82 chapters
30 hour read
Selected Chapters
82 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
No chapter of American history has remained so long unwritten as that which tells the story of the Mormons. There are many books on the subject, histories written under the auspices of the Mormon church, which are hopelessly biased as well as incomplete; more trustworthy works which cover only certain periods; and books in the nature of "exposures" by former members of the church, which the Mormons attack as untruthful, and which rest, in the minds of the general reader, under a suspicion of per
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — FACILITY OF HUMAN BELIEF
CHAPTER I. — FACILITY OF HUMAN BELIEF
Summing up his observations of the Mormons as he found them in Utah while secretary of the territory, five years after their removal to the Great Salt Lake valley, B. G. Ferris wrote, "The real miracle [of their success] consists in so large a body of men and women, in a civilized land, and in the nineteenth century, being brought under, governed, and controlled by such gross religious imposture." This statement presents, in concise form, the general view of the surprising features of the succes
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — THE SMITH FAMILY
CHAPTER II. — THE SMITH FAMILY
Among the families who settled in Ontario County, New York, in 1816, was that of one Joseph Smith. It consisted of himself, his wife, and nine children. The fourth of these children, Joseph Smith, Jr., became the Mormon prophet. The Smiths are said to have been of Scotch ancestry. It was the mother, however, who exercised the larger influence on her son's life, and she has left very minute details of her own and her father's family.* Her father, Solomon Mack, was a native of Lyme, Connecticut. T
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — HOW JOSEPH SMITH BECAME A MONEY-DIGGER
CHAPTER III. — HOW JOSEPH SMITH BECAME A MONEY-DIGGER
The elder Smith, as we have seen, was known as a money-digger while a resident of Vermont. Of course that subject as a matter of conversation in his family, and his sons were a character to share in his belief in the existence of hidden treasure. The territory around Palmyra was as good ground for their explorations as any in Vermont, and they soon let their neighbors know of a possibility of riches that lay within their reach. The father, while a resident of Vermont, also claimed ability to loc
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDEN BIBLE
CHAPTER IV. — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDEN BIBLE
Just when Smith's attention was originally diverted from the discovery of buried money to the discovery of a buried Bible engraved on gold plates remains one of the unexplained points in his history. He was so much of a romancer that his own statements at the time, which were carefully collected by Howe, are contradictory. The description given of the buried volume itself changed from time to time, giving strength in this way to the theory that Rigdon was attracted to Smith by the rumor of his d
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE REVELATION OF THE BIBLE
CHAPTER V. — THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE REVELATION OF THE BIBLE
The precise date when Joe's attention was first called to the possibility of changing the story about his alleged golden plates so that they would serve as the basis for a new Bible such as was finally produced, and as a means of making him a prophet, cannot be ascertained. That some directing mind gave the final shape to the scheme is shown by the difference between the first accounts of his discovery by means of the stone, and the one provided in his autobiography. We have also evidence that t
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF THE BIBLE
CHAPTER VI. — TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF THE BIBLE
The only one of his New York neighbors who seems to have taken a practical interest in Joe's alleged discovery was a farmer named Martin Harris, who lived a little north of Palmyra. Harris was a religious enthusiast, who had been a Quaker (as his wife was still), a Universalist, a Baptist, and a Presbyterian, and whose sanity it would have been difficult to establish in a surrogate's court. The Rev. Dr. Clark, who knew him intimately, says, "He had always been a firm believer in dreams, visions,
50 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. — THE SPAULDING MANUSCRIPT
CHAPTER VII. — THE SPAULDING MANUSCRIPT
The history of the Mormon Bible has been brought uninterruptedly to this point in order that the reader may be able to follow clearly each step that had led up to its publication. It is now necessary to give attention to two subjects intimately connected with the origin of this book, viz., the use made of what is known as the "Spaulding manuscript," in supplying the historical part of the work, and Sidney Rigdon's share in its production. The most careful student of the career of Joseph Smith, J
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII. — SIDNEY RIGDON
CHAPTER VIII. — SIDNEY RIGDON
The man who had more to do with founding the Mormon church than Joseph Smith, Jr., even if we exclude any share in the production of the Mormon Bible, and yet who is unknown even by name to most persons to whom the names of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are familiar, was Sidney Rigdon. Elder John Hyde, Jr., was well within the truth when he wrote: "The compiling genius of Mormonism was Sidney Rigdon. Smith had boisterous impetuosity but no foresight. Polygamy was not the result of his policy bu
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX. — "THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL"
CHAPTER IX. — "THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL"
Having presented the evidence which shows that the historical part of the Mormon Bible was supplied by the Spaulding manuscript, we may now pay attention to other evidence, which indicates that the entire conception of a revelation of golden plates by an angel was not even original, and also that its suggestor was Rigdon. This is a subject which has been overlooked by investigators of the Mormon Bible. That the idea of the revelation as described by Smith in his autobiography was not original is
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X. — THE WITNESSES TO THE PLATES
CHAPTER X. — THE WITNESSES TO THE PLATES
In his accounts to his neighbors of the revelation to him of the golden plates on which the "record" was written, Smith always declared that no person but him could look on those plates and live. But when the printed book came out, it, like all subsequent editions to this day, was preceded by the following "testimonies":— "THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES "Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we through the grace of God the Father, and
34 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI. — THE MORMON BIBLE
CHAPTER XI. — THE MORMON BIBLE
