The first winter the Saints were not very comfortably housed, as they had arrived too late to raise crops or build good houses. The next spring, however, many Saints arrived, and they soon had growing fields and gardens. The Prophet visited them again early in the spring, held meetings, and greatly encouraged the Saints. In June, 1832, the first paper published by the Latter-day Saints was begun at Independence. It was called _The Evening and Morning Star_, and was the only paper in that part of the country. Thus the Saints prospered; but a time of persecution, long and fierce, was before them. Topics.--1. The center place of Zion. 2. Gathering to Missouri. Questions and Review.--1. Where is the land of Zion? 2. What is said in the Book of Mormon about this land? 3. Where is Jackson county? 4. What place is now nearly the center of the United States? 5. What river flows by Jackson county? 6. Where will the New Jerusalem be built? 7. What kind of city will it be? 8. When, where, and how was the foundation of Zion laid? 9. Where is the temple lot? 10. Who dedicated it? 11. What was the Colesville Branch? 12. How were the Saints to obtain the land of Zion? 13. What were the duties of Sidney Gilbert and Edward Partridge? 14. When did Joseph visit Jackson county the second time? CHAPTER XIII. PERSECUTION IN JACKSON COUNTY. A great many of the old settlers of Jackson county, meaning those who were there before the Saints, were of a shiftless, ignorant class from the Southern States. They made but little improvement in their homes, being content to live in small, log huts, many of them without windows or board floors. They all believed it right to have negro slaves. They were also eager to hold public office. At that time there were also many persons in western Missouri who had fled from the east on account of crimes which they had committed. Being near the boundary line of the United States, these persons would need only to cross the line into Mexico to be safe if an officer should come after them. You will readily see by this what kind of neighbors the new settlers had. Of course the Saints could not join with these wicked people in their horse racing, Sabbath breaking, idleness, drunkenness, and other things which the Missourians took delight in. Most of the Saints were from the Eastern and Northern States and did not believe in slavery. They worked hard, and as the land produced good crops, they were soon prospering, while their idle neighbors remained in poverty. All this naturally led the Missourians to hate the "Mormons," and as early as the spring of 1832 they began to molest them by throwing stones into their houses, etc. That same fall mobs began to come against the Saints, burning some of their hay and shooting into their houses.