| If I am not mistaken, a site known as Winter Quarters is located near
Omaha. I have not been there, but the history of the place is quite
interesting.
The Mormons had built the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, from swamp land,
which at the time was larger than Chicago, and well appointed as
compared to other cities in that part of the country. I have been to
Nauvoo, which is in the process of being restored, and is a very
interesting place to visit.
Joseph Smith was arrested on trumped up charges and taken to a nearby
community of Carthage, which I have also visited, and it, too, is a
very interesting place to visit to see the jail where Joseph Smith was
held. While there, mobs attacked the prison and killed Joseph Smith and
his brother Hyrum.
The governor promised to prosecute the perpetrators of this injustice,
but when he asked for cooperation of the local people, they frankly
told him that they would not, and afterwards the governor succumbed to
their attitude and stopped pressing for justice to be done.
The Nauvoo Charter, which had given the city of Nauvoo the right to
have a militia, was repealed and left the Saints with no protection
against their enemies. Mobs attacked the homes of the Saints and burned
them. The sherriff tried to take a stand against the mob law, and he
was arrested for murder, as a member of the mob had been killed, but
violence against the Mormons was allowed to go unchecked.
A council was held in Quincy, Illinois, to take action against the
Saints. It was concluded that the Saints should depart Illinois, and
their demand was given to the Saints. President Brigham Young replied
that the Saints planned to leave the next spring and asked for help in
renting or selling their properties and to let them live in peace until
the Spring when they could depart.
Promises were made, but not kept. No help was forthcoming, instead the
property fell into others hands after the departure of the Saints, and
the Saints were not allowed to live in peace until their departure. The
first of the Saints left Nauvoo in the bitter cold of February 1846,
and the work of ferrying the Saints across the river continued day and
night.
The Mormons travelled west, and when they were near Omaha, in June
1846, Captain Allen of the US Army came and said he had a requisition
to get 500 men from the Mormons to help fight the war with Mexico. As
the Saints were headed for the Rocky Mountains, they were dismayed at
this request, needing all of their able bodied men for the journey.
They had appealed to the Federal government for help against the
mobs, and the corrupt local authorities that allowed the mob actions,
and had received none.
Even so, President Brigham Young responded that the men would be
provided. In the matter of a few days, the 500 men were raised, and
Brigham Young gave them instructions to be obedient, to uphold the
principles of their religion, and to be the best soldiers in the
service of the United States. They were to keep neat and clean, to
avoid swearing and gambling, and to observe chastity, gentility, and
civility. He told them that if they would follow these instructions,
they would not be called upon to shed the blood of their fellow men,
and that they would probably be released from their service within 800
miles of where the Mormons would be settling.
Because of the loss of these men, the Saints were not able to continue
their journey that year. Instead they established Winter Quarters,
a make shift town to stay in until the next Spring. They concentrated
on building shelters, putting up hay, and preparing for the winter.
During the winter they suffered greatly from cold and disease.
The next Spring, on April 5, 1847, they began their departure to
the West, and continued in their journey, arriving in the valley
of the Salt Lake on July 24, 1847.
True to the statement of Brigham Young, the Mormon Battalion never did
see any fighting in the war with Mexico, which was essentially
concluded before they arrived on the scene, and they were released just
as Brigham Young had said. They had concluded one of the most
remarkable infantry marches known, poorly equipped, poorly clothed,
marching eleven hundred miles through wilderness where nothing but
savages and wild beasts are found, lacking water, half naked, half fed,
living on wild animals, they arrived in California in January of 1847.
There are many other examples of the courage of these pioneer men
and women, which always inspire me.
Rich
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| Hi, everyone. I'm back.
I had been on vacation for a while, traveling among various
northeastern states. In my travels, I made a point of visiting the
Kirtland Temple.
For those of you who may not know, the Kirtland Temple was the first
temple built by the Church, under the direction of Joseph Smith. At
the time, it was used for solemn meetings, and as a 'School of the
Prophets' - a place where the leaders of the Church could train and
educate other leaders.
After Joseph Smith's death, the Kirtland Temple was adjudicated by the
courts as being the property of the Reorganized LDS Church, the
remnant of the Church that decided to follow the descendants of Joseph
Smith as the legitimate leaders, rather than Brigham Young and the
Quorum of Apostles. It is still in the hands of the Reorganized LDS
church.
It was kind of a disappointing experience to see the Kirtland Temple.
Obviously, the spirit of the place is nothing at all like an LDS
Temple. It was just a building, used for meetings, although sparingly
of late due to its advanced age. The building is kept up very well,
and obviously a lot of money has been spent to keep it up, but it's
still just a building. They still have the name 'House of the Lord' on
the front, but there is no sacred purpose for which the building is
used. It seems it is used mainly for tours.
As many of you know, the saints at the time put everything they had
into the building of the Kirtland Temple. It was a labor of love, and
great sacrifice. The women of the Church gave up much of their scarce
china, so that it could be ground and mixed into the exterior stucco,
so that the walls would have a luminescent shine. Unfortunately, the
150+ year old stucco had to be removed in recent years. It had
deteriorated so much that it no longer protected the structure from
weather damage. Also, much of the original glass, beams, interior
walls, etc. are no longer the same.
The original pulpits are still there, however, and I asked the
tourguide to point out the 'curtain' area where the various visions
took place shortly after the dedication of the Temple. The highlight
of the visit was simply being in the same physical space where Jesus
and several other heavenly beings walked and talked to the people of
the Church.
The tourguide talked about the dedication. It seems that the spirit
was so strong at the time that there were all sorts of heavenly
manifestations. A number of people came running from miles around
because they thought the Temple was on fire. A very anti-Mormon
local newspaper happily printed a story that night that the Temple had
burned to the ground, for that was the only explanation they had for
the manifestations. But of course, there never was any fire. At least
none of a physical nature.
The tourguide was friendly and helpful, and cheerfully answered all
questions. The differences between LDS beliefs and RLDS beliefs were
many and interesting. I purchased a book discussing those differences,
written by a high official of the RLDS church who used to be a
missionary for the LDS church and served in Korea. If there is
interest, I'll post some of that info in another note.
The LDS Church has a large presence in the Kirtland area, as you might
expect. There is a large Stake Center there, and some other historic
sites owned and maintained by the LDS Church, including the Newell K.
Whitney store, and some other places.
All in all, I'd say that it was an interesting and worthwhile
experience, but it wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to see again.
/kevin
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