The Mormon Bible,* both in a literary and a theological sense, is just such a production as would be expected to result from handing over to Smith and his fellow-"translators" a mass of Spaulding's material and new doctrinal matter for collation and copying. Not one of these men possessed any literary skill or accurate acquaintance with the Scriptures. David Whitmer, in an interview in Missouri in his later years, said, "So illiterate was Joseph at that time that he didn't know that Jerusalem wa
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII. — ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER XII. — ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
The director of the steps taken to announce to the world a new Bible and a new church realized, of course, that there must be priests, under some name, to receive members and to dispense its blessing. No person openly connected with Smith in the work of translation had been a clergyman. Accordingly, on May 15, 1829 (still following the prophet's own account), while Smith and Cowdery were yet busy with the work of translation, they went into the woods to ask the Lord for fuller information about
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII. — THE MORMONS' BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES—CHURCH GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER XIII. — THE MORMONS' BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES—CHURCH GOVERNMENT
The Mormons teach that, for fourteen hundred years to the time of Smith's "revelations," there had been "a general and awful apostasy from the religion of the New Testament, so that all the known world have been left for centuries without the Church of Christ among them; without a priesthood authorized of God to administer ordinances; that every one of the churches has perverted the Gospel."* As illustrations of this perversion are cited the doing away of immersion for the remission of sins by m
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — THE FIRST CONVERTS AT KIRTLAND
CHAPTER I. — THE FIRST CONVERTS AT KIRTLAND
The four missionaries who had been sent to Ohio under Cowdery's leadership arrived there in October, 1830. Rigdon left Kirtland on his visit to Smith in New York State in the December following, and in January, 1831, he returned to Ohio, taking Smith with him. The party who set out for Ohio, ostensibly to preach to the Lamanites, consisted of Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer, Jr., and Ziba Peterson, the latter one of Smith's original converts, who, it may be noted, was deprived of
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — WILD VAGARIES OF THE CONVERTS
CHAPTER II. — WILD VAGARIES OF THE CONVERTS
The scenes at Kirtland during the first winter of the church there reached the limit of religious enthusiasm. The younger members outdid the elder in manifesting their belief. They saw wonderful lights in the air, and constantly received visions. Mounting stumps in the field, they preached to imaginary congregations, and, picking up stones, they would read on them words which they said disappeared as soon as known. At the evening prayer-meetings the laying on of hands would be followed by a sort
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — GROWTH OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER III. — GROWTH OF THE CHURCH
In order not to interrupt the story of the Mormons' experiences in Ohio, leaving the first steps taken in Missouri to be treated in connection with the regular course of events in that state, it will be sufficient to say here that Cowdery, Pratt, and their two companions continued their journey as far as the western border of Missouri, in the winter of 1830 and 1831, making their headquarters at Independence, Jackson County; that, on receipt of their reports about that country, Smith and Rigdon,
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — GIFTS OF TONGUES AND MIRACLES
CHAPTER IV. — GIFTS OF TONGUES AND MIRACLES
In January, 1833, Smith announced a revival of the "gift of tongues," and instituted the ceremony of washing the feet.* Under the new system, Smith or Rigdon, during a meeting, would call on some brother, or sister, saying, "Father A., if you will rise in the name of Jesus Christ you can speak in tongues." The rule which persons thus called on were to follow was thus explained, "Arise upon your feet, speak or make some sound, continue to make sounds of some kind, and the Lord will make a languag
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — SMITH'S OHIO BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
CHAPTER V. — SMITH'S OHIO BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
When Rigdon returned to Ohio with Smith in January, 1831, it seems to have been his intention to make Kirtland the permanent headquarters of the new church. He had written to his people from Palmyra, "Be it known to you, brethren, that you are dwelling on your eternal inheritance." When Cowdery and his associates arrived in Ohio on their first trip, they announced as the boundaries of the Promised Land the township of Kirtland on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Within two months of h
31 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — LAST DAYS AT KIRTLAND
CHAPTER VI. — LAST DAYS AT KIRTLAND
It is easy to understand that a church whose leaders had such views of financial responsibility as Smith's and Rigdon's, and whose members were ready to apostatize when they could not obtain credit at the prophet's store, was anything but a harmonious body. Smith was not a man to maintain his own dignity or to spare the feelings of his associates. Wilford Woodruff, describing his first sight of the prophet, at Kirtland, in 1834, said he found him with his brother Hyrum, wearing a very old hat an
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — THE DIRECTIONS TO THE SAINTS ABOUT THEIR ZION
CHAPTER I. — THE DIRECTIONS TO THE SAINTS ABOUT THEIR ZION
The state of Missouri, to which the story of the Mormons is now transferred, was, at the time of its admission to the Union, in 1821, called "a promontory of civilization into an ocean of savagery." Wild Indian tribes occupied the practically unexplored region beyond its western boundary, and its own western counties were thinly settled. Jackson County, which in 1900 had 195,193 inhabitants, had a population of 2823 by the census of 1830, and neighboring counties not so many. It was not until 18
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — SMITH'S FIRST VISITS TO MISSOURI—FOUNDING THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE
CHAPTER II. — SMITH'S FIRST VISITS TO MISSOURI—FOUNDING THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE
On June 7, 1831, a "revelation" was given out (Sec. 52) announcing that the next conference would be held in the promised land in Missouri, and directing Smith and Rigdon to go thither, and naming some thirty elders, including John Corrill, David Whitmer, P. P. and Orson Pratt, Martin Harris, and Edward Partridge, who should also make the trip, two by two, preaching by the way. Booth says: "Only about two weeks were allowed them to make preparations for the journey, and most of them left what bu
