On the 11th of April, 1830, Oliver Cowdery preached the first Gospel discourse of this dispensation. Soon branches of the Church were raised up in New York and Pennsylvania. Men were brought into the fold who later filled notable places in the Church. Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow and other leading men embraced the Gospel between 1830 and 1837. The Book of Mormon had been translated and published to the world previously. News of the new dispensation was heralded abroad by friend and foe. At that time many were prepared to embrace the Gospel, for the Lord had shown unto them that the Gospel in its fullness and purity did not exist in the Catholic and Protestant systems of so-called Christianity. The ministration of heavenly beings had been renewed, and during the entire lifetime of Joseph Smith he was the recipient of messages from the eternal worlds. Persecution arose, and bitter opposition was arrayed against the Church. The Prophet was at times waylaid by wicked men, and sometimes arrested upon unfounded, trumped-up charges. From all these he was delivered until the time came for him to offer his life as a martyr. In the fall of 1830 Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, John Whitmer and Ziba Peterson were called to carry the Gospel to the Indians (Lamanites), located in what was then the western wilds of these United States. Near Kirtland, Ohio, they met Sidney Rigdon and other followers of Alexander Campbell. The Elders presented to them the restored Gospel, with the Book of Mormon. Many of them received the truth, and the town of Kirtland became a gathering place for the Saints. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, removed to that point, and the Church as a body was chiefly located there as early as 1831. In the meantime the future site of the chief city of Zion was designated by revelation to the Prophet, dedicated and set apart for the gathering of the Saints. In 1832 the first periodical in the Church was published, the _Evening and Morning Star_, at Independence, Missouri. The press and property of this publication were subsequently destroyed by a mob. Persecution in Missouri became very bitter. Many of the Saints were treated with bodily violence, their houses and property destroyed by fire and themselves expelled from the county by armed mobs.