The Twelve meet with
the Quincy Committee--1; General Conference in the Nauvoo Temple--8; Captains
of Hundreds appointed--19; Map of Hancock County -- 22; Nathan Bigelow
accidentally shoots Lt. Everett -- 30; State troops march to Nauvoo to arrest
Twelve--32;.Henry Sherwood and John Fullmer return from Emmett Company--37
Joshua Smith poisoned
and dies at Carthage--45; Orson Pratt gives farewell talk to Eastern
Saints--49; William Rice and Samuel Hicks' houses burned by mob--52; Edmund
Durfee murdered by mob--56; Dedication of Nauvoo Temple attic--67.
Nauvoo Temple attic
prepared for ordinances--70; Temple ordinances begin in Nauvoo Temple--78; Mob
fooled, wrong "Brigham Young" arrested--98; State troops enter city
looking for stolen goods -- 107.
Temple workers
injured -- 119; Police confront state troops -- 123; Brigham Young's vision of
ensign to be raised--124; Temple work commences day and night -- 130; Nauvoo
Trustees sustained -- 133; Strangite missionaries in Nauvoo -- 135; Reports
received that government would keep Saints from leaving -- 137; Weather vane
put on temple -- 139.
Decision made to
start the exodus immediately--142; Charles Shumway first to cross over the
Mississippi River--144; Ship Brooklyn sets sail from New York--145;
Final day of temple ordinances--148; Temple roof accidentally set on fire--151;
Thomas Grover's oxen and wagon fall in river--152; Nine babies born?--158;
Brigham Young crosses over the Mississippi--161; Camp of Israel organized at
Sugar Creek--164; Weather turns cold, eight inches of snow falls--167; Panic in
temple, floor settles--171; Saints cross over frozen Mississippi River--176.
Map of
journey from Montrose to Richardson’s Point--182; Camp of Israel
leaves Sugar Creek Camp--183; Lick Creek Camp--185; Reed's Creek Camp--187;
Indian Creek Camp--191; Mississippi River crossings are again made by
boat--191; Richardson's Point Camp--197; William Pitt's band plays in
Keosauqua--202; Nauvoo "Day of Pentecost"--211; Brigham Young's
nephew, Edwin Little dies--216; Evan's Camp--217; Davis County Camp--219;
Coffman's Settlement--220; Chariton River Camp--221; Zina Huntington Jacobs'
baby born--222; John Butler and James
Cummings leave to retrieve Emmett company--239.
Map of
journey from Sugar Creek to Mount Pisgah--241; Shoal Creek
Camp--242; Hickory Grove Camp--244; Locust Creek Camp--249; April General
Conference in Nauvoo--255; Wilford Woodruff arrives in Nauvoo--264; William
Clayton composes "Come, Come, Ye Saints"--267; Rolling Prairies
Camp--270; Pleasant Point Camp--272; Camp Creek Camp--279; Pleasant Grove
Camp--280; Muddy Creek Camp--282; Garden Grove--283; John Butler and James
Cummings arrive at Camp Vermillion--286; Private dedication of Nauvoo
Temple--294.
Public dedication of
Nauvoo Temple--295; Orrin Porter Rockwell arrested in Nauvoo--297; Brooklyn
arrives at Island of Juan Fernandez--301; Wilford Woodruff crosses over the
Mississippi River--310; Hickory Thunder Camp--313; Thomas L. Kane meets the
Mormons for the first time--314; Willow Bridge Camp--317; White-breast Creek
Camp--318; Mount Pisgah--321.
Map of
journey from Mt. Pisgah to Council Bluffs--343; West Fork of Grand
River--348; President James K. Polk authorizes raising a Mormon Battalion--348;
Broomberry Hill Camp--351; Shoal Creek Camp--353; Reno Camp--355; Pleasant
Valley Camp--358; Manottawa Creek Camp--361; Pottawatomie Indian Village--361;
Middle branch of Nishnabotna--363; West branch of Nishnabotna--366; Keg Creek
Camp--367; Mob gathers at Golden Point--368; Mosquito Creek Camp--369; Arrival
to Missouri River--372; Camp of Israel headquarters moved back to Mosquito
Creek Camp--379; Party at Trader's Point--384; Ship Brooklyn arrives at
Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)--385; U.S. Captain James Allen arrives at Mt.
Pisgah--396; Brethren decide to raise Mormon Battalion--405; Parley P. Pratt
almost drowns--406.
On April 6, 1980, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints celebrated the sesquicentennial anniversary of the organization
of the Church in Fayette, New York. The
150th Annual General Conference of the Church originated from Fayette, New
York, in the recreation of the Peter Whitmer farm house, on the precise
location where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830. As the conference concluded, President
Spencer W. Kimball said:
Viewed in perspective,
150 years isn't really a very long time, even in human history. It is but a
brief moment in eternity. . . . One cannot study the history of the Church
without being impressed with how
steadfast the majority of the Saints have always been in the midst of difficulty.
I suppose my
fascination for following the history of the Church exactly 150 years ago,
originated with this historic conference.
Since that time, the Church has recognized other sesquicentennial
anniversaries, including in recent years, the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum
Smith. I am amazed how quickly the time
seemed to pass between these two observances.
Yet it is even more amazing when we consider just how much was
accomplished in the fourteen-year time-span between 1830 and 1844.
