the scourge of zion's camp—joseph and hyrum attacked by cholera—their deliverance—the camp disbanded—threats against the prophet—his fearlessness—joseph returns to kirtland—sylvester smith's charge of impurity—the prophet vindicated—visit to michigan—the law of tithing.
the scourge came as had been foretold, and the camp of zion felt its terrible effects. moanings and lamentations filled the air. in the divine economy it is not unfrequently the case that the innocent suffer with the wrong-doers. "the lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked." in this attack some faithful men fell victims under the awful power of this scourge, and the entire camp suffered more or less. in organized bodies of saints experience has proved that it is not always the element which is guilty of transgression which alone has to endure the consequences, but the entire body which harbors or permits the impurity has to suffer. if it were not so, there would not be such imperative reason for a community to look well to the work of self-cleansing. it is when the judgment of heaven falls upon the obedient as well as the careless and disobedient of any organization that the people are taught to strive unceasingly, not alone each for his own but all for the general purification. some of the men who went down from kirtland with joseph and who had joined him on the road were among the noblest of human kind. they were of such exalted faith and courage that their righteous fame stands with that of the greatest disciples of old. they adhered to the lord's commandments and to his prophet with all the fidelity of their souls. but other men—unjust, selfish, rebellious by nature—were also among the number of zion's camp; and as soon as they became wearied by hardships they betrayed their own lack of innate nobility. it was this latter class of men which brought affliction upon the camp.
it was about the 22nd day of june, 1834, when the cholera appeared in zion's camp at fishing river. during the next week it raged in the midst of the party. sixty-eight of the saints were attacked and thirteen of them died. among the fatal cases was that of algernon sidney gilbert, a man of talent and many good works, though not always able to subdue self. just before the destroyer seized him, the prophet called him to journey to kirtland to receive there his endowments and from there to proclaim the everlasting gospel of redemption. elder gilbert's answer was: "i would rather die than go forth to preach the gospel to the gentiles." when he thus answered the prophet of god he was full of strength and health; but in a few hours after the scourge had breathed upon him he was dead. joseph and hyrum administered assiduously to the sick, and soon they were in the grasp of the cholera. they were together when it seized them; and together they knelt down and prayed for deliverance. three times they bowed in supplication, the third time with a vow that they would not rise until deliverance from the destroyer was vouchsafed. while they were thus upon their knees a vision of comfort came to hyrum. he saw their mother afar off in kirtland praying for her absent sons, and he felt that the lord was answering her cry. hyrum told joseph of the comforting vision and together they arose, made whole every whit. in ministering to their other brethren they discovered that to dip an afflicted person in cold water afforded great relief and this was practiced generally until the scourge had run its threatened course and had left the camp.
during the days of the scourge the prophet had moved his party from fishing river. on the 23rd of june, they had reached within five or six miles of liberty in clay county, when general atchison and several other persons went out from the town to meet the prophet. they begged him not to go to liberty as the people had become much enraged. accepting the advice, joseph turned from the road to liberty and encamped on the banks of rush creek.
on the 25th of june the prophet announced by letter to general atchison and party, that he had concluded to disperse his company, in order to allay the prejudice and fear on the part of citizens of clay county. he requested the gentlemen to whom his note was addressed to inform the governor of the action thus taken; because the prophet knew that dunklin's ears were being filled with the most malicious rumors concerning the purpose entertained by zion's camp. in execution of his promise joseph disbanded his party, and the brethren scattered themselves among the saints of that region.
the next day a report was received from one s. c. owens, a leader of the jackson county mob, in which he declared that his people would not accept the proposition of the saints—to buy the lands of the men who objected to the saints returning to their homes in jackson county—nor anything akin to it. he coolly recommended that the saints "cast their eye" on a distant and uninhabited spot which he named, "to see if that was not a county calculated for them."
