Doctrine and Covenants 98

On Saturday, July 20, 1833, between 400 and 500 angry Missouri citizens met at the courthouse in Independence, Missouri. They chose a committee to draft a document outlining their demands of the Mormons. They demanded that no more Latter-day Saints be allowed to move to Jackson County and said that those already living there must pledge to leave as soon as possible. In addition, they demanded that the Church newspaper stop publication. When these demands were presented to the Church leaders in Missouri, the Church leaders were startled and asked for three months to consider the proposition and to consult with Church leaders in Ohio. The group of Missouri citizens presenting the demands denied the Church leaders’ request. The Saints then asked for 10 days, but they were allowed only 15 minutes to respond. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 132–33.)

The Missourians at the meeting in the Independence courthouse quickly turned into a mob and decided to destroy the printing office and the press. They broke into the printing office, threw the furniture into the street and garden, broke the press, scattered the type, and destroyed nearly all the printed work, including most of the unbound sheets of the Book of Commandments. The mob next went to destroy the Gilbert and Whitney Store. However, Sidney Gilbert met the mob before they could carry out their plan and promised that he would pack the goods and leave in three days. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times,133.)

Three days later, on July 23, a mob appeared again in Jackson County, Missouri, this time armed with rifles, pistols, whips, and clubs. They set fire to haystacks and grain fields and destroyed several homes, barns, and businesses. They eventually confronted six Church leaders who, seeing that the property and lives of the Saints were in jeopardy, offered their lives as a ransom. Rejecting this offer, the mob leaders threatened that every man, woman, and child would be whipped unless they consented to leave the county. Under pressure, the brethren signed an agreement to leave Jackson County. Half of the Church members and most of the leaders would leave by January 1, 1834, and the rest would leave by April 1, 1834. The mob allowed John Corrill and Sidney Gilbert to remain to sell the property of the Saints who had been driven out. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 134.)

“The original inhabitants of the area became increasingly suspicious as the number of Church members in Jackson County grew rapidly. Many people feared they would soon be outnumbered by the new religiously motivated pilgrims from the East. The ‘old settlers’ were from a different background than the incoming Latter-day Saints, and it was natural that cultural, political, religious, and economic differences arose.

“Jackson County’s residents were a rough-and-ready group who had come from the mountainous regions of several southern states to the western edge of the United States to find freedom from societal restraints. Most of them were uneducated and lacked the cultural refinement that was more common in New England and the East. Many of them indulged in profanity, Sabbath-breaking, horse-racing, cock-fighting, idleness, drunkenness, gambling, and violence. …

“The old settlers viewed the growing body of Saints as a political threat, even though members of the Church did not run for office or vote as a bloc during their short stay in Jackson County. By July 1833 the Mormon population in the county was almost twelve hundred, with more arriving each month. Some members boasted that thousands more were coming to live in the county. … Local citizens were naturally apprehensive of a religious zeal that predicted that all ‘Gentiles’ (non-Mormons) would be cut off when the millennial kingdom was established in Jackson County.

“Protestant ministers also resented the Mormon intrusion into the county. Latter-day Saints were labeled fanatics and knaves and were denounced as gullible and ignorant because they believed in and frequently experienced miracles, prophecy, healings, revelations, and speaking in tongues. Jealousy and fear of losing some from their flocks added to the antagonism of the ministers. …

“In addition, Mormon merchants and tradesmen successfully took over a portion of the lucrative Santa Fe Trail trade previously dominated by the Missourians. Some of the old settlers feared that the Church members were determined to take over their lands and businesses. Moreover, the Saints ‘did not purchase goods from the local merchants, as they had no money, but traded among themselves at the Church storehouse. … Some of the old settlers were selling their property to the Mormons and moving away. This meant fewer and fewer customers in the stores, and future financial ruin’ for the remaining old settlers [T. Edgar Lyon, “Independence, Missouri, and the Mormons, 1827–1833,” BYU Studies, autumn 1972, 17–18].

“To complicate matters, in the spring of 1833 the Missouri flooded, destroyed the landing at Independence, and shifted the channel of the river away from the community. A new town, Westport, with a better landing, was established farther upstream, and the business in Independence declined. Entrepreneurs in Independence blamed the Mormons for this situation. Foreseeing what the future might bring, some of the old settlers offered to sell out to the Saints. Members of the Church wanted to buy the farms and possessions, but did not have enough capital to do so. This exasperated the Missourians, and soon they were spreading tales of how poverty-stricken the Mormons were.

“The Missouri frontiersmen feared and hated the Indians. Their antipathy increased in the 1830s as the government began to resettle eastern tribes on lands just west of Independence. After the 1832 Black Hawk War, citizens of western Missouri petitioned Congress to establish a line of military posts for their protection. The first Mormon missionaries came into this tense atmosphere declaring the prophetic destiny of the native Americans. The old settlers were afraid the Saints would use the Indians to help them conquer the area for their New Jerusalem. Matters were further complicated by Protestant ministers who were jealous of Latter-day Saint proselyting efforts among the Indians.

“The conflict between the Saints and the old settlers came to a head over the slavery issue. Missouri had come into the Union as a slave state under the famous Compromise of 1820. Slaveholding was limited, however. The old settlers prized their right to hold slaves and despised abolitionism. Some of the Saints brought abolitionist sentiments from the North and East, and the possibility of a black rebellion was a fear throughout the South at this time. In 1831 Nat Turner’s slave uprising in Virginia had resulted in the death of over seventy whites and one hundred slaves. An irrational fear of revolts swept over the slave states. Therefore, Missourians were highly aroused early in 1832 by rumors that the Saints were trying to persuade slaves to disobey their masters or run away.

