The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901Linn, William Alexander
History
The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901
Linn, William Alexander
Latter Day Saints -- History; Utah -- History
By a "revelation" given out while the heads of the church were in
Jackson County, Missouri, in April, 1832 (Sec. 82), a sort of firm was
appointed, including Smith, Rigdon, Cowdery, Harris, and N. K. Whitney,
"to manage the affairs of the poor, and all things pertaining to the
bishopric," both in Ohio and Missouri. This firm thus assumed control of
the property which "revelation" had placed in the hands of the
Bishop. This arrangement was known as The Order of Enoch. Next came a
"revelation" dated April 23, 1834. (Sec. 104), by which the properties
of the Order were divided, Rigdon getting the place in which he was
living in Kirtland, and the tannery; Harris a lot, with a command
to "devote his monies for the proclaiming of my words"; Cowdery and
Williams, the printing-office, with some extra lots to Cowdery; and
Smith, the lot designed for the Temple, and "the inheritance on which
his father resides." The building of the Temple having brought the
Mormon leaders into debt, this "revelation," was designed to help them
out, and it contained these further directions, in the voice of
the Lord, be it remembered: "The covenants being broken through
transgression, by covetousness and feigned words, therefore you are
dissolved as a United Order with your brethren, that you are not bound
only up to this hour unto them, only on this wise, as I said, by loan
as shall be agreed by this Order in council, as your circumstances will
admit, and the voice of the council direct.....
"And again verily I say unto you, concerning your debts, behold it is
my will that you should pay all your debts; and it is my will that you
should humble yourselves before me, and obtain this blessing by your
diligence and humility and the prayer of faith; and inasmuch as you are
diligent and humble, and exercise the prayer of faith, behold, I will
soften the hearts of those to whom you are in debt, until I shall send
means unto you for your deliverance.... I give you a promise that
you shall be delivered this once out of your bondage; inasmuch as you
obtained a chance to loan money by hundreds, or thousands even until you
shall loan enough [meaning borrow] to deliver yourselves from bondage,
it is your privilege; and pledge the properties which I have put into
your hands this once.... The master will not suffer his house to be
broken up. Even so. Amen."
It does not appear that the Mormon leaders took advantage of this
authorization to borrow money on Kirtland real estate, if they could;
but in 1835 they set up several mercantile establishments, finding firms
in Cleveland, Buffalo, and farther east who would take their notes on
six months' time. "A great part of the goods of these houses," says
William Harris, "went to pay the workmen on the Temple, and many were
sold on credit, so that when the notes became due the houses were not
able to meet them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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