The Mormon Puzzle, And How To Solve It Part 2

With this dispersion the other Mormon settlements suddenly developed into places of importance, particularly a town called Far West. It was here that Smith and Rigdon came when driven out of Ohio in 1838. With their coming a new impetus seems to have been given to the Mormons. With all the vexations caused them by their enemies, mills, workshops, farms, and industries of many kinds sprang up in the wilderness.

With all these tragic circ.u.mstances there grew into a terrible reality one of those wild and romantic histories which could only have taken shape on a Western frontier, and which was developed by these unusual incidents, and by the vanity and egotistical spirit evinced by the Mormons. They claimed to be a chosen people under special divine direction. They shrank not from urging such prerogatives and acting upon them. They were the Saints, and all other people were Gentiles. They were the Lord's Saints, and the earth was the Lord's. They were led by an inspired prophet.

Consequently, whenever the day of election for civil officers came, they must vote solidly the Whig or the Democratic ticket, just as the leader should indicate. It is obvious to any one knowing the fierce zeal of partisan politics how this course on the part of the Mormons would subject them to constant embroilments with surrounding citizens. Mutual acts of plunder and retaliation between the Saints and Gentiles became frequent, and they were terrible in their consequences. We must recollect all the while that the Mormons were the persecuted party on account of their eccentricities; and in a spirit of retaliation they in many instances drove their opponents from their immediate vicinity, burning their houses and confiscating their property. Worse than all, they drove some women and children into the woods, and two children were born of homeless mothers.

This was the crowning event that fired the Missourians into a war of extermination against the Mormons; and in consequence the State troops were called out by the Governor, as he said, "to enforce order upon all citizens, even if it was found necessary to exterminate the hateful and obnoxious Mormons," _who were presumed to be in the wrong_.

A fearful drama followed under the leadership of Major-General Clark, who is described as being as rude as the most uncivilized of Mormons. He allowed the enemy to withdraw from the State, but he took all their lands and property to pay the cost of the war. The Mormon property thus confiscated was worth nearly two millions of dollars, _and that confiscation was undoubtedly an act of lawlessness and injustice_.

The Mormon leaders were arrested and put in jail, and at a court-martial it was decided to have them shot; but that act would have been so grossly unlawful that, on the protest of one of the generals, the court rescinded its orders.

With their leaders in jail, the Mormons submitted to the conditions of peace offered them, and prepared to withdraw from the State into Illinois, where Joseph Smith and his fellow-captives joined them after breaking from prison while their guard was in a drunken slumber.

CHAPTER III.

HISTORY OF MORMONISM (_continued_).

_The Third Hegira_--Sufferings of the Mormons during their journey into Illinois--An account of the murder of Mormons--Influence of this persecution on the minds of Mormons at the present time--_Nauvoo_--Its location--Its growth--The second Mormon Temple begun--Other public buildings--Laziness whittled out of Nauvoo--Internal dissensions among the Mormons--Political troubles--Smith nominated for President of the United States--Warrants issued against the Mormon leaders--Constable driven out of Nauvoo--Civil war threatened--Smith asked to submit to trial--Murder of Joseph Smith and his brother--Rigdon excommunicated and Brigham Young made leader--Consecration of the "Pride of the Valley."

The _Third Hegira_ or exodus of the Mormons was far more tragical than either of the previous ones. Twelve thousand Mormons arrived on the banks of the Mississippi River late in the autumn of 1838 in the most unhappy plight. Their houses had been burned, their fields laid waste, and they were nearly or quite dest.i.tute of every personal comfort. Every indignity which had been offered to the Missourians by the Mormons was returned with usury; and so terrible were their sufferings that the hearts of the Illinois citizens were so touched by their distress that they received with hospitality those who had travelled over the bleak prairies and storms of wind and rain and snow. The aged, the young, and the sick had been alike houseless and homeless in the most inclement season of the year. Many who left homes of abundance died from exposure to the pitiless elements.

A Mormon poet wrote concerning these times:

"Missouri, Like a whirlwind in her fury, Drove the Saints and spilled their blood."

And if we can look at this part of their history calmly and impartially, can we fail to see that Missouri's treatment of the Mormons was inhuman, unlawful, and impolitic?

A Mormon historian of these persecutions tells how twenty of the Mormons in the flight to Illinois, sleeping in a log cabin by the wayside, were shot dead through the crevices; and after the ma.s.sacre was over, a boy who had been concealed was dragged out from his hiding-place under a forge and shot, while his murderers danced around him. This historian further writes, after relating a number of such instances Of Gentile cruelty: "We may forgive; BUT TO FORGET--NEVER." And no wonder. Their treatment was barbaric, and to-day it is looked back to by the Mormons with just rage, and is used by them to awaken in the minds of their children the same spirit of hatred against a Government which has persecuted them from their very beginning.

