In 1834 Joseph Smith marched from Ohio to Missouri, a distance of
about one thousand miles, as the leader of the illustrious body of men
known in Church history as Zion's Camp. On this long and wearisome
journey, some of the brethren indulged in a spirit of rebellion and
fault-finding, which was rebuked by the Prophet, first in a mild manner
and finally very strongly, as he told the brethren that the Lord had
revealed to him that a scourge would come upon the camp, in consequence
of the fractious and unruly spirit that had appeared among them. Still,
if they would repent and humble themselves before the Lord, the scourge
might, in a great measure, be turned away, "but, as the Lord lives," he
said, "the camp will have to suffer for giving way to unruly tempers."
(_Historical Record_, page 582.) This prediction was fulfilled a few
weeks later when the brethren had arrived in Clay County, Mo. On
the 21st of June, 1834, the cholera broke out in the camp and raged
fearfully for several days. Altogether sixty-eight of the Saints were
attacked with the dreadful disease and thirteen died. Finally Joseph
called some of the surviving brethren together and told them that if
they would humble themselves before the Lord and covenant to keep His
commandments, and obey his (Joseph's) counsel, the plague should be
stayed from that hour and there should not be another case of cholera
among them. The brethren covenanted to that effect and the plague was
stayed.