1. The Breaking up at Kirtland.—The keys of knowledge respecting the great doctrines treated in the last two sections were received in the Kirtland temple; and for a time it appeared that the Saints would long enjoy the blessings of their temple and the communion and instruction of heavenly messengers. But not so. With prosperity which attended them there, came pride, envyings, jealousies and heart-burnings. Their temporal prosperity existed but a brief period. It was carried away by the wave of financial disaster which swept over the United States in 1837. Then came financial embarrassment, accompanied with charges and counter-charges of fraud and dishonesty. Apostasy among men high in authority was rife. Several of the twelve apostles went down in those dark days, and became bitter enemies to the Prophet Joseph. To such an extent did the spirit of apostasy prevail that it became murderous; and the prophet and a number of his most devoted friends had to flee from Kirtland for their lives. [See note 1, end of section.]

2. The Founding of Far West—Expulsion From Missouri.—Meantime the Saints in Missouri who were driven from Jackson county, in the latter part of 1833, removed from their temporary locations in Clay County, and settled in the new county of Caldwell, where they founded the city of Far West. It was to Far West that the Prophet Joseph and other church leaders fled when compelled to leave Kirtland. But there was little rest for the church in Missouri; persecution was threatened before the prophet arrived, and his presence only seemed to hasten the impending storm. In the autumn of 1838 it broke upon the church in all its fury, and during that winter the entire church was expelled from the State by order of its governor, Lilburn W. Boggs. [See note 2, end of section.]

3. The Rise of Nauvoo.—While the Saints were being expelled from the state the Prophet Joseph and several other leading elders were imprisoned in Liberty jail, Clay county, Missouri, having been betrayed into the hands of their enemies by the treachery of false brethren. They were held on false charges of murder, arson and treason. They finally made their escape from their enemies and joined the body of the church, which had found a temporary resting place in the city of Quincy and vicinity, in Illinois. Shortly afterwards they settled at Commerce, in Hancock county, in the same state. The church purchased several large tracts of land at this place of Dr. Galland, a Mr. White, Hubbard, Wells, Hotchkiss, and others; and soon from the wilderness and bogs of Commerce—[See note 3, end of section]—rose the city of Nauvoo—meaning The Beautiful; "carrying with it also," says the Prophet Joseph, "the idea of rest."

4. Although both Joseph and the Saints saw some of their best days in Nauvoo, there was not much "rest" for them there, especially for the former. The toil and anxiety of founding a city, establishing manufactures, publishing a paper, and converting the surrounding country into fields and gardens; sending the apostles to preach the gospel in foreign lands, being all the time tormented by their enemies in Missouri and Illinois, kept the church, and especially the Prophet Joseph, busy during the whole time they remained in Nauvoo. Here the translation of the Book of Abraham was published. [See note 4, end of section.] A magnificent temple was constructed in which to carry on the work of salvation for the dead, and in which the living could receive those washings and anointings, endowments and sealings, necessary to prepare them for their entrance into and their exaltation in heaven.

5. Celestial Marriage Introduced.—It was in Nauvoo also that the prophet introduced celestial marriage,—the marriage system which obtains in celestial worlds. It consists of the eternity of the marriage covenant, that is, the marriage covenant between a man and his wife is made for time and all eternity, and being sealed by that power of the priesthood which binds on earth and in heaven, the covenant holds good in heaven as well as on earth; and by reason of it men will have claim upon their wives, and wives upon their husbands, in and after the resurrection. Celestial marriage may also include a plurality of wives.

