threats of a mob of three hundred at independence—purity required of church members—excommunication of dr. p. hurlburt—his threats against the prophet—pixley joins the mob—his malicious falsehoods— meeting of a base element—wicked determinations—destruction of the saints' printing establishment—w. w. phelps driven from home—bishop partridge and elder allen tarred and feathered—"you must leave the country"—another meeting of the enemy—the saints agree to leave jackson county.

eighteen hundred years after the crucifixion of our savior, his church in this last dispensation celebrated the third anniversary of its establishment. the ceremonies took place on the 6th day of april, 1833, on the banks of the big blue river in the western part of jackson county, missouri. few as were the saints then gathered in the land zion, the event was impressive in its solemn recall of the past, and sublime in its exalted promise for the future of christ's people. joseph himself was not there; but eighty men who had received the priesthood and also many other members of the church were present to enjoy this reawakening in modern times of the power of the son of god.

this was not to be the only reawakening. the spirit of insensate murder which jesus had encountered and which had culminated on calvary was aroused in all its intensity against these his humble and chosen followers in the latter days. in the same month which witnessed the glorious reunion of the saints, a mob, consisting of three hundred men, congregated at independence and swore with much blasphemy to drive the people of god from their homes in that region and to destroy that branch of the church. news of these dreadful threats was brought to the leading elders at independence; and in solemn assemblage they prayed that god would stay the hand of the wicked. the supplication was granted for a time; and the drunken rabble became filled with mutual hatred and distrust, so that they scattered from the meeting and carousing place, mingling with their maledictions against the saints much vile language and many execrations concerning each other.

when the prophet learned of these manifestations in jackson county, he was filled with much concern for his brethren; but his duty as commanded by the lord required for a time his presence at kirtland and in the east. and at kirtland, despite the poverty of the people and the menace made by a wicked world against them, preparations were made to build the house unto the lord as required in the revelations.

the spirit of persecution which raged was doubtless permitted, if for no other reason than that it had the effect to purify the church, and the members were also admonished thereby to sweep all unworthiness from their midst and to exclude from church membership all wilful and persistent wrong-doers. few and poor as were the saints, it was the rule that no man, whatever his attainments or wealth, should retain his fellowship if his conduct proved that his soul was vile. it was not and is not now the practice of the latter-day saints to cover the sins of their members from the gaze of an unbelieving world, and to harbor the wrong-doer rather than to subject the entire body to the reproach of scoffers. with charity such as christ commanded for all the frailties of a humanity struggling toward goodness, the church has ever been an uncompromising punisher of wilful wickedness. in june, 1833, one doctor p. hurlburt was tried by the council of high priests upon a charge of impure conduct with women while acting as a missionary in the east; and although he contested the case, as he desired for his own selfish purposes to continue for a time in relation with the church, his guilt was fully established, he was cut off and the world was warned against him as an insidious enemy of female chastity. this man hurlburt, being filled with hatred by the exposure of his true nature, showed himself a vindictive enemy of the prophet and the church, and in later times his name became associated with the notorious spaulding story, and with threats and attempts upon joseph's life.

it was by such men, dishonorable apostates, suborned and aided by a jealous clergy, that the early falsehoods were propagated and the early persecutions were incited against the church which would not condone their impurities. and it is the wicked untruth, started in that age and added to by the same class of men in later times, which is circulated to-day and which deceives the world concerning a people whose sole desire is to live in purity and in peace with all mankind. it was then, as it is now, noted that, in many instances, the charges against latter-day saints have varied according to the varied character of their originators. men whose profession is divining for money, whose trade is deceiving human souls to gratify their own avarice, joined in the cry that joseph smith and his fellow apostles were selfish seekers after the things of this world. men whose souls felt no repugnance to the butchery of defenseless men, pure women and innocent little children originated the awful lie that murder was practiced and condoned by this church. impure wretches, looking with lustful eyes upon females, originated the untruth that woman was degraded and her virtue held in light esteem by the latter-day saints; and among the most prominent persecutors and prosecutors of this people have been lechers. dishonest and disreputable men circulated the absurd falsehood that joseph smith and his followers sought to despoil others of their possessions instead of acquiring homes by the labors of their own hands. it is one of the most peculiar experiences of the saints that in most instances the charge brought against them has been one of which the originator would himself be glad to be guilty.

so it was at independence in the summer of 1833.

the first effort of the mob failed. they lacked a leader sufficiently base to unite them in their plans for robbery and murder. but in july of that year a man named pixley, a paid agent of a sectarian missionary society, was dwelling in that region under the pretense of helping the indians to the light of christianity. he defamed the saints to their fellow citizens of missouri and sent malicious lies to the eastern states to stir up the older communities of the nation to a feeling of dislike. he misrepresented the saints to the indians and to the wilder white men of the border, with the hope to inflame these ungoverned and lawless people to attack and destroy the little handful of church members. the number of the saints in the center stake of zion at this time was twelve hundred. they were law-abiding and industrious. but they were intent upon the work commanded of the lord, and they did not assimilate readily nor join in unworthy pursuits with the surrounding people, white and red and black. this self-isolation or exclusiveness constituted their sole offense. it is not surprising that the saints should have striven to keep their skirts clean from close contact with the vicious element abounding there, nor that this same vicious element should have been easily aroused against a people so singular in their demeanor, and so unworldly in their lives and aspirations.