When to-day it is said that the Mormons would not be molested if they would give up polygamy, they answer that those early persecutions took place before they adopted this doctrine. The fact is, that the mobs which attacked the first Mormons were made up in great part of the same low element that mobs the Salvation Army--a coa.r.s.e rabble that, like a bull-dog, is ready to attack anything new. And as one nowadays hears a Mormon tell the story how the fathers of his people were driven out from their homes and forced to endure hardships untold and establish new homes elsewhere, if the hearer is not beguiled into sympathizing with the sufferers, he sees how the truly romantic story of those early days can fire the Mormon heart. He can then realize how many a young man who, for its own sake, would care nothing for his Mormon creed, will be ready to fight desperately for it in his indignation at the persecutions heaped upon his fathers. Thus, the remembrance of the persecutions through which their early leaders pa.s.sed in Missouri operates as a strong power to support the zeal of the Mormons to-day.

After such trying and tragic events, their property lost and their health greatly shattered, one might suppose that the Mormons would have been ready to abandon their faith; but no, they were too strong in their belief for that. Their endurance was, indeed, _marvellous_. They clung to each other with great tenacity, and much pity was awakened in their behalf, because it was generally believed at the time that they had been treated with great injustice. Soon Smith was presented with a large tract of land in Hanc.o.c.k County, Ill., and immediately he had a "revelation" that this was the "centre spot," and he commanded the Saints to a.s.semble there to build a city and a temple. The angel told him to call the city _Nauvoo_, which he said meant "_The Beautiful_."

It was located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, forty miles above Quincy, Ill., and twenty miles west of Burlington, Ia. It was situated at a bend of the river on rising ground, which commanded a magnificent view of the Mississippi for many miles. The land given to Joseph was divided into lots and sold to the Mormons, by which he realized over one million of dollars.

The Saints from all quarters responded to the call to hasten to the new city, and it immediately grew in importance. The Legislature granted it a charter with extraordinary privileges, including the authorization of a military body, afterward known as the "Nauvoo Legion," a corps to which all the male Mormons capable of bearing arms belonged. Nauvoo became the capital of the world to the Mormons, and attracted general attention. It was changed from a desert into an abode of plenty and luxury. Gardens sprang up as if by magic, fragrant with the most beautiful flowers of the New and the Old World, whose seeds had been brought from distant lands as souvenirs to the New Zion; broad streets were laid out, houses erected, and the busy hum of industries was heard in the marts of commerce.

Steamboats unloaded their stores, and pa.s.sengers came and departed for fresh supplies of merchandise; fields waved with golden harvests, and cattle dotted the neighboring hills.

As might be expected, some adventurers, robbers, and people of a generally disreputable character joined the community to cloak their villainous deeds in mystery and religion. Speculators, too, came and bought property with the hope of large remuneration. These two cla.s.ses of persons became the source of much strife among the Mormons themselves, and between the Mormons and Gentiles.

But, marvellous to relate, within three years after their expulsion from Missouri the Mormons had a prosperous city of 10,000 people, while near the city were at least 20,000 more, and in the whole United States and elsewhere they numbered about 150,000, _not much less than their present number_.

Soon after the city of Nauvoo had been laid out, the selection was made for a remarkable temple which should be the crowning triumph of the wealth and perseverance of the Saints, all of whom were called to contribute to its erection by time and money. The foundation was laid with military ceremonies April 6th, 1841.

This unique building was made of finely-polished white limestone, and stood in the centre of a four-acre lot. It was 120 feet long by 83 feet in width and 60 feet in height. There were two stories in the clear and two in the recesses over the arches, making four tiers of windows--two Gothic and two round. There was a carved marble font resting on twelve life-sized oxen in marble in the bas.e.m.e.nt for baptism. In structure the temple resembled no other church edifice, but was remarkably unique and graceful in its proportions, particularly the front of it, with its six fluted columns, its carved Corinthian caps and broad piazza. The walls were of ma.s.sive thickness. The architectural ornaments of the interior were "holy emblems," and the spire upon the tower, which was 100 feet in height, was tipped with a gilt angel and his Gospel trump. Barnum, it is said, had this gilt angel in his New York Museum for years after the destruction of the temple.

The other public buildings in Nauvoo were the Seventies' Hall, the Masonic Temple, the Concert Hall, and the large hotel which the Prophet said was to be the "mission-house of the world," where he would entertain emperors, kings, and queens from the Old World, who would come to him to inquire of the new faith.

