sidney rigdon and edward partridge join the church—joseph commences the translation of the scriptures—saints commanded to gather at ohio —joseph migrates from new york—the kirkland saints fall into error— god's power manifested—important revelations.
in december, 1830, two men came from kirtland, ohio, to visit the prophet at fayette. they were sidney rigdon and edward partridge. both had accepted the gospel, as declared to them by the western missionaries, and sidney rigdon had been baptized. after reaching fayette, edward partridge demanded and received baptism under the prophet's hands. these two men offered to joseph, for the work of the lord, their time, their talents, and all they possessed. like all the early members of the church, having not yet gained full understanding of the purposes of god, having not yet gained confidence in their own ability to rightly determine their conduct, they desired that the lord should give them his special commands. joseph prayed for revelation on their behalf, and was speedily answered.
the lord revealed many comforting and exalting truths to sidney rigdon and edward partridge. to sidney he gave a special command that he should write for joseph. the lord made known to sidney what joseph already understood—that the scriptures should be given, even as they were in god's own bosom, to the salvation of his elect. and soon after this time joseph began a new translation of the scriptures. while he labored, many truths, buried through scores of ages, were brought forth to his understanding, and he saw in their purity and holiness all the doings of god among his children, from the days of adam unto the birth of our lord and savior. but before the close of december, after sidney had been aiding joseph some little time, the lord required the prophet to temporarily cease his work of translation. the enemy of all truth was drawing his forces around about fayette to achieve the destruction of the prophet, and the downfall of the newly-founded church. but they were to be foiled. fayette was not the region where the lord designed his people to settle. joseph's mind had been led to look to the western country for that purpose. contact with sidney rigdon and edward partridge confirmed his inclination in that direction. the time had now arrived when it appeared necessary for the accomplishment of god's purposes, that his people (now increased to several score,) should have an abiding-place. it was made known to joseph by revelation from the lord, where this new resting-place should be. he himself, did not expect to escape personal suffering or persecution by this new move; nor was this in the providence of god concerning him. but he knew that every migration made by him under the direction of the almighty had been followed by prosperity and increase to the work, and he, therefore, obeyed the command to move to the place designated by the lord, without hesitation or doubt.
in the revelation now referred to, it was commanded that the people of god should assemble in the state of ohio, and there await the return of oliver cowdery and his fellow-missionaries from their eventful journey into the wilderness. thus early in the history of the church was the destiny of the people outlined. kirtland was to be a stake of zion; blessed by the presence of god's anointed prophet and the apostles of our lord jesus christ; glorified by a temple built to the name of the most high; and worthy to receive the ministrations in person of the only begotten son of the eternal father. and yet it was to be but a temporary resting-place; for even while the saints were to gather to kirtland, the western missionaries were viewing the region in missouri, yet to be known as the centre stake of zion, which was to be built up and beautified for the visible presence of our lord and savior.
before organizing his company for the migration from seneca county, new york, into ohio, the prophet called a conference of the church to be held in fayette on the 2nd day of january, 1831. with the opening of the year, the prophet saw a glorious prospect for the welfare of the kingdom. and at this conference all present seemed to partake of his faith and of the power of the holy spirit. in a revelation given for the comfort and sustenance of the saints on this occasion, the lord made known that in secret chambers there was much plotting for the destruction of the saints of god. the command was renewed that they should go into ohio, and some of the reasons for this movement were made known. encouragement was also given to the people that the lord intended to give unto them a land of promise—a land upon which there should be no curse when the lord should come. if they would seek it with all their hearts the lord made a covenant with them that it should be the land of inheritance for themselves and their children, not only while the earth shall stand, but in eternity, no more to pass away. it is upon this and kindred promises that is founded the hope so tenaciously clung to by the latter-day saints amid all the vicissitudes of their checkered career, that they will yet inherit that land where the centre stake of zion is to be built.
in the latter part of january, 1831, joseph departed for kirtland. in his company were his wife, and elders sidney rigdon, edward partridge, ezra thayer, and newel knight. before leaving seneca county, and later at several points on their journey, they preached in public meetings to many searchers after the truth. on every occasion new converts came forward and accepted baptism at their hands. they reached their destination in the opening of february; joseph and his wife at once found entertainment and comfort in the house of elder newel k. whitney, one of the converts made in kirtland by the western missionaries. for some weeks the prophet dwelt here, solaced and sustained by the faith and prayers of some dear friends. but outside this little circle he found much to cause him concern of mind.