“To squelch the rumors, the July 1833 Evening and Morning Star ran an article cautioning the missionaries about proselyting among slaves and among former slaves, known as ‘free people of color.’ Unfortunately the local Missourians misinterpreted this advice to mean that Brother Phelps was inviting free blacks to join the Mormons in Jackson County. The article caused such a furor that Phelps issued an ‘Extra’ explaining that the Church had no intention of inviting free blacks to Missouri, but his denials were to no avail” (Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 130–32).

Elder Steven E. Snow:

“After moving with their mother to Independence, Missouri, in the fall of 1831, young sisters Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins soon learned of the hardship and persecution the Saints faced there. One night an angry mob attacked their home; on another occasion, they witnessed an attack on the newly constructed printing office located on the upper floor of the William W. Phelps residence.

“During the attack on the printing office [on July 20, 1833], the mob forced the Phelps family from their home and threw their belongings into the street. Mobsters then went to work destroying the printing equipment upstairs and throwing unbound manuscripts from the building. Some brought out large sheets of paper and declared, ‘Here are the Mormon Commandments!’ [“Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, July 1926, 196]. By this time, the Prophet Joseph Smith had received many sacred revelations, some as early as 1823, when the angel Moroni appeared to the boy prophet. Joseph had recorded numerous revelations in his own handwriting, but no text had been prepared and distributed for the benefit of members of the Church. With much excitement, the Saints in Missouri anticipated the publication of these revelations as a ‘Book of Commandments.’ This work was under way at the printing office when the mob struck. Mary Elizabeth, then 15, described what happened:

“‘My sister Caroline [age 13] and myself were in a corner of a fence watching them; when they spoke of the commandments I was determined to have some of them. Sister said if I went to get any of them she would go too, but said “they will kill us”’ [“Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” 196].

“While the mob was busy at one end of the house, the two girls ran and filled their arms with the precious sheets. The mob saw them and ordered the girls to stop. Mary Elizabeth recalled: ‘We ran as fast as we could. Two of them started after us. Seeing a gap in a fence, we entered into a large cornfield, laid the papers on the ground, and hid them with our persons. The corn was from five to six feet high, and very thick; they hunted around considerable, and came very near us but did not find us’ [“Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” 196]” (“Treasuring the Doctrine and Covenants,” Ensign,Jan. 2009, 50).

Doctrine and Covenants 98:1–2

Elder Robert D. Hales:

“What, then, does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end” (“Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done,” Ensign or Liahona,Nov. 2011, 72).

Doctrine and Covenants 98:23–27

“The mob caught Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, and dragged them through the maddened crowd, which insulted and abused them along the road to the public square. Here two alternatives were presented them; either they must renounce their faith in the Book of Mormon or leave the county. The Book of Mormon they would not deny, nor consent to leave the county. Bishop Partridge, being permitted to speak, said that the saints had to suffer persecution in all ages of the world, and that he was willing to suffer for the sake of Christ, as the saints in former ages had done; that he had done nothing which ought to offend anyone, and that if they abused him, they would injure an innocent man. Here his voice was drowned by the tumult of the crowd, many of whom were shouting: ‘Call upon your God to deliver you … !’ The two brethren, Partridge and Allen, were stripped of their clothing, and bedaubed with tar, mixed with lime, or pearl-ash, or some other flesh-eating acid, and a quantity of feathers scattered over them. They bore this cruel indignity and abuse with so much resignation and meekness that the crowd grew still, and appeared astonished at what they witnessed. The brethren were permitted to retire in silence” (B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:333; see also Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual], 2003, 133).

Handbook 2:

Although we are to bear mistreatment patiently and without retaliating, this does not mean we should allow others to abuse or harm us. Handbook 2: Administering the Church says that “abuse cannot be tolerated in any form. Those who abuse or are cruel to their spouses, children, other family members, or anyone else violate the laws of God and man” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 21.4.2).

Doctrine and Covenants 98:39–48

Bishop Keith B. McMullen:

“In Holland during World War II, the Casper ten Boom family used their home as a hiding place for those hunted by the Nazis. This was their way of living out their Christian faith. Four members of the family lost their lives for providing this refuge. Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie spent horrific months in the infamous Ravensbrück concentration camp. Betsie died there—Corrie survived.

“In Ravensbrück, Corrie and Betsie learned that God helps us to forgive. Following the war, Corrie was determined to share this message. On one occasion, she had just spoken to a group of people in Germany suffering from the ravages of war. Her message was ‘God forgives.’ It was then that Corrie ten Boom’s faithfulness brought forth its blessing.

“A man approached her. She recognized him as one of the cruelest guards in the camp. ‘You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,’ he said. ‘I was a guard there. … But since that time, … I have become a Christian.’ He explained that he had sought God’s forgiveness for the cruel things he had done. He extended his hand and asked, ‘Will you forgive me?’

“Corrie ten Boom then said:

“‘It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

“‘… The message that God forgives has a … condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. …

“… ‘Help me!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’

“‘… Woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. As I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart.’

“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.’ [Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (1974), 54–55.]” (“Our Path of Duty,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 13).