Lesson Highlights

• The Saints settle in Jackson County, Missouri, and are later driven out.
• The Lord instructs the Saints who were driven from Jackson County.
• Zion's Camp is organized and marches to Missouri.
• The Lord reveals that His people must "wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion."

A study of this lesson will help us learn about the early Saints’ efforts to establish the city of Zion in Missouri and to encourage us to help build Zion today.

Scripture references for study:  D&C 101; 103; 105
    Note: Underlined scripture references have been hyperlinked to the LDS Scriptures at LDS.org and will open in a new window.

Lesson 27 Handout (PDF format)

Jackson County

1. On Friday, June 3, 1831, a special conference of elders was convened in Kirtland.
• The day after this conference the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation wherein he was instructed by the Lord:  "I, the Lord, will make known unto you what I will that ye shall do from this time until the next conference, which shall be held in Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are a remnant of Jacob, and those who are heirs according to the covenant. Wherefore, verily I say unto you, let my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon take their journey as soon as preparations can be made to leave their homes, and journey to the land of Missouri" (D&C 52:2-3).
• Prior to this time the New York Saints had moved to Kirtland and the surrounding area. The Colesville Saints settled on land near Thompson, Ohio, which had been consecrated by Leman Copley. After returning from his mission to the Shakers (near Cleveland), Copley revoked his consecration and let it be known that the Colesville Saints were no longer welcome on his land.
• Newel Knight traveled to Kirtland, arriving in time for the June conference. Newel asked the Prophet what the Colesville Saints should do. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and received the revelation known as Section 54.
• Among other things, these Saints were commanded to move west to Missouri (D&C 54:7-8). After receiving this revelation, Newel Knight wrote: "We now understood that this was not the land of our inheritance--the land of promise, for it was made known in a revelation, that Missouri was the place chosen for the gathering of the Church, and several were called to lead the way to that state.

