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| The Saints suffered much as they were being
driven out of Missouri during the cold winter of 1838–1839
because of their religious beliefs. |
In Behalf
of the
Pioneer Saints
By Nancy Harlacher
I have been privileged many times to stand on
the places where the early Saints lived, suffered, and died. When
visiting such locations one cannot help but feel what the Saints
must have felt during the years of 1831 to 1839. Though we could
never fully understand and appreciate what the early Saints went
through as a direct result of their belief in the Restored Gospel,
my husband, Larry, and I have felt great empathy for them and
their suffering. We've felt it as we have stood on the Temple
Lot in Independence and watched the sunrise while awaiting the
arrival of a group of Saints, eager and excited about spending
a day with us touring Church history sites in northwest Missouri.
And we have felt it as we have stood on a field adjacent to Winchester
Road one mile west of the Temple Site in Far West where over 250
of the pioneer Saints are buried in unmarked graves, including
one of the most beloved and brave apostles of that time, David
Patton—often referred to as "Captain Fear Not."
We have felt it while standing in mud up to our ankles after a
heavy spring rain, or while swatting a variety of pesky bugs on
a hot and humid August afternoon as we have explored the field
and surrounding area at Haun's Mill where fifteen men and two
boys were hastily buried in a shallow, unlined well after their
peaceful little community was suddenly and viciously attacked
by a force of over 200 militiamen.
How can anyone think about these people, who
endured so much while living through these terrible days, and
not feel deeply for them, even to the point of being brought to
tears? Though some historians have tried to label them as violent,
how can anyone think of the Saints in any other way than as a
brave and valiant people, in many cases willing to die for what
they believed—the precious Restored Gospel. I thank them
from the bottom of my heart for their courageous stand.
Though there are many recorded firsthand testimonies
of the Saints from this period of time which give us a glimpse
of their suffering, I have chosen to relate just one as an example.
In speaking of one incident which he endured in 1836 near Independence,
Perry Keyes said, "He gave me 23 lashes with a cowhide and
all this for my religeon [sic] for I am a member of the church
of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints . . ." (Clark V. Johnson,
editor, Mormon Redress Petitions, Documents
of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict, 475).
When I think of what the Saints of our day have
endured and suffered because of what they believe (suffering that
is very real and should not in any way be discounted or considered
unimportant), somehow I just don't believe it compares to that
which was experienced by the early Saints in Missouri. The feet
of many pioneer Saints were frozen from walking in the snow, sometimes
without shoes (especially the children, who on occasion left bloody
footprints). Their backs were bruised and scarred from beatings
and whippings. Sometimes the women and children were badly or
unspeakably abused. Over 160 years ago thousands of Saints were
forced to leave their warm firesides in the coldest time of the
year and travel often by foot all the way from Far West to Quincy,
Illinois. They were stripped of virtually all their possessions
except the meager clothes upon their backs, never to receive any
compensation for their losses.
If you and I were ordered today to leave our
homes, as the pioneer Saints were, and we were given no more than
an hour to make preparation for the journey, we would probably
pack a lunch and gather some warm clothing and perhaps some favorite
creature comforts. Then we would carefully load the car, stop
and fill it with gasoline, possibly stop by a drive-through bank
to obtain enough cash for the trip, or at least be sure we had
a credit card or two with us so that we could easily purchase
anything needed along the way. Then within a few hours we would
be out of our state, traveling down comfortable, paved roads.
But in stark contrast, during the winter of 1838–1839, the
mobbers had taken so many of the Saints' horses and cattle that
there were few teams available to move all the people. The few
animals they had traveled at a very slow rate of speed due to
the intense cold and rough roads. The Saints had previously suffered
much abuse at the hands of the Jackson County mob, leaving many
of them already lame, sick, and in bad physical condition before
being driven to Clay County. They eventually settled in Caldwell
County and surrounding counties north of the Missouri River. Now,
once again having suffered much abuse, they were forced to leave
everything behind as before, and to strike out on a journey filled
with many unknown hazards, while a goodly number of their men
had to be left behind, imprisoned and awaiting an uncertain fate.