the branch of the church at kirtland had become numerically strong, for it numbered nearly one hundred members. but they had been led into strange errors and darkness. false spirits had crept in and had manifested themselves in the subjugation of the physical and mental powers of their victims—as newel knight had formerly been controlled and possessed by the evil power at colesville. the saints at kirtland, not having had experience to enable them to distinguish between the powers of light and the powers of darkness, and believing these things to be divine manifestations, were yielding to them and imperiling their earthly and eternal salvation, when the prophet came and by his presence and the prayers and faith of those elders who accompanied him, banished all these dark influences from the congregation of the saints. when the faith of the saints was aroused and exercised, the miracle which had been wrought at colesville was here repeated. joseph, by the power of god, rebuked the vile one and his crew; and his brother hyrum, under the prophet's direction, laid his hands on the sufferers' heads and cast out the devils.
immediately following the reconciliation wrought among the saints of god by their faith and these miracles, a revelation was given from the lord directing what the elders should do to receive his law, that they might know how to govern his church, and informing them that he who received his law and doeth it is his disciple; but he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, is not his disciple, and should be cast out from among them: and also appointing unto edward partridge that he should be ordained a bishop, to leave his own affairs and devote his time to the service of the lord. this was on the 4th of february, 1831. five days later the word of the lord again came to the elders of the church, saying:
and ye shall go forth in the power of my spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the voice of a trumpet, declaring my word like unto the angels of god; and ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying—repent ye! repent ye! for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
and from this place ye shall go forth unto the regions westward; and inasmuch as ye shall find them that will receive you, ye shall build up my church in every region, until the time shall come when it shall be revealed unto you from on high, when the city of the new jerusalem shall be prepared, that you may be gathered in one, that you may be my people and i will be your god.
in this revelation instruction was given that no one was to preach or to build up the church of christ without being properly ordained by one having authority; the elders were taught the principles which they should declare, and they were particularly enjoined to teach by the spirit of the lord; and if they received it not, they were told not to teach; the moral law was plainly declared and the dreadful consequence of unchastity was strongly emphasized; he that sinned and repented not was to be cast out; consecration of property to sustain the poor was enforced; home manufacture was encouraged by the requirements that dress should be plain and its beauty the beauty which the saints' own labor gave it; cleanliness was commanded and idleness was condemned; the proper treatment of the sick and the mourning for the dead were made known: that glorious promise—the complete fulfillment of which has been a solace and a source of unbounded joy to the latter-day saints through all the years which have intervened since it was given—was made, "that those that die in me [jesus christ] shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them;" to those who had various infirmities and had faith, miraculous healing was promised; honesty of dealing was enjoined; instructions concerning the new translation of the scriptures were given; when asked for, revelation upon revelation and knowledge upon knowledge were promised; the converts in the east were to be taught by the elders to flee to the west to escape future trouble: the saints were to receive church covenants sufficient to establish them in ohio and in the new jerusalem; he that lacked wisdom was encouraged to ask and he should be given liberally and without upbraiding; commandments were given respecting fornicators, adulterers, and other transgressors, and the manner they should be dealt with.
altogether this was a most important revelation. it threw a flood of light upon a great variety of subjects and settled many important questions. faithful men and women were greatly delighted at being members of a church which the lord acknowledged as his own, and to which he communicated his word through his inspired prophet as he did at this time.
while joseph was thus administering among the people, in the same month of february, 1831, the lord commanded him to call the elders of the church together from the east and the west, and from the north and south, to receive in solemn assemblage the pouring out of his spirit upon them. pursuant to this requirement a general conference of the church was appointed to be held in kirtland on the 6th day of june, 1831.
at no time during the prophet's career did the care of the poor escape his attention or become a matter of indifference to him. he was a man of large benevolence, and his sympathies were quickly aroused by any tale of sorrow or appeal for relief. in the most busy and trying periods of his life those who went to him for counsel in their troubles, always found him willing to listen, and they were sure to receive encouragement and assistance. to extend comfort to the bruised spirit, and to help the needy and distressed appeared a constant pleasure to him. his hospitality, also, was a marked feature in his character. his house was always open to entertain the stranger. one of the most cherished recollections of many of the old members of the church is the kindness with which they were treated by "brother joseph," and the warm welcome he gave them to his house upon their arrival at kirtland and other places where he lived.
in the revelation above referred to the lord said:
ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief, that they may be kept until all things may be done according to my law which ye have received.
in other revelations which the lord gave to joseph, frequent mention was made of the poor and the provisions which should be made for their sustenance. before leaving fayette, new york, the church was commanded to appoint certain men to look to the poor and the needy and administer to their relief that they should not suffer. directly after reaching kirtland, joseph received a revelation in which the church was told by the lord to remember the poor and consecrate properties for their support, that every man who had need might be amply supplied and receive according to his wants. again, the command was given to "remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for," the lord said, "he that doeth not these things the same is not my disciple."
