1. The Breaking up at Kirtland.--The keys of knowledge respecting
the great doctrines treated in the last two sections were received
in the Kirtland temple; and for a time it appeared that the Saints
would long enjoy the blessings of their temple and the communion
and instruction of heavenly messengers. But not so. With prosperity
which attended them there, came pride, envyings, jealousies and
heart-burnings. Their temporal prosperity existed but a brief period.
It was carried away by the wave of financial disaster which swept
over the United States in 1837. Then came financial embarrassment,
accompanied with charges and counter-charges of fraud and dishonesty.
Apostasy among men high in authority was rife. Several of the twelve
apostles went down in those dark days, and became bitter enemies to the
Prophet Joseph. To such an extent did the spirit of apostasy prevail
that it became murderous; and the prophet and a number of his most
devoted friends had to flee from Kirtland for their lives. [See note 1,
end of section.]
2. The Founding of Far West--Expulsion From Missouri.--Meantime
the Saints in Missouri who were driven from Jackson county, in the
latter part of 1833, removed from their temporary locations in Clay
County, and settled in the new county of Caldwell, where they founded
the city of Far West. It was to Far West that the Prophet Joseph and
other church leaders fled when compelled to leave Kirtland. But there
was little rest for the church in Missouri; persecution was threatened
{393} before the prophet arrived, and his presence only seemed to
hasten the impending storm. In the autumn of 1838 it broke upon the
church in all its fury, and during that winter the entire church was
expelled from the State by order of its governor, Lilburn W. Boggs.
[See note 2, end of section.]
3. The Rise of Nauvoo.--While the Saints were being expelled from
the state the Prophet Joseph and several other leading elders were
imprisoned in Liberty jail, Clay county, Missouri, having been betrayed
into the hands of their enemies by the treachery of false brethren.
They were held on false charges of murder, arson and treason. They
finally made their escape from their enemies and joined the body of
the church, which had found a temporary resting place in the city of
Quincy and vicinity, in Illinois. Shortly afterwards they settled at
Commerce, in Hancock county, in the same state. The church purchased
several large tracts of land at this place of Dr. Galland, a Mr. White,
Hubbard, Wells, Hotchkiss, and others; and soon from the wilderness
and bogs of Commerce--[See note 3, end of section]--rose the city
of Nauvoo--meaning The Beautiful; "carrying with it also," says the
Prophet Joseph, "the idea of rest."
4. Although both Joseph and the Saints saw some of their best
days in Nauvoo, there was not much "rest" for them there, especially
for the former. The toil and anxiety of founding a city, establishing
manufactures, publishing a paper, and converting the surrounding
country into fields and gardens; sending the apostles to preach the
gospel in foreign lands, being all the time tormented by their enemies
in Missouri and Illinois, kept the church, and especially the Prophet
Joseph, busy during the whole time they remained in Nauvoo. Here the
translation of the Book of Abraham was published. [See note 4, end of
section.] A magnificent temple was constructed in which to carry on the
work of salvation for the dead, and in which the living could receive
those washings and anointings, endowments and {394} sealings, necessary
to prepare them for their entrance into and their exaltation in heaven.
5. Celestial Marriage Introduced.--It was in Nauvoo also that
the prophet introduced celestial marriage,--the marriage system which
obtains in celestial worlds. It consists of the eternity of the
marriage covenant, that is, the marriage covenant between a man and his
wife is made for time and all eternity, and being sealed by that power
of the priesthood which binds on earth and in heaven, the covenant
holds good in heaven as well as on earth; and by reason of it men will
have claim upon their wives, and wives upon their husbands, in and
after the resurrection. Celestial marriage may also include a plurality
of wives.
6. Eternity of the Marriage Covenant.--This new marriage
system--new at least to this generation--completely revolutionized the
ideas of the Saints in respect to the marriage institution. In common
with the Christian sects, they had regarded marriage vaguely as an
institution to exist in this world only; and married their wives as
other Christians did and now do--until death shall them part. But by
the revelation which the prophet made known at Nauvoo, they learned
that in celestial spheres the marriage covenant exists eternally, and
that the pleasing joys of family ties and associations coupled with
the power of endless increase, contributes to the happiness, power and
dominion of those who attain to the celestial glory. What a revelation
was here! Instead of the God-given power of pro-creation being one of
the things that is to pass away, it is one of the chief means of man's
exaltation and glory in that great eternity, which like an endless
vista stretches out before him! Through it man attains to the glory
of the endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding
as priest and patriarch, king and lord, over his ever-increasing
posterity. Instead of the commandment--"Be fruitful, multiply and
replenish the earth," being an unrighteous law, it is one {395} by
means of which the race of Gods is perpetuated, and it is as holy and
pure as the commandment, "Repent and be baptized." Through that law,
in connection with an observance of all the other laws of the gospel,
man will yet attain unto the power of the Godhead,[199] and like his
Father--God--his chief glory shall be to bring to pass the eternal life
and happiness of man.
