History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

PERSECUTIONS.
the county records will show. In regard to the lands
of the Indians, no violence or injustice is contemplated
and if it were, what record of robbery, murder, and
treacherous betrayal could excel that already made
by the people of Missouri and others in the United
States for our example? 35
On the 20th the people again met according to appointment.
The old charges were reiterated, and the
old resolutions renewed, with some additions. 36 To
put them into action the men of Jackson county
35 Persecution of the Saints, 21-8. Mackay, The Mormons, 72-4, says 'the
manner in which the Mormons behaved in their Zion was not calculated to
make friends. The superiority they assumed gave offense, and the rumors
that were spread by some false friends, who had been turned out of the
church for misconduct, excited against them an intense feeling of alarm and
hatred. They were accused of communism, and not simply a community of
goods and chattels, but of wives.. .Joined to the odium unjustly cast upon
them for these reasons, they talked so imprudently of their determination to
possess the whole state of Missouri, and to suffer no oue to live in it who
would not conform to their faith, that a party was secretly formed against
them, of which the object was nothing less than their total and immediate
expulsion from their promised Zion... The anti-Mormon press contained at
the same time an article entitled "Beware of false prophets," written by a
person whom Joseph called a black rod in the hand of Satan. This article
was distributed from house to house in Independence and its neighborhood,
and contained many false charges against Smith and his associates,
reiterating the calumny about the community of goods and wives.' Smith
calls this man 'one Pixley,' and says he was sent by the missionary society,
to civilize and christianize the heathen of the west, and that he was not only
a black rod, but 'a poisoned shaft in the power of our foes, to spread lies
and falsehoods '...It is also probable that the more indolent Missouriarm
gazed with jealous eyes as the new-comers exhibited that agricultural thrift
which has always characterized them as a people; for we find the twelve high
priests, through Hyde and Hyrum Smith, reprimanding Brother Phelps as
follows: "If you have fat beef and potatoes, eat them in singleness of heart,
and boast not yourselves in these things. " ' Times and Seasons, v. 721 ; vi. 816.
'It was conjectured by the inhabitants of Jackson county that the Mormonites
as a body are wealthy, and many of them entertain fears that next Decenv
ber, when the list oi' land is exposed for sale, they will outbid others, and
establish themselves as the most powerful body in the county.' Booth, in
Hoive's Mormonism Unveiled, 195.
36 It was further declared: '1st, That no Mormon shall in future move
and settle in this county. 2d, That those now here, who shall give a definite
pledge of their intention, within a reasonable time, to remove out of the
county, shall be allowed to remain unmolested until they shall have sufficient
time to sell their property and close their business without any sacrifice.
3d, That the editor of the Star be required forthwith to close his office, and
discontinue the business of printing in this county; and as to all other stores
and shops belonging to the sect, their owners must in every case comply with
the terms strictly, agreeably to the 2d article of this declaration; and upon
failure, prompt and efficient measures will be taken to close the same. 4th,
That the Mormon leaders here are required to use their influence in preventing
any further emigration of their distant brethren to this county, and
;
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