Without Disclosing My True Identity
more democratic and equal standing. In the summer of 1838, the majority of the Twelve
Apostles had been sent to foreign lands, where Joseph’s 1836 vision of them remained true:
I saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth, who
hold the keys of this last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a
circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their
eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not
behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept.^22Throughout LDS history, the Twelve Apostles would continually have “their eyes
cast downward” and never behold “Jesus standing in their midst.” The Savior would “look
upon them and [weep].” When the later LDS leaders finally allowed Joseph’s 1836 vision to
be included in their Doctrine and Covenants, they conveniently left out the part that stated,
resolutely, that they had not beheld their Savior. (Compare the vision recorded in the DHC
[referenced above] to D&C, section 137.)
The “Saints” Continue Their Exclusive Gathering Efforts Despite Past Failures
After Joseph’s escape, he found his way across the Mississippi River into Quincy,
Illinois and reunited with his family. Despite the last three major failures in establishing a city
of Zion for the people of the Church, the Church’s High Councils were bound by prophesy^23
and determined in their hearts to force Zion to flourish and become the prophesied city they
expected it to be. They wanted a land flowing with commerce that would enrich the members
of the Church and make them a strong and mighty people in the land.
As subtly as he was allowed, Joseph attempted to persuade the people that maybe a
major gathering would arouse more antagonism. But the pride of the Saints prevailed. Their
hearts and minds were set on establishing Zion—not a place where the descendants of the
Book of Mormon people would reside and serve God with “one heart and one mind, and no
poor among them” as the Book of Mormon prophesied,^24 but as the Church’s own special
place upon earth. They had displaced the “unworthy” dark-skinned American natives and
had “adopted”^25 themselves into the “house of Israel” and to the promises made to these
Lamanites by the Book of Mormon prophets. The LDS/Mormons had become the face of
“Israel” and the tribe of Ephraim^26 to whom all these promises now certainly belonged.
After all, the LDS/Mormons were “white and delightsome,”^27 whereas the American
natives were “a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people.”^28
Living the “fullness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered by the Savior” was the
furthest thing from the Church leadership’s minds when they searched for a new place
where they could buy land and establish their idea of God’s city. The criteria for the new
location for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was all about their desire for
the “gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and
precious clothing.”^29 The LDS people did not want to live like the humble descendents of
the ancient people of America; they wanted to live like successful, more modern
Americans and prove to the surrounding people that they were truly God’s people,
blessed with everything they could buy in the world for money.
Joseph gave them what they wanted. The next few “revelations” he received were meant
to fulfill the peoples’ desire. The God of this world gave them their revelations and proclaimed,