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.