    "A revelation was also given concerning the gathering, on the receipt of which we, who constituted the Colesville branch, immediately set to preparing for our journey, and on the third day of June, I took passage with the Colesville company at Wellsville, Ohio." (Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p182)
2. Several days after the Colesville Saints began their journey west, Joseph Smith and a number of others left Kirtland for Missouri. They arrived in Missouri in mid July.
• On July 20, the Prophet received another revelation regarding the land of Missouri:  "Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.
Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. 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 courthouse." (D&C 57:1-3)
• The Lord appointed Missouri as the gathering place for the Saints, with Independence as the center place. This is the place which Moroni wrote about hundreds of years earlier:  "Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away" (Ether 13:8). What an exciting thing it must have been for these early members to participate in the beginnings of the new Jerusalem.
3. July 25:  The Colesville Saints arrived in the land of Zion. This was the first branch of the Church to migrate to Zion.
• They did not settle in Independence, but  continued as a group to Kaw Township, a sparsely populated area twelve miles southwest of Independence.
• They settled along the Big Blue River which separated Missouri from the Indian territory to the west.
• On August 2, Joseph, Sidney, and ten other brethren assisted the Colesville Branch in laying the first log for a house as a foundation of Zion. These twelve men laid this first log in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
• Sidney Rigdon was appointed by the Lord to dedicate and consecrate the land for the gathering of the Saints.
• Sidney then offered the dedicatory prayer and then declared, "I now pronounce this land consecrated and dedicated unto the Lord for a possession and inheritance for the Saints, and for all the faithful servants of the Lord to the remotest ages of time. In the name of Jesus Christ, having authority from Him. Amen." (HC, 1:196)
4. August 3:  Eight of the brethren returned to Independence.
• They gathered at the ten acre plot where the temple would be built.
• Joseph laid a stone at the southeast corner for the contemplated temple.
• Joseph then dedicated the spot for the building of the temple.
• Sidney dedicated the land where the city of Zion was to stand.
5. After returning to Kirtland, the Lord instructed Joseph:  "And now, behold, this is the will of the Lord your God concerning his saints, that they should assemble themselves together unto the land of Zion, not in haste, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth pestilence." (D&C 63:24)
• By 1832 there were more than 800 Saints gathered into five branches in Independence and the surrounding areas of Jackson County.
•  In May 1832, Bishop Edward Partridge, bishop in Zion, dedicated the printing office run by W.W. Phelps. The first publication of the Church, the Evening and Morning Star, came off the press in June 1832.
• It was here that Phelps began the task of printing 3,000 copies of the Book of Commandments (the earliest version of the Doctrine and Covenants). Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer, and W.W. Phelps reviewed and prepared the revelations for publication.
• The Saints in Zion were bound by the law of consecration - they consecrated their money and possessions toward the purchase of land.
• This consecration was not compulsory, yet failure to comply erased the offenders' names from the records of the Church.
• Migration during the spring of 1833 raised the total membership of the Church in Missouri to near 1200.
• During the summer of 1833 the ten settlements in Zion were organized into branches with a president over each.
6. The Saints & their Missouri neighbors:
• When the Saints first arrived in Jackson County they did not warrant much attention from their Missouri neighbors. They were just a few more immigrants.
• As the Saints began to increase in number, the Missourians became concerned about the beliefs of the Church and their increasing political clout.
• The concept of "Zion" was a major factor in arousing the Missourians against them.
7. Discord among the Saints.
• Many Saints were striving toward the ideal of Zion. Still there was discord among some.
• A few were disappointed the Prophet had not moved to Zion and began to criticize him.
• There were those who were jealous of those who remained in Kirtland to live near the Prophet.
• Some elders and high priests ignored the authority of those in charge and took it upon themselves to set the branches in order.
• Almost every branch had problems:
• One branch was disrupted by the teachings of the Hulet brothers who taught that "the devil and his angels and the sons of perdition should be restored" (HC, 1:366).
