THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1838.
The Fourth of July, 1838, is a memorable day in the history of Far
West. The saints had long been vexed by their enemies. They had seen
their homes destroyed, their helpless women and children driven into
the wilderness by cruel mobs, when the exiles could be traced by the
blood left in their tracks. They had been robbed of their possessions
and maltreated in their persons until they were driven almost to
desperation. They took advantage therefore of Independence Day to
declare their intentions no more to quietly submit to the outrages
perpetrated against them. Joseph Smith was president of the day; and
his brother Hyrum, vice-president; Sidney Rigdon, orator; and Reynolds
Cahoon, chief marshal. They marched in procession through the town and
at last formed a circle around a large excavation--one hundred feet
long by eighty wide--in the public square; and there, with appropriate
ceremonies, they laid the corner stones of the House of the Lord at
Far West. This was followed by speeches, music, prayers, reading the
Declaration of Independence, etc. Sidney Rigdon, orator of the day,
stirred with indignation in contemplating the sufferings the saints had
endured, allowed his eloquence to carry him beyond the limits of calm
wisdom, and many of the words spoken by him on that occasion, though
corrected by the Prophet Joseph, were later made use of by the enemies
of The Church, to the injury of the saints.
As an example of Elder Rigdon's unwise and intemperate language on the
occasion referred to, I quote the following paragraph from his speech:
Our cheeks have been given to the smiters--our heads to those who
have plucked off the hair. We have not only when smitten on one cheek
turned the other, but we have done it again and again, until we are
wearied of being smitten, and tired of being trampled upon. We have
proved the world with kindness, we have suffered their abuse, without
cause, with patience and have endured without resentment until this
day, and still their persecutions and violence do not cease. But from
this day and this hour we will suffer it no more. We take God and all
the holy angels to witness, this day, that we warn all men, in the
name of Jesus Christ to come on us no more for ever, for from this
hour we will bear it no more, our rights shall not be trampled upon
with impunity; the man, or the set of men who attempt it, do it at the
expense of their lives. And that mob that comes on us to disturb us,
it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will
follow them until the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else
they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to
their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other
shall be utterly destroyed. Remember it then, all men. We will never
be the aggressors, we will infringe on the rights of no people, but
shall stand for our own until death. We claim our own rights and are
willing that all others shall enjoy theirs. No man shall be at liberty
to come into our streets, to threaten us with mobs, for if he does he
shall atone for it before he leaves the place, neither shall he be at
liberty to vilify and slander any of us, for suffer it we will not,
in this place. We therefore take all men to record this day, that we
proclaim our liberty this day, as did our fathers, and we pledge this
day to one another our fortunes, our lives, and our sacred honors,
to be delivered from the persecutions, which we have had to endure
for the last nine years or nearly that time. Neither will we indulge
any man, or set of men, in instituting vexatious law suits against
us, to cheat us out of our rights; if they attempt it we say woe unto
them. We this day, then, proclaim ourselves free with a purpose and
determination that never can be broken, no, never! No, never!! No,
never!!!--COLLECTION OF FACTS.--_Rigdon in Missouri, by J. M. Grant,
p._ 11.