Pioneer: 2007 Vol.54, No.1

Church history, but eventually went west with the body of
Saints under the direction of Brigham Young. The planned
tabernacle never rose above the foundation, but the current
home was built on it. Somehow the homes connection to
the Saints was perpetuated as the "Mormon Temple/*22
Some twenty-five miles west of Jacksonville, the
members of Zions Camp came to the Phillips Ferry
crossing on the Illinois River and ferried across to the
west side, where they camped* While there, several of
the men climbed a hill where a skeleton was uncovered*
Several accounts which say that the Prophet Joseph iden¬
tified the remains as once being a Lamanite named Zelph
have survived*23 Details from the various accounts
frequently vary, so it is difficult to know with certainty
what actually transpired and what Joseph taught.
The hill has been identified in modern times as the
Naples-Russcll Mound #8, Pike County, Illinois*24
Scholars have written that the hill “is a typical prehistoric
Middle Woodland mortuary complex of the Hopewell
culture”25
Just north of the Zelph mound, near the west bank
of the Illinois River, is an unpaved street traditionally
known as Church Hollow Road* Winding between bur¬
ial mounds, its location has remained intact over the
years. If Zions Camp continued its journey on to Valley
City and Griggsville using this route, it would likely be a
surviving segment of the original Zions Camp route
along with the preserved section of the National Road
near Raysville, Indiana*26
Continuing west, Zions Camp passed through
2 0 0 7 * Vo i. 5 4, No. I * PIONEER 13