one appeal after another was being made to the governor of the state; but so far as practical help was concerned, all were unanswered. active hostilities in a general sense against the saints had ceased for the time being, and there was some reason for hoping that they would be allowed to remain in clay and surrounding regions. all the honest and fair-minded settlers in that land were forced to recognize the good qualities of the exiles from jackson. the saints were industrious, charitable and thrifty. among them were no drunkenness, brawls nor crimes which too often gave a bad character to other border communities.
to this prospect of peace the prophet's personality had greatly contributed. in all the march through missouri his magnificent qualities had impressed themselves upon the people whom he met. his course had been that of a worthy leader among men. he had shown in all his intercourse with the inhabitants of missouri the utmost courage and generosity. it was his nature to extend consideration and kindness towards others, and he was as regardful of the rights of his fellow-men at this time as always before and always after during his lifetime. the leading men of clay county who were brought into contact with him felt that he possessed remarkable power. there was that in his dignified deportment and in the fearless glance of his blue eyes which warmed the souls of other men to his own, and they submitted to his charm of manner, even when they had come to oppose him. and when at last, to allay the fears of his avowed enemies, he dispersed his party, while surrounded by vindictive mobs who sought his life and the lives of his associates, he evinced a courage and a wisdom as grand as they were rare.
jackson county was alive with men who had sworn to assassinate him if he ventured within their reach. what could have been more admirable than his noble disregard of all their threats! on the 1st of july, 1834, unattended, except by two or three personal friends, he crossed the missouri river from clay into jackson county, visited independence and saw all that goodly land which the lord had promised as a zion, but which now was under the desecration of murder, rapine and a veritable reign of terror.
he stood among the ruins of once peaceful homes and gazed upon once fruitful fields which wicked men had laid waste, and his great heart swelled nigh to bursting. did any premonition come to him of that awful hour when he should next look upon these scenes; when in chains he should be carried through the streets of independence, as captive kings of old were dragged at their victor's chariot wheels to make the populace shout with cruel joy! well might joseph, prophet of god, have indescribable emotions as he gazed upon this spot, hallowed in his mind by so many tender recollections and so many promised glories. mobs had done their work, zion was desolate. joseph himself was free. but the day was not far distant, when he should, as a captive, be brought to independence and his enemies should gloat over the tortured hero and his pale but undaunted face.
the prophet had gone to independence without ostentation, but without fear. while he prayed there, the eyes of the wicked were blinded, that they knew him not; and when he returned to his brethren he was unscathed.
on the 3rd day of july, the prophet organized a high council near liberty, in clay county, and for several days he was engaged in imparting instruction to the members of that body, and such others as desired to listen to his words of wisdom.
an appeal was made and published to the world regarding the grievances of the saints, and asking for the restoration of their rights, and for the privilege to live in peace.
on the 9th day of july, joseph, in company with his brother hyrum and frederick g. williams and others, departed for kirtland. returning, the journey was as toilsome as at first. the distance to be traversed was one thousand miles, and but few of the comforts of civilization existed for them along the path. heat, thirst, hunger and pain of body alike oppressed them and were alike endured with patient fortitude. about the 1st day of august joseph reached his home.
in leaving the saints in missouri the prophet had hoped that for a time, at least, they would be blessed with protection from their enemies, and that the brethren would be accorded the opportunity to gain a maintenance for their suffering wives and children. although before he parted with them many appeals had been made for a restoration to their possessions in jackson county, it is not probable that he entertained any hope that governor dunklin would accomplish such a courageous act. joseph's subsequent zeal in building up kirtland seems to indicate that he had prescience of the continued exile of the church from the land of zion.
shortly after the prophet's return to kirtland, he submitted before the high council some charges which had been made against himself by one of the rebellious spirits in zion's camp. this man, sylvester smith, had become angered on the march by joseph's rebukes, which were only uttered in kindness and to secure proper discipline and mutual concession and forbearance among the brethren; and in his rage sylvester had declared that the prophet was corrupt in his heart. the complaint made by sylvester did not include any specific charge of impurity, and the prophet might have passed it by without notice. but he wanted to teach the brethren that no man was above the law of god, and he cheerfully and patiently submitted to an investigation. it was made fairly and fully, with no undue favor to him; and the result was a complete vindication of the prophet's character and eventually a confession by sylvester smith of his own injustice, wrong-doing and evil inspiration. thus, by his own example, joseph showed to his brethren the saintly course for the settlement of difficulties.
