The Missouri Persecutions. B. H. Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ 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 СКАЧАТЬ