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — THE EXPULSION FROM JACKSON COUNTY—THE ARMY OF ZION
CHAPTER III. — THE EXPULSION FROM JACKSON COUNTY—THE ARMY OF ZION
The efforts of the church leaders to check too precipitate an emigration to the new Zion were not entirely successful, and, according to the Evening and Morning Star of July, 1833, the Mormons with their families then numbered more than twelve hundred, or about one-third of the total population of the county. The elders had been pushing their proselyting work throughout the States and in Canada, and the idea of a land of plenty appealed powerfully to the new believers, and especially to those of
41 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE JACKSON COUNTY PEOPLE
CHAPTER IV. — FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE JACKSON COUNTY PEOPLE
Meanwhile, the Mormons in Clay County, with the assent of the natives there, had opened a factory for the manufacture of arms "to pay the Jackson mob in their own way,"* and it was rumored that both sides were supplying themselves with cannon, to make the coming contest the more determined. Governor Dunklin, fearing a further injury to the good name of the state, wrote to Colonel J. Thornton urging a compromise, and on June 10 Judge Ryland sent a communication to A. S. Gilbert, asking him to cal
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — IN CLAY, CALDWELL, AND DAVIESS COUNTIES
CHAPTER V. — IN CLAY, CALDWELL, AND DAVIESS COUNTIES
The counties in which the Mormons settled after leaving Jackson County were thinly populated at that time, Clay County having only 5338 inhabitants, according to the census of 1830, and Caldwell, Carroll, and Daviess counties together having only 6617 inhabitants by the census of 1840. County rivalry is always a characteristic of our newly settled states and territories, and the Clay County people welcomed the Mormons as an addition to their number, notwithstanding the ill favor in which they st
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — RADICAL DISSENSIONS IN THE CHURCH—ORIGIN OF THE DANITES—TITHING
CHAPTER VI. — RADICAL DISSENSIONS IN THE CHURCH—ORIGIN OF THE DANITES—TITHING
While the church, in a material sense, might have been as prosperous as Corrill pictured, Smith, on his arrival, found it in the throes of serious internal discord. The month before he reached Far West, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, of the Presidency there, had been tried before a general assembly of the church,* and almost unanimously deposed on several charges, the principal one being a claim on their part to $2000 of the church funds which they had bound the Bishop to pay to them. Whitmer wa
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. — BEGINNING OF ACTIVE HOSTILITIES
CHAPTER VII. — BEGINNING OF ACTIVE HOSTILITIES
Smith had shown his dominating spirit as soon as he arrived at Far West. In April, 1838, he announced a "revelation" (Sec. 115), commanding the building of a house of worship there, the work to begin on July 4, the speedy building up of that city, and the establishment of Stakes in the regions round about. This last requirement showed once more Smith's lack of judgment, and it became a source of irritation to the non-Mormons, as it was thought to foreshadow a design to control the neighboring co
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII. — A STATE OF CIVIL WAR
CHAPTER VIII. — A STATE OF CIVIL WAR
All peaceable occupations were now at an end in Daviess County. General Atchison reported to the governor that, on arriving there on September 17, he found the county practically deserted, the Gentiles being gathered in one camp and the Mormons in another. A justice of the peace, in a statement to the governor, declared, "The Mormons are so numerous and so well armed [in Daviess and Caldwell counties] that the judicial power of the counties is wholly unable to execute any civil or criminal proce
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX. — THE FINAL EXPULSION FROM THE STATE
CHAPTER IX. — THE FINAL EXPULSION FROM THE STATE
At eight o'clock the next morning the commander of the militia sent a flag of truce to the Mormons which Colonel Hinckle, for the Mormons, met. General Lucas submitted the following terms, as necessary to carry out the governor's orders: 1. To give up their leaders to be tried and punished. 2. To make an appropriation of their property, all who have taken up arms, to the payment of their debts and indemnity for damage done by them. 3. That the balance should leave the State, and be protected out
33 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — THE RECEPTION OF THE MORMONS
CHAPTER I. — THE RECEPTION OF THE MORMONS
The state of Illinois, when the Mormons crossed the Missouri River to settle in it, might still be considered a pioneer country. Iowa, to the west of it, was a territory, and only recently organized as such. The population of the whole state was only 467,183 in 1840, as compared with 4,821,550 in 1900. Young as it was, however, the state had had some severe financial experiences, which might have served as warnings to the new-comers. A debt of more than $14,000,000 had been contracted for state
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — THE SETTLEMENT OF NAUVOO
CHAPTER II. — THE SETTLEMENT OF NAUVOO
Smith's leadership was now to have another illustration. Others might be discouraged by past persecutions and business failures, and be ready to abandon the great scheme which the prophet had so often laid before them in the language of "revelation"; but it was no part of Smith's character to abandon that scheme, and remain simply an object of lessened respect, with a scattered congregation. He had been kept advised of Galland's proposal, and, two days after his arrival in Quincy, we find him, o
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — THE BUILDING UP OF THE CITY—FOREIGN PROSELYTING
CHAPTER III. — THE BUILDING UP OF THE CITY—FOREIGN PROSELYTING
The geographical situation of Nauvoo had something in its favor. Lying on the east bank of the Mississippi, which is there two miles wide, it had a water frontage on three sides, because of a bend in the stream, and the land was somewhat rising back from the river. But its water front was the only thing in its favor. "The place was literally a wilderness," says Smith. "The land was mostly covered with trees and bushes, and much of it so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty a foot man could
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — THE NAUVOO CITY GOVERNMENT—TEMPLE AND OTHER BUILDINGS
CHAPTER IV. — THE NAUVOO CITY GOVERNMENT—TEMPLE AND OTHER BUILDINGS
A tide of immigration having been turned toward the new settlement, the next thing in order was to procure for the city a legal organization. Several circumstances combined to place in the hands of the Mormon leaders a scheme of municipal government, along with an extensive plan for buildings, which gave them vast power without incurring the kind of financial rocks on which they were wrecked in Ohio. Dr. Galland* should probably be considered the inventor of the general scheme adopted at Nauvoo.
