Joseph was grieved. At Colesville the hearts of strange men were filled with hate, at Harmony his friends and relatives had turned against him, and now at Fayette his brethren were rejecting him and the Lord. He went quietly to work and induced Oliver to pray with him. An answer came in a revelation of very great importance. The Lord told Oliver that Joseph Smith, Jr., was the only man that should receive revelations for the Church, until another should be appointed in his stead. Every faithful man may be directed by the Lord and be taught by the Holy Spirit, but the president alone has the authority to command the Church in the name of the Lord. A conference was held September 1, 1830, and Joseph, of course, presided. He was very careful and wise and he at length convinced Hiram Page and the others that the revelations were from the devil. They were rejected by all, and again they repented for lack of faith. The Lord forgave them, for His Spirit rested with power upon the conference and brought harmony and love and greater faith. At this time the glorious principle of the gathering was revealed, and that Zion should be built up in the land bordering the Lamanites. Parley P. Pratt who had recently been baptized in Seneca lake by Oliver Cowdery came again to Fayette after carrying the Gospel to his kindred in eastern New York. He himself had received it in a very strange way. In the beginning of the year 1830, he prayed that he might understand the scriptures. He had always loved them and studied them diligently, but after the Lord in answer to his prayer enlightened his mind, he saw how ignorant the world was of their true meaning. He felt called to preach the truths, and after selling his house in the backwoods of Ohio where he lived, and settling his affairs he set out with his wife depending entirely on the care of the Lord. In his wanderings he was directed by the Spirit to those who had heard the Gospel and he hastened to Fayette where he was baptized. About a month after the conference the Lord revealed through Joseph that Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson should go on a mission with Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jr., to preach the Gospel to the Lamanites. This was the first time that men bearing the holy Priesthood went forth to preach the word since the time of the Apostles of Jesus. Tens of thousands have now been bearers of the same glad message. They set out preaching where they had a chance and distributing Books of Mormon to many honest souls. They visited the Cattarugus Indians, near Buffalo, New York, and then made their way to Kirtland, Ohio. Here they met Sidney Rigdon, who less than two years before had baptized Elder Pratt into the Reformed Baptist church. They gave him a Book of Mormon. He read it and believed and immediately sacrificed his profitable employment as minister to join the Church.