• In the Colesville branch, Newel Knight's aunt contradicted a revelation for the temporal welfare of Zion. Discord rocked this branch before priesthood leaders were successful in rebuking this spirit.
• Joseph wrote a letter reproving the saints: "If Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved in all things, in His sight, He will seek another people; for His work will go on until Israel is gathered. Wo unto them that are at ease in Zion....  Our hearts our greatly grieved at the spirit...the very spirit which is wasting the strength of Zion like a pestilence." (HC, 1:316-317)
• A council of high priests in Kirtland appointed Hyrum Smith and Orson Hyde to write another letter of reproof: "Repent, repent, or Zion must suffer, for the scourge and judgment must come upon her" (HC, 1:320).
• This letter was read to the members in all the branches and had some effect.
• A solemn assembly was called at which sincere and humble repentance was manifested. A letter was sent to the authorities in Kirtland expressing the Saints' repentance and determination to keep God's commandments in the future.
• The Lord revealed to the Prophet in March 1833:  "I say unto you that your brethren in Zion begin to repent, and the angels rejoice over them" (D&C 90:34).
• All was not entirely well. The Lord continued:  "Nevertheless, I am not well pleased with many things; and I am not well pleased with my servant William E. McLellin, neither with my servant Sidney Gilbert; and the bishop also, and others have many things to repent of.  But verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me." (D&C 90:35-36)
8. Tribulations in Zion.
• In April 1833 a mob of 300 men met in Independence to consult on ways to expel the Mormons from Jackson County.
• Church leaders gathered and prayed. The mob could not agree upon a plan of action. The mob became drunk and broke up in "a regular Missouri row" (HC, 1:342).
• On July 1, 1833 the Reverend Benton Pixley penned a slanderous tract entitled "Beware of False Prophets".
• He read this to the residents of each house in Jackson County "to incense the inhabitants against the Church, to mob them and drive them away" (HC, 1:372-373).
• Others joined Pixley in a published statement:  "The Mormons are the common enemies of mankind and ought to be destroyed" (HC, 1:392).
• By the middle of July the Saints became aware of The Secret Constitution. This document was signed by many notables in Jackson County.
• It declared that the Mormons had become so obnoxious to the old settlers that civil law was insufficient to deal against this evil.
• The signers intended to rid themselves of these objectionable Mormons "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must" (HC, 1:374).
• On July 20th, five hundred men met at the courthouse in Independence. A committee was formed and they drafted a report. It declared five restrictions on the Mormons:
• In the future, no Mormon could move and settle in the county.
• The Mormons already in the county should pledge to move out of the county as soon as they can sell their property and conclude business. They would be left unmolested if they did so.
• That the editor of the Evening and Morning Star discontinue publication and close his office. All other Mormon businesses in Jackson County were to discontinue operation. If they failed to comply, measures would be taken in order to close those businesses.
• Mormon leaders were to use their influence to stop further migration and encourage the Saints to comply with the above items.
• Those who failed to respond were to be severely dealt with.
• The crowd at the courthouse approved of these restrictions and appointed a committee of twelve to visit the Mormon leaders.
• The committee was authorized to tell the Mormons that the mob would adopt rigid means of forcing the Mormons to leave the county.
• The local Church leaders (W.W. Phelps, Edward Partridge, A. Sidney Gilbert, John Corrill, Isaac Morley, and John Whitmer) asked for three months to consider the proposition and consult with leaders in Ohio.
• Ten days were asked for and that was denied.
• They were granted 15 minutes to make a decision.
• The committee returned to the courthouse and a resolution was passed that the Star printing office should be razed to the ground and the type and press secured.
• The mob then proceeding to the printing office and house of William W. Phelps.
• One of the mob slipped out and warned Phelps about the mob.
• He hitched a team to a wagon and assisted Sister Phelps and her sick baby into the seat. He encouraged them to get as far away, as fast as possible.
• William W. Phelps also escaped and hid.
• The mob entered the living quarters of the Phelps and threw the furniture in the yard.
• They rushed upstairs and threw the press out the window, destroyed the type, and burned most of the written revelations, bookwork, and papers.
• They then demolished the brick structure.