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — THE MORMONS IN POLITICS—MISSOURI REQUISITIONS FOR SMITH
CHAPTER V. — THE MORMONS IN POLITICS—MISSOURI REQUISITIONS FOR SMITH
The Mormons were now equipped in their new home with large landed possessions, a capital city that exhibited a phenomenal growth, and a form of local government which made Nauvoo a little independency of itself; their prophet wielding as much authority and receiving as much submission as ever; a Temple under way which would excel anything that had been designed in Ohio or Missouri, and a stream of immigration pouring in which gave assurance of continued numerical increase. What were the causes o
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
CHAPTER VI. — SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Smith's latest triumph over his Missouri enemies, with the feeling that he had the governor of his state back of him, increased his own and his followers' audacity. The Nauvoo Council continued to pass ordinances to protect its inhabitants from outside legal processes, civil and criminal. One of these provided that no writ issued outside of Nauvoo for the arrest of a person in that city should be executed until it had received the mayor's approval, anyone violating this ordinance to be liable to
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. — SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN NAUVOO
CHAPTER VII. — SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN NAUVOO
Having followed Smith's political operations to their close, it is now necessary to retrace our steps, and examine the social conditions which prevailed in and around Nauvoo during the years of his reign—conditions which had quite as much to do in causing the expulsion of the Mormons from the state as did his political mistakes. It must be remembered that Nauvoo was a pioneer town, on the borders of a thinly settled country. Its population and that of its suburbs consisted of the refugees from M
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII. — SMITH'S PICTURE OF HIMSELF AS AUTOCRAT
CHAPTER VIII. — SMITH'S PICTURE OF HIMSELF AS AUTOCRAT
Smith's autobiography gives incidentally many interesting glimpses of the prophet as he exercised his authority of dictator during the height of his power at Nauvoo. It is fortunate for the impartial student that these records are at his disposal, because many of the statements, if made on any other authority, would be met by the customary Mormon denials, and be considered generally incredible. That Smith's life, aside from the constant danger of extradition which the Missouri authorities held o
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX. — SMITH'S FALLING OUT WITH BENNETT AND HIGBEE
CHAPTER IX. — SMITH'S FALLING OUT WITH BENNETT AND HIGBEE
Surprise has been expressed that Smith would permit the newcomer, General John C. Bennett, to be elected the first mayor of Nauvoo under the new charter. Much less surprising is the fact that a falling-out soon occurred between them which led to the withdrawal of Bennett from the church on May 17, 1842, and made for the prophet an enemy who pursued him with a method and vindictiveness that he had not before encountered from any of those who had withdrawn, or been driven, from the church fellowsh
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X. — THE INSTITUTION OF POLYGAMY
CHAPTER X. — THE INSTITUTION OF POLYGAMY
The student of the history of the Mormon church to this date, who seeks an answer to the question, Who originated the idea of plural marriages among the Mormons? will naturally credit that idea to Joseph Smith, Jr. The Reorganized Church (non-polygamist), whose membership includes Smith's direct descendants, defend the prophet's memory by alleging that "in the brain of J. C. Bennett was conceived the idea, and in his practice was the principle first introduced into the church." In maintaining th
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI. — PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF POLYGAMY
CHAPTER XI. — PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF POLYGAMY
Although there was practically no concealment of the practice of polygamy by the Mormons resident in Utah after their arrival there, it was not until five years from that date that open announcement was made by the church of the important "revelation." This "revelation" constitutes Sec. 132 of the modern edition of the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," and bears this heading: "Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage Covenant, including Plurality of Wives. Given through Joseph, the Seer, in Na
26 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII. — THE SUPPRESSION OF THE EXPOSITOR
CHAPTER XII. — THE SUPPRESSION OF THE EXPOSITOR
Smith was now to encounter a kind of resistance within the church that he had never met. In all previous apostasies, where members had dared to attack his character or question his authority, they had been summarily silenced, and in most cases driven at once out of the Mormon community. But there were men at Nauvoo above the average of the Mormon convert as regards intelligence and wealth, who refused to follow the prophet in his new doctrine regarding marriage, and whose opposition took the ver
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII. — UPRISING OF THE NON-MORMONS—SMITH'S ARREST
CHAPTER XIII. — UPRISING OF THE NON-MORMONS—SMITH'S ARREST
The gauntlet thus thrown down by Smith was promptly taken up by his non-Mormon neighbors, and public meetings were held in various places to give expression to the popular indignation. At such a meeting in Warsaw, Hancock County, eighteen miles down the river, the following was among the resolutions adopted: "Resolved, that the time, in our opinion, has arrived when the adherents of Smith, as a body, should be driven from the surrounding settlements into Nauvoo; that the Prophet and his miscrean