This city, although peculiar, had many _excellent features_. There was no licensed place to sell liquors, and drunkenness was almost unknown. It was well governed. All was order and peace. There was great thrift and industry among the people. Loafers or idlers were in disrepute. If a stranger entered Nauvoo and was found to be lazy he was at once "whittled"

out of the town by the deacons. This whittling process was a very ingenious thing. It was a method by which the suspected person was followed by certain officials who surrounded him or his abode, and in unison whittled at sticks carried for the purpose. At first it might seem a matter of accident; but its continuance from day to day was too much for human endurance, and the undesirable stranger departed to the satisfaction of his tormentors. Perhaps it would be a good thing if we had some similar way of ridding ourselves of idlers all over our land.

But with all these good features, there were some indications of the purpose of the Prophet to introduce polygamy, although his sons deny that he ever practised it or even believed in it; but, however that may be, intestine quarrels on the subject of polygamy and other dissensions in the Mormon ranks served to bring on a crisis in affairs at Nauvoo in 1844, which resulted in the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother, and the expulsion of the Mormons from the State.

The real causes, however, were the same ones that operated against them in Missouri. The people in the neighborhood were jealous of the rapidly-growing and flourishing city. They complained that their property disappeared mysteriously, perhaps stolen by the adventurers and robbers who had joined the Mormons just to commit such deeds under a cloak, and for whose acts the Mormons, as a people, were not to blame. But the chief reason was political. Smith began to agitate the question of a rest.i.tution of the property they had unjustly lost in Missouri. He visited Washington and had an interview with President Van Buren, who said: "Sir, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you."

The Mormons boasted that they had 100,000 in the faith throughout the country and that their vote was a balancing power. They voted in a body on all political questions. They even carried their arrogance so far in 1843 as to nominate Joseph Smith for President of the United States, and they have always declared that if he had lived until the next election he would have obtained that office. The Illinoisans, at any rate, believed that the Mormons determined to rule their State and intended to set all laws at defiance; and it was this belief that stirred their most bitter animosity; but internal dissensions among the Mormons gave them an opportunity to rid themselves of them in a most tragic way.

On account of troubles among dissenting Mormons, warrants were issued against Smith and other Mormon leaders; but the constable who served the warrants was driven out of Nauvoo. This act fired the smouldering hatred of the Illinoisans into terrible activity. The county authorities called out the militia to enforce the law. The Mormons hastily armed, and a civil war seemed impending, when the governor asked the Smiths to surrender and take their trial as the best means of satisfying the turbulent parties.

Now the charter of Nauvoo had been so cunningly devised that the State authorities were almost excluded from jurisdiction within its limits; and so the Smiths, feeling sure of an acquittal, obeyed the summons of the governor. They and other Mormon leaders were then conducted to Carthage and indicted for treason, and lodged in jail.

But on the 27th of June, 1844, an infuriated mob took matters in their own hands, decided to administer justice after their own fashion, and attacked the jail early in the morning. They broke down the doors of the rooms where the prisoners were confined, and horribly ma.s.sacred Joseph and his brother Hyrum.

Now, those two persons were defenceless prisoners, and the Governor of the State had pledged to them safe conduct to the jail and before the court.

Their murder was nothing else than _a most foul a.s.sa.s.sination_, the gravity of which was augmented by the fact that it was perpetrated by those who claimed to be upholders of law in contradistinction to the Mormons, who (they said) desired to set law at defiance.

But, besides being an act of lawlessness, it was the most impolitic thing that the people could have done. The martyr-like death of Smith threw a mantle of dignity over his person and a halo of consecration around his character that could in no other way have been secured; and it is reasonable to believe that, had Smith lived on, his own many weaknesses, the vulgarizing of revelation at his hands, the growing suspicions and disaffections of the faithful, and the fierce rancor and dissensions of the factions would have shivered Mormonism into pieces and sunk the fragments into depths too obscure for the searching of further history.

The Mormon people, with a self-control seldom seen, sought not to take into their own hands any measures of vengeance for the murder of their chieftain. After recovery from the first consternation over the awful tragedy, they began to ask themselves, Who shall rule the Church? Sidney Rigdon had already a.s.sumed the role of chief functionary, and had a revelation on this subject. But Brigham Young, who was President of the Twelve Apostles, hurried to Nauvoo from his mission in Boston; and by his shrewd sense, firm will, and practical ability he succeeded in gaining the leadership. Rigdon, who was accused of disaffection even in Smith's day, was excommunicated, and Brigham was triumphant. He was strong where Smith was weak--in prudence, sagacity, common-sense, and practical energy. These natural Cromwellian qualities he brought to the front and put and kept in force. He endeavored to heal matters between the Mormons and the Gentiles by pacific advice, but contentions waxed rather than waned. The charter of Nauvoo was repealed by the State Legislature in 1845, and Young gave out the edict that the Mormons must leave Illinois.

