Joseph Smith Biography

Twenty-Eight (1833)

now, verily, I say concerning the residue of the elders of my church, the time

has not yet come, for many years, for them to receive their inheritance in this

land, except they desire it through the prayer of faith, only as it shall be

appointed unto them of the Lord. For, behold, they shall push the people

together from the ends of the earth.

...And let them build up churches, inasmuch as the inhabitants of the earth

will repent. And let there be an agent appointed by the voice of the church,

unto the church in Ohio, to receive moneys to purchase lands in Zion. ...And

an epistle and subscription, to be presented unto all the churches to obtain

moneys, to be put into the hands of the bishop, of himself or the agent, as

seemeth him good or as he shall direct, to purchase lands for an inheritance

for the children of God. For, behold, verily I say unto you, the Lord willeth

that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts, even to

purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit. Behold,

here is wisdom. Let them do this lest they receive none inheritance, save it be

by the shedding of blood.^72

A month later, he produced an edit that ended this way:

For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord

shall be upon her; And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall

come unto her out of every nation under heaven. And the day shall come

when the nations of the earth shall tremble because of her, and shall fear

because of her terrible ones. The Lord hath spoken it. Amen.^73

The Truth About the LDS Controversy with the People of Missouri

In 1820, the United States had permitted Missouri to become part of the union
as a slave state. There was a lot of heated debate over the issue, but the main attraction
that finally convinced the U.S. Congress to admit Missouri as a slave state was money.
If the Missourians could not keep slaves to help them run their farms to make a profit
(so that they could buy the “gold, silver, scarlets, and fine-twined linens”^74 they
desired), then people would not move to Missouri. The small farmers didn’t have a
problem with the anti-slavery movement, because their only desire was to provide for
their families. But the larger farmers needed slave labor to “prosper in the land.”^75
Hemp grew well in Missouri and became a very lucrative crop, but required a lot of
labor.^76 Since every white man wanted to be free and own his own land, there was only
one pool of laborers to choose from—black and Native American slaves.
To those farmers who moved “out West” and began to colonize the area, Missouri
was the “land of promise.” In and around Jackson County, the farming community was
well established by the time Joseph and his entourage first made their appearance in 1831.
Jackson County Clerk, Lilburn W. Boggs, owned a home located on the northwest corner
of Maple and Lynn in Independence.^77 Boggs was one among many who treasured the fine
things of the earth. When the Mormons came to Independence with their own agenda for
the “land of promise,” none of them had a job or much money to buy any land in that
area. Peter Whitmer, Jr. knew quite a bit about sewing and opened a tailor shop offering