest of the children, were forced out of their home, the furniture was
thrown into the street and garden, the press was broken, the type pied;
the revelations, book-work and papers were nearly all destroyed or kept
by the mob; and the printing office and house of W. W. Phelps were
razed to the ground. Having reduced these buildings to a mass of ruins,
the mob proceeded to demolish the mercantile establishment of Gilbert,
Whitney & Co., and destroy the goods; but when Mr. Gilbert assured them
that the goods would be packed by the twenty-third, they desisted from
their work of destruction.
But their fiendish hate had not spent its force. With horrible yells
and cursings loud, they sought for the leading elders. Men, women and
children ran in all directions, not knowing what would befall them.
The mob caught Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, and dragged
them through the maddened crowd, which insulted and abused them along
the road to the public square. Here two alternatives were presented
them: either they must renounce their faith in the Book of Mormon, or
leave the county. The Book of Mormon they would not deny, nor consent
to leave the county. Bishop Partridge, being permitted to speak, said
that the saints had to suffer persecution in all ages of the world,
and that he was willing to suffer for the sake of Christ, as the
saints in former ages had done; that he had done nothing which ought
to offend anyone, and that if they abused him, they would injure an
innocent man. Here his voice was drowned by the tumult of the crowd,
many of whom were shouting: "Call upon your God to deliver you--pretty
Jesus you worship!" These expressions, intermingled as they were with
the vile oaths of the mob, were enough to put hell itself to shame.
The two brethren, Partridge and Allen, were stripped of their outer
clothing, and daubed with tar, mixed with lime, or pearlash, or some
other flesh-eating acid, and a quantity of feathers scattered over
them. They bore this cruel indignity and abuse with so much resignation
and meekness that the crowd grew still, and appeared astonished at what
they witnessed. The brethren were permitted to retire in silence--in
silence, except when it was broken by the voice of a sister, crying
aloud:
While you who have done this wicked deed must suffer the vengeance of
God, they, having endured persecution, _can rejoice,_ for henceforth
for them is laid up a crown eternal in the heavens!
By this time it was getting late and the mob suddenly dispersed. As
night drew her sable mantle over the scene of ruin, those who had
escaped to the woods and corn fields began to return, to learn what
had befallen their friends. Wives anxiously inquired of the fate of
their husbands, and children of the fate of their parents. There can be
nothing more sad than this seeking to remove uncertainty in such cases.
It is like seeking the dead and wounded on the battlefield, or the
missing, the maimed or the dead after an earthquake, or some devouring
tempest or flood--so much alike, at least in their results, are the
eruptions of the elements and the fierce, uncontrolled passions of man.
Before each the timid and the helpless fly to such shelter as they find
at hand. Some seek safety in flight, others in hiding from the storm or
from wrath. Then when temporary safety is seemingly assured, thoughts
for the safety of others assert themselves. The desire for the safety
of the loved ones--a wife, a husband, a child, a parent, a brother, a
friend--becomes an agony. Love by degrees conquers fear, and at last
prompts the facing of danger much greater than those from which at
first they fled, and the loved ones are sought despite of all risks to
personal safety. So it was with the saints who had been so unexpectedly
assailed. On this occasion, however, those returning from flight or
hiding had nothing to discover beyond the destruction of the printing
press, the wrecking of the Phelps home, the looting of Gilbert's store,
and the abuse of Partridge and Allen. Enough surely for one day of
persecution, but not to be compared with scenes they yet would witness!
The outrages of this day were the more reprehensible because of the
character of the leaders of the mob. In the main they were the county
officers--the county judge, the constables, clerks of the court and
justices of the peace; while Lilburn W. Boggs, the lieutenant-governor,
the second officer in the state, was there quietly looking on and
secretly aiding every measure of the mob--who, walking among the ruins
of the printing office and house of W. W. Phelps, remarked to some of
the saints, "You now know what our Jackson boys can do, and you must
leave the country!"
CHAPTER VIII.
THREATS OF THE MOB--APPEAL OF THE SAINTS.
