D&C 111-120
D&C 111
“In July of 1836 Brother William Burgess arrived in Kirtland and told Joseph Smith that
he knew where a large sum of money was hidden in the cellar of a house in Salem,
Massachusetts. He claimed to be the only person living who knew of the treasure and
the location of the house. Salem was a prosperous seaport with a world trade, so it
was plausible that treasure would be located there. Hunting for buried treasure,
especially that left by Spanish pirates, was still widespread among Americans in that
area. Persuaded by Burgess, the Prophet, with Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and Oliver
Cowdery, left Kirtland in late July for New York City. After arriving there they spent four
days consulting with creditors about their debts. Oliver Cowdery also inquired about
printing notes for a prospective Church-sponsored bank. From New York the party
sailed to Boston and from there they traveled by rail to Salem to meet Burgess and to
find out more about some money hidden in that city.
This was not Joseph Smith’s first visit to Salem. When he was seven years old he had
gone there with his Uncle Jesse to recover from a serious leg operation. Even with the
help of Burgess, the brethren searched in vain for the house with the supposed
treasure. Burgess soon departed, explaining that Salem had changed so much since he
was last there that he could not find the house. The brethren persisted in looking,
however. They eventually rented a dwelling matching Burgess’s description, but they
did not find any money” (CHFT 170).
D&C 112
-D&C 112 was the final revelation given in Kirtland.
Joseph fled Kirtland on January 12 1838, fleeing to
Northern Missouri. The rest of the saints would follow,
with a large body of 500 saints departing on July 6 1838.
-”Between November 1837 and June 1838, possibly two
or three hundred Kirtland Saints withdrew from the
Church, representing from 10 to 15 percent of the
membership there” (Backman, Heavens Resound, 328).
-What happened in Kirtland between the blissful
dedication (March 27 1836) and Joseph’s forced exile?
The Kirtland Safety Society
“The number of banks in the United States had nearly doubled during
the 1830s as the demand for credit and money increased. Banks
provided loans, paper currency, a medium of exchange, and a safe
depository for money. In Kirtland, Joseph Smith and other Church
leaders pursued the idea of establishing a bank. With legal assistance, an
article of agreement was drafted to incorporate a bank in Kirtland, which
would be called the Kirtland Safety Society. The Kirtland Safety Society
opened for business on 2 January 1837” (CHFT 170-172).
Failure of the Safety Society
“Serious problems soon arose to undermine the success of the bank. A lot of
the other banks refused to accept the Safety Society’s notes as legal tender, and the
anti-Mormon newspapers branded the currency as worthless. Furthermore, the
society’s capital was primarily in the form of land; it did not possess much specie (hard
currency, such as gold and silver) for satisfying any large demands for redemption of
its paper currency. Enemies of the Church obtained enough notes to initiate a run on
the bank, forcing the society to suspend payment in specie to its customers a few
weeks after the first notes were issued. Lack of a charter also hindered the company’s
credibility. As a result, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were charged with violating
the banking statutes of Ohio and brought to trial.
“As the Kirtland Safety Society overextended itself, it was finally forced to
close its doors in November 1837. The two hundred individuals who invested in the
bank lost nearly everything they had invested. Joseph Smith’s losses from the failure of
the company were greater than anyone else’s. While seeking to achieve success with
the bank and, at the same time, to purchase land in Kirtland and goods for his store,
he accumulated debts amounting to approximately one hundred thousand dollars”
(CHFT 170-172).
Thomas B. Marsh vs. Brigham Young
-If he hadn’t apostatized, you’d be attending TBMU-Idaho or if Orson Pratt
hadn’t fallen away briefly, OPU-Idaho
-Thomas was told “rebel not against my servant Joseph” (D&C 112:15) but did
and we know the rest of the story.
-Brigham, on the other hand, remained true to the Prophet Joseph
throughout. In February 1837, in Joseph’s absence, several elders called a
meeting in the temple. Brigham and Heber C. Kimball attended and after
listening to the arguments against the Prophet, Brigham arose and testified,
“Joseph was a Prophet, and I knew it, and that they might rail and slander him
as much as they pleased; they could not destroy the appointment of the
Prophet of God, they could only destroy their own
authority, cut the thread that bound them to the Prophet and to God, and
sink themselves to hell.”(History of Brigham Young, Deseret News, 10 Feb.