In 1997, a grand celebration will be held to recognize the sesquicentennial anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Throughout the world, Latter-day Saints and others are preparing for this celebration by learning about these pioneers 150 years ago. In the October, 1996 General Conference, Elder M. Russell Ballard, Chairman of the Church Pioneer Sesquicentennial Committee stated:
Brothers and sisters,
join with us and begin now to prepare for a spiritual journey next year by
walking in the footsteps of our beloved pioneers in every land. We must be sure that the legacy of faith
received from them is never faith lost.
Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, and especially the hearts of
our youth, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and
his Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did our faithful
pioneers.
In addition,
President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church, shared these remarks in
his closing address: “All of us need to
be reminded of the past. It is from
history that we gain knowledge which can save us from repeating mistakes and on
which we can build for the future.”
In October of 1995, I
conducted an experiment on the computer internet. I wished to share my enthusiasm for this wonderful history with a
number of my friends and associates via this electronic media. On October 21, 1995, I composed an article
that looked back 150 years ago from that very day, and described the events
experienced by the Saints in Nauvoo on October 21, 1845. This article was read by about one hundred
people. I decided to continue this
research and writing effort for a week or two.
The reaction was overwhelming.
The pioneer spirit took hold and I was sent daily notes asking me to
continue writing this day-by-day pioneer experience.
I continued these
daily writings, and have been doing so for over a year. On February 8, 1996, I joined forces with a
close internet friend, David Kenison, of Orem Utah, to establish an internet
electronic mail (e-mail) distribution list that we named, LDS-Gems. Thousands of Church members are finding
their way onto the computer internet, hoping to find useful information. David Kenison and I wanted to provide a
resource where uplifting information, including items of Church History, could
be distributed and read, free of cost, by anyone connected to the
internet. So in February 1996, I
started to distribute these “150 Years Ago Today” articles to those subscribed
to LDS-Gems. The LDS-Gems e-mail list
started with about 100 subscribers, and has exploded to more than 75,000
subscribers as of April 2000, growing at a rate of 1000 new subscribers per
week.
Also in February
1996, I became acquainted with Bruce Van Orden, Associate Professor of Church
History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, and member of the Church
Sesquicentennial Pioneer Committee. He
informed me that he would soon be publishing a similar day-by-day series in the
Church News, published by Deseret News, in Salt Lake City. We started to freely share information and
worked together on this project. In
later months, as Bruce Van Orden went on assignment to the BYU Jerusalem
Center, I was asked by the Church Sesquicentennial Pioneer Committee to keep
the series going, in the Church News.
I did so, by additionally writing a less-detailed version of this
day-by-day pioneer experience.
Over the months, I
received frequent requests to compile the LDS-Gems articles into a book that
could be kept and shared with others who did not read it on the computer
internet. This privately published
compilation is the result of these requests.
There are several
people who need special thanks for making this publication possible. First and foremost is my patient wife, Linda
Crockett. Long and late-night hours
were spent at the computer to research and write this series. Her understanding and support is not unlike
the patience and faith demonstrated by the pioneers of old. David Kenison must be thanked for his
encouragement to continue this effort, during times of exhaustion when I was
tempted to “take down the tent” and “turn the wagon” away from this
time-consuming endeavour. Bruce Van
Orden’s pioneer enthusiasm and great suggestions were especially helpful. I appreciate the help from the Institute of
Religion at the University of Arizona for making their library facilities
available for my research. I thank
David Kenison, and Scott and Doug McGee, who assisted me to edit these articles
into hopefully a readable form. An
undertaking such as this private publication is bound to have errors. I hope you can forgive these errors and feel
the spirit that comes from reading about this sacred history of these dedicated
pioneers.
This day-by-day
history commences on October 1, 1845.
Under the dedicated leadership of Brigham Young and the other Twelve Apostles,
the Saints living in Nauvoo, Illinois continued to build up their city and
their temple after the tragic deaths of the prophet Joseph Smith and his
brother Hyrum. The work of the restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ continued to roll forth to the nations. Nauvoo Illinois, on the banks of the
Mississippi River, also known as “The City of Joseph,” was the gathering place
for the Saints.
In September 1845,
persecution again started to rage, as many houses and buildings owned by Church
members were burned to the ground by lawless mobs, desiring to drive the Saints
from Illinois. Within only three days,
more than forty buildings were destroyed in small Illinois communities away
from Nauvoo. Hundreds of men, women,
and children fled to the city of the Saints for protection.
October 1845 opens
with the announcement of the historic decision to leave Nauvoo and head for the
western wilderness. Comfortable homes
would be left behind and substituted with wagons, tents, and campfire smoke. Eliza R. Snow, “Zion’s poetess” expressed
the feelings of these Saints in exile through verse:
We better live in
tents and smoke
Than wear the cursed
gentile yoke--
We better from our
country fly
Than by mobocracy to
die . . .
Our homes were
dear--we lov’d them well
Beneath our roofs we
hop’d to dwell,
And honor the great
God’s commands
By mutual rights of
Christian lands
Our persecutors will
not cease
Their murd’rous
spoiling of our peace
And have decreed that
we must go
To wilds where reeds
& rushes grow.
These Saints in exile
would press forward in faith, hoping for a better day, with an understanding of
the great work that the Lord had for them to accomplish. Isaac Chauncy Haight
wrote: “Here we are exiled from the United States and without a home, dwelling
in tents and wagons exposed to the inclemency of the weather. We are even like the Saints of old having no
abiding city but are wanderers and pilgrims on the earth but we count the
present suffering not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be
revealed to his Saints.”