• John Taylor risked his life to retrieve some unbound copies of the Book of Commandments from a stable where they had been dumped.
• Two teenage girls also saved a few copies from a pile of papers that were to be burned. These two girls rushed out, filled their aprons with the books, and fled to a corn field nearby. Some of the mob saw them and yelled for them to halt. One of the girls wrote: "But we ran as fast as we could. Two of them started after us. Seeing a gap in a fence, we entered into a large cornfield, laid the papers on the ground, and hid them with our persons. The corn was from five to six feet high, and very thick; they hunted around considerable, and came very near to us but did not find us." (Joseph Smith & The Restoration, p.251)
• The mob then destroyed the store of Gilbert, Whitney, and Company. The mob stopped when Gilbert assured the mob that the goods would be packed by July 23rd.
• They then broke into the houses of the Saints, searching for the leading elders. They caught Bishop Partridge and Charles Allen and dragged them a half mile to the public square where they were given two alternatives: deny the Book of Mormon or consent to leave the county. They would consent to neither.
• Bishop Partridge and Allen were stripped and then tarred and feathered.
• Partridge and Allen endured this indignity with such resignation and meekness that the mob seemed to become ashamed and they permitted these brethren to retire in silence.
• One of those encouraging and supporting the mob secretly was the lieutenant governor, Lilburn W. Boggs.
• Oliver Cowdery was dispatched immediately back to Ohio to inform the Prophet and secure his counsel. Oliver arrived in Kirtland on August 21.
9. Section 97 was given to the Prophet on August 2, 1833. This revelation was given nineteen days before Oliver arrived in Kirtland with details of the tribulations in Zion.
• Speaking of the school in Zion, the Lord said:  "...there are those that must needs be chastened, and their works shall be made known.  The ax is laid at the root of the trees; and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire. I, the Lord, have spoken it." (D&C 97:6-7)
• The Saints were instructed to build a temple in Zion, to contribute to it by a tithing, and to do it speedily (see D&C 97:8-12).
• "And, now, behold, if Zion do these things she shall prosper, and spread herself and become very glorious, very great, and very terrible.  And the nations of the earth shall honor her, and shall say: Surely Zion is the city of our God, and surely Zion cannot fall, neither be moved out of her place, for God is there, and the hand of the Lord is there" (D&C 97:18-19).
• Parley P. Pratt: "This revelation was not complied with by the leaders of the Church in Missouri, as a whole.... Therefore, the threatened judgment was poured out to the uttermost, as the history of the five following years will show." (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p77)
• Joseph Smith:  "July, which once dawned upon the virtue and independence of the United States, now dawned upon the savage barbarity and mobocracy of Missouri." (HC, 1:372)
10. On July 23rd a mob of 500 men rushed into Independence searching for the leading elders.
• To preserve the lives of the Saints, Edward Partridge, W.W. Phelps, Isaac Morley, A. Sidney Gilbert, John Whitmer, and John Corrill offered themselves as a ransom, even to be scourged unto death if necessary.
• The mobbers scoffed at this brave offer and demanded that the Saints leave the county or die.
• The elders agreed to the demands by stating that they would leave on January 1, 1834 and no later than April 1834.
11. In September 1833, Orson Hyde and John Gould arrived in Independence with instructions from the Prophet.
• The Saints in Zion were not to dispose of their property or move, except for the few brethren who had signed the agreement to do so.
• The revelation in Section 98 was read to the afflicted Saints.
• They were reminded in this revelation to abide by the nation's constitutional law, to repent, and to bear their persecutions patiently.
12. Orson Hyde and William W. Phelps petitioned the governor of Missouri, Daniel Dunklin, for redress. They requested that the governor raise sufficient troops to help the Saints defend themselves.
• The governor advised the Saints to make their case in the courts in the district where the Saints resided. The governor said if the courts failed, he would take steps to enforce the law.
• The problem was that many of the court officials were part of the mob or sympathetic to it.
13. October 31:  A mob of 50 men rode upon the Whitmer branch threatening the Saints. They demolished ten houses and unroofed another thirteen.
• Several fled into the woods to escape capture.
• Some of the men were caught and whipped with heavy ox goads.
14. November 1:  The mob threw bricks at Mormon homes and began to tear down the Gilbert and Whitney store.
• A number of brethren hearing of the destruction, raced to the defense of the store.