But, in the midst of these stirring and exciting scenes, the Mormons gave a curious exhibition of their faith in Joseph Smith. He had predicted the completion of the temple, and Brigham commanded his followers to remain in Nauvoo in order to fulfil the revelation of the Prophet. Unheard-of exertions were made to carry out this command, and the temple was finished to its minutest ornamentation. When it was ready, the Mormons flocked into the city from every quarter, and there was great rejoicing over the consecration of "The Pride of the Valley," as they called it. The interior was elaborately decorated with festoons and wreaths of flowers, chants were sung, prayers offered, and lamps and torches lighted to make it resplendent. When all this was done, the walls were dismantled, the ornaments taken down, and the symbols of their faith removed, to leave the n.o.ble building to be trodden down and profaned by the Gentiles.

Then began the FOURTH HEGIRA or exodus of the Mormons, the most tragic of them all.

CHAPTER IV.

HISTORY OF MORMONISM (_concluded_).

_The Fourth Hegira_--Young's shrewd plan of a Western Kingdom--Nauvoo's sad end--Journey of the Mormons to Council Bluffs--Young's forethought--The trip of "The Pioneers" across the wilderness--The halt at Salt Lake Valley--Young leads the remaining Mormons from Council Bluffs to Salt Lake--Their entertainment during their march--Folly of the Illinoisans in driving them out into the wilderness--Probable result of tolerance of the Mormons--Life begun anew in Salt Lake Valley--Salt Lake City established--Mills and workshops established and the Great Temple begun--Increase of the Mormon population--Value of their property in Utah--Public schools--A final brief glance at their history--How the MORMON PUZZLE will not be solved.

Brigham long ere this had decided that his people must flee away to some remote region where collisions and conflicts should cease; and his st.u.r.dy will and untiring energy were exerted to carry out this decision. He selected California as the future residence of the Saints. At that time it formed a part of Mexico, and consequently was beyond the control of the detested Stars and Stripes and the uncomfortable people who had thrice expelled them from their dwelling-places. Brigham made known his purpose to the people and declared that they would move as rapidly as possible across Iowa to the Missouri River into the Indian country near Council Bluffs that season.

This new exodus began in February, 1846, the bleakest and coldest month in the year in that section of the country. An indescribable pageant of ox-carts and mule-teams, loaded with women, children, and all sorts of furniture pa.s.sed out from Nauvoo to the miry tracks of the prairies; but the spirits of all, except the sick and helpless, were unbroken. Here Brigham Young proved himself the general as well as commander. He directed every detail of the evacuation. He arranged that the population should not move in a solid body, so as to disturb by their numbers the inhabitants of the spa.r.s.ely-populated country they would traverse, but they should move in sections carefully selected, following each other at short intervals of time.

But in spite of this preparation there was a report that some of the Mormons intended to remain, and, in violation of the promises of the State, the Illinoisans called out the militia, and _drove the defenceless residents who remained from their homes at the point of the bayonet_, after bombarding the city for three days and nights. This was in the month of September, 1846. Thus ended Mormon history in Illinois; thus ended the history of Nauvoo, which is as wonderful as that of any city ever built.

Its rise, progress, and destruction occupied only seven years, but many of its mysteries have yet to be told.

Meanwhile, Brigham was leading his companies across the prairies to Council Bluffs, their temporary halting-place. Men and women had been sent forward through Brigham's foresight to plant crops by the wayside for those who should follow to gather; but still there was terrible suffering and much sickness among these bands, who toiled onward obedient to their leader's direction. Dreams of a Mormon Empire, however, upon the Pacific coast consoled the people in great measure for the loss of the homes from which they fled and the hardships of their journey. As they moved slowly across the plains in 1846, the hopes which inspired them are well set forth in John Taylor's hymn, "_To Upper California_:"

"We'll go and lift up our standards, We'll go there and be free; We'll burst off all our fetters, And break the Gentile yoke."

Having reached Council Bluffs, Brigham then was compelled to make arrangements for the completion of the journey. The obstacles in the way of this intention would have intimidated a less courageous man. There was still about two thousand miles to traverse through an almost unknown country before the Pacific would lie before them. If at that time it was difficult to transport armed troops through the wilderness, what skill and energy must it not have required to send a nearly unprovided-for, feeble, and impoverished company of men, women, and little children such a great distance? But his wisdom and forethought controlled the whole matter.