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV. — THE MURDER OF THE PROPHET—HIS CHARACTER
CHAPTER XIV. — THE MURDER OF THE PROPHET—HIS CHARACTER
On Tuesday morning, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested again in Carthage, this time on a charge of treason in levying war against the state, by declaring martial law in Nauvoo and calling out the Legion. In the afternoon of that day all the accused, numbering fifteen, appeared before a justice of the peace, and, to prevent any increase in the public excitement, gave bonds in the sum of $500 each for their appearance at the next term of the Circuit Court to answer the charge of riot.* It was la
34 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV. — AFTER SMITH'S DEATH—RIGDON'S LAST DAYS
CHAPTER XV. — AFTER SMITH'S DEATH—RIGDON'S LAST DAYS
The murder of the Smiths caused a panic, not among the Mormons, but among the other inhabitants of Hancock County, who looked for summary vengeance at the hands of the prophet's followers, with their famous Legion to support them. The state militia having been disbanded, the people considered themselves without protection, and Governor Ford shared their apprehension. Carthage was at once almost depopulated, the people fleeing in wagons, on horseback, and on foot, and most of the citizens of Wars
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVI. — RIVALRIES OVER THE SUCCESSION
CHAPTER XVI. — RIVALRIES OVER THE SUCCESSION
Rigdon was not alone in contending for the successorship to Joseph Smith as the head of the Mormon church. The prophet's family defended vigorously the claim of his eldest son to be his successor.* Lee says that the prophet had bestowed the right of succession on his eldest son by divination, and that "it was then [after his father's death] understood among the Saints that young Joseph was to succeed his father, and that right justly belonged to him," when he should be old enough. Lee says furth
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII. — BRIGHAM YOUNG
CHAPTER XVII. — BRIGHAM YOUNG
Brigham Young, the man who had succeeded in expelling Rigdon and establishing his own position as head of the church, was born in Whitingham, Windham County, Vermont, on June 1, 1801. The precise locality of his birth in that town is in dispute. His father, a native of Massachusetts, is said to have served under Washington during the Revolutionary War. The family consisted of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom Brigham was the ninth. The Youngs moved to Whitingham in January, 1
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII. — RENEWED TROUBLE FOR THE MORMONS—"THE BURNINGS"
CHAPTER XVIII. — RENEWED TROUBLE FOR THE MORMONS—"THE BURNINGS"
The death of the prophet did not bring peace with their outside neighbors to the Mormon church. Indeed, the causes of enmity were too varied and radical to be removed by any changes in the leadership, so long as the brethren remained where they were. In the winter of 1844-1845 charges of stealing made against the Mormons by their neighbors became more frequent. Governor Ford, in his message to the legislature, pronounced such reports exaggerated, but it probably does the governor no injustice to
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX. — THE EXPULSION OF THE MORMONS
CHAPTER XIX. — THE EXPULSION OF THE MORMONS
General Hardin announced the coming of his force, which numbered about four hundred men, in a proclamation addressed "To the Citizens of Hancock County," dated September 27. He called attention to the lawless acts of the last two years by both parties, characterizing the recent burning of houses as "acts which disgrace your county, and are a stigma to the state, the nation, and the age." His force would simply see that the laws were obeyed, without taking part with either side. He forbade the as
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XX. — THE EVACUATION OF NAUVOO—"THE LAST MORMON WAR"
CHAPTER XX. — THE EVACUATION OF NAUVOO—"THE LAST MORMON WAR"
The winter of 1845-1846 in Hancock County passed without any renewed outbreak, but the credit for this seems to have been due to the firmness and good judgment of Major W. B. Warren, whom General Hardin placed in command of the force which he left in that county to preserve order, rather than to any improvement in the relations between the two parties, even after the Mormons had agreed to depart. Major Warren's command, which at first consisted of one hundred men, and was reduced during the wint
25 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXI. — NAUVOO AFTER THE EXODUS
CHAPTER XXI. — NAUVOO AFTER THE EXODUS
Brockman's force was disbanded after its object had been accomplished, and all returned to their homes but about one hundred, who remained in Nauvoo to see that no Mormons came back. These men, whose number gradually decreased, provided what protection and government the place then enjoyed. Governor Ford received much censure from the state at large for the lawless doings of the recent months. A citizens' meeting at Springfield demanded that he call out a force sufficient "to restore the suprema
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — PREPARATIONS FOR THE LONG MARCH
CHAPTER I. — PREPARATIONS FOR THE LONG MARCH
Two things may be accepted as facts with regard to the migration of the Mormons westward from Illinois: first, that they would not have moved had they not been compelled to; and second, that they did not know definitely where they were going when they started. Although Joseph Smith showed an uncertainty of his position by his instruction that the Twelve should look for a place in California or Oregon to which his people might move, he considered this removal so remote a possibility that he was a
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MISSOURI
