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 I: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 380.]
After the Prophet's arrival in Kirtland, the branch of The Church there in the meantime having increased to about one hundred members, the elders of The Church were sent out into the surrounding country, two and two, to preach the gospel; and a promise of a future mission was given to them in which it was said:
And from this place ye shall go forth into the regions westward; and inasmuch as ye shall find them that will receive you, ye shall build up my Church in every region, until the time shall come when it shall be revealed unto you from on high, when the city of the New Jerusalem shall be prepared, that ye may be gathered in one, that ye may be my people and I will be your God.[J]
[Footnote J: Ibid Sec. 42.]
Moreover, in the same revelation, something of the law under which the holy city is to be built up unto the Lord was revealed, of which we shall say more in the course of this history.
In the latter part of February a brief revelation was given, making known that it was the will of the Lord that the elders who had been sent out to preach in the regions round about should be called together; and this led to the appointment of a somewhat notable conference of The Church that was called to meet on the sixth day of June ensuing. On the 7th of March (1831), the Lord gave a somewhat lengthy revelation setting forth the judgments that should come upon the generation in which this new dispensation of the gospel came forth, in the course of which it is said:
Wherefore I, the Lord, have said, gather ye out from the eastern lands, assemble ye yourselves together ye elders of my Church; go ye forth into the western countries, call upon the inhabitants to repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me; and with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you, and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; and the glory of the Lord shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.
And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. And it shall be said among the wicked, Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.[K]
[Footnote K: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 45.]
For a time, however, both the saints who had come from New York in obedience to the commandment from the Lord, and also the saints in Ohio, were commanded by revelation to remain in Ohio for the present, the saints in the latter State being called upon to share their lands with their eastern brethren. "It must needs be necessary," continues the revelation, "that ye save all the money that ye can, and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance, even the city. The place is not yet to be revealed, but after your brethren come from the east, there are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall be given to know the place, or to them it shall be revealed. And they shall be appointed to purchase the lands, and to make a commencement to lay the foundation of the city." [L]
[Footnote L: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 48]
Thus it will be seen that considerable knowledge had been imparted to The Church concerning "Zion" during the absence of the Indian missionaries; and as all the revelations indicated that the location of Zion was in the west, very naturally the interest of The