The third day after the events related in the preceding chapter, the
mob, to the number of some five hundred, again came dashing into
Independence bearing a red flag, and armed with rifles, pistols, dirks,
whips and clubs. They rode in every direction in search of the leading
elders, making the day hideous with their inhuman yells and wicked
oaths. They declared it to be their intention to whip those whom they
captured with from fifty to five hundred lashes each, allow their
negroes to destroy their crops, and demolish their dwellings. Said they:
"We will rid Jackson County of the 'Mormons,' peaceably if we can,
forcibly if we must. If they will not go without, we will whip and kill
the men; we will destroy their children, _and ravish their women!_"
"WE WILL RAVISH THEIR WOMEN!"
A threat most horrible. Worse than murder; for murder has in it yet
some mercy as compared with ravishment, that worst exercise of brute
force against helpless innocence. Murder when it has completed its work
leaves its victim senseless and peaceful in death; "after life's fitful
dream is over," he may sleep well. But what damning torments must that
breast suffer which is robbed of its peace by brutal force! How deep
the woe that bears the burden of an outraged modesty! How agonizing to
be an object of pity! How much more cruel the living tortures of a life
so humiliated than the calmness and the peace of death! When devils
would with their direst terrors shake a people they say,
_We will ravish your women!_
The leading elders, seeing their own lives, and the property and
lives of those over whom they presided in jeopardy, resolved to offer
themselves as a ransom for The Church--willing to be scourged, or even
put to death if that would satisfy their tormentors, and stop their
inhuman cruelties practiced toward the flock of which the Holy Ghost
had made them overseers. The men who thus offered their own lives for
the lives of their friends were:
JOHN CORRILL,
JOHN WHITMER,
W. W. PHELPS,
A. S. GILBERT,
EDWARD PARTRIDGE,
ISAAC MORLEY.
Forever let their names be known throughout all Israel as men who have
given the greatest evidence within the power of man to give, that they
loved the brethren. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends;" and that faith which will inspire
in man a love for his fellows; that will lead him to offer his life as
a ransom for his brethren, is so nearly akin to that faith and love
which glowed within the breast of the Divine Master, that its source
cannot be mistaken. But the inhuman wretches who had combined to drive
the saints from their homes in Jackson County, were insensible to the
sublime manifestations of love they witnessed. It appealed not to
their adamantine hearts. With brutal imprecations they told these men
that not only they, but every man, woman and child would be whipped or
scourged until they consented to leave the county, as they had decreed
that the "Mormons" should leave the county, or they "or the 'Mormons'
must _die_."
The presiding brethren, finding that there was no alternative but
for them to leave speedily or witness innocent blood shed by fiends
incarnate, concluded to leave Jackson County. A new committee was
selected by the mob to confer with the brethren, and the following
agreement was entered into:
The leading elders with their families were to move from the county by
the first of January following; and to use their influence to induce
all their brethren to leave as soon as possible, one half by the first
of January, 1834, and the remainder by April, 1834. They were also to
use all the means in their power to stop any more of their brethren
moving into the county; and also to use their influence to prevent
the saints then enroute for Missouri settling permanently in Jackson
County, but for those then on the way they were to be permitted to make
temporary arrangements for shelter until a new location was agreed upon
by the society. John Corrill and A. S. Gilbert were to be allowed to
remain as general agents to settle up the business of The Church, so
long as necessity required. Gilbert, Whitney & Co. were to be permitted
to sell out their merchandise then on hand, but no more was to be
imported. The _Evening and Morning Star_ was not again to be published,
nor a press established by any member of The Church in the county.
Edward Partridge and W. W. Phelps were to be allowed to pass to and
from the county to wind up their business affairs, provided they moved
their families from the county by the first of January following. On
the part of the mob, the committee pledged themselves to use all their
influence to prevent any violence being used against the saints, so
long as the foregoing stipulations were complied with on the part of
The Church.[A]
[Footnote A: Evening and Morning Star, p. 229.]
A day or two after this treaty was entered into, The Church in Zion
dispatched Oliver Cowdery to Ohio to confer with the general Church
authorities on the situation of the saints in Missouri. This conference
resulted in the general authorities sending as special messengers
Elders Orson Hyde and John Gould to Jackson County, with instructions
to the saints not to dispose of their lands or other property, nor
remove from the county, except those who had signed the agreement to do
so.
Meantime the saints attempted to settle in Van Buren, the county
joining Jackson on the south (the name has since been changed to Cass),
but the people of that county, after the saints commenced a settlement,
drew up an agreement to drive them from there, and destroy the fruits
of their labors; so they were obliged to return to their former homes.