• The mob fled, but a Richard McCarty was caught throwing bricks at the doors and windows. He was seized and taken before the justice of the peace.
• The following day, some of the brethren were arrested for catching McCarty in the act of destroying the store.
15. November 2:  The mob went after the small Mormon settlement on the Big Blue River.
• Brother David Bennett, who was ill, was dragged out of his house and beaten.
• Some of the brethren attempted to defend the settlement and there was gunfire. One Missourian was wounded in the thigh.
• The mobbers threatened to kill every Mormon.
16. November 4:  100 men led by a James Campbell took possession of the Church owned ferry on the Big Blue River.
• They then rode to the Whitmer settlement where they tore down houses and turned horses into the corn fields.
• David Whitmer ran to the gristmill and alerted about 30 men that were standing guard.
• There was a skirmish between the mobbers and these Mormons. Two of the mobbers were killed. The mob made a disorganized retreat.
• The mob outnumbered the Mormons by more than two to one and had three times as many firearms.
• According to George A. Smith, Truman Brace (known as Father Brace), a revolutionary war veteran and ventriloquist, threw his voice from tree to tree making the mobbers believe that the woods were full of Mormons, thus helping cause their retreat. (Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p261)
• Andrew Barber, a Mormon, was mortally wounded and became the first man in this dispensation to be martyred for the gospel.
• Philo Dibble was shot in the abdomen and was attended to by a surgeon who pronounced him dead.
• Brother Dibble wrote: "After the surgeon had left me, Brother Newel Knight came to see me, and sat down on the side of my bed. He laid his right hand on my head, but never spoke. I felt the Spirit resting upon me at the crown of my head before his hand touched me, and I knew immediately that I was going to be healed. It seemed to form like a ring under the skin, and followed down my body. When the ring came to the wound, another ring formed around the first bullet hole, also the second and third. Then a ring formed on each shoulder and on each hip, and followed down to the ends of my fingers and toes and left me. I immediately arose and discharged three quarts of blood or more, with some pieces of my clothes that had been driven into my body by the bullets. I then dressed myself and went outdoors and saw the falling of the stars, which so encouraged the Saints and frightened their enemies. It was one of the grandest sights I ever beheld. From that time not a drop of blood came from me and I never afterwards felt the slightest pain or inconvenience from my wounds, except that I was somewhat weak from the loss of blood. The next day I walked around the field, and the day following I mounted a horse and rode eight miles, and went three miles on foot." (Ibid., p262-263)
17. The following day, rumors regarding an uprising of the Mormons and their joining with the Indians began to spread through the county.
• Armed men began to crowd into Independence. Lieutenant Governor Boggs called out the state militia.
• Colonel Pitcher demanded that the Mormons give up their arms and turn over the men engaged in the battle above the Blue River to be tried for murder.
• Lyman Wight refused to give up arms unless Pitcher disarmed the mob.
• Pitcher agreed and the Mormons turned over 49 guns and a pistol. Some of the brethren involved in the battle also gave themselves up.
• The day after the Mormons surrendered their firearms, the mobbers were once again turned loose. They burst into houses frightening the women and children. The Mormons were warned to get out of the county or their houses would be torn down and they would be massacred by nightfall.
18. The Mormons began fleeing from their Missouri enemies on November 5th and 6th.
• One company of 190, comprised of women and children, and three decrepit men, were driven 30 miles over a burned prairie with light snow. They left bloodstains from their lacerated feet.
• By November 7 the banks of the Missouri were lined with the Mormon exiles. It was disorganized group of parents, children, and spouses looking for missing family members.
• Wrote Newel Knight:: "Thus homeless, and without means of taking much to sustain them did the whole Church in Jackson County flee before the mob, and at night those who went to the river camped in the rain which poured down in torrents; the frail mother, the helpless infant, the sick and the dying, all alike without the means to shelter themselves from the storm." (Ibid., 265)
• Wrote Parley P. Pratt: "In short, every member of the society was driven from the county, and fields of corn were plundered and destroyed. Stacks of wheat were burned--household goods plundered, and improvements and every kind of property lost, and at length no less than two hundred and three houses burned." (History of Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons, p.23)
