Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 26, August, 1880Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 26, August, 1880
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
Another revelation was to the effect that Palmyra was not the
gathering-place of the Saints, after all, but that they should proceed
to Kirtland in Ohio. Consequently, the early part of 1831 saw them
colonized in that place, the move being known as "The First Hegira."
Still another revelation (on the 6th of June) stated that some point in
Missouri was the reliable spot. Smith immediately selected a tract in
Jackson county, near Independence. By 1833 the few Mormons who had moved
thither were so persecuted that they went into Clay county, and thence,
in 1838, into Caldwell county, naming their settlement "Far West." The
main body of the Mormons, however, remained in Kirtland from 1831 till
they were forced to join their Western brethren in 1838. Brigham Young,
another native of Vermont, joined at Kirtland in 1832, and was ordained
an elder. The conference of elders on May 3, 1833, repudiated the name
of "Mormons" and adopted that of "Latter-Day Saints." The first
presidency consisted of Smith, Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams. In May,
1835, the Twelve Apostles--among them Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball
and Orson Hyde--left on a mission for proselytes. During the same year
Rigdon's _Book of Doctrine and Covenants_ and his _Lectures on Faith_
were adopted. A professor of Hebrew also joined them, and all the male
adults entered upon the study of that language with a will.
Rigdon was by far the ablest man in the band. His earlier religious
affiliations were with the Campbellites, now called Disciples. At the
time of the Mormon advent he lived in Mentor, the next town to Kirtland,
but he had no farm or any other property to offer them, as has been
frequently stated. Those of his followers whom he found in Kirtland
frequently remarked that they "had a good time before Joe Smith came." A
very clear idea of his religious power may be gained by the following
statement of Judge John Barr, ex-sheriff of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and a
most excellent authority on the history of the Western Reserve. The
statement has never been made public hitherto: "In 1830 I was deputy
sheriff, and, being at Willoughby (now in Lake county) on official
business, determined to go to Mayfield, which is seven or eight miles up
the Chagrin River, and hear Cowdery and Rigdon on the revelations of
Mormonism. Varnem J. Card, the lawyer, and myself started early Sunday
morning on horseback. We found the roads crowded with people going in
the same direction. Services in the church were opened by Cowdery with
prayer and singing, in which he thanked God fervently for the new
revelation. He related the manner of finding the golden plates of Nephi.
He was followed by Rigdon, a famous Baptist preacher, well known
throughout the eastern part of the Western Reserve and also in Western
Pennsylvania. His voice and manner were always imposing. He was regarded
as an eloquent man at all times, and now he seemed fully aroused. He
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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