Joseph was a veritable Numa Pompilius in the frequency and fitness of the "revelations" he received for the guidance of his people in things great and small; and seeing that but few followers were gained by him near his home in New York, while many converts were being gathered in Ohio, he had a revelation that Palmyra was not a place for the Saints to prosper in, and he talked of the New Jerusalem in the West, and announced that it was time for the faithful to remove with him to _Kirtland, O._ Smith has often been called the "American Mohammed," and Mormonism has been compared to Mohammedanism; and in many respects they _are_ strikingly similar, although in so far as Mormonism resembles Mohammedanism it is true, as Dr. Jessup said before the Presbyterian General Assembly at Saratoga, it is only "a pinchbeck imitation of a putty original." In nothing, however, is there a greater similarity between those two religions than in their history. Both Mohammed and Joseph Smith were the subjects of fierce opposition and even persecution, and they both were compelled to flee for their lives. The Mohammedans always reckon their time from the "Hegira," or flight of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina; but while the Mohammedans have only _one Hegira_ in their history, _the Mormons have four_. And, for convenience, we will consider their history under these four divisions. CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF MORMONISM (_continued_). _The First Hegira_ from Palmyra to Kirtland--The first Temple--Rapid growth of the Mormon Church--Brigham Young and other missionaries sent to foreign lands--The name "Latter-day Saints" adopted--Smith and Rigdon compelled to flee from Kirtland--_The Second Hegira_--The "Danites" organized--Rapid increase of the Mormons in Missouri--Jealousy of the Missourians--Mormons driven across the Missouri River by a mob--Their property confiscated--Their leaders imprisoned. The First Hegira or exodus of the Mormons was from Palmyra to Kirtland, O., in 1831. This was a very tedious journey at that time, since they moved onward in wagons, carrying their household goods with them. On their arrival at Kirtland they were greeted by one thousand Mormons, who were the converts of Rigdon and other Mormon preachers. Kirtland is three miles from Mentor, the home of the late President Garfield, and twenty-two miles east of Cleveland, and is situated in a remarkably fertile country. As soon as the Mormons arrived there they purchased a square mile of land, which they laid out in half-acre lots. In addition they bought a number of farms. They evidently expected to remain there a long time, since they erected a number of substantial houses, and a most beautiful temple, which Smith called the "School of the Prophets."