Every few days there are some honest souls born into the kingdom of God. Persecution rages to a considerable extent. It seems as if every denomination, sect, party, and club, were prepared to fight against the work of the Lord. A man has just told me that in Palmyra, in forty-eight hours, the cholera had taken forty-seven to their graves. The disease is in the country as well as the town, and carries off all ages, colors and conditions, sparing none.
George M. Hinkle.
Chenango Point, N. Y., May 16, 1833.
Dear Brother:—It is about six weeks since I left Kirtland to take a mission to the East; since which time I have visited twelve churches, and passed three others in coming to this place; all of which are nearly in the course from Kirtland to Chenango, N. Y.; so grows, and so spreads the mighty work of the Lord. Some of said churches are composed of nearly one hundred members; and in nearly all of them, the work is still going on. O, may the Lord cause His glorious voice to be heard, until error and superstition shall give way to the everlasting Gospel of Jesus. I feel much weakness as a man, but in the strength of Christ, I am resolved to blow the trumpet of the Gospel until the people of God are delivered from the merchants and traffickers of souls unto the glorious liberty of the Gospel. I have baptized four since I left Kirtland. As for myself, I intend, if possible, to attend the school at the latter Jerusalem, to which, I am confident it is my privilege to go, as often as the old Apostles went to the former Jerusalem.
I have traveled about five hundred miles in about six weeks, and held fifteen meetings, and I trust that I shall continue to receive the grace of God to support me even to the end.
Sylvester Smith.
State of the World.
(From the July Star.)
The flood of waters, occasioned by the great rains in the eastern and middle states, did immense damage: war between Turkey and Russia continued to rage: and the epidemic disease of London continued its frightful ravages; so terrible were its effects as to close all the principal places of amusement and suspend the court of reform for the metropolis.
Council of Elders in Kirtland.
July 13.—Elder Brigham Young having returned from his mission to Canada, accompanied by some twenty or thirty of the brethren, a council of Elders assembled in Kirtland. There were present at the council Gideon H. Carter, Jacob Wood, Dennis Lake, Brigham Young, James Lake, Newel K. Whitney, John Smith, Luke S. Johnson and myself. Elder James Lake desired to know the will of the Lord, whether he should proceed on to Zion, or remain in Kirtland. It was decided that he should remain in Kirtland.
Footnotes
1. The Reverends Finis Ewing and Isaac McCoy were equally bitter and nearly as active. The former was the head and front of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and is credited with publishing this statement: "The Mormons are the common enemies of mankind and ought to be destroyed."
Of this Reverend Pixley and the part taken by the clergy against the Saints generally in these Jackson county troubles, Elder Newel Knight, in his journal, published in Scraps of Biography, page 76, says: "The sectarian priests and missionaries around us were among the first to come out both secretly and openly against us. Among the more active of these was a Mr. Pixley, who did not content himself in slandering us to the people of Jackson county, but also wrote to eastern papers telling horrible lies about us, with the evident intention of rousing a spirit of hatred against us. His talk was of the bitterest kind, his speeches perfectly inflammatory; and he appeared to have an influence among the people to carry them with him in his hellish designs. Nor did he confine his actions to the white settlers, but tried to stir up the Indians against us, and use every means in his power to accomplish his purposes. His efforts were seconded by such men as Reverends McCoy, Fitzhugh, Bogard, Kavanaugh, Lovelady, Likens, Hunter, and others; and by their perseverance at last, the public mind became so excited that on the 20th of July a meeting was called and largely attended by not only the rabble of the county, but also the men holding official positions."
2. As stated in the Prophet's narrative, the article in the Star, "Beware of False Prophets," written as an answer to Reverend Pixley's tract, was of a mild and pacific character. It proceeds to place in contrast, merely, the course and character of true Prophets and false ones—fixing many of the marks of false prophets, however, on the sectarian ministers of the times who, while clinging to forms of godliness, were denying the power thereof. It makes no direct allusion to the tract of Rev. Pixley, nor does it say a personal word of the course he was pursuing: but indirectly it evidently refers to him and his nefarious work in the following passages: "When, therefore, any man, no matter who, or how high his standing may be, utters or publishes anything which afterwards proves to be untrue, he is a false prophet. And if he does it uncalled for, for the purpose of injuring his fellow-beings, or for the sake of gain, or to deceive any man by putting a false coloring upon a matter of religion, to lead astray or prejudice the minds of any to hinder them from receiving the truth, wo unto him, he is a false prophet! * * * * Here then we can say, where we find a person uttering or publishing what he does not know to be a truth, merely to make a noise, whereby the least saint on earth might be offended—beware of false prophets. * * * * Did you ever hear, or have you ever read of a true prophet that spake evil of any man, or that would lie to further the cause of God or anything else? If you have, brethren, then has the hypocrite an excuse for leaving his own fault unexposed, and publishing his neighbor's to the world. Then has the false prophet an opportunity to plead his right to send his lying words abroad, that he may obtain the praise and glory of this world, and deceive the simple."
3. The comment of the editor of the Star on this clause of Missouri's constitution is—"It shows a liberality of opinion of the great men of the west, and will vie with that of any other state. It is good; it is just, and it is the citizen's right."
4. This document is sometimes referred to as "The secret constitution," and was doubtless regarded as a "constitution" by the mob, by which they were bound together to accomplish the objects set forth in the document itself. The Saints became aware of its existence and the fact of its being circulated among the old settlers about the middle of July; how long before that it had been circulated is not known, but it was doubtless drawn up early in that month.
5. Relative to the charges against the saints in the foregoing documents, Elder Parley P. Pratt has the following pertinent comment in his "History of the Persecution of the Saints", pages 26-29:
"I will briefly notice a few items of the foregoing bond of conspiracy, for I consider most of it as too barefaced to need any comment. In the first place I would inquire whether our belief as set forth in this declaration, as to gifts, miracles, revelations and tongues, is not the same that all the Apostles and disciples taught, believed and practiced, and the doctrine of the New Testament?
Secondly—I would inquire when the New Testament religion ceased, and a law revealed or instituted, which made blasphemy of the belief and practice of it? or what holy religion the Jackson mob were speaking of, which was thrown into contempt by the revival of the New Testament religion?
Thirdly—They complain of our society being very poor as to property; but have they never read in the New Testament that God had chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom of God? And when did poverty become a crime known to the law?
Fourthly—Concerning free negroes and mulattoes. Do not the laws of Missouri provide abundantly for the removal from the state of all free negroes and mulattoes (except certain privileged ones)? And also for the punishment of those who introduce or harbor them? The statement concerning our invitation to them to become "Mormons," and remove to this state, and settle among us, is a wicked fabrication, as no such thing was ever published in the Star, or anywhere else, by our people, or anything in the shadow of it; and we challenge the people of Jackson [county], or any other people, to produce such a publication from us. In fact one dozen free negroes or mulattoes never belonged to our society in any part of the world, from its first organization to this day (1839).
Fifthly—As