6. Eternity of the Marriage Covenant.—This new marriage system—new at least to this generation—completely revolutionized the ideas of the Saints in respect to the marriage institution. In common with the Christian sects, they had regarded marriage vaguely as an institution to exist in this world only; and married their wives as other Christians did and now do—until death shall them part. But by the revelation which the prophet made known at Nauvoo, they learned that in celestial spheres the marriage covenant exists eternally, and that the pleasing joys of family ties and associations coupled with the power of endless increase, contributes to the happiness, power and dominion of those who attain to the celestial glory. What a revelation was here! Instead of the God-given power of pro-creation being one of the things that is to pass away, it is one of the chief means of man's exaltation and glory in that great eternity, which like an endless vista stretches out before him! Through it man attains to the glory of the endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding as priest and patriarch, king and lord, over his ever-increasing posterity. Instead of the commandment—"Be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth," being an unrighteous law, it is one by means of which the race of Gods is perpetuated, and it is as holy and pure as the commandment, "Repent and be baptized." Through that law, in connection with an observance of all the other laws of the gospel, man will yet attain unto the power of the Godhead,^[199] and like his Father—God—his chief glory shall be to bring to pass the eternal life and happiness of man. 7. Plurality of Wives.—Celestial marriage, as already observed, may include a plurality of wives. This was as great an innovation as marriage for eternity. It came in conflict with the education and tradition of the Saints, and the sentiments of the age. Still God had commanded it through his prophet, and though their prejudices—the fruit of their traditions—revolted against it, the faithful to whom it was revealed resolved to obey it.

8. It was in 1831 that plural marriage was first made known to Joseph Smith. In that year he was engaged in revising by inspiration the Jewish Scriptures;^[200] and observing with what favor the Lord regarded the early patriarchs, and many of the kings and prophets of the Jews who had a plurality of wives, he inquired of God how it was he justified them in that thing. The Lord in answer revealed the law of celestial marriage. But the time had not come for the Saints to enter into its practice, and hence the prophet kept it locked up a secret in his own breast, with the exception of saying to one or two of his most confidential friends that plural marriage was a correct principle. [See note 4, end of section.] In 1841 the prophet introduced the practice of this principle into the church by taking to himself plural wives.^[201] He also taught the principle to a number of the leading elders and they obeyed it.NOTES.

1. Prosperity and Disaster which Overwhelmed the Church at Kirtland.—Speculation was rife all over the United States at that time, [1837] and the Saints did not escape the contagion. They started a banking institution, engaged in mercantile pursuits and land speculation. For a time they were prosperous and wealth rapidly accumulated among them. Sidney Rigdon declared, in a burst of enthusiasm, that the glory of the latter days was now being ushered in, and that Zion would soon become the glory of the whole earth; when the Lord for silver would bring gold; for iron, brass; and for stones, iron. But a wave of financial disaster swept over the entire country. Banking institutions went down before it; thousands of merchants were hopelessly ruined; and in the general disaster Kirtland did not escape. Like the inhabitants of other towns, her people were overwhelmed with financial embarrassment. "Distress, ruin and poverty," says Elder Taylor, "seemed to prevail. Apostates and corrupt men were prowling about as so many wolves seeking whom they might devour. They were oppressive, cruel, heartless, devising every pretext that the most satanic malignity could invent to harass the Saints. Fraud, false accusation and false swearing, vexatious law suits, personal violence, and bare-faced robbery abounded. They were truly afficted, persecuted and tormented."—Life of John Taylor, p. 52.

2. Persecution of the Saints in Missouri.—This brings us to the close of our story of the Missouri Persecutions. We have seen a people start out under the direction of the Lord to build up the city of Zion to his holy name; but who, through their disobedience and failure to observe strictly those conditions upon which the Lord promised them success in accomplishing so great and glorious a work, were driven entirely from the State where that city is to be erected. We have seen a proud, sovereign state, with a constitution that guaranteed the largest possible religious and civil liberty to its citizens, ignore the spirit and letter of that constitution; shamelessly violate the laws passed in pursuance of it; and the officers of the state, from the chief executive down, combine to destroy the Saints of God, or drive them from the State: in accomplishing which they were guilty of the most cruel barbarity. It is no palliation of their offense to say that the Saints had not strictly kept the commandments of God. Their offenses were against the laws of God rather than the laws of man. So far as the state of Missouri was concerned, she was not justified in trampling on her own constitution and laws, and committing outrages that would bring to the cheek of a savage the blush of shame. It was a case where offenses must needs come, but woe, woe, unto them by whom they come!—Missouri Persecutions—Roberts.

3. Commerce, Afterwards Nauvoo.—The place was literally a wilderness. The land was mostly covered with trees and bushes, and much of it was so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty a footman could get through, and totally impossible for teams. Commerce was unhealthful, very few could live there; but believing that it might become a healthful place by the blessing of heaven to the Saints, and no more eligible place presenting itself, I considered it wisdom to make an attempt to build up a city.—Joseph Smith.