pixley, himself the teacher of a false religion, proclaimed against joseph smith as a false prophet. pixley, himself the leader of deceived converts, proclaimed against the saints as deluded followers. pixley, himself a dishonest creature, proclaimed that the purpose of the saints was to steal the possessions of other settlers, to steal their negroes, or to incite them to run away. the latter-day saints were men from the eastern states—yankees—and consequently open to the suspicion of being abolitionists. in upper missouri in those days no charge could be made that would arouse more intense hatred and violence than that of being an abolitionist. the mere whisper of such a suspicion was sufficient to inflame anger and arouse a mob. by such cries, pixley and others of his kind induced every dissolute idler in that region to join in an onslaught for plunder. they all hoped to safely annihilate the church and to seize the lands of the saints under cover of a pharisaical cry, "false prophets, deluded followers, idle vagabonds, land thieves!" with this man pixley were united professed ministers of the gospel, officers of the law, politicians and many individuals of less personal importance if not less vindictiveness. they succeeded in so exciting the public mind that a mass meeting to devise some unlawful plan against the saints was held at independence, on the 20th day of july, 1833, at which a great horde of five hundred persons were in attendance. not only were the scum of that wild region gathered, but men holding high official positions were also present, for individuals with political aspirations are often ready to join the lowest and most depraved in any popular movement. amazing as it may seem, lieutenant-governor lilburn w. boggs, the second officer of the state of missouri, was personally cognizant of the proceedings and aided every movement against the saints.

colonel richard simpson was chairman of the meeting, and james h. flournoy and colonel samuel d. lucas were secretaries. a committee appointed for the purpose prepared and presented a manifesto, which was adopted by the meeting. it denounced the saints for their poverty and for their peculiar religious belief, but it did not dare to charge a single specific violation of law against them. it closed with the declaration that no latter-day saint should in future be permitted to settle in jackson county; that such as then resided there should remove; that the evening and morning star should no longer be published, and the business of printing by the saints should be discontinued in that county; and "that those who failed to comply with this requisition are to refer to those of their brethren who have the gift of divination and of unknown tongues to inform them of the lot that awaits them."

not a single voice was recorded against the adoption of this infamous edict. it was unanimously accepted; and immediately a committee of thirteen persons was appointed to see that the decree was enforced. the space of two hours was allowed by the meeting for the delivery of the terms of this manifesto to the presiding officers of the church, for their answer to this demand, and for the return of the committee to the meeting. scant time, indeed, for the expatriation of twelve hundred law-abiding men, women and children! the saints asked for delay for a pitiful ten days, in which to consider the awful decree. the answer was, "fifteen minutes are enough."

the mob were terribly, murderously earnest. when the committee returned to the re-convened meeting after a lapse of that brief two hours, they reported that the leaders of the saints and the editor of the paper had asked time for consultation, not only among themselves but with their fellow believers and the presidency of the church in ohio. a yell of hate greeted this announcement, and the meeting instantly and unanimously resolved to wreak instant vengeance upon the saints and the paper. headed by a red flag to signify their bloody purpose and their defiance of law, they rushed upon their prey. the house of william w. phelps, the editor, containing the printing establishment, was razed to the ground. his press and type and other materials were seized and carried away by the mob. the papers and books were destroyed, and the family and furniture of the editor were cast off the premises. an infant child of elder phelps was dangerously ill in his wife's arms, but mother and babe were thrust out as brutally as the rest. an attack was made upon the store for the purpose of plundering it, but the mob was induced to forego their purpose to engage in more sanguinary delights. bishop edward partridge and charles allen were stripped and tarred and feathered, because they would not deny the truth nor agree to leave the county at once. with the tar was mixed some powerful acid which burned their flesh frightfully. several of the brethren were threatened with whipping and even worse. but it was growing dark and the mob concluded that enough had been done for one time; so the mass meeting, which this inhuman rabble was called, adjourned for three days until the 23rd of july, 1833. and lilburn w. boggs addressed some of the saints saying, "you now know what our jackson boys can do, and you must leave the country."

even a greater number of people assembled on the 23rd of july, as agreed, to renew the persecution of the poor saints. a new committee was appointed to consult again with the presiding officers of the church; and, not being entirely dead to humanity, this committee agreed to give the saints time—one half until the 1st day of january, 1834, and the remainder until the 1st day of april, of the same year, in which to remove themselves from jackson county. further, it was settled that the star was not to be again published nor a press set up by any latter-day saint in the county, and that any members of the church then journeying toward jackson county should be stopped on the road and only permitted to have a temporary shelter until such time as all the saints could remove from jackson county to some new gathering place. a solemn pledge was given by the committee that, meanwhile, the people should not be again assailed. the mass meeting, upon receiving this report, ratified it in a formal manner. concluding that their great mission—to which they had devoted "their bodily powers, their lives, fortunes and sacred honors"—had been accomplished the rabble adjourned sine die. [1]

oliver cowdery was at once dispatched to kirtland with full information. when the prophet joseph heard of this wanton attack upon the church and the sad situation of the people at independence, he wrote, "man may torment the body; but god in return will punish the soul."