a clear exposition of the duty laid upon every believer in the gospel as revealed in this last dispensation, if he had been blessed with abundance, to share of his wealth with the poor, was given in a subsequent revelation in the following striking language:
wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation—the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!
in this way the duty of the saints towards the poor—this practical and essential part of true religion—was deeply impressed upon them and kept constantly before them. in numerous paragraphs of the revelations given to the church during those early days, were the members taught that the lord intended his people to be equal in temporal things—that class distinctions should not exist among them because of the riches of some and the poverty of others. the effect of those early revelations and teachings upon this subject has been visible upon the people from the time they were given to the present. there has been a continual yearning for such a higher life—such a blessed and heavenly condition of society—as the practical adaptation and realization of the truths of the revelations will bring about. amid the dangers with which many of the faithful members have thought the church has been menaced through the increase of wealth of some of their number, they have always been cheered by the assurance that the day was not far distant when the injunction would be carried out, which the lord gave in the days of which we write: "let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as i have commanded you."
this has been the ideal condition to which all have lifted their eyes. the effect has been that the wide difference which exists in the world between the rich and the poor—with the one class wealthy beyond all safety and reason, and the other class wretchedly poor even to starvation—has always been felt to be terribly wrong and contrary to the will of god. it was this bond of union and mutual help in a temporal sense, established by the command of jehovah, and constantly taught by the prophet joseph and his co-laborers, which enabled the saints through all the succeeding persecutions to move and endure as one family, all suffering measurably alike. since the days of the savior there has never been until joseph smith's time, a system of social life in which honorable poverty received such consideration and such help. concerning the poor at this early day the lord said:
they shall see the kingdom of god coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the earth shall be theirs.
for behold, the lord shall come and his recompense shall be with him, and he shall reward every man, and the poor shall rejoice; and their generations shall inherit the earth from generation to generation forever and ever.
the church at kirtland soon began to assume an importance which alarmed its opponents. previous to this time falsehood and persecution had been directed almost entirely against the prophet himself. but as the work extended and the church increased in its membership, the father of lies did not confine his attacks to joseph; he sent forth his countless emissaries to provoke hatred and wrath against the church itself. yet nothing tangible up to this time could be alleged against the prophet joseph or the church which god organized through his instrumentality. here at kirtland, and at this time, however, the foes of truth united in formulating and publishing to the world all the calumnies which their wicked imaginations could devise. none were more active in this infamous business than certain fearful and lying priests and their bigoted adherents; and it is from this fruitful source of accusation and slander that subsequent defamers of the prophet's early life have drawn many of their falsehoods.
to the saints, however, there was compensation for these attacks in the word of the lord which they received in plainness and power at this time through the prophet. he was inspired to write many revelations which were of priceless value to the church. principles and doctrines, instructions and warnings, promises and prophecies, were given with a simplicity and clearness suited to the capacity of the humblest understanding, and yet the truths they contained are so sublime as to furnish instruction and food for profound thought to men of the highest attainments and the most extensive cultivation.
among several revelations given during this month of march, 1831, there was one of more than ordinary interest to the saints then, and the lapse of time has only added to its importance in the minds of all believers. it was upon that never-failing subject of interest—the second coming of the savior. the signs which should precede his coming and the wonderful manifestations which should accompany it—making the event the most awful and yet the most glorious witnessed since the dawn of creation—were described with divine clearness. in this revelation the lord said:
wherefore hearken and i will reason with you, and i will speak unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old; and i will show it plainly as i showed it unto my disciples as i stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying, as ye have asked of me concerning the signs of my coming in the day when i shall come in my glory in the clouds of heaven to fulfill the promises that i made unto your fathers.
a rehearsal is then given of instructions and predictions which he gave to his disciples, similar, but in greater fullness to those recorded in the 24th chapter of matthew in the new testament. for the comfort of his ancient disciples he made promises, from which saints in every age can derive satisfaction and hope. he said:
and it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the son of man. * * * but before the arm of the lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud; wherefore, if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now behold me and know that i am, even so shall ye come unto me, and your souls shall live and your redemption shall be perfected, and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth. then shall the arm of the lord fall upon the nations, and then shall the lord set his foot upon this mount and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro, the heavens shall also shake. * * * for they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the holy spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived; verily i say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day, and the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation, for the lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
in the months of april and may, 1831, the prophet continued to labor among the people and numerous commandments came from the lord to him and other elders, especially directing their ministrations and constantly resolving their doubts and removing their difficulties. the harvest was being gathered; the saints from new york and other places had come up to kirtland to join with their fellow-worshipers; constant accessions were being made, until on the 1st of june, 1831, a few days preceding the appointed general conference of the church, the congregation of the saints numbered nearly two thousand souls.