• A thousand Saints were driven from their homes in Jackson County during the early winter of 1833.
• They crossed the Missouri River where they were treated with kindness by the citizens of Clay County.
• They allowed the Mormons to occupy every vacant cabin and build sheds for temporary shelter.
19. In December, the Prophet received letters from Bishop Partridge, John Corrill, and William W. Phelps about the Jackson County expulsion.
• On December 10 the Prophet sent a letter of encouragement, comfort, and sympathy to the Saints.
20. December 16, 1833, the Prophet received the revelation contained in Section 101 at Kirtland, Ohio.
• The Saints who came to Missouri had hoped to build Zion. When they were driven out of Jackson County in November 1833, this hope was shattered.
• WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE TO BE AMONG THEM?
• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE DONE WHEN YOU WERE CAST OUT?
• WHAT SELF SEARCHING QUESTIONS MIGHT YOU HAVE ASKED?
• WHY DID GOD PERMIT THE SAINTS TO BE DRIVEN FROM JACKSON COUNTY?
• "Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions" (D&C 101:1-2).
•  "...even many, but not all; they were found transgressors, therefore they must needs be chastened" (D&C 101:41).
• "And that those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them" (D&C 103:4).
• READ D&C 101:6-8. Transgressions committed by the Missouri Saints.
• WHAT TRANSGRESSIONS HAD THE SAINTS COMMITTED?
• WHY DOES THE LORD CHASTEN AND TRY HIS PEOPLE?
• READ D&C 101:4-5. Those who cannot endure chastening cannot be sanctified.
• President George Q. Cannon:  "Here comes the command of God to this man [Abraham] who has been taught so scrupulously about the sinfulness of murder and human sacrifice, to do these very things. Now, why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham? Because, knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, he was determined to test him. God did not do this for His own sake; for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do [Abr. 1:22-23] ; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson, and to enable him to attain unto knowledge that he could not obtain in any other way. That is why God tries all of us. It is not for His own knowledge for He knows all things beforehand. He knows all your lives and everything you will do. But He tries us for our own good, that we may know ourselves, for it is most important that a man should know himself. He required Abraham to submit to this trial because he intended to give him glory, exaltation and honor; He intended to make him a king and a priest, to share with Himself the glory, power and dominion which He exercised." (CR, April 1899, pp66-67)
• "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.  Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered" (D&C 101:16-17).
• Words of comfort regarding the future destiny of Zion.
• WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP ESTABLISH ZION?
• President Spencer W. Kimball:  "May I suggest three fundamental things we must do if we are to 'bring again Zion,' three things for which we who labor for Zion must commit ourselves. 
      "First, we must eliminate the individual tendency to selfishness that snares the soul, shrinks the heart, and darkens the mind.... 
      "Second, we must cooperate completely and work in harmony one with the other. There must be unanimity in our decisions and unity in our actions.... 
      "Third, we must lay on the altar and sacrifice whatever is required by the Lord. We begin by offering a 'broken heart and a contrite spirit.' We follow this by giving our best effort in our assigned fields of labor and callings. We learn our duty and execute it fully. Finally we consecrate our time, talents, and means as called upon by our file leaders and as prompted by the whisperings of the Spirit." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp363-364)
• President Spencer W. Kimball:  "Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people. Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart. Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism. No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart." (Ibid., p363)
• The Lord gives instructions as to how to proceed with the problems in Missouri:
• "And again I say unto you, those who have been scattered by their enemies, it is my will that they should continue to importune for redress, and redemption, by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over you--According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles" (D&C 101:76-77).
• The Lord continues to instruct the Saints to act within the law. That in itself must have been a great test of patience considering the actions of the Missouri mobbers. 
  • How would you feel if a mob had burned you out of your home? 
  • How would you feel if your feet were frozen and cut after crossing crusty Missouri snow?

