In 1831 the Saints were commanded to gather to Jackson County, Mo.,
which was designated as a land of inheritance for the Saints in the
last days, and also as the identical spot where they should build
that great city, the New Jerusalem, about which the ancient Prophets
and Saints had sung, prayed and rejoiced so much. Joseph Smith had
just arrived in that {97} goodly land, together with a number of his
brethren, when a revelation, containing some very strange sayings was
given on the 1st of August, 1831. The Lord said:
"Hearken, O ye Elders of my Church, and give ear to my word,
and learn of me what I will concerning you, and also concerning
this land unto which I have sent you. For verily I say unto you,
blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in
death; and he _that is faithful in tribulation_, the reward of
the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold
with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your
God concerning these things which shall come hereafter, and the
glory which shall _follow after much tribulation_. For after much
tribulation cometh the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye
shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh
at hand. Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay
it to heart, and receive that which shall follow." (Doc. and Cov.,
lviii: 1-5.)
Here is an opportunity for sound reasoning. If Joseph Smith was an
impostor, and if he was trying to carry out a scheme with a view to
benefit himself financially; or if he was ambitious and seeking for
vain glory or the honor of men, could anything be more absurd than to
predict troubles and difficulties, when none such were immediately
apparent.
If a schemer was doing that which Joseph on that occasion was doing,
namely, planting a colony of his followers in one of the most desirable
sections of country within the borders of the United States, would he
not have enlarged upon the prospects ahead and predicted success and
prosperity instead of difficulties and tribulations? Most assuredly he
would. But Joseph spoke as he was directed by the Lord, and his own
desires or ambition, if any such he possessed, cut no figure in the
matter.
And now, to the fulfilment of the prophecy or revelation? No one who is
acquainted with the history of the Church will hesitate to testify that
since that time the Saints have indeed passed through much tribulation.
In less than three years after the revelation was given they were
driven from their homes in Jackson County. Three years after that they
were forced to leave their temporary possessions in Clay County, Mo.,
and still two years later, under the exterminating order of Governor
Lilburn W. Boggs, they were driven from the State of Missouri. Seven
years after their expulsion from that State, wicked mobs, after first
killing the Prophet and Patriarch in cold blood in Carthage jail, drove
the Saints from Nauvoo into the wilderness, which was full of savage
Indians; and even after coming to these mountains we have been subject
to wicked prosecutions and persecutions. If all this don't mean "much
tribulation," what does it mean?
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