Nephi Anderson

“ Twenty years afterwards when the great war broke out between the North and the South, Missouri was one of the fiercest battle grounds, and its people suffered terribly for the misery and bloodshed they had brought upon the Saints. ”

“ President Young replied that he had had experience with military bodies in Missouri and Illinois, and he knew what the "Mormons" could expect. The captain tried to show President Young how useless it would be for a few "Mormons" to resist a nation like the United States. Even if they prevented the army from entering the valley that year, more soldiers would be sent in the spring.
"We are aware that such will be the case," replied the president; "but when those troops arrive they will find Utah a desert; every house will be burned to the ground, every tree cut down, and every field laid waste." ”

“ The mob did not give up a gun, but bands of them roamed over the country searching for the Saints. Houses were torn down and burned, men were tied up and whipped, women and children were driven out into the fields and forests. Many of the county's leading men took part in these crimes, and even ministers, preachers of the gospel as they called themselves, were seen leading mobs from place to place. ”

“ Many religions of the day teach that there is no chance for people after they leave this life; if they are not saved when they die, they never can be afterwards. Can you not see what a cruel thought that is? ”

“ Think of the millions who have not had a chance! Surely God would not punish people for not doing something they had no chance to do.
THE TEMPLE BLOCK.
Now all this was made plain to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord told him that all those who died without repentance and baptism would have a chance in the next world. Christ, while his body lay three days in the tomb, went and preached to the spirits in prison. Likewise, many of the servants of God have, and are now preaching the gospel to the children of God in the spirit world. They can there believe and repent, but can not be baptized. ”

“ This you will remember was proved so often in the history of the Nephites.
Strictly speaking, the whole of America is the land of Zion, but the Lord revealed to Joseph that there should be a "center place," where a great city should be build which should be called the city of Zion, or the New Jerusalem. This city will be the capital or in the center of a large district of country full of people who serve the Lord. A grand temple will be built in the central city, and the glory of the Lord will rest upon it by day and by night. ”

“ The few brethren in Far West prepared to defend themselves as best they could. It might appear useless for a handful of men to oppose an army, but when men are fighting for their homes, their liberty, their wives and their children, a few can do mighty deeds.
But they were not to fight. Traitors were in the camp of the Saints and they now betrayed their brethren into the hands of the enemy. Colonel George M. Hinkle was the commander of the Far West militia, and he went to the mob commanders and promised to deliver up to them the Church leaders. ”

“ Men came from every part of the world. There were Catholics and Protestants; there were followers of Brahma and Buddha from India; there were Greeks and Mohammedans; there were Japanese, Chinese, and negroes—but, among them all there was one religion and one church lacking, and that was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It had not been invited, and when Elder B.H. Roberts was sent to Chicago to get a hearing for the Church of Christ, he was treated in an ungentlemanly manner and was not allowed to properly present the claims and doctrines of the Church. ”

“ Surely, the Spirit of God is in these sacred buildings, and those who labor therein for the living and the dead enjoy its blessed influence. Let every one of you so live that your life may be pure and clean, so that some day you may be worthy of entering the House of God and partaking of the blessings in store for you. ”

“ The Saints kept on under the direction of the Twelve, building the temple and other public edifices in Nauvoo.
The enemies of the Church were disappointed. They had thought that if they could get Joseph out of the way that would be the end of "Mormonism." Of course they did not understand that "Mormonism" is the Lord's work and does not depend for its success on one or two men. He can raise up any number of men to carry on his work, and now Brigham Young and his brethren were the men who could and would carry it on. ”

“ The Saints now had great power at the polls, the same as in Missouri. The "Mormons" would not vote for men who would not give them their rights, and so many of these politicians became their enemies and stirred up the people against the Saints by their many lies. Then, there were the jealousies of the sectarian preachers; and perhaps worse than all, the evil work of apostates. Then it happened that a band of thieves troubled the neighborhood, and of course the "Mormons" were blamed. It was not a hard matter to find excuses for a further persecution of the Latter-day Saints. ”

“ Every elder who has been on a mission will tell you that as soon as persons accept the gospel, a desire comes to them to gather with the main body of the Saints. Thus the Lord puts the spirit of gathering into the hearts of the believers, and his purposes are fulfilled.
The Lord told the prophet Joseph that the time for this gathering had come, and that the central gathering place for the Saints on this land was somewhere in the West, though at first the exact location was not told him. ”

“ Men, women and children scattered in every direction taking refuge in the woods, while the bullets of the mobbers flew thick and fast among them, wounding and killing.
The mob kept on firing at the shop until they thought all within were killed; then they went about the place killing all they could find alive, and robbing the houses of everything they could carry off. They even stripped the dead and dying of their clothes. They went into the blacksmith shop for this purpose, and there they saw dead men lying in piles, and wounded men groaning in pain, while pools of blood stood on the floor. ”

“ In the days of Nauvoo, in 1843, Joseph the Prophet had received a revelation from God, saying that it was right for good men holding the priesthood to have more wives than one. By the time the Church had been in Utah a few years, quite a number of the Saints had obeyed this law and entered plural marriage. The enemies of the Church call this practice a great sin, even though they can read in the Bible that good men of old whom the Lord loved had many wives. In 1862 Congress passed a law against plural marriage or polygamy. ”

“ Thus was the true Church of Christ again on the earth. During the hundreds of years when the world had lain in darkness, not a man could have been found who had the authority to confirm a member of the church ”