Zion's Camp

1. Governor Dunklin did little to help the Saints gain redress. Elder B.H. Roberts: "The determination of the mob to resist the law was stronger than the determination of the state officers to execute it and make it honorable" (CHC, 1:335)
2. A conference was held on New Year's Day 1834, at the home of Parley P. Pratt in Liberty, Missouri. Parley Pratt and Lyman Wight volunteered to journey to Ohio and counsel with Joseph about measures to be taken for the relief or restoration of the Missouri Saints.
• February 1834:  Joseph heard the report of the Missouri Saints expulsion and suffering. He declared that he was going to Zion to assist in its redemption. He asked for volunteers and forty offered to go and assist the Prophet.
3. Section 103 was given to the Prophet on February 24, 1834, in Kirtland. It was a response to the concerns of the Saints regarding the Missouri problem and their desire to assist in the redemption of Zion.
• The Lord once again addresses the question as to why the Saints were driven from Jackson County:
• To allow the enemies of the Saints to "fill up the measure of their iniquities" (D&C 103:3).
• The Saints were to be "chastened for a little season...because they did not" obey the commandments of the Lord (D&C 103:4).
• "Therefore let my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. say unto the strength of my house, my young men and the middle aged—Gather yourselves together unto the land of Zion, upon the land which I have bought with money that has been consecrated unto me. And let all the churches send up wise men with their moneys, and purchase lands even as I have commanded them." (D&C 103:22-23)
• This was a call from the Lord for what came to be known as Zion's Camp.
• Sidney Rigdon, Parley Pratt, and Lyman Wight were instructed to obtain companies of men to go up to the land of Zion, preferably 500 men (D&C 103:29-30).
• They were not to go up to the land of Zion until they had obtained at least 100 men (D&C 103:34).
4. The March West.
• With wagons loaded with relief items for the Missouri Saints, Zion's Camp left Kirtland on May 5 (1834) and journeyed to New Portage, Ohio.
• The camp was organized by the Prophet on May 7 with 130 men divided into companies of 12 with a captain over each. Additional recruits were added along the way finally bringing the number to 205.
• Zion's Camp left New Portage on May 8 to begin the 900 mile journey.
• Some important participants:  Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith.
• Reveille was sounded at 4:00 AM and each man was to pray at that time and before he retired.
• Members of the camp were not to divulge their identity.
• They even went so far as to preach Protestant sermons on the Sabbath when they were in populated areas.
• Walking from 20-40 miles a day left the men's feet blistered and their stockings wet with blood. Heber Kimball had a team and wagon of his own; yet he walked most of the journey, letting the lame and footsore ride in his stead. Seeing the Prophet limping with sore feet, he frequently invited him to ride.
• An unruly spirit developed among many members of the camp. On June 3 the Prophet spoke to the Camp during the noon hour and exhorted them to faithfulness.
• He delivered the following prophecy: "...a scourge would come upon the camp in consequence of the fractious and unruly spirits that appeared among them, and they should die like sheep with the rot; still if they would repent and humble themselves before the Lord, the scourge, in a great measure, might be turned away; but, as the Lord lives, the members of this camp will suffer for giving way to their unruly temper" (HC, 2:80).
• There were enemies of the Saints along the route, but the record of the camp is emphatic concerning "the presence of angels while on the march to Missouri."  The chronicle of the camp states that "we saw them" (Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p282).
• After crossing the Mississippi, Parley Pratt and Orson Hyde were sent as delegates to Governor Dunklin of Missouri.
• Dunklin admitted the justice of their demands but feared that an effort reestablish them by military force would excite civil war and deluge the whole state with blood.
• The governor's advice was, for the sake of peace, to sell their lands and not try to repossess them.
• On June 19, after a day of difficulties, the little army camped on an elevated piece of land between the Big and Little Fishing rivers.
• Joseph Smith:  "As we halted and were making preparations for the night, five men armed with guns rode into our camp, and told us we should 'see hell before morning;' and their accompanying oaths partook of all the malice of demons" (HC, 2:103). They boasted that 60 men were riding out from Richmond and another 70 from Clay county to join about 200 from Jackson county.
• Heber C. Kimball wrote: "The whole county was in a rage against us, and nothing but the power of God could save us" (Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp52-53).
• Shortly after the five men left, a storm arose with tremendous fury. Wind, rain, and hail struck a mob of forty men within two miles of Zion's Camp. The following morning, the mob in their soaked condition returned to their homes. Joseph Smith: "Very little hail fell in our camp, but from half a mile to a mile around, the stones or lumps of ice cut down the crops of corn and vegetation generally, even cutting limbs from trees, while the trees, themselves were twisted into withes by the wind" (HC, 2:104-105)
• On June 22 the sheriff of Clay County rode out to the camp and asked the Prophet what their intentions were. He said they were bringing help and supplies for their stricken brethren. They brought firearms for self-defense only.
• On June 24, not far from Liberty, the camp had stopped in a woodland near Sidney Gilbert's home. That night cholera broke out among the camp. Sixty-eight members of the Camp were attacked and fourteen of them died.