While the saints were making efforts to carry out the first part of the
stipulation entered into with the mob of Jackson County, the mob on
their part failed to refrain from acts of violence. Daily the saints
were insulted. Houses were broken into, and the inmate threatened with
being mobbed if they stirred in their defense. But Truth began to make
herself heard. As the fiendish acts of the mob became known, they
called forth execrations from various quarters. A number of articles
published in the _Western Monitor,_ printed at Fayette, Howard County,
Missouri, censured the conduct of the mob, and suggested that the
saints seek redress of the State authorities for the wrongs they had
suffered. Whereupon the leaders of the mob began to threaten life,
and declared that if any "Mormon" attempted to seek redress by law or
otherwise, for defamation of character, or loss of property, he should
die.
These threats, however, did not deter the saints from appealing to the
chief executive of the State for a redress of grievances. A petition
setting forth their suffering, and denying the allegations of the mob,
was presented by Orson Hyde and W. W. Phelps to Daniel Dunklin, who,
at the time, was governor of the State. In addition to relating the
story of their wrongs, and denying the charges made by the mob, upon
which the old settlers of Jackson County depended to excuse or defend
their acts of cruelty toward the saints, the petition set forth that
whenever that fatal hour arrived that the poorest citizen's person,
property, or rights and privileges shall be trampled upon by lawless
mobs with impunity, "that moment a dagger is plunged into the heart
of the Constitution of the country, and the Union must tremble * *
* We solicit," said they, "assistance to obtain our rights; holding
ourselves amenable to the laws of our country, whenever we transgress
them." They asked the governor by express proclamation or otherwise
to raise a sufficient number of troops, who, with themselves, might
be empowered to defend their rights; that they might sue for damages
for the loss of property, for abuse, for defamation of character,
and, if advisable, try for treason those who had trampled upon law
and government, that the law of the land might not be defied, nor
nullified, but peace restored to the country.
To this very reasonable request Governor Dunklin made a patriotic
reply. He stated he would think himself unworthy the confidence with
which he had been honored by his fellow citizens, did he not promptly
employ all the means which the Constitution and laws had placed at his
disposal to avert the calamities with which the saints were threatened,
and added:
Ours is a government of laws, to them we all owe obedience, and their
faithful administration is the best guarantee for the enjoyment of our
rights. No citizen, nor number of citizens, have a right to take the
redress of their grievances, whether real or imaginary, into their
own hands. Such conduct strikes at the very existence of society, and
subverts the very foundation on which it is based. I am not willing
to persuade myself that any portion of the citizens of the State of
Missouri are so lost to a sense of these truths as to require the
exercise of _force,_ in order to insure respect for them.
He advised the threatened saints, therefore, to make a trial of the
efficacy of the laws; that wherein their lives had been threatened,
they make affidavit to that effect before the circuit judge, or the
justices of the peace in their respective districts, whose duty it
then became to bind the threatening parties to keep the peace. By this
experiment it would be proven whether the laws could be executed or
not; and in the event that they could not be peacefully executed, the
governor pledged himself, on being officially notified of that fact, to
take such steps as would insure a favorable execution of them.
As to the injuries the saints had sustained in the loss of property,
the governor advised them to seek redress by civil process--expressing
the opinion that the courts would grant them relief.[B]
[Footnote B: Evening and Morning Star, p. 351.]
I do not doubt the sincerity of Governor Dunklin in giving this counsel
to the saints, and under ordinary circumstances to seek redress at the
hands of the civil authorities would be the proper thing to do. But in
this case the officers of the law had been the head and front of this
high-handed and infamous proceeding. In proof of this statement I give
the names and offices held by those who were most active in the lawless
proceeding related:
S. D. LUCAS, _colonel, and judge of the county court;_
SAMUEL C. OWENS, _county clerk;_
RUSSEL HICKS, _deputy clerk;_
JOHN SMITH, _justice of the peace;_
SAMUEL WESTON, _justice of the peace;_
WILLIAM BROWN, _constable;_
THOMAS PITCHER, _deputy constable._
Besides these there were Indian agents, postmasters, doctors, lawyers
and merchants.
