"The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, anxious to promote the prosperity of said Church, feel it their duty to call upon the Saints who reside out of this county to make preparations to come in, without delay. This is important and should be attended to by all who feel an interest in the prosperity of this the corner stone of Zion. Here the Temple must be raised, the university be built, and other edifices erected which are necessary for the great work of the last days; and which can only be done by a concentration of energy and enterprise. Let it therefore be understood, that all the stakes, excepting those in this county and in Lee county, Iowa, are discontinued, and the Saints instructed to settle in this county as soon as circumstances will permit." This was on May 24, 1841, and we find in the same volume, page 520, an epistle from the Twelve to the "Saints scattered abroad," in which the following is found: "We say to all Saints who desire to do the will of heaven, arise, and tarry not, but come up hither to the places of gathering as speedily as possible, for the time is rapidly approaching when the Saints will have occasion to regret that they have so long neglected to assemble themselves together and stand in holy places awaiting those tremendous events which are so rapidly approaching the nations of the earth. "It will be recollected that in a recent communication from the First Presidency, all places of gathering are discontinued, excepting Hancock county, Ill., and Zarahemla in Lee county, I. T., opposite Nauvoo." At the conference of the Church held in October, 1841, Almon W. Babbitt was disfellowshipped for persuading Saints who were emigrating to Nauvoo to remain and build up Kirtland, Ohio, as the minutes say, "until such time as he shall make satisfaction." This shows how important this doctrine of gathering was. Therefore the great bulk of the Latter-day Saints, at the time of the martyrdom, were located at Nauvoo and its vicinity. It is in order now to show that these Latter-day Saints sustained President Brigham Young and the Twelve. On the 8th day of August, following the martyrdom, a special conference was held in Nauvoo at which time the claims of Sidney Rigdon and the rightful claim of the Twelve Apostles were presented for the vote of the Latter-day Saints. At this conference President Young, in addressing the Saints said: