The Missouri PersecutionsRoberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
History
The Missouri Persecutions
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saints -- Missouri -- History -- 19th century
On the 23rd of July, this convention of citizens again convened and
a committee was appointed to confer with the "Mormon" leaders. This
committee was met by Messrs. Phelps, Partridge, Gilbert, and Messrs.
Covil, Whitmer and Morley, elders of the sect. Between them an
agreement was made to the effect that Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps,
William McLellin, Edward Partridge, Lyman Wight, Simeon Carter, Peter
and John Whitmer, and Harvey Whitlock, were to remove from the county
on or before January 1, 1834, and were to use their influence to secure
the removal of all the saints--one-half by January 1st, the other half
by April 1, 1834; John Corril and Algernon Gilbert were to be allowed
to remain as agents to settle up the business of those removing; the
_Star_ was not again to be published nor any other press set up in the
county; Mr. Phelps and Mr. Partridge, if their families removed by
January 1st, were to be allowed to come and go in settling up their
business. The committee of citizens pledged themselves to use their
influence to see that no violence was to be used against the saints
while compliance to the agreement was being observed.
This agreement as reported to the meeting, was unanimously adopted by
the citizens, and the minutes signed by the chairman, Richard Sampson,
and the secretaries, S. D. Lucas, J. H. Flournoy.
In September Orson Hyde and W. W. Phelps were appointed by the
"Mormons" as a delegation to Governor Dunklin, then Governor of
Missouri, and to represent the affairs already recited, and to ask for
protection. They prepared and presented to the Governor, October 8th,
a long memorial setting forth a long list of grievances, wrongs and
intimidations which they had suffered at the hands of the people of
Jackson County. The Attorney-General being absent, Governor Dunklin
declined to take any action until his return, so that it was not until
the 19th of October that they received his decision. The case presented
to him was an _ex parte_ one, and it received a decision which led
the "Mormon" leaders to rely upon his protection. He denied the right
of any citizens to take into their own hands the redress of the
grievances, and recommended the "Mormons" to appeal to the civil courts
by affidavit and legal process for redress of the wrongs complained of,
and promised them a faithful enforcement of the laws.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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