{396} 7. Plurality of Wives.--Celestial marriage, as already
observed, may include a plurality of wives. This was as great an
innovation as marriage for eternity. It came in conflict with the
education and tradition of the Saints, and the sentiments of the age.
Still God had commanded it through his prophet, and though their
prejudices--the fruit of their traditions--revolted against it, the
faithful to whom it was revealed resolved to obey it.
8. It was in 1831 that plural marriage was first made known to
Joseph Smith. In that year he was engaged in revising by inspiration
the Jewish Scriptures;[200] and observing with what favor the Lord
regarded the early patriarchs, and many of the kings and prophets of
the Jews who had a plurality of wives, he inquired of God how it was he
justified them in that thing. The Lord in answer revealed the law of
celestial marriage. But the time had not come for the Saints to enter
into its practice, and hence the prophet kept it locked up a secret in
his own breast, with the exception of saying to one or two of his most
confidential friends that plural marriage was a correct principle. [See
note 4, end of section.] In 1841 the prophet introduced the practice of
this principle into the church by taking to himself plural wives.[201]
He also taught the principle to a number of the leading elders and they
obeyed it.
{397}NOTES.
1. Prosperity and Disaster which Overwhelmed the Church at
Kirtland.--Speculation was rife all over the United States at
that time, [1837] and the Saints did not escape the contagion.
They started a banking institution, engaged in mercantile pursuits
and land speculation. For a time they were prosperous and wealth
rapidly accumulated among them. Sidney Rigdon declared, in a burst of
enthusiasm, that the glory of the latter days was now being ushered
in, and that Zion would soon become the glory of the whole earth; when
the Lord for silver would bring gold; for iron, brass; and for stones,
iron. But a wave of financial disaster swept over the entire country.
Banking institutions went down before it; thousands of merchants were
hopelessly ruined; and in the general disaster Kirtland did not escape.
Like the inhabitants of other towns, her people were overwhelmed with
financial embarrassment. "Distress, ruin and poverty," says Elder
Taylor, "seemed to prevail. Apostates and corrupt men were prowling
about as so many wolves seeking whom they might devour. They were
oppressive, cruel, heartless, devising every pretext that the most
satanic malignity could invent to harass the Saints. Fraud, false
accusation and false swearing, vexatious law suits, personal violence,
and bare-faced robbery abounded. They were truly afficted, persecuted
and tormented."--Life of John Taylor, p. 52.
2. Persecution of the Saints in Missouri.--This brings us to the
close of our story of the Missouri Persecutions. We have seen a people
start out under the direction of the Lord to build up the city of Zion
to his holy name; but who, through their disobedience and failure to
observe strictly those conditions upon which the Lord promised them
success in accomplishing so great and glorious a work, were driven
entirely from the State where that city is to be erected. We have seen
a proud, sovereign state, with a constitution that guaranteed the
largest possible religious and civil liberty to its citizens, ignore
the spirit and letter of that constitution; shamelessly violate the
laws passed in pursuance of it; and the officers of the state, from
the chief executive down, combine to destroy the Saints of God, or
drive them from the State: in accomplishing which they were guilty of
the most cruel barbarity. It is no palliation of their offense to say
that the Saints had not strictly kept the commandments of God. Their
offenses were against the laws of God rather than the laws of man. So
far as the state of Missouri was concerned, she was not justified in
trampling on her own constitution and laws, and committing outrages
that would bring to the cheek of {398} a savage the blush of shame. It
was a case where offenses must needs come, but woe, woe, unto them by
whom they come!--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.
3. Commerce, Afterwards Nauvoo.--The place was literally a
wilderness. The land was mostly covered with trees and bushes, and
much of it was so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty a footman
could get through, and totally impossible for teams. Commerce was
unhealthful, very few could live there; but believing that it might
become a healthful place by the blessing of heaven to the Saints, and
no more eligible place presenting itself, I considered it wisdom to
make an attempt to build up a city.--Joseph Smith.
