Produced by Kevin Handy, Josephine Paolucci and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
[Transcriber's note: Minor typos in text corrected and footnotes moved to
end of text.]
[Illustration: JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET.]
[Illustration: HYRUM SMITH, THE PATRIARCH.]
A Young Folks' History
OF THE
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
By NEPHI ANDERSON
"_We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us,
what Work thou didst in their days, in the time of old_"--_Psalm
xliv:1_.
Published by the
DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION
Salt Lake City. Utah
1916
_Copyright, 1889,
By Nephi Anderson
Copyright, 1916,
By Joseph F. Smith,
For the Deseret Sunday School Union_.
To Parents and Teachers.
Studying the history of our country creates patriotism and engenders
loyalty. For the same reason, a study of the history of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints will implant in our boys and girls a love for
its heroes, a loyalty to its principles, and an appreciation of its
achievements. By a knowledge of the history of the Church, our young people
will prize more highly that heritage given them of God and preserved for
them by the sweat and blood of their fathers.
The teacher using this little book will understand that it is not
exhaustive, but rather suggestive. The teacher should be in possession of
much more history than is given here. He should fill in much of the
undercurrent of heroism, faith, and devotion exhibited by the characters of
the history, very little of which can be given in the text. The importance
of this larger knowledge on the part of the teacher will be understood by
an examination of the review and questions at the end of each chapter. The
aim in these questions is not only to review the facts of the lesson, but
by suggestions and reference to bring out more fully deductions and
principles.
It is believed that by combining the topical and the question methods the
best results may be obtained. The topics are to be assigned certain pupils
for treatment. Questions should not be limited to those in the book. The
teacher should find many more to ask.
Special attention is called to the maps. Have pupils locate each important
place. Quite a number of dates are found in the text. It is not intended
that the pupils should memorize them all. Most of them should be used
merely in fixing the relative time between events. It is suggested that the
pupils be encouraged to refer to the Church works and other books mentioned
in the text.
For further preparation the teacher is referred to "The History of the
Church," "Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith," "Whitney's History of Utah." The
"Faith Promoting Series," Evan's "Hundred Years of Mormonism," etc., will
give much interesting and valuable information.
CONTENTS
To Parents and Teachers
CHAPTER I.
A Parable
CHAPTER II.
The First Vision
CHAPTER III.
The Angel Moroni
CHAPTER IV.
The Sacred Plates
CHAPTER V.
The Book of Mormon
CHAPTER VI.
The Three Witnesses
CHAPTER VII.
The Priesthood Restored
CHAPTER VIII.
Organization of the Church
CHAPTER IX.
Persecution of Joseph
CHAPTER X.
The Mission to the Indians
CHAPTER XI.
Removal to Ohio
CHAPTER XII.
The Land of Zion
CHAPTER XIII.
Persecution in Jackson County
CHAPTER XIV.
Expulsion from Jackson County
CHAPTER XV.
Zion's Camp
CHAPTER XVI.
The Church at Kirtland
CHAPTER XVII.
The Twelve Apostles--The Seventies--Kirtland Temple
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Mission to England
CHAPTER XIX.
Far West
CHAPTER XX.
Haun's Mill Massacre
CHAPTER XXI.
Driven from Missouri
CHAPTER XXII.
In Missouri Prisons
CHAPTER XXIII.
Nauvoo
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Martyrdom
CHAPTER XXV.
Expulsion from Illinois
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Battle of Nauvoo
CHAPTER XXVII.
Westward
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Mormon Battalion
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Pioneers
CHAPTER XXX.
Great Salt Lake City
CHAPTER XXXI.
Growth of Utah and the Church
CHAPTER XXXII.
The "Utah War"
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The "Utah War" (Concluded)
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Prosperity
CHAPTER XXXV.
The "Crusade"
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Presidency of Wilford Woodruff
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Temple Building
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Presidency of Lorenzo Snow
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Presidency of Joseph F. Smith
APPENDIX.
First Presidencies of the Church
List of Twelve Apostles
MAPS.