“ They had blackened their faces with powder and mud. Then the firing began. The mob rushed up the stairs, shooting into the room where the four brethren were. The prisoners sprang to the door to close it but the guns of the mob forced it open. Elders Taylor and Richards tried to push the guns aside with their canes. The bullets flew like hail into the room. One ball came through the door and struck Hyrum in the head. Four others hit him, and he fell back saying:
"I am a dead man."
Joseph gazed on his brother and exclaimed: "Oh! dear brother Hyrum!" ”

“ The Church is growing in strength and power to save the human family. That is its mission. It will never be overcome, or left to other people. "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing," said the Prophet Joseph, "persecution may rage; mobs may combine; armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independently till it has penetrated every continent ”

“ The angel then laid his hands on their heads and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. He told Joseph to baptize Oliver, after which Oliver was to baptize Joseph. Then Joseph was to ordain Oliver and Oliver to do the same to Joseph. All this they gladly did, and immediately they were filled with great joy.
Thus was the power to baptize for the remission of sins again given to the earth. Think what a great event it was! None in all the world had this power, save two unknown young men in the woods of Pennsylvania. Great things often have small beginnings. ”

“ On the 24th of July, 1857, the people of Salt Lake City were having a grand celebration in Big Cottonwood canyon. They were having a happy time. The band played, the choirs sang, the cannon roared, while the Stars and Stripes waved from trees and mountain peaks. Suddenly four dusty travelers rode into the camp. They brought news from the East, and startling news it was: the president of the United States had sent an army to Utah to establish law and order among the "Mormons!"
In the evening the Saints were called together, and the news was told them. President Young spoke with power. ”

“ Exterminate means to destroy utterly, to root out completely, and this is what a governor of a state said should be done to twelve thousand innocent people if they did not leave the state.
Companies of Missouri militia now came marching from various parts of the state into Caldwell and other counties nearby. Soon Far West was surrounded by an army. Niel Gillium was there with his band of men in Indian costume, who whooped and yelled like true savages. On the evening of October 30th, a party of men came fresh from the awful massacre, at Haun's Mill, eager for more blood. ”

“ Jesus had been crucified at Jerusalem, had risen from the dead, and now he came to the Nephites with his resurrected body. He taught them the same gospel that he had taught in Palestine and chose twelve disciples to preach and build up his church. For nearly two hundred years the people all belonged to the Church of Christ, and peace was over all the land. Then they became wicked again. The Lamanites kept driving the Nephites further north, until they reached what is now the United States. ”

“ You will all be interested in knowing what was written on the plates which the prophet Joseph Smith received from the angel Moroni, so in this chapter I will tell you very briefly. Some time you will want to read the whole book, which of course is the better way.
You have read in your histories and geographies that ruins of great cities have been found in many places in America, showing that at one time there were people here more civilized than the Indians. The writings on these plates told the history of these peoples. ”

“ No matter how much a person has seen or how much he knows, if he sins and does not repent, the Spirit of God will leave him, and he will be in the dark. It then becomes an easy matter for him to fall away from the Church.
During the two years named above, four of the Twelve Apostles and many of the leading men apostatized; and then, not satisfied with so doing, they began to join the mobs who persecuted Joseph and the Saints. This led the Church leaders to remove to Missouri, and soon after nearly all the Saints followed them to the land of Zion. ”

“ Most of you have had some experience in moving, it may be only a family moving from one house to another, and you know what a lot of worry and work there are in such a small affair; but here was a nation moving! ”

“ Nearly every day there were meetings held in the temple. The next Sunday after the dedication, Joseph and Oliver were praying in the sacred house when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto them. He stood on the breastwork of the pulpit, and Joseph describes Him as a most glorious personage. Jesus told them that He had accepted the temple and promised them great blessings if they would continue to keep his commandments.
After this vision had closed, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared unto them and each of them gave to Joseph and Oliver many blessings concerning the gospel. ”

“ At one place a company of one hundred and ninety—all being women and children excepting three old men—was driven thirty miles across a burnt prairie, the ground being coated with sleet. Their trail could be easily followed by the blood which flowed from their feet. ”

“ During the years 1837 and 1838 many of the brethren in Kirtland began to buy and sell land and set up stores and banks for the purpose of making money. Now, there would have been nothing wrong in all this if they had done all their business honestly; but the trouble was that many wanted to get rich so fast that oftimes they would cheat each other. This of course was inspired by the evil one, who did his best to stop the progress of the Church. It was a very hard trial for Joseph and those of his brethren who stood by him to see so many leading men fall away into wickedness. ”

“ Some time before his death, Joseph had predicted that the Saints would yet move to the Rocky Mountains; and he had even begun the movement by holding councils and asking for volunteers from the brethren to go ahead and locate a place to which the Church might gather. President Young and the Twelve now began preparing to carry this plan out. They could plainly see that it was useless to try to live in peace in Illinois. The mobs grew larger and fiercer. The people living in the counties surrounding Hancock county, threatened to drive the "Mormons" from the state ”

“ In reply President Young said that he and his brethren had simply stood up for their rights, and they had done nothing to be pardoned for, except, perhaps the burning of some government trains, and for that act they accepted the President's pardon. President Young then said they were willing the troops should come into the country. They might march through the city but they were not to make a camp less than forty miles away. "No mobs shall live in the homes we have built in these mountains," said the president. ”