These were the men who had despoiled the saints--these the ones, in
connection with the secret assistance of the lieutenant governor of
the State, LILBURN W. BOGGS, who inflamed the minds of the ignorant
frontier settlers against an innocent people, and encouraged the
vicious to maltreat the virtuous. These were the men who on the 23rd of
July of the same year had said:
_"We will rid Jackson County of the 'Mormons' peaceably if we can,
forcibly if we must. If they will not go without, we will whip and kill
the men; we will destroy the lives of their children, and ravish their
women!"_ And these were the men--the officers of _justice,_ to whom
the "Mormons" were to appeal for a redress of grievances! To say the
least, does it not smack of "going to law with the devil, when court
is to convene in hell?" Surely it was only a forlorn hope the saints
could entertain of being redressed for their wrongs by appealing to
the very parties who inflicted those wrongs upon them; and yet it was
about the only course open to the governor to suggest at that time.
Being willing to magnify the law, the saints acted upon the governor's
advice. For this purpose they engaged the services of four lawyers from
Clay County, then attending court at Independence, viz.: Messrs. Wood,
Reese, Doniphan and Atchison. These gentlemen engaged to plant all the
suits the saints might wish to present before the courts, and agreed
to attend to them jointly throughout for one thousand dollars. W. W.
Phelps and Bishop Partridge gave their notes for that sum, endorsed by
Gilbert & Whitney.
No sooner did the mob witness these movements than they began to
prepare for further hostilities. The red right hand of persecution was
again armed to plague the saints.
CHAPTER IX.
AGAIN THE STORM.
Having made all necessary preparations for obtaining by civil process
redress for the wrongs inflicted upon them by the mob, Sunday, the
twentieth day of October, 1833, the saints declared publicly that as
a people they intended to defend their lands and homes. The next day
the leaders of the mob began to prepare to inflict further violence
upon them. Strict orders were circulated among the saints not to be the
aggressors, but to warn the mob not to come upon them. Court was to
convene on Monday, the 28th of October, and it was expected that some
of the leaders of the mob would be required to file bonds to keep the
peace.
While these preparations were progressing among the saints, the mob
were not idle. They resorted to their old method of circulating
false rumors about the "Mormons." The blasphemy of their doctrines;
their intentions to take possession of Jackson County by force; the
incompatibility between the old settlers and the "Mormons," were all
urged, and the conclusion reached that a war of extermination must be
waged against the saints in the name of self-preservation.
Saturday, the 26th, about fifty of the mob met in counsel, and
"voted to a hand to move the 'Mormons;'" and as an earnest of their
intentions, attacked a number of families who had but lately arrived
from Ohio and Indiana, but without inflicting much injury. Monday,
the 28th, the circuit court convened, but very few people were in
attendance. There was no mob there, but threats of the most violent
character were made.
The night of October 31st, however, may be regarded as the time when
hostilities recommenced in earnest. That night the mob to the number
of forty or fifty proceeded against a branch of The Church located
on the stream called Big Blue, known as the Whitmer settlement. They
shamefully whipped nearly to death several of the brethren, among whom
was Hiram Page. With brutal threats they frightened helpless women and
children and drove them into the wilderness in the middle of the night,
and then unroofed and demolished ten or twelve houses.
This outrage was followed up the next night, November 1st, by an attack
upon the saints living in Independence and vicinity. Their houses were
brickbatted, doors broken down, and long poles thrust through their
windows. A party of the brethren had gathered for protection about half
a mile west of Independence, and to them word was sent that the mob
were tearing down the store of Gilbert, Whitney & Co., and destroying
their goods. Whereupon these brethren went in a body to the store. At
their approach the main body of the mob fled. One of their number,
bolder than his fellows, remained, however, and continued sending
brickbats and stones through the shattered doors and windows, while the
goods were scattered around him in the street. This man the brethren
took prisoner, and brought him immediately before Samuel Weston,
justice of the peace, entered a complaint, and asked that a warrant
be issued that he, Richard McCarty, might be secured. But the justice
refused to make out the warrant, or do anything in the matter, and
McCarty was turned loose.
The same night an attack was projected upon another branch of The
Church, known as the Colesville branch, located in Kaw Township, about
twelve miles west of Independence. The mob sent two of their number,
Robert Johnson and one Harris, as spies, armed with two guns and three
pistols. They were discovered by some of the brethren, among whom was
Parley P. Pratt. Without provocation Johnson struck Pratt over the head
with the breech of his gun, which staggered him for a moment, and made
the blood flow in streams down his face. These two men were taken and
detained as prisoners through the night. The spies not returning rather
disconcerted the mob, and it is generally supposed prevented an attack
that night upon the Colesville branch. The morning following, Johnson
and Harris were given their arms, and permitted to return to their
companions, without receiving injury from the hands of those whom they
had so maliciously assaulted, and into whose power they had fallen.