Fayette and Kirtland
Missouri and Illinois
Routes of Mormon Battalion and Pioneers
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Joseph Smith, the Prophet
Hyrum Smith the Patriarch
Brigham Young
The Hill Cumorah
The Three Witnesses
Sidney Rigdon
President Brigham Young
The Kirtland Temple
President Heber C. Kimball
Haun's Mill
The Nauvoo House
The Nauvoo Mansion
Carthage Jail
A Pioneer Train
Salt Lake Valley in 1847
The Old Fort
Salt Lake Tabernacle (Interior)
Salt Lake Tabernacle (Exterior)
President John Taylor
President Wilford Woodruff
The Pioneer Monument
Salt Lake Temple and Grounds
President Lorenzo Snow
The First Presidency, 1916
Joseph Smith Monument and Memorial Cottage
Church Office Building
A YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
CHAPTER I.
A PARABLE.
Once upon a time the owner of a very large garden planted therein a tree,
the fruit of which was very precious and of great value to all who ate of
it. For a time, the tree grew and bore much good fruit. But the owner of
the garden had an enemy who went about secretly sowing seeds of weeds and
all manner of briers and brush, that they might spread all over the garden
and kill out the good tree which the master had planted. The enemy also
persuaded many of the workmen in the garden to neglect the good tree, and
let the briers and weeds grow up around it and so prevent its growth. Thus
in time the once precious fruit of the good tree became wild and scrubby,
no better than the enemy's trees which grew around it.
Years passed, and the master, grieving that the precious fruit should have
become so worthless, determined to plant the good tree once more in the
garden. He did not try to clear away a spot for it amid the old, overgrown
parts of the land, but he called upon certain workers to go to a distant
part of the garden where nothing had been planted for a long time, and
there prepare the ground for the planting of the tree.
These workers were faithful to their master and did as they were told. Very
few of the enemy's noxious weeds were growing in the new soil, so it was
not such hard work to clear the ground and prepare a place for the master
to plant his tree.
To be better protected against the enemy, the master told his workmen to
build a high, strong wall about that part of the garden. This was all done;
and then one beautiful spring day the owner came with his servants. They
had with them the precious tree taken from some other garden where it had
grown without hindrance from weeds. The tree was planted and put in charge
of other servants to tend it. The warm sun shone on it, the rains came from
heaven to water it, and the tree took firm root and grew.
Now all the boys and girls who read this book will understand that the
little story I have just told is what is called a _Parable_, meant to make
plainer some facts and truths. I can not tell you all about that tree here,
how it grew and bore fruit, and how many people came and ate of its
delicious fruit, notwithstanding the enemy came again and tried to check
its growth. I say, I cannot tell it to you in the form of a parable, but
will tell it as it actually happened. You may, if you like, imagine in your
own minds the rest of the parable, but the real story you will find more
interesting than any made-up tale can be.
First, let me explain to you the meaning of the parable.
The garden means the earth, and the owner is the Lord, who came to the
earth about nineteen hundred years ago to die for the sins of the world. He
also planted the good tree, that is, He brought the gospel and taught it
to his followers. The enemy is the evil one, the devil, who stirred up men
to work against the gospel and to kill those who obeyed it. He also mixed
his lies with Christ's truths, until in time the pure gospel was not to be
found on the earth.
This was the condition of the world for hundreds of years. Then the Lord
wished to restore the true gospel and again establish his Church on the
earth. He therefore chose a place where all would have the right to believe
the truth and be protected in that liberty. The Lord, therefore, moved upon
Columbus to discover this land of America.
The servants spoken of, whom the Lord sent to prepare the land for the
planting, were all those great and good men whom you have read about in
your American history: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and many others.
You will remember how these men loved right and liberty, and how they
worked so hard for it; and in reading the history of these men we can
plainly see that the Lord was with them and helped them. These men built
the high wall, which means that they made just laws that would protect the
people and let them worship God in any way they thought right.
Thus was the way prepared for the gospel to be restored again to the earth;
and the Lord himself came from heaven, also his servants Moroni, Peter,
James, and John to bring the glad tidings to all who live on the earth.
Then the Lord called some more servants to preach the gospel to the world
and build up his Church. The first and greatest of these servants is known
by the name of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. How the Lord called him to this
great work and delivered to him the gospel will be told you in the next
chapter.
Topics.--1. The Parable. 2. Explanation.
Questions and Review.--1. Name some of Christ's first disciples. 2: Tell
how some of them were killed. 3. How long was the world without the gospel?
4. Tell how Columbus discovered America. 5. Who were the Pilgrims? 6. What
was the Revolutionary war about? 7. What is the Constitution of the United
States? 8. Find out what it says about religious liberty. 9. Why is America
the "Land of liberty?"