The army came only to find the foregoing with other charges that had induced the general government to send it to Utah, untrue. But this is digression. Mormon communication with the American Indians for the purpose of despoiling the Gentiles and taking possession of their lands can never be set down as one of the causes of the Missouri persecution; for such communication never took place--the charge of it was untrue. It was, however, one of a number of pretexts, and became a factor in creating public prejudice, which alone made possible the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri. _The Unwisdom of the Saints_. I come now to one of the most delicate subdivisions of this {XXXIII} Introduction; namely, the unwisdom of the Saints. To appreciate this as a factor in the Missouri persecutions one needs to take into account not only human nature, but also human nature under the stress of religious impulse and influence. First, however, as to the facts involved. To the Saints of those times had been given a dispensation of the Gospel--a new revelation of it. They had been blessed with the spirit of faith to receive it. To them it was made known that God had again spoken from heaven; He had again conferred divine authority upon men to act in His name--many of the brethren, the majority of the male membership of the Church in fact, held that divine authority, the priesthood of God; the terms of man's salvation were restated; the spiritual powers and gifts of the Gospel were guaranteed anew and plenteously enjoyed by the Saints. To them was made known the truth of a new volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon. The knowledge imparted by that book was in itself, and especially to them, wonderful. From it they learned that the ancient inhabitants of the American continents, the ruins of whose civilization challenged the curiosity of men and excited their wonder, were of the house of Israel; the American Indians were their fallen descendants and, of course, also of the house of Israel and heirs to the general promises made to that people, to say nothing of special promises made to them as direct descendants of the house of the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob. Messiah in his resurrected and glorified state had visited America and its inhabitants shortly after His resurrection at Jerusalem, and established the Christian institution,--a Christian ministry, and a Christian Church, followed by a veritable golden age of peace, prosperity, and righteousness; and although the descendants of that ancient God-favored people were now fallen from the high estate of their fathers, yet were the promises and prophecies great concerning them. God would again visit them by His grace, they should be redeemed from their ignorance and barbarism, and they should yet be important factors in establishing a "New Jerusalem," the Zion of God on this land of America, given to the descendants of the ancient patriarch Joseph, whose descendants principally the Indians are.