On the night of November 2nd, a party of the mob went against the
branch located on Big Blue, unroofed one house and destroyed some
furniture. They also broke into the house of David Bennett, whom they
found sick in bed. Being unable to resist them, they beat him most
unmercifully, and swore they would blow out his brains. One of their
number shot at him with a pistol, but the ball instead of entering his
head, as evidently intended, cut a deep gash across the top of it,
which, however, did not prove fatal.
While the mob were in the act of beating Bennett, a number of the
brethren who had gathered in a body for mutual protection came upon
the scene, and a firing of guns commenced. Both parties claim that
the other began the attack, but which party began the firing does not
matter here. If the brethren opened the fire, they were altogether
justified in doing so under the circumstances. Women and children were
running here and there screaming with terror, not knowing where to go
for safety. Their piteous cries, mingled with the brutal oaths of the
mob, and the firing of guns, made the night hideous. In the melee a
young man acting with the mob was shot through the thigh, but by which
party it is not known.
This day also the saints in Independence gathered in a body as much as
possible, about half a mile west of the town, for the purpose of better
defending themselves against their enemies.
The day following the events just detailed. Joshua Lewis, Hiram Page,
and two others were despatched to Lexington, to see John F. Ryland,
judge of the circuit court, and obtain a peace warrant. The saints had
previously applied to Squire Silvens for such a warrant, but he refused
to grant it. They read to him the governor's letter, which directed
them to proceed in that manner, but he replied that he cared nothing
for what the governor said. Either his fears of the mob were greater
than his respect for the governor, or the law, or he was in hearty
sympathy with the rioters. Judge Ryland issued a peace warrant on the
6th; but whether it ever reached the hands of the county sheriff or
not I cannot learn. If placed in his hands, then he refused to serve
it. But the most reasonable conclusion is, that in consequence of the
exciting times and unsettled state of affairs in Jackson County, it
never reached his hands.
CHAPTER X.
THE PASSIVELY GOOD.
There were a few of the citizens of Jackson County who did not
take part in these shameful proceedings against The Church. They
were friendly disposed towards the saints, but lacked the courage
to speak out boldly in their defense, or take up arms to protect
suffering innocence. This is often the case with the passively good;
with "conservative" citizens. They have no sympathy with rioters,
or with mob lawlessness. They are ready to say that such conduct is
outrageous, and even a menace to free institutions, and incompatible
with freedom; but further than this they do not go. Their conception
of good citizenship does not lead them to be active in resisting
aggressions upon the liberties of others; especially when those
"others" are people with whom they have but little sympathy. They seem
not to have learned that those who would preserve their own rights and
freedom must insist upon the rights and liberty of every man being
respected and assured. It is vain, and especially in a republic is
it vain, for any man to suppose that the freedom of any citizen or
class of citizens, however humble or even unpopular they may be, can
be infringed without endangering the rights and freedom of all. Many
otherwise, good citizens of the Republic--simple and fundamental to the
preservation of rights and freedom as is this principle--seem so far
to fail in appreciation of it, that they stand by while the rights of
others are invaded, and sometimes swept away, without making so much
as a protest against the injustice. They are content if only their own
personal and immediate rights are not directly assailed. The result is
that an active minority--often, in fact, an insignificant part of the
community, and contemptible of character--are permitted to perpetrate
outrages upon worthy though it may be unpopular citizens, that bring
disgrace upon the State, and endanger liberty itself. Such was the
case in the present instance with those who were not in sympathy with
the mob; and yet so far were they from standing up for the rights of
those whom they confessed were unjustly assailed, that they advised the
saints to leave the State immediately, as the wounding of the young
man on the night of the 2nd had enraged the whole county against them;
and it was a common expression among the mob that Monday (the 4th of
November), would be a "bloody day."
CHAPTER XI.
A "BLOODY DAY."
