Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle Part 4

"Do you know Brother Heber? No; you do not."

"Do you know the Twelve? You do not; if you did you would begin to know G.o.d, and learn that those men who are chosen to direct and counsel you, are near kindred to G.o.d and to Jesus Christ, for the keys, power and authority of the kingdom of G.o.d are in that lineage."

This, then, was the purpose, the divine intending, for which they were now in conjunction; "n.o.ble and great ones," great in the heavens and great upon the earth, ordained as "rulers" ere morning stars sang gladsome greeting, or Sons of G.o.d shouted for joy around the cradle of the infant world. This, the object of their descent from celestial empires; to build up a Kingdom unto G.o.d, and prepare the world for the coming of Him "whose right it is to reign." Jewels from Jehovah's diadem, diamonds in the dust, unseen of saint or sinner in all their l.u.s.tre, concealed from a world unworthy of the light it could not comprehend.

Had Heber's inspired mind probed the secret of Joseph's thought, expressed in his own oft-quoted words: "Would to G.o.d, brethren, I could tell you who I am!"

As Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to the Church of Jesus Christ, its president and earthly head, and holder of the keys of the last dispensation, Joseph was already in the high and holy office for which he was predestined and fore-ordained. Not so, Brigham; not so, Heber; not so their apostolic compeers. A trial of their faith was first necessary, a trial now near at hand, to prove them worthy in the flesh of the great calling whereunto they were called in the eternal councils.

In the month of February, 1834, came a commandment from the Almighty unto His prophet, to "gather up the strength of His house," and "go up and redeem Zion;" in other words, to recover from the hands of a fierce and merciless mob the lands in Jackson County, Missouri, from which the Saints had been driven.

Such were the origin and object of Zion's Camp. Such, the nature of the perilous duty laid upon them.

CHAPTER VII.

THE REDEMPTION OF ZION--ENOCH'S CITY TO RETURN--OBJECT OF THE UNITED ORDER--CAUSE OF THE JACKSON COUNTY EXPULSION--THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF.

The redemption of Zion! The building of the new Jerusalem!

Theme of the ancient prophets and glory of the latter days!

Such was the sublime mission given to the Saints of the Most High.

Thus came the word of the Lord concerning it, March, 1831:

"Wherefore, I, the Lord, have said, gather ye out from the eastern lands, a.s.semble ye yourselves together ye elders of my Church; go ye forth into the western countries; * *

"And with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you,

"And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the Saints of the Most High G.o.d;

"And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.

"And it shall come to pa.s.s, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety.

"And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.

"And it shall be said among the wicked, let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.

"And it shall come to pa.s.s that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy."

With this glorious object in view, this sublime motive firing their souls and filling their hearts with holy zeal, the Saints, in the summer of 1831, had commenced gathering upon the land of Zion--Jackson County, Missouri, the chosen site of the great city and temple of G.o.d.

Their purpose, to fulfil prophecy, to found the modern Zion, New Jerusalem, capital city of the kingdom of G.o.d. A counterpart of the Zion of Enoch, sanctified of old and taken into the heavens, to return in latter times as a leaven of righteousness, to leaven this lump of clay, the mother earth of our mortality, and make it like unto itself, and in due time a glorified planet, purified, redeemed, and from sin forever free.

To prepare the world for that supreme hour "when the Lord shall bring again Zion," was and is the mission of the Saints of latter days. And this that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says:

"The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.

"The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.

"The earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength:

"And truth is established in her bowels:

"And the heavens have smiled upon her:

"And she is clothed with the glory of her G.o.d:

"For he stands in the midst of his people."

The meeting of the Zions! The marriage of the worlds! Zion from beneath, the type of truth from earth, embracing Zion from above, the symbol of righteousness from heaven.

"And they twain shall be one!"

Preparatory to this miraculous event, and indeed to render it possible, the order of Enoch, the system of divine economy whereby the Zion of the ancients was redeemed and sanctified, had been newly revealed to the Zion-builders of the last days.

What says Moses of Enoch and his city?

"And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."

Oh, the sweetness of those simple words! Oh, the sublimity of the picture they portray! Liberty, equality, fraternity! This is Zion--THE PURE IN HEART!

But the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri, were not all that the Lord requires of a people chosen to execute a purpose so sacred, so sublime. "There were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and l.u.s.tful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances." Then was the lash of the Philistine applied, and they were driven forth from the goodly land. Satan hath his mission, as well as Christ.

Be it not inferred, however, that these hapless victims of mobocratic tyranny were utterly wicked and depraved, or that all were equally culpable in the eyes of Him, who, to punish the transgressors, permitted their enemies to come against them. With all their faults they were better far than their oppressors, more than the peers, in every Christian virtue, of the people of the world around them. Yet, judged by the higher law, the Gospel standard, which the world had not received, and were not under the same obligation to obey, these "children of the Light" were found remiss in many things.

The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a field of grain, gathered unto the threshing-floor. The purpose of divine punishment is to purify.

Upon the wheat and the chaff, alike, fell the iron flail of persecution.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ZION'S CAMP EXPEDITION--JOSEPH AS A PROPHET-GENERAL--FINDING OF THE BONES OF ZELPH, THE ANCIENT--REBELLION IN THE CAMP--JOSEPH PREDICTS A SCOURGE--HEBER'S FAILURE AS A LAUNDERER--ZION'S CAMP SAVED BY A STORM.

"Gather up the strength of my house, and go up and redeem Zion!" Such was the burden of G.o.d's command to Joseph and his brethren in Kirtland. Such was their interpretation of the divine message and call.

Bidding farewell to his family and friends, whom he hardly dared hope he would ever meet again in the flesh, Heber enrolled himself in the little band of heroes who set out from Kirtland early in May, 1834.

They were about one hundred strong, well armed and equipped, and were led by the Prophet Joseph in person. Subsequently their number increased to two hundred and five souls. But Heber will tell his own story of that eventful pilgrimage. Says he:

"Brother Joseph received a revelation concerning the redemption of Zion, part of which remains to be fulfilled. He sent messengers to the east and to the west and to the north and to the south, to gather up the Elders, and he gathered together as many of the brethren as he conveniently could, with what means they could spare, to go up to Zion, to render all the a.s.sistance that we could to our afflicted brethren. We gathered clothing and other necessaries to carry up to our brethren and sisters who had been plundered; and putting our horses to the wagons, and taking our firelocks and ammunition, we started on our journey; leaving only Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon and a few aged workmen who were engaged on the temple; so that there were very few men left in Kirtland. Our wagons were about full with baggage, etc., consequently we had to travel on foot.

"We started on the 5th of May, and truly this was a solemn morning to me. I took leave of my wife and children and friends, not knowing whether I would see them again in the flesh, as myself and brethren were threatened both in that country and in Missouri by enemies, that they would destroy us and exterminate us from the land.

"There were about one hundred brethren in our company who started for Zion. These brethren were nearly all young men, and nearly all Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The second day we arrived at New Portage, being about forty miles, at which place on the 7th we made regulations for traveling, and appointed a paymaster, whose name was Frederick G. Williams, and put all our moneys into a general fund.