It is strange to think of this dire condition, when just one brief year before, the glorious manifestations in the temple had been given to many of these men, who now possessed such bitterness of spirit. They seemed to have forgotten their many blessings, and the wonderful visions, and the great promises made them by the Lord, if they would be true and faithful in their ministry. The spirit of speculation and desire for wealth, during the brief spell of peace and harmony, had beclouded the minds of many, and their souls were filled with deadly hatred against their former brethren. Joseph Smith was called a fallen prophet by those whom he had cherished and loved, and whose love for him had been pronounced. Some, in their bitterness and darkness of mind, sought his life. Those who sought his welfare and spoke in his defense, were ridiculed and treated with great contempt. It was a time when the souls of men were tested, and only those who kept themselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world, were able to withstand the trial. Every influence was brought to bear upon the members of the Church to get them to renounce the Prophet. Many good men were dragged into the net; others barely escaped, and only through their deep humility and great repentance, were they spared the awful fate which carried so many to destruction. It was during this time at disaffection that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, and others, including John Taylor and Willard Richards, who had but recently joined the Church, stood nobly in defense of the Prophet Joseph, in the face of a murderous spirit of opposition. The Prophet's Visit to Missouri In September, 1837, Presidents Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon went to Missouri to assist the Saints in that land in establishing places of gathering. Other brethren from Kirtland accompanied them. They arrived about the first of November in Caldwell County and immediately went into council with the elders there, regarding locations for the Saints. Those who met in council were Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, Thomas B. Marsh, William E. McLellin, Lyman E. Johnson and William Smith from Ohio, and the high council of the Church in Far West, with William W. Phelps at their head. It was decided that there was room in that land to make it desirable to invite the Saints from other parts to locate there. The city Far West, which had been laid out and incorporated, was chosen as a central gathering place. It was decided to postpone the building of the Lord's house in Far West, which had been decided on, until the Lord should reveal his will to have it commenced. Death of Jerusha Smith A sad event occurred while Hyrum Smith was engaged in Far West assisting the Saints to locate, in the death of his wife Jerusha Barden Smith, October 3, 1837. "Tell your father when he comes that the Lord has taken your mother home and left you for him to take care of," was her dying statement to her five little children.