Early on Monday the mob took the ferry-boat on Big Blue, west of
Independence, which belonged to the saints, driving the owners away
with threats of violence. From thence they went to a store, about one
mile west of the ferry, kept by one Wilson. Word was brought to a
branch of The Church located several miles still further west from the
ferry, that the mob east of the Blue were destroying property, and the
saints needed assistance. Upon hearing this, nineteen of the brethren
volunteered to go to their aid; but on approaching Wilson's store they
learned that the mob were there, and that the report of the destruction
of property east of the Blue was false. The company started to return
to their homes, but two small boys passing on their way to Wilson's
store saw this company, and reported to the mob that the "Mormons" were
on the road west of them. At this the mob, which numbered between forty
and fifty, started in pursuit, and soon came in sight of the company of
volunteers, which, at the enemy's approach, fled in all directions. The
mob gave hot pursuit, hunting for the brethren through the corn fields,
and even searching the houses of the saints for them; at the same time
threatening the women and children with violence if they did not tell
where the men were hiding. They fed their horses in Christian Whitmer's
corn field, and took him and pointed their guns at him, threatening his
life if he did not tell them where the brethren were.
Two or three of the company who were dispersed by the mob made their
way to the Colesville branch of The Church, which was but about three
miles away. A company of thirty men was quickly formed, and although
they were armed with but seventeen guns, and knew their enemies were
more numerous than they, and better armed, they promptly marched to
the assistance of their brethren. They found the mob hunting for
their victims, and threatening the women and children. As the mob saw
this new company approaching, some of them shouted _"Fire, God damn
ye, fire!"_ and then they themselves fired two or three shots at the
approaching company. This fire was promptly returned by a volley from
the brethren, at which the mob fled, leaving two of their number and
some of their horses dead on the ground. The two killed were Hugh L.
Brazeale and Thomas Linville. Brazeale had been known to say, "with ten
fellows I will wade to my knees in blood, but what I will drive the
'Mormons' from Jackson County."
The first shots fired by the mob wounded Philo Dibble in the bowels,
the balls remaining in him. As he bled much inwardly his bowels
became swollen, and his life was despaired of. Newel Knight, however,
administered to him, by laying on hands in the name of Jesus Christ,
and a purifying fire penetrated his whole system. He discharged several
quarts of blood and corruption, with which was one of the balls that
inflicted his wounds. He was immediately healed, and remained an
able-bodied man, and performed military duty for a number of years
afterwards.[A]
[Footnote A: Philo Dibble lived to take part in the defense of the
city of Nauvoo, some thirteen years later; afterwards removed with The
Church to the Rocky Mountains, settling finally in Springville, Utah
County, where he died in full faith of the gospel at the advanced age
of 90, on the sixth of June 1895.]
A brother by the name of Andrew Barber was mortally wounded--his death
occurred the next day.
This battle was fought about sundown, and during the night the mob
dispatched runners in all directions with the false report that the
"Mormons" had _"riz;"_ that they had been joined by the Indians, and
had taken Independence; that the "'Mormons' had gone into Wilson's
store and shot his son," with other rumors that were calculated to
excite the people, and enrage them against the saints.
The same day, November 4th, a most extraordinary affair occurred
at Independence. We have already told how a number of the brethren
caught Richard McCarty on the night of November 1st, in the act of
hurling stones and brickbats through the doors and windows of Gilbert,
Whitney & Co.'s store, while the goods--calicoes, shawls, cambric
handkerchiefs, etc.--were scattered around him in the street; and how
the brethren took him before the justice of the peace, Samuel Weston,
and asked for a warrant to be issued against him, and how the justice
refused to issue the warrant. But on this fourth day of November,
Richard McCarty obtained a warrant from this same justice of the peace
for the arrest of A. S. Gilbert, Wm. E. McLellin, Isaac Morley, John
Corrill, and three or four others, charging them with _assault and
battery,_ and _false imprisonment._ In relation to this matter Brother
Corrill tersely remarks, "Although we could not obtain a warrant
against him for breaking open the store, yet he had gotten one for us,
for catching him at it."
The trial of these men was in progress in the courthouse at
Independence, when the news of the battle west of the Blue was brought
to town. But instead of being reported correctly, it was said that
the "Mormons" had gone into Wilson's house and shot his son. This so
enraged the crowd that were in attendance at the trial that a rush was
made for the prisoners, to kill them. This, however, was prevented;
and at the suggestion of Samuel C. Owens, clerk of the county court,
those on trial were locked up in jail for their own safety. During the
night the mob were busy collecting arms and ammunition, making every
preparation for a general massacre of the saints the next day.