The women of Far West showed great courage in
the face of danger when they realized a huge army was about to
besiege their beloved city. According to the testimony of John
Brush, who was an eyewitness that day, the enemy, which numbered
in the thousands, prepared to attack Far West. Joseph Smith, Jr.,
placed each available able-bodied man about forty feet apart in
a line facing the approaching large force and told them, "Brethren,
don't go into trouble any farther than you see me go." Many
of the wives of these badly outnumbered brave men took their places
and stood by their men waiting, willing to sacrifice their very
lives if necessary. Nothing could be said to persuade them to
leave the sides of their husbands, even in the face of possible
death. (See Autumn Leaves, 4:131,
173, and John Brush, Eyewitness of Early
Church History, 22, selected and edited by Paul Ludy.)
When forced to leave Far West, many women and
children, as well as the elderly, suffered terribly from hunger,
sickness, and exposure, and thus never made it to Quincy, Illinois.
Because of the extremely cold conditions, burial of those who
died along the way was very difficult. When children died, they
were sometimes wrapped in bark stripped from trees and placed
in shallow graves in the frozen ground. It has been said that
if all the graves of the adults and children who died along the
way could be found and suitably marked, it would literally point
out the entire route of their journey from Far West to Quincy.
Even though the many critics of the early Missouri
Saints believe they are correct in stating that these Saints were
guilty of being too zealous in proclaiming and advancing the Restored
Gospel, I would rather stand before God and have to answer for
defending it zealously than to have to answer His question: "Why
did you try to destroy this precious Gospel by attacking those
who gave so much and can no longer defend themselves?" These
faithful Saints were no different than others who have clung to
the true Gospel in other ages, for the true followers of God have
been persecuted in all ages for their religion. It is written
of them:
And others had
trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds
and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about
in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
of whom the world was not worthy;
they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report
through faith, received not the promises [of God in this world];
God having provided some better things for them through their
sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect
(Hebrews 11:36–40; italics added).
If the early Christians had denied their belief
in Christ they wouldn't have been thrown to the lions. Many of
the early Saints were given a choice to escape their abuse and
go free if they would deny their belief in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, or their belief in the Book of Mormon,
or Joseph Smith as a prophet. These denials never came, and the
abuse continued until they were either killed or driven from Missouri.
Some, both within and without the Church, believe
the Saints were wrong in not turning the other cheek when being
attacked by mobs. Upon reading the many petitions written by those
who lived to tell what happened to them, it becomes clear that
a number of these attacks resulted in near-death experiences for
the Saints—experiences such as beatings, whippings, stonings,
rapes, etc. I believe the Saints were justified in trying to save
their lives and the lives of their families. In August 1833 Joseph
Smith was given the following words which are recorded in Doctrine
and Covenants 95: 5f:
... nevertheless thine enemy is in thine hands,
and if thou reward him according to his works, thou
art justified, if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered
by him; thine enemy is in thine hands, and thou art justified
(italics added).
Remember, only a few Missourians died in this
war while hundreds of Saints died during or as a result of these
terrible times which they had to go through. Today, when I hear
someone say, "We must be a peaceful people—not violent
like the pioneer Saints in Missouri," at first I become very
upset and defensive. Then, upon further reflection, I know what
I would say to those Saints of yesteryear, if I could. My words
would be, "I know that you were not perfect, just as we are
not perfect today. I know that you made mistakes, just as we make
mistakes today. But I just want to say to you, 'Thank you so much
for being so valiant and standing
up so strongly for the Restored Gospel
that you believed in, and for leaving such a wonderful legacy
for us today.'"
The pioneer Saints suffered greatly at the hands
of the Missourians because they were, as stated above by Perry
Keyes, "a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints." My companion and I have not suffered physical
abuse as they did, but like Perry Keyes, I can say: "Those
who have been ashamed of the Gospel have forced me from my congregation,
silenced my husband, and verbally abused me for the past twenty
years— and all this because I am a member of the Reorganized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and believe in the
original doctrines and teachings of that Church."
I can't help but recall a scripture found in
Second Nephi. I'm beginning to see it in a different light than
I have ever seen it before. It states:
Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach
after this manner, false, and vain, and foolish doctrines, and
shall be puffed up in their hearts,
and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and
their works shall be in the dark; and the blood of the saints
shall cry from the ground against them (2 Nephi 12:12; italics
added).
Is it possible that this scripture could at least
in part apply to those who today seek to portray the early Saints
as violent, because of their valiant effort to stand up for their
belief in the Restored Gospel?
Though I may never be called upon to suffer as
the early Saints did, I pray that I will always be valiant and
faithful to the Gospel as Christ restored it, and endure to the
end no matter what the cost.
(Vision
46: 3–4)
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