CHAPTER II. — FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MISSOURI
The first party to leave Nauvoo began crossing the Mississippi early in February, 1846, using flatboats propelled by oars for the wagons and animals, and small boats for persons and the lighter baggage. It soon became colder and snow fell, and after the 16th those who remained were able to cross on the ice. Brigham Young, with a few attendants, had crossed on February 10, and selected a point on Sugar Creek as a gathering place.* He seems to have returned secretly to the city for a few days to a
26 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — THE MORMON BATTALION
CHAPTER III. — THE MORMON BATTALION
During the halt of a part of the main body of the Mormons at Mt. Pisgah, an incident occurred which has been made the subject of a good deal of literature, and has been held up by the Mormons as a proof both of the severity of the American government toward them and of their own patriotism. There is so little ground for either of these claims that the story of the Battalion should be correctly told. When hostilities against Mexico began, early in 1846, the plan of campaign designed by the United
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — THE CAMPS ON THE MISSOURI
CHAPTER IV. — THE CAMPS ON THE MISSOURI
Mormon accounts of the westward movement from Nauvoo represent that the delay which occurred when they reached the Missouri River was an interruption of their leaders' plans, attributing it to the weakening of their force by the enlistment of the Battalion, and the necessity of waiting for the last Mormons who were driven out of Nauvoo. But after their experiences in a winter march from the Mississippi, with something like a base of supplies in reach, it is inconceivable that the Council would h
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — THE PIONEER TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS
CHAPTER V. — THE PIONEER TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS
During the winter of 1846-1847 preparations were under way to send an organization of pioneers across the plains and beyond the Rocky Mountains, to select a new dwelling-place for the Saints. The only "revelation" to Brigham Young found in the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants" is a direction about the organization and mission of this expedition. It was dated January 14, 1847, and it directed the organization of the pioneers into companies, with captains of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and a
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — FROM THE ROCKIES TO SALT LAKE VALLEY
CHAPTER VI. — FROM THE ROCKIES TO SALT LAKE VALLEY
More than one day's march was now made without finding water or grass. Banks of snow were observed on the near-by elevations, and overcoats were very comfortable at night. On June 26 they reached the South Pass, where the waters running to the Atlantic and to the Pacific separate. They found, however, no well-marked dividing ridge-only, as Pratt described it, "a quietly undulating plain or prairie, some fifteen or twenty miles in length and breadth, thickly covered with wild sage." There were go
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. — THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES—LAST DAYS ON THE MISSOURI
CHAPTER VII. — THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES—LAST DAYS ON THE MISSOURI
When the pioneers set out from the Missouri, instructions were left for the organization of similar companies who were to follow their trail, without waiting to learn their ultimate destination or how they fared on the way. These companies were in charge of prominent men like Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor, Bishop Hunter, Daniel Spencer, who succeeded Smith as mayor of Nauvoo, and J. M. Grant, the first mayor of Salt Lake City after its incorporation. P. P. Pratt set out early in June, as soon as
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. — THE FOUNDING OF SALT LAKE CITY
CHAPTER I. — THE FOUNDING OF SALT LAKE CITY
The first white men to enter what is now Utah were a part of the force of Coronado, under Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardinas, if the reader of the evidence decides that their journey from Zuni took them, in 1540, across the present Utah border line.* A more definite account has been preserved of a second exploration, which left Santa Fe in 1776, led by two priests, Dominguez and Escalate, in search of a route to the California coast. A two months' march brought them to a lake, called Timpanogos by
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. — PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT
CHAPTER II. — PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT
With the arrival of the later companies from Winter Quarters the population of the city was increased by the winter of 1848 to about five thousand, or more than one-quarter of those who went out from Nauvoo. The settlers then had three sawmills, one flouring mill, and a threshing machine run by water, another sawmill and flour mill nearly completed, and several mills under way for the manufacture of sugar from corn stalks. Brigham Young, again on the ground, took the lead at once in pushing on t
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. — THE FOREIGN IMMIGRATION TO UTAH
CHAPTER III. — THE FOREIGN IMMIGRATION TO UTAH
When the Mormons began their departure westward from Nauvoo, the immigration of converts from Europe was suspended because of the uncertainty about the location of the next settlement, and the difficulty of transporting the existing population. But the necessity of constant additions to the community of new-comers, and especially those bringing some capital, was never lost sight of by the heads of the church. An evidence of this was given even before the first company reached the Missouri River.