The brethren who were imprisoned were frequently told of these warlike
preparations during the night, and that, too, by men of note; and
were further informed that nothing but their leaving the county would
prevent bloodshed. Whereupon the brethren consented to leave the
county, and furthermore agreed to go and consult with their brethren on
the subject of all the members of The Church leaving. For this purpose
Gilbert, Morley, and Corrill were accompanied by the sheriff and two
others to the branch of The Church some half a mile from Independence;
and there held an interview with their brethren upon the subject of
their moving from the county, to which the members of that branch
consented.
The sheriff and his prisoners then returned to the jail--it being about
two o'clock in the morning. As they approached the jail they were
halted by a company of armed men, six or seven in number. The sheriff
answered them, giving his own name and the names of his prisoners, at
the same time exclaiming, "Don't fire, don't fire, the prisoners are
in my charge!" Morley and Corrill turned and fled, and the party who
had halted them fired one or two shots after them. Gilbert stood his
ground, and while the sheriff held him, several guns were presented at
him. Two of the men, more desperate than the rest, attempted to shoot
him, but their guns missed fire; seeing that they failed to shoot him,
one of the party, Thomas Wilson, knocked him down. His life, however,
was preserved and his injuries were not very serious.
CHAPTER XII.
THE "HONOR" OF A MOB.
The morning of the 5th of November witnessed the people from all
parts of the county crowding well armed into Independence. But few
knew of the agreement made by the saints in and about Independence
to leave the county; and the presence of the armed crowds was made
the occasion of calling out the militia. This last move was at the
instigation of Lieutenant Governor Boggs--at least such was the report
among the people that day. The command of this militia was given to
Colonel Pitcher, but the men who had formerly been the mob made up the
ranks of the militia; and the only difference between the mob and the
militia was that the mob organized as a militia were prepared to adopt
more effective measures in driving the saints from their homes than
before they were so organized. The colonels in command--Pitcher and
Lucas--were known as the bitter enemies of the saints, and their names
were attached to the agreement, circulated in the July previous, to
drive them from the county. From such a militia, officered by such men
as Pitcher and Lucas, the saints could hope for no protection.
The branches of The Church west of Independence did not hear of the
agreement of the Independence branch to leave the county, but reports
reached them that a number of their brethren were imprisoned, and
that the mob were determined to kill them. About a hundred of the
brethren gathered from the various branches, and marched in a body to
assist those in peril. They halted about a mile west of Independence,
to ascertain the situation of affairs. Learning that the mob had not
attacked the branch at Independence, and that the militia was called
out, they concluded to quietly disperse and go to their homes. But they
had been seen on the road, and it was reported that the "Mormons" were
on the march toward Independence, with the intention, no doubt, to do
mischief.
Hearing this, the militia under Colonel Pitcher became enraged, and
would only consent to grant the people peace on the condition of their
agreeing to deliver up certain men, engaged in the battle the evening
before, to be tried for murder and surrendering their arms. To this
last proposition Lyman Wight, who, it appears, acted as the leader
of the body of brethren that had marched to Independence, would not
consent, unless Colonel Pitcher would also disarm the mob. To this
the colonel cheerfully agreed; and pledged his honor, with that of
Lieutenant Governor Boggs, Samuel C. Owens, and others, to carry out
his promise.[A]
[Footnote A: Times and Seasons, 1843, p. 263.]
Upon this treaty being made the brethren surrendered their arms--in
all, forty-nine guns and one pistol. They also gave up a number of
the parties who were engaged the night before in the battle, to be
tried for murder. These men were detained a day and a night, during
which time they were insulted, threatened, and brickbatted; and after
receiving a mockery of a trial, Colonel Pitcher let them go, after
taking an old watch from one of them to satisfy costs!
The agreement made by Colonel Pitcher, to disarm the mob, was never
executed; but as soon as the brethren had surrendered their arms, bands
of armed men were turned loose upon them. Lyman Wight was chased by one
of these gangs across an open prairie for five miles, but fortunately
escaped. He lay three weeks in the woods, and was without food three
days and nights. He was hunted by the mob through Jackson, Lafayette,
and Clay counties, and also through the Indian Territory. Some of the
parties who were hounding him were asked why it was they had so much
against him, to which they replied: "He believes in Joe Smith and the
Book of Mormon, G--d d---n him; and we believe Joe Smith to be a d--d
rascal!"