1858, 386).
Location of Adam-Ondi-Ahman—D&C 116
“Adam-ondi-Ahman is located immediately on the north side of Grand
River, in Daviess county, Missouri, about twenty-five miles north of Far
West. It is situated on an elevated spot of ground, which renders the
place as healthful as any part of the United States, and overlooking the
river and the country about, it is certainly a beautiful location” (Joseph
Smith, HC 3:39, June 16, 1838.).
The Past of Adam-Ondi-Ahman—D&C
107:53-57
1)”brethren of Caldwell [Missouri] went directly to Adam-ondi-Ahman. . . .
“While there we laid out a city on a high elevated piece of land. . . .
“The Prophet Joseph called upon Brigham [Young] , myself and others, saying,
‘Brethren, come go along with me, and I will show you something.’ He led us a
short distance to a place where were the ruins of three altars built of stone,
one above the other, and one standing a little back of the other, like unto the
pulpits in the Kirtland Temple, representing the order of three grades of
Priesthood; ‘There,’ said Joseph, ‘is the place where Adam offered up sacrifice
after he was cast out of the garden.’ The altar stood at the highest point of
the bluff. I went and examined the place several times while I remained
there” (Life of Heber C. Kimball, August 1838, pp. 208-10.).
2)The place of the meeting of the Patriarchs--D&C 107:53-57
Jackson County, Missouri=Garden of
Eden
Brigham Young stated, “Joseph the Prophet told me that
the garden of Eden was in Jackson [County] Missouri.”
(Journal of Wilford Woodruff, vol. 5, 15 Mar. 1857,
Archives Division, Church Historical Dept., Salt Lake
City.) Heber C. Kimball said: “From the Lord, Joseph
learned that Adam had dwelt on the land of America,
and that the Garden of Eden was located where
Jackson County now is.” (Andrew Jenson, Historical
Record, 9 vols., Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson, 1888,
7:439; see also Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C.
Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1967, p. 219.)
The Future of Adam-Ondi-Ahman—
D&C 116; D&C 27:5-14; Daniel 7:9-14
“…with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world” (D&C
27:14)
“This grand council of Priesthood will be composed, not only of those
who are faithful who now dwell on this earth, but also of the prophets and
apostles of old, who have had directing authority. Others may also be there, but
if so they will be there by appointment, for this is to be an official council called
to attend to the most momentous matters concerning the destiny of this earth.
“When this gathering is held, the world will not know of it; the
members of the Church at large will not know of it, yet it shall be preparatory to
the coming in the clouds of glory of our Savior Jesus Christ as the Prophet Joseph
Smith has said. The Saints cannot know—except for those who officially shall be
called into this council—for it shall precede the coming of Jesus Christ as a thief
in the night, unbeknown to all the world” (Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to
Perfection, 1943, pp. 788-91).
The Extermination Order
Governor Lilburn Boggs , hearing the exaggerated reports of Mormon
violence came to the area. On 27 October, he ordered his militia to
war. Relying solely upon the false reports of a Mormon insurrection,
Boggs asserted that the Saints had defied the laws and initiated
hostilities. Therefore, he wrote, “The Mormons must be treated as
enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if
necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond all
description” (HC 3:175). By this time public opinion was so strong
against the Saints that even those who knew the truth would not side
openly with them. Governor Boggs’s “extermination order” was an
outgrowth and expression of the popular will.
D&C 114—David Patten/Battle of Crooked River
Captain Samuel Bogart from Jackson County, an enemy of the Saints…ranged the line
between Caldwell and Ray counties, allegedly trying to prevent a Mormon attack. But instead of merely
conducting their assigned patrols, Bogart’s men twice entered Caldwell County and attacked the
homes of the Saints, ordering the members to leave the state and taking three Mormon men
prisoners. “On hearing the report, Judge Elias Higbee, the first judge of the county, ordered Lieutenant
Colonel Hinkle, the highest officer in command in Far West, to send out a company to disperse the
mob and retake their prisoners, whom, it was reported, they intended to murder that night.”