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. — THE HAND-CART TRAGEDY
CHAPTER IV. — THE HAND-CART TRAGEDY
In 1855 the crops in Utah were almost a failure, and the church authorities found themselves very much embarrassed by their debts. A report in the seventh General Epistle, of April 18, 1852, set forth that, from their entry into the valley to March 27, of that year, there had been received as tithing, mostly in property, $244,747.03, and in loans and from other sources $145,513.78, of which total there had been expended in assisting immigrants and on church buildings, city lots, manufacturing in
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. — EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY
CHAPTER V. — EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY
We have seen that Joseph Smith's desire was, when he suggested a possible removal of the church to the Far West, that they should have, not only an undisturbed place of residence, but a government of their own. This idea of political independence Young never lost sight of. Had Utah remained a distant province of the Mexican government, the Mormons might have been allowed to dwell there a long time, practically without governmental control. But when that region passed under the government of the
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. — BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DESPOTISM
CHAPTER VI. — BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DESPOTISM
There is no reason to believe that, to the date of Joseph Smith's death, Brigham Young had inspired his fellow-Mormons with an idea of his leadership. This was certified to by one of the most radical of them, Mayor Jedediah M. Grant of Salt Lake City, in 1852, in these words:— "When Joseph Smith lived, a man about whose real character and pretensions we differ, Joseph was often and almost invariably imposed upon by those in whom he placed his trust. There was one man—only one of his early adhere
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. — THE "REFORMATION"
CHAPTER VII. — THE "REFORMATION"
Young soon had occasion to make practical use of the dictatorial power that he had assumed. The character which those members of the flock who had migrated from Missouri and Illinois had established among their neighbors in those states was not changed simply by their removal to a wilderness all by themselves. They had no longer the old excuse that their misdeeds were reprisals on persecuting enemies, but this did not save them from the temptation to exercise their natural propensities. Again we
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII. — SOME CHURCH-INSPIRED MURDERS
CHAPTER VIII. — SOME CHURCH-INSPIRED MURDERS
The murders committed during the "Reformation" which attracted most attention, both because of the parties concerned, the effort made by a United States judge to convict the guilty, and the confessions of the latter subsequently obtained, have been known as the Parrish, or Springville, murders. The facts concerning them may be stated fairly as follows:— William R. Parrish was one of the most outspoken champions of the Twelve when the controversy with Rigdon occurred at Nauvoo after Smith's death
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX. — BLOOD ATONEMENT
CHAPTER IX. — BLOOD ATONEMENT
As early as 1853 intimations of the doctrine that an offending member might be put out of the way were given from the Tabernacle pulpit. Orson Hyde, on April 9 of that year, spoke, in the form of a parable, of the fate of a wolf that a shepherd discovered in his flock of sheep, saying that, if let alone, he would go off and tell the other wolves, and they would come in; "whereas, if the first should meet with his just deserts, he could not go back and tell the rest of his hungry tribe to come an
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X. — THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT—JUDGE BROCCHUS'S EXPERIENCE
CHAPTER X. — THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT—JUDGE BROCCHUS'S EXPERIENCE
In March, 1851, the two houses of the legislature of Deseret, sitting together, adopted resolutions "cheerfully and cordially" accepting the law providing a territorial government for Utah, and tendering Union Square in Salt Lake City as a site for the government buildings. The first territorial election was held on August 4, and the legislative assembly then elected held its first meeting on September 22. An act was at once passed continuing in force the laws passed by the legislature of Desere
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI. — MORMON TREATMENT OF FEDERAL OFFICERS
CHAPTER XI. — MORMON TREATMENT OF FEDERAL OFFICERS
The next federal officers for Utah appointed by the President (in August, 1852) were Lazarus H. Reid of New York to be chief justice, Leonidas Shaver, associate justice, and B. G. Ferris, secretary. Neither of these officers incurred the Mormon wrath. Both of the judges died while in office, and the next chief justice was John F. Kinney, who had occupied a seat on the Iowa Supreme Bench, with W. W. Drummond of Illinois, and George P. Stiles, one of Joseph Smith's counsel at the time of the proph
26 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII. — THE MORMON "WAR"
CHAPTER XII. — THE MORMON "WAR"
The government at Washington and the people of the Eastern states knew a good deal more about Mormonism in 1856 than they did when Fillmore gave the appointment of governor to Young in 1850. The return of one federal officer after another from Utah with a report that his office was untenable, even if his life was not in danger, the practical nullification of federal law, and the light that was beginning to be shed on Mormon social life by correspondents of Eastern newspapers had aroused enough p
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII. — THE MORMON PURPOSE
CHAPTER XIII. — THE MORMON PURPOSE
When Colonel Johnston arrived at the Black's Fork camp the information he received from Colonel Alexander, and certain correspondence with the Mormon authorities, gave him a comprehensive view of the situation; and on November 5 he forwarded a report to army headquarters in the East, declaring that it was the matured design of the Mormons "to hold and occupy this territory independent of and irrespective of the authority of the United States," entertaining "the insane design of establishing a fo
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV. — COLONEL KANE'S MISSION
CHAPTER XIV. — COLONEL KANE'S MISSION
When Major Van Vliet returned from Utah to Washington with Young's defiant ultimatum, he was accompanied by J. M. Bernhisel, the territorial Delegate to Congress, who was allowed to retain his seat during the entire "war," a motion for his expulsion, introduced soon after Congress met, being referred to a committee which never reported on it, the debate that arose only giving further proof of the ignorance of the lawmakers about Mormon history, Mormon government, and Mormon ambition. In Washingt
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV. — THE PEACE COMMISSION
CHAPTER XV. — THE PEACE COMMISSION
