Thursday, November 29, 2012

Persecution in Missouri, 1830s

Here are the words of Hyrum Smith, the brother of the prophet Joseph Smith, concerning the persecution and injustices that the early member of this Church suffered:

"And I do know, so does this court, and every rational man who is acquainted with the circumstances, and every man who shall hereafter become acquainted with the particulars thereof, will know that Governor Boggs and Generals Clark, Lucas, Wilson, and Gillium, also Austin A. King, have committed treason upon the citizens of Missouri, and did violate the Constitution of the United States, and also the constitution and laws of the state of Missouri, and did exile and expel, at the point of the bayonet, some twelve or fourteen thousand inhabitants from the state, and did murder a large number of men, women and children in cold blood, and in the most horrid and cruel manner possible; and the whole of it was caused by religious bigotry and persecution, because the “Mormons” dared to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and agreeable to His divine will as revealed in the scriptures of eternal truth, and had turned away from following the vain traditions of their fathers, and would not worship according to the dogmas and commandments of those men who preach for hire and divine for money, and teach for doctrine the precepts of men..."
http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/mormon-redress-petitions-documents-1833-1838-missouri-conflict/part-v-testimonies-given-mun


I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Like Moses and Abraham and John the Baptist in the Bible, Joseph was a servant of the Lord. He established the church of Jesus Christ upon the earth once again. What a blessing it is to have prophets, and apostles, and a safe haven in this world of tumult and noise.

God is aware of us, and He does love us. May we be loyal to Him. May we say, in the words of Isaiah, "We are Thine" (Isaiah 63:19).

No comments:

Post a Comment