Members of the militia had been waiting several days for a call to arms. When the drums
beat at midnight calling them to the public square, seventy-five men were mobilized into two
companies commanded by David W. Patten and Charles C. Rich. As dawn approached they arrived at a
ford on the banks of the Crooked River, twenty miles from Far West. Patten’s patrol approached the
crossing, unaware of Bogart’s concealed position along the banks of the river. Suddenly one of Bogart’s
guards opened fire. Elder Patten ordered a charge, but silhouetted by the dawn, his men made good
targets. In the quick, hard-fought skirmish, several men on each side were wounded. One of the
wounded was Elder Patten of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The Prophet reported, “Brother Gideon Carter was shot in the head, and left dead on the
ground so defaced that the brethren did not know him.” The brethren freed the three prisoners, one
of them was also wounded, drove the enemy across the river, and then turned to care for their
wounded. Elder Patten was carried to the home of Stephen Winchester near Far West, where he died
several hours later. He thus became the first martyred Apostle in this dispensation. His faith in the
restored gospel was such that he had once expressed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the desire to die the
death of a martyr. “The Prophet, greatly moved, expressed extreme sorrow, ‘for,’ said he to David,
‘when a man of your faith asks the Lord for anything, he generally gets it.’” At his funeral in Far West
two days after the battle, Joseph Smith eulogized him: “There lies a man that has done just as he said
he would—he has laid down his life for his friends.” (CHFT 199-200)
Haun’s Mill
-Immediately after the battle of Crooked River, the Prophet Joseph
Smith advised all Saints in outlying areas to move to Far West or
Adam-ondi-Ahman. Unwilling to abandon his property, Jacob Haun
disregarded the Prophet’s counsel and instructed the small
community to remain. This unwise decision proved fatal.
-On Tuesday afternoon, 30 October, approximately 240 armed men
approached Haun’s Mill.
-Women & children fled to the woods; the men sought protection in
the blacksmith shop.
-The rabble entered the blacksmith shop and found ten-year-old
Sardius Smith, son of Amanda Smith, hiding under the blacksmith’s
bellows. One ruffian put the muzzle of his gun against the boy’s skull
and blew off the upper part of his head. The man later explained,
“Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a
Mormon.”
-Thomas McBride was hacked to death with a corn knife.
-At least 17 people were killed in the Haun’s Mill Massacre
Siege of Far West
-Anti-Mormon forces outnumbered the Saints 5 to 1
-General Lucas convinced Colonel George Hinkle, of the Saints’ militia, to turn
over Church leaders for the safety of the main body of the saints
-While Joseph and the brethren laid on the ground in a cold rain (remember it
is now Nov. 1st), an illegal night time court martial was held and they were
sentenced to death.
-General Alexander Doniphan refused to carry out the order, saying “It is coldblooded murder. I will not obey your order. My brigade
shall march for Liberty tomorrow morning, at 8 o’clock; and if you execute
these men, I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me
God.” Intimidated by Doniphan’s courageous response, Lucas lost his nerve.
The prayers of the Saints were answered.
-The Mormon militia was ordered out of the city and the Missouri militia
moved in, robbing, vandalizing, raping and plundering; they were later told by
General John B. Clark “As for your leaders, do not once think—do not imagine
for a moment—do not let it enter your mind that they will be delivered, or
that you will see their faces again, for their fate is fixed—their die is cast—
their doom is sealed” (HC 3:203).
Richmond Prison
One November night the brethren listened for several hours to
“obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies and filthy
language” as the guards rehearsed the atrocities they had inflicted on
the Saints. Parley P. Pratt lay next to the Prophet and listened until he
could “scarcely refrain from rising
. . . and rebuking the guards.” Suddenly Joseph Smith rose to his feet
shackled and unarmed and spoke in a “voice of thunder”: “‘SILENCE,
ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you,
and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and bear
such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!’
“He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained and
without a weapon; calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked
upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to
the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a
corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet
till a change of guards.” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, 179-180).