Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/22

* MORMONS. 10 MORMONS. alarmed. The printiiij; of the liool- of Com- maiidmenia with its revelations to the Saints calling Missouri "the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies," led to nets of liostility from the citizens of .Jackson County. The hurnin-; of barns and the shoot- ing into Mormon linuses at nijrht was f(dlowed by demands for the removal of the Mormons from the country within a reasonalile time, and for the prohibition of future Mormon settlement therein. The element of border rullianism was doubtless respiinsilile for the speedy destruction of the t'hurch print inj; ollice, and for the tarring and feathering of Hishop Partridge, yet the !Saints themselves were not without fault. Their agree- ment to depart within eight months was written, as tlu'V alleged, "supposing that before the time arrived the mob would see their error and stop the violence." Since Governor Diniklin was loath to call out the militia, the mob drove at least fifteen hundred Mormons across the Missouri, the women and chihlren siiffering terrible hard- ships in the November stonns. The negotiations for financial redress proved fruitless, for, as the Governor himself confessed, conviction for any violence couunitted against a Mormon could not be hail in .Fackson County. I'ntil 1S;J8 the town of Far West was materially ])rosperous and on good terms with its neiglibors, but upon the Prophet's arrival in that year there arose dis- sensions within and without. The Presidency was deposed on a charge of niisapjiropriating trust funds and Oliver Cowdery expelled for coiniterfeiting. With the further defection of Thomas H. Marsh. i)resident of the Twelve, and Orson lly<le. one of the original Apostles, there came the establishing of an organization called ultimately the Danite Hand, and known popu- larly as the Avenging Angels. Bound to secrecy by blood oaths, obeying any behest of the Church against property or life, this American variety of thugs owed its origin to Smith's revelation of August ti. IS.Ti — "Thine enemy is in thine hands, and if thou reward him according to his works thou art justified: if he has sought thy life, anil thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art iustified." The year ls:i,S also saw the establishment of the tithing system. Forty years afterwards the annual tithing revenues were estimated at a million dollars, appropriated, according to Brigham Young, to church erection, emigration, and poor relief. The beginning of civil strife in Missouri dates from Rigdon's 'salt sermon," a Fourth of .Tuly oration (IS.tS). in which there was oflicially preilicled a war of exterminatinn hetweeu Saints and (Jenliles. After the State election in .August, it was reported to Governor Boggs that the Mormons were so numerous and well armed that the judicial power of Daviess and Caldwell counties was wholly unable to execute any civil or criminal process against a Mormon. A regiment of militia was thereupon called out, hut tJeneral Dnniphan. fearing that much blood would be Hpilleil. di>baniled most of his force. At the Prophet's ■suggestion the organization of the "Fur Company' let loose foraging bands over the country. Then followed the killing of the Danite leader. 'Fear Not' Patten, the defeat of the MiMsouri Captain Bogart. and the retali- ation upon the Mormons in the infamous TIawn's Mill Massacre. On October 'J7th the Governor issued orders that the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State. There ensued a determined campaign against the ilormons. The final terms of surrender, otTcred at Far West by tJcneral Lucas, included the pa™ient of debts and the expulsion from the State of all the Mormons except the leaders, who were subject to trial. In the trial of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Kigdon. and others at Liberty, testimony was given that the members of the Danite Band con- sidered themselves as much bouiul to obey the heads of the Church as to obey God. and that Smith advised the people to .spoil the Gentiles. The Prophet was confined in Liberty until April, 18:59. The fourth place of removal of the Saints was Illinois, and here their experience was but a repetition of their last migration. Friction was sure to arise because of the lawless squat- ters and timber thieves in the northern counties and beiause of the politicians at Quincy and their toadying for the Mormon vote. Smith pur- chased the city of Commerce on the banks of the Mississippi for about $70.000 : the name of the town was changed to Nauvoo. supposedly derived from a Hebrew word meaning beautiful. The rapid growth of Nauvoo was largely due to the religious propaganda. At home, jjroselyt- ing was extended from Maine to Michigan, while mass meetings were called in the Eastern cities to express sympathy with the Mormons as oppressed by the enemies of the freedom of religious opinion. Abroad, the press knew even less of Lafter-Day ambitions, since the Mormon ap|)eals in Kngland were directed to the illiterate and superstitious. At Liverpool, Orson Pratt published his Discorcry of Anririit Aiiuricnii Records and the Mormon organ, the Millennial fflnr, advertised "Bones set through faith in Christ." But that which appealed most strongly to English weaver, Scotch miner, and Welsh peasant was the prospect of owning a farm in the land of Missouri, where "the Lord had been raining down manna in rich profusion." The success of the Mormon missionaries in Great Britain is evinced by the growth of the system of chartering ships for emigrants, from one vessel and 2(10. passengers in 1S40. to 8 vessels and 1GI4 passengers in 1842. In the meantime Mormondom in America was flourishing both financially and politically. Through ellicient lobbying the Illinois l,egisla- ture granted charters for the city of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo I.egion. and the I'niversity of the City of Nauvoo. Threefourtbs of the university faculty was drawn from local talent, being com- posed of Orson Pratt. Orson Spencer, and Sidney Rigdim, with James Keeley. a graduate of Trinity College. Dublin, as president. An army oflicer, in 1842. prai.sed the Nauvoo Legion, but expressed his fear of the growih of a Jlormon corps filled with religious enthusiasm and led on by ambitious officers. This fear was justified by the attempted assassination of Governor Boggs. of Missduri. by O. P, Rockwell, a Mormon living at Nauvoo. The Pro|)het. having called Boggs a 'knave, butcher, and mtirderer,' was indicted as instigator of the plot. Tie was then released by his own municipal court. Smith's ability to swing votes led to an enlargement of his political ambitions. He called on President Van Burcn with n claim for Mormon losses