A cloud of bad omen seems to hang over this generation; men start up at the impulse of the moment, and defy and outstrip all law, while the destroyer is also abroad in the earth, wasting flesh without measure, and none can stay his course. In the midst of such portentous times, we feel an anxious desire to prepare, and help others to prepare, for coming events; and we candidly believe that no honest man will put forth his hand to stop the work of the Lord or persecute the Saints. In the name of Jesus Christ, we intreat the people of this nation to pause before they reject the works of the Lord or His servants; these, like all flesh, may be imperfect, but God is pure; hear ye Him.
While we ask peace and protection for the Saints, wherever they may be, we also solicit the charity and benevolence of all the worthy of the earth, to purchase the righteous a holy home, a place of rest, and a land of peace; believing that no man who knows he has a soul will keep back his mite, but cast it in for the benefit of Zion; thus, when time is no longer, he, with all the ransomed of the Lord, may stand in the fullness of joy, and view the grand pillar of heaven, which was built by the faith and charity of the Saints, beginning at Adam, with his motto in the base, "Repent and live," surrounded with a beautiful circle sign, supported by a cross about midway up its lofty column, staring the world in letters of blood, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand;" and finished with a plain top towering up in the midst of the celestial world— around which is written by the finger of Jehovah, "Eternal Life is the greatest gift of God."
Although we may fail to show all men the truth of the fullness of the Gospel, yet we hope to be able to convince some that we are neither deluded nor fanatics; but, like other men, have a claim on the world for land and for a living, as good and as great as our venerable fathers had for independence and liberty; that though the world has been made to believe, by false reports and vague stories, that the Saints—called "Mormons"—were meaner than the savages, still God has been our help in time of trouble, and has provided for us in due season, and, to use the language of Pope, He has let the work "spread undivided" and "operate unspent."
For the honor of our beloved country, and the continuation of its free government, we appeal for peace, for an example of forbearance, and the diffusion of the everlasting Gospel; we appeal to the humanity of all nations, and for the glory of God, before whom we must all answer for the deeds done in life, and for the hope of holiness hereafter, we mean to remain faithful to the end, continuing to pray to the Lord to spare us and the people from whatever is evil and not calculated to humble us, and prepare us for His presence and glory; at the same time beseeching Him, in the name of Jesus, to extend His blessings to whom He will, and His mercy to all; till by righteousness, the kingdoms of this world become fair as the sun and clear as the moon.
(Signed)
W. W. PHELPS,
DAVID WHITMER,
JOHN WHITMER,
EDWARD PARTRIDGE,
JOHN CORRILL,
ISAAC MORLEY,
PARLEY P. PRATT,
LYMAN WIGHT,
NEWEL KNIGHT,
THOMAS B. MARSH,
SIMEON CARTER,
CALVIN BEEBE.
Missouri, United States, July, 1834.
Footnotes
1. Also given "Burghart's" in some of the Church records.
2. Of these sorrowful scenes Elder Heber C. Kimball in his journal, gives the following description, which ought not to be lost to the reader of Church History:
"When the cholera first broke out in the camp, Brother John S. Carter was the first who went forth to rebuke it, but (he) himself, was immediately seized by it, and as before stated, was the first who was slain. In about thirty minutes after his death, Seth Hitchcock followed him; and it appeared as though we must sink under the destroyer with them. We were not able to obtain boards to make coffins, (for those who died), but were under the necessity of rolling them up in their blankets, and burying them in that manner. So we placed them on a sled, which was drawn by a horse about half a mile, where we buried them in a little bluff by the side of a small stream that emptied into Rush creek. This we accomplished by dark, and returned. Our hopes were that no more would die, but while we were uniting in a covenant to pray once more with uplifted hands to God, we looked at our beloved brother, Elder Wilcox, and he was gasping his last. At this scene my feelings were beyond expression. Those only who witnessed it, can realize anything of the nature of our sufferings, and 50 felt to weep, and pray to the Lord that He would spare my life that I might behold my dear family again. I felt to covenant with my brethren, and I felt in my heart never to commit another sin while I lived. We felt to sit and weep over our brethren, and so great was our sorrow that we could have washed them with our tears, to realize that they had traveled one thousand miles through so much fatigue to lay down their lives for our brethren—and who hath greater love than he who is willing to lay down his life for his brethren? This increased our love to them. About 12 o'clock at night we placed Brother Wilcox on a small sled, which we drew to the place of interment, with one hand hold of the rope, and in the other we bore our firelocks for our defense. While one or two were digging the grave, the rest stood with their arms to defend them. This was our situation, the enemies around us, and the destroyer in our midst. Soon after we returned another brother was taken away from our little band; thus it continued until five out of ten (attacked) were taken away. It was truly affecting to see the love manifested among the brethren for one another, during the affliction; Brother Joseph, seeing the sufferings of his brethren, stepped forward to rebuke the destroyer, but was immediately seized with the disease himself; and I assisted him a short distance from the place, when it was with difficulty he could walk. All that kept our enemies from us was the fear of the destroyer which the Lord so sent among us. After burying these five brethren, or about this time, I was seized by the hand of the destroyer, as I had gone in the woods to pray. I was instantly struck blind, and saw no way whereby I could free myself from the disease, only to exert myself by jumping and thrashing myself about, until my sight returned to me, and my blood began to circulate in my veins. I started and ran some distance, and by this means, through the help of God, I was enabled to extricate myself from the grasp of death. This circumstance took place in a piece of woods just behind Brother Sidney Gilbert's house * * * * * * Two other brethren died at Brother Gilbert's house about this same time. One of these was a cousin to Brother Joseph Smith, the Prophet."
3. Heber C. Kimball remarks: "The Lord took him at his word." Extracts from Kimball's journal, Times and Seasons, vol. 6, p. 839.
The remarks in the body of the history, and this expression from Elder Kimball's journal are liable to create a misunderstanding concerning Brother Algernon Sidney Gilbert, than whom the Lord has had few more devoted servants in this dispensation. The place and date of his birth cannot now be ascertained. His father's family resided in Huntington, Connecticut. Besides himself, there was a younger brother who joined the Church, but he died of cholera in St. Louis, Missouri, the same year as his elder brother. Elder Gilbert for some years was successful merchant in Painesville, Ohio; and subsequently, with Newel K. Whitney, he founded the successful mercantile firm of Gilbert and Whitney in Kirtland, Ohio, at which place the Gospel found him in the year 1830. Later, he was called to go to Missouri, and was appointed keeper of the Lord's storehouse, and upon him also devolved the responsibility of purchasing lands for the Saints. He was devoted to the interest of the Saints and the Church. In the persecutions which came upon the people in Jackson county he sacrificed all his goods, and was among the six who offered their own lives for the lives of their friends in the Jackson county trouble. As to his refusing to accept the appointment to go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, that refusal did not arise from any lack of faith in the truth of God's great work, but from a native diffidence and a lack of confidence in his own ability to preach. He was a man of rare good sense, conservative and of sound judgment. All of which appears in the many communications drawn