The men who had made up the rank and file of the militia on the 5th
of November, the next day were riding over the country in armed gangs
threatening men, women and children with violence, searching for arms,
and brutally tying up and whipping some of the men, and shooting at
others. The leaders of these ruffians were some of the prominent men of
the county; Colonel Pitcher and Lieutenant Governor Boggs being among
the number. The priests in the county, it seems, were determined not to
be outdone by the politicians, for the Reverend Isaac McCoy and other
preachers of the gospel (!) were seen leading armed bands of marauders
from place to place; and were the main inspirers of cowardly assaults
on the defenseless.
All through this day and the day following (the 6th and 7th of
November,) women and children were fleeing in every direction from
the presence of the merciless mob. One company of one hundred and
ninety--all women and children, except three decrepit old men--were
driven thirty miles across a burnt prairie. The ground was thinly
crusted with sleet, and the trail of these exiles was easily followed
by the blood which flowed from their lacerated feet![B] This company
and others who joined them erected some log cabins for temporary
shelter, and not knowing the limits of Jackson County, built them
within the borders thereof. Subsequently, in the month of January,
1834, parties of the mob again drove these people, and burned their
wretched cabins, leaving them to wander without shelter in the most
severe winter months. Many of them were taken suddenly ill and died.
[Footnote B: Lyman Wight's affidavit, Times and Seasons, 1843, p. 264.]
CHAPTER XIII.
SCENES ON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI--EXILED.
Other parties during the two days mentioned flocked to the Missouri
River, and crossed at the ferries into Clay County. One of the
companies of distressed women and children were kindly lodged by a Mr.
Bennett for the night in his house. We speak of this because acts of
benevolence toward the saints were so rare that whenever they occur
they should be chronicled.
In one of the companies that went to Clay County was a woman named Ann
Higbee who had been sick for many months with chills and fever,--she
was carried across the river, apparently a corpse. Another woman named
Keziah Higbee, in the most delicate condition, lay on the banks of
the river all night, while the rain descended in torrents, and under
these circumstances was delivered of a male child; but the mother
died a premature death through the exposure. All the pity the parties
received from their relentless persecutors was this brutal expression,
"G---d d--n you, do you believe in Joe Smith now?" The scene that was
witnessed on the banks of the Missouri on the seventh of November is
so graphically described in the Prophet Joseph's history that I cannot
forbear inserting it here:
The shores began to be lined on both sides of the ferry with men,
women and children, goods, wagons, boxes, chests, provisions, etc.;
while the ferrymen were busily employed in crossing them over; and
when night again closed upon the saints, the wilderness had much the
appearance of a camp-meeting. Hundreds of people were seen in every
direction; some in tents, and some in the open air, around their
fires, while the rain descended in torrents. Husbands were inquiring
for their wives, and women for their husbands; parents for children,
and children for parents. Some had the good fortune to escape with
their family household goods, and some provisions; while others knew
not of the fate of their friends, and had lost all their goods. The
scene was indescribable, and would have melted the hearts of any
people upon earth, except the blind oppressor and prejudiced and
ignorant bigot. Next day the company increased, and they were chiefly
engaged in felling small cottonwood trees and erecting them into
temporary cabins, so that when night came on, they had the appearance
of a village of wigwams, and the night being clear, the occupants
began to enjoy some degree of comfort.[A]
[Footnote A: Millennial Star, Vol. 14, p. 582.]
On the night of the thirteenth of November, while large bodies of the
saints were still encamped on the Missouri bottoms, exiled from their
homes for the gospel's sake, one of the most wonderful meteoric showers
occurred that was ever witnessed. The whole heavens and the earth were
made brilliant by the streams of light which marked the course of
the falling aerolites. The whole upper deep was one vast display of
heaven's fireworks. The long trains of light left in the heavens by
the meteors would twist into the most fantastic shapes, like writhing
serpents. The grandeur of the display was far beyond the power of words
to describe. I mention it because of the effect it had upon the minds
of the suffering saints. The scriptures teach that one of the signs of
the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ shall be the falling of stars
from the heaven, as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she i
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