4. The Book of Abraham.—The rolls of papyrus filled with Egyptian characters and hieroglyphics, from which Joseph translated the Book of Abraham, came into his possession in the following manner: In 1831 the celebrated French traveler, Antonio Sebolo, penetrated Egypt as far as the ancient city of Thebes, under a license procured from Mehemet Ali—then Viceroy of Egypt—through the influence of Chevalier Drovetti, the French Consul. Sebolo employed four hundred and thirty-three men for four months and two days, either Turkish or Egyptian soldiers, paying them from four to six cents a day per man. They entered the Catatombs near ancient Thebes on the seventh of June, 1831, and procured eleven mummies. These were shipped to Alexandria, and from there the great traveler started with his treasures for Paris. But en route for the French capital, Sebolo put in at Trieste, where he was taken sick, and after an illness of ten days, died. This was in 1832. Previous to his death he willed his Egyptian treasures to his nephew, Michael H. Chandler, who was then living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but whom Sebolo believed to be in Dublin, to which city he ordered the mummies shipped. Mr. Chandler ordered the mummies forwarded to New York from Dublin, where he took possession of them. Here the coffins for the first time were opened, and in them was found two rolls of papyrus covered with engraving. While still in the customs house, Mr. C. was informed by a gentleman, a stranger to him, that no one in the city could translate the characters; but was referred to Joseph Smith, who, the stranger informed him, possessed some kind of gift or power by which he had previously translated similar characters. Joseph Smith was then unknown to Mr. C. The mummies were shipped to Philadelphia; and from there Mr. C. traveled through the country, exhibited them and the rolls of papyrus, reaching Kirtland in July, 1835, and the Saints purchased some of the mummies and the two rolls of papyrus, one of which was the writing of Abraham and the other of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. The Book of Abraham has been translated and published, at least in part. [See Pearl of Great Price. Elder George Reynolds has published a work on this subject, "The Divine Authenticity of the Book of Abraham," which should be carefully studied by every elder in Israel.]

5. The Establishment of Plural Marriage.—The principle of plural marriage was first revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831, but being forbidden to make it public, or to teach it as a doctrine of the gospel, at that time, he confided the facts to only a very few of his intimate associates. Among them were Oliver Cowdery and Lyman E. Johnson, the latter confiding the fact to his traveling companion, Elder Orson Pratt, in the year 1832. And this great principle remained concealed in the bosoms of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the few to whom he revealed it, until he was commanded, about 1842, to instruct the leading members of the priesthood, and those who were most faithful and intelligent, and best prepared to receive it. In relation thereto, at which time and subsequently until his martyrdom, the subject in connection with the great principles of baptism, redemption and sealing for the dead, became the great theme of his life, and as the late President George A. Smith repeatedly said to me and others—"The prophet seemed irresistibly moved by the power of God to establish that principle not only in theory, in the hearts and minds of his brethren, but in practice also, he himself having led the way."—Joseph F. Smith.

REVIEW.

1. What appeared to be the prospects of the Saints at Kirtland?

2. What influence did wealth have upon them?

3. What did the great apostasy at Kirtland result in?

4. State what you can about the founding of Far West.

5. What effect did the presence of the Prophet Joseph have in Missouri?

6. Tell what you can of the expulsion from Nauvoo.

7. Where did the church find a temporary resting place after its expulsion from Missouri?

8. Where did the church next settle?

9. What is the meaning of the word "Nauvoo?"

10. What can you say of Nauvoo being a place of rest to the Prophet Joseph and the Saints?

11. Enumerate the several things which employed the attention of the Prophet and the Saints at Nauvoo. 12. Where was celestial marriage introduced?

13. What is celestial marriage?

14. In what light was celestial marriage looked upon by the Saints?

15. What was the effect of this principle upon their minds?

16. Is it sacrilege to believe that man may become like his Father—God? (See note.)

17. What beside marriage for eternity may celestial marriage include?

18. When was the rightfulness of plural marriage first made known to the Prophet Joseph?

19. About what time was this principle introduced into the Church?

20. Under what circumstances and on what date was the revelation on celestial marriage written out? (See foot note, also note 5.)