And this is not true. Now I intend to show that at the martyrdom the
Latter-day Saints followed President Brigham Young and the Twelve. And
too, in accordance with divine revelation. For we learn in the Doctrine
and Covenants that the quorum of Apostles is equal in authority with
the First Presidency and it is their right to take the lead of Church
affairs and the presidency in the absence of the First Presidency, or
when that quorum is invaded by the death of the President of the Church.
At the time of the martyrdom the Church in and about Nauvoo, the
headquarters, numbered not to exceed 20,000 souls. This information is
based on the best possible authority. And while this was not all the
Church membership in the United States, it was the great bulk of the
Saints, as the following will show:
In the Times and Seasons, volume 2, page 274, in a "Proclamation to the
Saints scattered abroad," and signed by the Presidency Joseph Smith,
Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith, dated January 15, 1841, we read the
following:
"The population of our city is increasing with unparalleled
rapidity, numbering more than 3,000 inhabitants. Every facility
is offered in the city and adjacent country, in Hancock county,
for the successful prosecution of the mechanical arts, and the
pleasing pursuits of agriculture. The waters of the Mississippi
can be successfully used for manufacturing purposes, to an almost
unlimited extent.
"Having been instrumental in the hands of our Heavenly Father
in laying a foundation for the gathering of Zion, we would say,
let all those who appreciate the blessings of the Gospel, and
realize the importance of obeying the commandments of heaven, who
have been blessed of heaven with the possession of this world's
goods, first prepare for the general gathering, let them dispose
of their effects as fast as circumstances will possibly admit,
without making too great sacrifice, and remove to our city and
county--establish and build up manufactories in the city, purchase
and cultivate farms in the county--this will secure our permanent
inheritance, and prepare the way for the gathering of the poor.
This is agreeable to the order of heaven, and the only principle on
which the gathering can be effected--let the rich, then, and all
who can assist in establishing this place, make every preparation
to come on without delay, and strengthen our hands, and assist in
promoting the happiness of the Saints. This cannot be too forcibly
impressed on the minds of all, and the elders are hereby instructed
to proclaim this word in all places where the Saints reside,
in their public administrations, for this is according to the
instructions we have received from the Lord."
Now, this shows that the Saints "scattered abroad" were commanded of
the Lord to gather at Nauvoo and in Hancock county, Illinois. It will
go without saying that all the faithful Latter-day Saints would take
advantage of this commandment and therefore the faithful Saints, or
the great majority of them would soon be located at Nauvoo. Again in
this same volume, page 434, we find another proclamation to the Saints
abroad, signed by President Joseph Smith, in which he says:
"The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, anxious to promote the prosperity of said Church, feel it
their duty to call upon the Saints who reside out of this county
to make preparations to come in, without delay. This is important
and should be attended to by all who feel an interest in the
prosperity of this the corner stone of Zion. Here the Temple must
be raised, the university be built, and other edifices erected
which are necessary for the great work of the last days; and which
can only be done by a concentration of energy and enterprise. Let
it therefore be understood, that all the stakes, excepting those
in this county and in Lee county, Iowa, are discontinued, and the
Saints instructed to settle in this county as soon as circumstances
will permit."
This was on May 24, 1841, and we find in the same volume, page 520, an
epistle from the Twelve to the "Saints scattered abroad," in which the
following is found:
"We say to all Saints who desire to do the will of heaven, arise,
and tarry not, but come up hither to the places of gathering as
speedily as possible, for the time is rapidly approaching when
the Saints will have occasion to regret that they have so long
neglected to assemble themselves together and stand in holy places
awaiting those tremendous events which are so rapidly approaching
the nations of the earth.
"It will be recollected that in a recent communication from the
First Presidency, all places of gathering are discontinued,
excepting Hancock county, Ill., and Zarahemla in Lee county, I. T.,
opposite Nauvoo."
At the conference of the Church held in October, 1841, Almon W. Babbitt
was disfellowshipped for persuading Saints who were emigrating to
Nauvoo to remain and build up Kirtland, Ohio, as the minutes say,
"until such time as he shall make satisfaction." This shows how
important this doctrine of gathering was. Therefore the great bulk of
the Latter-day Saints, at the time of the martyrdom, were located at
Nauvoo and its vicinity.
It is in order now to show that these Latter-day Saints sustained
President Brigham Young and the Twelve.
On the 8th day of August, following the martyrdom, a special conference
was held in Nauvoo at which time the claims of Sidney Rigdon and the
rightful claim of the Twelve Apostles were presented for the vote
of the Latter-day Saints. At this conference President Young, in
addressing the Saints said:
"I will ask you as quorums, Do you want Brother Rigdon to stand
forward as your leader, your guide, your spokesman? President
Rigdon wants me to bring up the other question first, and that is,
Does the Church want, and is it their only desire to sustain the
Twelve as the First Presidency of this people? * * * * All that are
in favor of this, in all the congregation of the Saints manifest
it by holding up the right hand. (There was a universal vote.) If
there are any of the contrary mind, every man and every woman who
does not want the Twelve to preside, lift up your hands in like
manner, (no hands up.) This supersedes the other question, and
trying it by quorums." (History of the Church, Aug. 8, 1844.)
Also at the general conference held the following October the Apostles
were again unanimously sustained by the vote of the Church as the
presiding quorum and Presidency of the Church. (Times and Seasons,
5:692). Mark you this was by the unanimous vote of the Saints.[2]
Now, in the exodus from Nauvoo these Saints--the great bulk of the
Church, continued to be true and faithful and followed the Twelve
Apostles.
Governor Thomas Ford, in his "History of Illinois," states that in 1846
there were 16,000 Church members with the Twelve on the plains of Iowa,
while the 1,000 that remained, a small remnant, were those who were
unable to sell their property, or who having no property to sell, were
unable to get away. (History of "Reorganized" Church iii:164). And this
remnant followed as soon as they were able.
In the census report for 1850--three years after the settlement of
Salt Lake valley, we learn that the population of Utah was 11,380, all
Mormons. That same year the population of Pottawattomie county, Iowa,
was 7,828, all Mormons, the Latter-day Saints at Kanesville. Thus
we see that 19,208 members of the Church who had followed President
Brigham Young in the exodus from Nauvoo, were located at these two
places. And that is not all, there were other settlements of the
Saints at Garden Grove, Mount Pisgah, St. Louis, and other places
where temporary settlements for the Saints were formed during that
exodus. These also later gathered to Utah. Thus we see that almost
the entire membership of the Church as it stood in 1844, is accounted
for in the following of President Brigham Young and the Twelve.
That the Church was not threatened with dissolution the following
statistics will show--I have not at hand the increase of membership of
the Church during that period in the United States, but the increase
in Great Britain is as follows: In the year 1844, the population
of the Church in the British Isles was 7,797. Six years after the
martyrdom--December, 1850--that membership had increased to 30,747.
This does not show much of a dissolution or falling away.