joseph gave another evidence of his devotion to the work and his personal humility, at this time. labor upon the house of the lord in kirtland was in progress, but the poverty of the people and the surrounding difficulties made the advancement very slow. only thirty families of saints were then resident in kirtland, and the toil and self-denial of the little handful cannot be described. joseph gave his services as foreman in the temple stone quarry, and labored day after day with his own hands in bringing out the materials for that important structure. at the same time hyrum was showing similar evidence of his industry and meekness. it was he who lifted the first spadeful of earth for the foundation trench, and he continued from that time on to watch and work and pray for the success of this sacred undertaking.
having placed all things in order in kirtland for the progress of the lord's house, joseph departed on the 16th of october, 1834, with his brother hyrum and others to visit the saints in the state of michigan. they went by water, and on board the steamer they met a man who called himself elmer. not knowing who they were, in the course of conversation he said: "i am personally acquainted with joe smith; i have heard him preach his lies, and now since he is dead i am glad. i heard joe smith preach in bainbridge, chenango county, new york, five years ago, and knew him because he had such a dark complexion." then he continued his exultations at the supposed death of the prophet. this is an illustration of the malice and ignorance which prevailed at that time. joseph was not dead; his complexion was not dark; he had never been in bainbridge. elmer had probably heard the tirade of some sectarian minister against joseph smith and thought he was praising god when he lied about the prophet, and that he was doing christ's service by exulting in his supposed death.
after preaching to the michigan saints for a brief time and giving and receiving comfort in their society, joseph and his companions returned to kirtland, reaching there about the last of october. during the month of november with so many labors upon his hands joseph found every moment of time occupied. he was able to accomplish prodigious labors, because he obeyed the rule which he had established over his life and which he tersely states:
"when the lord commands, do it."
his scrupulous regard for the interests of others is shown by a circumstance which occurred during the last of november, 1834. some brethren and sisters representing a branch of the church in the east called at kirtland. they had in their possession means with which to purchase lands in zion; but in view of the action of mobs and the inaction of officials, they could not well proceed to missouri. the money was offered to the church in kirtland, or to joseph as its president; but as this was not the purpose for which the means had been donated, he would only take it in trust to be paid back with interest in the ensuing spring; and he gave proper security for the fulfillment of these conditions. the means thus obtained was not devoted to his personal use, but was entirely employed in the furtherance of church works.
it was with the close of 1834 that a pledge of tithing was first given, and the custom now in force was begun, the doctrine having been foreshadowed in previous revelations from the almighty. the principle of tithing as now practiced very properly begun with the prophet. on the 29th day of november, 1834, joseph united in prayer with oliver cowdery for a continuation of divine blessings; and being filled with joy on this occasion, they entered into a covenant with the lord as follows:
"that if the lord will prosper us in our business, and open the way before us, that we may obtain means to pay our debts, that we be not troubled nor brought into disrepute before the world, nor his people; after that, of all that he shall give us, we will give a tenth, to be bestowed upon the poor in his church, or as he shall command; and that we will be faithful over that which he has entrusted to our care, that we may obtain much; and that our children after us, shall remember to observe this sacred and holy covenant; and that our children and our children's children may know of the same, we have subscribed our names with our own hands.
"joseph smith,
"oliver cowdery.
"and now, o father, as thou didst prosper our father jacob, and bless him with protection and prosperity wherever he went, from the time he made a like covenant before and with thee; as thou didst, even the same night, open the heavens unto him, and manifest great mercy and power, and give him promises, so wilt thou do with us his sons; and as his blessings prevailed above his progenitors unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills, even so may our blessings prevail like his; and may thy servants be preserved from the power and influence of wicked and unrighteous men; may every weapon formed against us fall upon the head of him who shall form it; may we be blessed with a name and a place among the saints here, and thy sanctified when they shall rest. amen."