• Heber C. Kimball wrote in his journal: "The destroyer came upon us as we had been warned by the servant of God. About 12 o'clock at night we began to hear the cries of those who had been seized. Even those on guard fell with their guns in their hands, and we had to exert ourselves considerably to attend to the sick, for they were stricken on every hand. Thus it continued until morning, when the camp was separated into several little bands and dispersed among the brethren.... 
      "While Brother Luke Johnson was digging, the cholera attacked him with cramping and blindness. Brother Brigham laid hold of him and pulled him out of the grave, and shook him about, talked to and prayed for him, and exhorted him to jump about and exercise himself, when it would leave him for a few moments, then it would attack him again; and thus we had the greatest difficulty to keep the destroyer from laying us low. Soon after we returned another brother was taken from our little band; thus it continued until five our of ten were taken away. 
      "After burying these five brethren, I was seized by the hand of the destroyer as I went in the woods to pray. I was instantly struck blind, and saw no way whereby I could free myself from the disease, only by jumping and thrashing myself about, until my sight returned to me and my blood began to circulate in my veins. I started and ran some distance, and by this means, through the help of God, I was enabled to extricate myself from the grasp of death. This circumstance took place in a piece of woods behind Brother Gilbert's house." (Life of Heber C. Kimball, p59, 61)
• On July 3, 1834, the Prophet organized a high council in Clay County and set the affairs of the church in order. Shortly thereafter Lyman Wight was sent out to discharge the members of Zion's Camp, thus ending the expedition of Israel's army for the redemption of Zion.
5. Zion's Camp did not seem to achieve much benefit for the Saints in Missouri.
• WHY DID THE LORD AUTHORIZE THIS MISSION?  WHAT PURPOSES DID IT SERVE?
• According to Wilford Woodruff the participants "gained an experience that we never could have gained in any other way. We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet, and we had the privilege of traveling a thousand miles with him, and seeing the workings of the Spirit of God with him, and the revelations of Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfillment of those revelations.... Had I not gone up with Zion's camp I should not have been [President of the Church] today." (JD, 13:158)
• Soon after the seventies were organized, Joseph Smith told the elders in Kirtland: "Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight. He could not organize His kingdom with twelve men to open the Gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their tracks, unless He took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham. Now the Lord has got His Twelve and His Seventy." (HC, 2:182)
6. Section 105 was given to the Prophet while at Fishing River, Missouri, on June 22, 1834.
• The Lord instructs the Saints why the building of the city of Zion would be postponed:
• "But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them; And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom; And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself." (D&C 105:3-5)
• The building of Zion postponed:
• "Therefore, in consequence of the transgressions of my people, it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion—That they themselves may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands." (D&C 105:9-10)
7. As I reviewed the history of this time I was touched by what the Saints endured. Little did they know that this was only the beginning of trials. I have tried to mentally put myself into their circumstances. What if it was me, my wife, and my family who had struggled to carve a farm in the wilderness and to build a home? This was hard work. How would I feel if mobbers attacked my home, burned it, and then drove me and my family into a cold winter day? How could I endure such? This was the plight of the Jackson County Saints.
       These Saints were aware of the prophecies, both ancient and modern, about the building of the new Jerusalem, Zion. They must have been excited to participate in the fulfillment of these great prophecies. Maybe they became a little prideful about it and neglected their most important duties as Saints. The Lord subsequently stated that Zion could only be built upon the "principles of the law of the celestial kingdom." The Saints of that time, and all subsequent generations, needed to learn that lesson. This will be a great and marvelous city that will be instrumental in the final gathering in of Israel and ushering in the millennial reign of our Lord and Master. The Lord must have a people that are prepared to live his law to participate in the construction of this great city.
       Are we prepared? That is a question each of us must ask of ourselves and counsel with the Lord. I believe that as the Saints are prepared to give up the things of the world and live a higher law, then the time will come and we will go forward to build the center stake of Zion.
    

Gospel Doctrine Notebook

1. Record your thoughts on the experiences of the Saints in Jackson County. What can you do in your life and in your family to further the cause of Zion?

Resources Used In This Lesson

• A Comprehensive History of the Church by B.H. Roberts (CHC).
• Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.
• Conference Reports (CR).
• History of the Church (HC).
• History of Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons by Parley P. Pratt.
• Joseph Smith and the Restoration by Ivan J. Barrett.
• Journal of Discourses (JD).
• Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney.
• Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball.

Next Lesson

Lesson 28:  D&C 121:1–33; 122; Our Heritage, pages 45–53