4. The Book of Abraham.--The rolls of papyrus filled with
Egyptian characters and hieroglyphics, from which Joseph translated
the Book of Abraham, came into his possession in the following manner:
In 1831 the celebrated French traveler, Antonio Sebolo, penetrated
Egypt as far as the ancient city of Thebes, under a license procured
from Mehemet Ali--then Viceroy of Egypt--through the influence of
Chevalier Drovetti, the French Consul. Sebolo employed four hundred
and thirty-three men for four months and two days, either Turkish or
Egyptian soldiers, paying them from four to six cents a day per man.
They entered the Catatombs near ancient Thebes on the seventh of June,
1831, and procured eleven mummies. These were shipped to Alexandria,
and from there the great traveler started with his treasures for Paris.
But en route for the French capital, Sebolo put in at Trieste, where
he was taken sick, and after an illness of ten days, died. This was
in 1832. Previous to his death he willed his Egyptian treasures to
his nephew, Michael H. Chandler, who was then living in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, but whom Sebolo believed to be in Dublin, to which city
he ordered the mummies shipped. Mr. Chandler ordered the mummies
forwarded to New York from Dublin, where he took possession of them.
Here the coffins for the first time were opened, and in them was found
two rolls of papyrus covered with engraving. While still in the customs
house, Mr. C. was informed by a gentleman, a stranger to him, that
no one in the city could translate the characters; but was referred
to Joseph Smith, who, the stranger informed him, possessed some
kind of gift or power by which he had previously translated similar
characters. Joseph Smith was then unknown to Mr. C. The mummies were
shipped to Philadelphia; and from there Mr. C. traveled through the
country, exhibited them and the rolls of papyrus, reaching Kirtland
in July, 1835, and the Saints purchased some of the mummies and the
two rolls of papyrus, one of which was the writing of Abraham and the
other of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. The Book of Abraham has been
translated and published, at least in part. {399} [See Pearl of Great
Price. Elder George Reynolds has published a work on this subject, "The
Divine Authenticity of the Book of Abraham," which should be carefully
studied by every elder in Israel.]
5. The Establishment of Plural Marriage.--The principle of
plural marriage was first revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831, but being
forbidden to make it public, or to teach it as a doctrine of the
gospel, at that time, he confided the facts to only a very few of
his intimate associates. Among them were Oliver Cowdery and Lyman E.
Johnson, the latter confiding the fact to his traveling companion,
Elder Orson Pratt, in the year 1832. And this great principle remained
concealed in the bosoms of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the few to whom
he revealed it, until he was commanded, about 1842, to instruct the
leading members of the priesthood, and those who were most faithful
and intelligent, and best prepared to receive it. In relation thereto,
at which time and subsequently until his martyrdom, the subject in
connection with the great principles of baptism, redemption and
sealing for the dead, became the great theme of his life, and as the
late President George A. Smith repeatedly said to me and others--"The
prophet seemed irresistibly moved by the power of God to establish that
principle not only in theory, in the hearts and minds of his brethren,
but in practice also, he himself having led the way."--Joseph F. Smith.
REVIEW.
1. What appeared to be the prospects of the Saints at Kirtland?
2. What influence did wealth have upon them?
3. What did the great apostasy at Kirtland result in?
4. State what you can about the founding of Far West.
5. What effect did the presence of the Prophet Joseph have in Missouri?
6. Tell what you can of the expulsion from Nauvoo.
7. Where did the church find a temporary resting place after its
expulsion from Missouri?
8. Where did the church next settle?
9. What is the meaning of the word "Nauvoo?"
10. What can you say of Nauvoo being a place of rest to the Prophet
Joseph and the Saints?
11. Enumerate the several things which employed the attention of the
Prophet and the Saints at Nauvoo.
{400} 12. Where was celestial marriage introduced?
13. What is celestial marriage?
14. In what light was celestial marriage looked upon by the Saints?
15. What was the effect of this principle upon their minds?
16. Is it sacrilege to believe that man may become like his
Father--God? (See note.)
17. What beside marriage for eternity may celestial marriage include?
18. When was the rightfulness of plural marriage first made known to
the Prophet Joseph?
19. About what time was this principle introduced into the Church?
20. Under what circumstances and on what date was the revelation on
celestial marriage written out? (See foot note, also note 5.)
{401}