History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph F. Smith
circulation against our religion and society; but as wise men will hear both sides and then judge, we sincerely hope and trust that the still, small voice of truth will be heard, and our great revelations read and candidly compared with the prophecies of the Bible, that the great cause of our Redeemer may be supported by a liberal share of public opinion, as well as by the unseen power of God.
It will be seen by reference to the Book of Commandments, page 135, that the Lord has said to the Church—and we mean to live by His words: "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land."6 Therefore, as the people of God, we come before the world, and claim protection by law of the common officers of justice in every neighborhood where our people may be. We claim the same at the hands of the governors of the several states, and of the President of the United States, and of the friends of humanity and justice in every clime and country of the globe.
By the desperate acts of the inhabitants of Jackson county, many hundreds of American citizens are deprived of their lands and rights. It is reported, we mean to regain our possessions, and even Jackson county, "by the shedding of blood;" but if any man will take the pains to read the 153rd page of the Book of Commandments he will find it there said:
"Wherefore the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase or by blood; otherwise there is none inheritance for you. And if by purchase, behold you are blessed; and if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and you shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance."7
So we declare that we have ever meant and now mean to purchase the land of our inheritance of the government, like all honest men, and of those who would rather sell their farms than live in our society; and, as thousand have done before us, we solicit the aid of the children of men, and of government, to help us to obtain our rights in Jackson county, and the land whereon the Zion of God, according to our faith, shall stand in the last days, for the salvation and gathering of Israel.
Let no man be alarmed because our society has commenced gathering to build a city and a house for the Lord, as a refuge from present evils and coming calamities. Our forefathers came to this goodly land of America to shun persecution and enjoy their religious opinions and rights, as they thought proper; and the Lord, after much tribulation, blessed them: and has said that we should continue to importune for redress and redemption by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over us, according to the laws and constitution of the people, which he has suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; that every man may act in doctrine and in principle pertaining to futurity according to the moral agency which He has given unto him; that every man may be accountable for his own sins in that day of judgment; and for this purpose He has established the constitution of this land by the hands of wise men, whom He raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.8
Now we seek peace, and ask our rights, even redress and redemption, at the hands of the rulers of this nation; not only our lands and property in Jackson county, but for free trade with all men, and unmolested emigration to any part of the Union, and for our inherent right to worship God as we please. We ask the restoration of these rights, because they have been taken from us or abridged by the violence and usurpation of the inhabitants of Jackson county. As a people we hold ourselves amenable to the laws of the land; and while the government remains as it is, the right to emigrate from state to state, from territory to territory, from county to county, and from vicinity to vicinity, is open to all men of whatever trade or creed, without hindrance or molestation; and as long as we are justifiable and honest in the eyes of the law, we claim it—whether we remove by single families or in bodies of hundreds—with that of carrying the necessary arms and accoutrements for military duty; and we believe that all honest men, who love their country and their country's glory, and have a wish to see the law magnified and made honorable, will not only help to perpetuate the great legacy of freedom that came unimpaired from the hands of our venerable fathers to us, but they will also protect us from insult and injury, and aid the work of God, that they may reap a reward in the regions of bliss, when all men receive according to their works.
In relation to our distress from the want of our lands in Jackson county, and for the want of property destroyed by fire and waste, rather than do any act contrary to law, we solemnly appeal to the people with whom we tarry, for protection from insult and harm, and for the comforts of life, by labor or otherwise, while we seek peace and satisfaction of our enemies through every possible and honorable means which humanity can dictate, or philanthropy urge, or religion require. We are citizens of this republic, and we ask our rights as republicans, not merely in our restoration to our lands and property in Jackson county, Missouri, but in being considered honest in our faith; honest in our deal, and honest before God, till, by due course of law, we may be proved otherwise; reserving the right of every man's being held amenable to the proper authority for his own crimes and sins.
"Crowns won by blood, by blood must be maintained;" and to avoid blood and strife, and more fully satisfy the world that our object is peace and good will to all mankind, we hereby APPEAL for peace to the ends of the earth and ask the protection of all people. We shall use every fair means in our power to obtain our rights and immunities without force; setting an example for all true believers that we will not yield our faith and principles for any earthly consideration, whereby a precedent might be established that a majority may crush any religious sect with impunity. If we give up our rights in Jackson county, farewell to society! farewell to religion! farewell to our rights! farewell to property! farewell to life! The fate of our Church now might become the fate of the Methodists next week, the Catholics next month, and the overthrow of all societies next year, leaving nation after nation a wide waste, where reason and friendship once were.
Another, and the great object which we mean to help to accomplish, is the salvation of the souls of men. To bring to pass this glorious work, like many other religious denominations in all ages, we shall license Elders to preach the everlasting Gospel to all nations, according to the great commandment of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Thus we shall send laborers into the Lord's vineyard, to gather the wheat, and prepare the earth against the day when desolations shall be poured out without measure; and as it now is and ever has been considered one of the most honorable and glorious employments of men to carry good tidings to the nations, so we shall expect the clemency of all men, while we go forth, for the last time, to gather Israel for the glory of God, that He may suddenly come to His temple: that all nations may come and worship in His presence, when there shall be none to molest or make afraid, but the earth shall be filled with His knowledge and glory.
We live in an age of fearful imagination; with all the sincerity that common men are endowed with, the Saints have labored without pay, to instruct the United States that the gathering had commenced in the western boundaries of Missouri, to build a holy city, where, as may be seen in the eighteenth chapter of Isaiah, the present should "be brought unto the Lord of Hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts, the Mount Zion:" and how few have come forth rejoicing that the hour of redemption was nigh! And some that came have turned away, which may cause thousands to exclaim, amid the general confusion and fright of the times, "Remember Lot's wife."
It would be a work of supererogation to labor to show the truth of the gathering of the children of Israel in these last days; for the prophet told us long ago, that it should "no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them," and so it must be for the honor and glory of God.
The faith and religion of the Latter-day Saints are founded upon the old Scriptures, the Book of