Governor Cumming's report of May 2 did not reach Washington until June 9, but the President's volte-face had begun before that date, and when the situation in Utah was precisely as it was when he had assured Colonel Kane that he would send no agent to the Mormons while they continued their defiant attitude. Under date of April 6 he issued a proclamation, in which he recited the outrages on the federal officers in Utah, the warlike attitude and acts of the Mormon force, which, he pointed out, con
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVI. — THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE
CHAPTER XVI. — THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE
We may here interrupt the narrative of events subsequent to the restoration of peace in the territory, with the story of the most horrible massacre of white people by religious fanatics of their own race that has been recorded since that famous St. Bartholemew's night in Paris—the story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Committed on Friday, September 11, 1857,—four days before the date of Young's proclamation forbidding the United States troops to enter the territory—it was a considerable time b
52 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII. — AFTER THE "WAR"
CHAPTER XVII. — AFTER THE "WAR"
With the return of the people to their homes, the peaceful avocations of life in Utah were resumed. The federal judges received assignments to their districts, and the other federal officers took possession of their offices. Chief Justice Eckles selected as his place of residence Camp Floyd, as General Johnston's camp was named; Judge Sinclair's district included Salt Lake City, and Judge Cradlebaugh's the southern part of the state. Judge Cradlebaugh, who conceived it to be a judge's duty to se
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII. — ATTITUDE OF THE MORMONS DURING THE SOUTHERN REBELLION
CHAPTER XVIII. — ATTITUDE OF THE MORMONS DURING THE SOUTHERN REBELLION
The attitude of the Mormons toward the government at the outbreak of hostilities with the Southern states was distinctly disloyal. The Deseret News of January 2, 1861, said, "The indications are that the breach which has been effected between the North and South will continue to widen, and that two or more nations will be formed out of the fragmentary portions of the once glorious republic." The Mormons in England had before that been told in the Millennial Star (January 28, 1860) that "the Unio
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX. — EASTERN VISITORS TO SALT LAKE CITY—UNPUNISHED MURDERERS
CHAPTER XIX. — EASTERN VISITORS TO SALT LAKE CITY—UNPUNISHED MURDERERS
In June, 1865, a distinguished party from the East visited Salt Lake City, and their visit was not without public significance. It included Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lieutenant Governor Bross of Illinois, Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, and A. D. Richardson of the staff of the New York Tribune. Crossing the continent was still effected by stage-coach at that time, and the Mormon capital had never been visited by civilians so we
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XX. — GENTILE IRRUPTION AND MORMON SCHISM
CHAPTER XX. — GENTILE IRRUPTION AND MORMON SCHISM
The end of the complete seclusion of the Mormon settlement in Utah from the rest of the country—complete except so far as it was interrupted by the passage through the territory of the California emigration—dates from the establishment of Camp Floyd, and the breaking up of that camp and the disposal of its accumulation of supplies, which gave the first big impetus to mercantile traffic in Utah.* Young was ever jealous of the mercantile power, so openly jealous that, as Tullidge puts it, "to beco
30 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXI. — THE LAST YEARS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG
CHAPTER XXI. — THE LAST YEARS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG
Governor Doty died in June, 1865, without coming in open conflict with Young, and was succeeded by Charles Durkee, a native of Vermont, but appointed from Wisconsin, which state he had represented in the United States Senate. He resigned in 1869, and was succeeded by J. Wilson Shaffer of Illinois, appointed by President Grant at the request of Secretary of War Rawlins, who, in a visit to the territory in 1868, concluded that its welfare required a governor who would assert his authority. Secreta
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXII. — BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DEATH—HIS CHARACTER
CHAPTER XXII. — BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DEATH—HIS CHARACTER
Brigham Young died in Salt Lake City at 4 P.M. on Wednesday, August 29, 1877. He was attacked with acute cholera morbus on the evening of the 23rd, after delivering an address in the Council House, and it was followed by inflammation of the bowels. The body lay in state in the Tabernacle from Saturday, September 1, until Sunday noon, when the funeral services were held. He was buried in a little plot on one of the main streets of Salt Lake City, not far from his place of residence. The steps by
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIII. — SOCIAL ASPECTS OF POLYGAMY
CHAPTER XXIII. — SOCIAL ASPECTS OF POLYGAMY
There was something compulsory about all phases of life in Utah during Brigham Young's regime—the form of employment for the men, the domestic regulations of the women, the church duties each should perform, and even the location in the territory which they should call their home. Not only did large numbers of the foreign immigrants find themselves in debt to the church on their arrival, and become compelled in this way to labor on the "public works" as they might be ordered, but the skilled mec
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIV. — THE FIGHT AGAINST POLYGAMY—STATEHOOD
CHAPTER XXIV. — THE FIGHT AGAINST POLYGAMY—STATEHOOD
The first measure "to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the Territories of the United States" was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mr. Morrill of Vermont (Bill No. 7) at the first session of the 36th Congress, on February 15, 1860. It contained clauses annulling some of the acts of the territorial legislature of Utah, including the one incorporating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This bill was reported by the Judiciary Committee on March 14, the commit
57 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXV. — THE MORMONISM OF TO-DAY
CHAPTER XXV. — THE MORMONISM OF TO-DAY
An intelligent examination of the present status of the Mormon church can be made only after acquaintance with its past history, and the policy of the men who have given it its present doctrinal and political position. The Mormon power has ever in view objects rather than methods. It always keeps those objects in view, while at times adjusting methods to circumstances, as was the case in its latest treatment of the doctrine of polygamy. The casual visitor, making a tour of observation in Utah, a
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter