Introduction to the Missouri Historic Sites

From 1831 to 1838, the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in northeast Ohio in the United States. At the same time, members of the Church followed the Lord’s command and gathered to build up the land of Zion nearly 800 miles away in Missouri. Events leading to the arrest of Joseph Smith and other Church leaders forced the Latter-day Saints to leave their homes in Missouri. Yet, even with all this hardship, the truths God revealed here continue to bless the lives of Church members today.

In October 1830, Oliver Cowdery and Parley P. Pratt led a small group of missionaries from the Whitmer Home in Fayette, New York. Their mission was to the American Indian settlements in Kansas Territory, across the Missouri River from Jackson County, Missouri. The missionaries traveled over 1,000 miles and arrived at their field of labor in January 1831. Government officials prevented the missionaries from proselytizing on the west side of the river, so the missionaries returned to Independence to await further instructions.

Joseph Smith came to Independence in the summer of 1831. While there, the Lord commanded him to begin building a new city where His people could gather and where His temple would stand. The revealed plan for the city of Zion, near Independence, Missouri, served as a divine pattern that guided future city-building efforts among the Latter-day Saints.

Thousands of Latter-day Saints left their homes in New York and Ohio and traveled by wagon and riverboat to the new city of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri. The large influx of people made their neighbors in Independence increasingly uneasy and resentful. These newcomers were not like them in many ways, and the old settlers worried that they would soon cause political and economic changes.

Tensions came to a head in July 1833. A mob assembled at the Independence town square and demanded that the Latter-day Saints leave Jackson County by the following spring. On this occasion, the mob tarred and feathered Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen as an intimidation tactic.

Undaunted, Church leaders sought redress by hiring lawyers to review their situation. When their neighbors learned of this, they again organized a mob and forced Church members to flee their homes in Jackson County. By November 1833, all had taken refuge across the Missouri River in Clay County.

When Joseph Smith learned of the violence occurring in Jackson County, he sought the Lord’s direction. He also reached out to the Missouri state governor, Daniel Dunklin. The governor’s response lent support to the Saints. So, Joseph and other Church leaders in Ohio organized a march of about two hundred armed men. They would join the governor’s standing militia to enforce the law and allow families to return to their homes. The group set out in the spring of 1834, calling themselves the Camp of Israel, or Zion’s Camp.

As the camp neared the Fishing River in Clay County, the governor of Missouri grew increasingly anxious about its arrival. He was afraid that the men of Jackson County would not support his authority, and there would be open war. He thus sent word that the approaching Zion’s Camp would receive no official support, making the march illegal. Joseph Smith again sought the Lord’s guidance, and he received a command to disband the group.

For almost two years, Latter-day Saints living in Missouri were refugees. They sought work where they could and hoped for legal redress. Finally, the state legislature passed a resolution to create a space for the Latter-day Saints to settle. The newly created Caldwell County reserved land for Latter-day Saint settlers.

Beginning in 1836, the Saints gathered to Caldwell County. They established a new city patterned after the city of Zion, named Far West. Joseph Smith moved his family to Far West in the Spring of 1838. With the Prophet now living there, the city became a place of revelation. In July, the Church broke ground for a temple at the center of the city. By then, the population of Caldwell County had grown by several thousand. Joseph received a revelation inviting many more Saints to move from Ohio to Missouri.

That summer, Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, returned from Great Britain and brought news of missionary success there. The Lord commanded the Twelve to return to the British Isles and help recent converts gather to Zion in America.

Anticipating the arrival of many new converts, Church leaders looked for more places to settle. In July, they founded a city and organized another stake at Spring Hill in Daviess County, which the Lord renamed Adam-ondi-Ahman. Meanwhile, the Saints impressed landowners near Dewitt, in Carroll County. These landowners offered land in their town to Latter-day Saints who needed somewhere to go from Daviess County. Many families eagerly accepted the offer.

The growth of the Church in the area displeased some of the locals and landowners. Old fears and prejudices from years earlier resurfaced as more Latter-day Saints arrived. Fighting finally erupted in Daviess County on August 8, 1838. There, people on both sides had gathered in Gallatin for the local election. No one was seriously injured, but exaggerated reports of the fighting fueled emotions of anger and fear throughout the region.

Armed conflict continued over the next ten weeks. Some groups had authorization from the governor to act as part of the state militia, but many armed men took the law into their own hands. In mid-October, enemies forced the Saints in Dewitt out of their homes. Joseph Smith allowed Church members to organize a counter-offensive and seize guns and supplies from antagonistic neighbors in Daviess County. These actions only escalated the conflict. In response, volunteers from a Ray County regiment of the state militia captured two Latter-day Saint scouts. In the ensuing battle at Crooked River on October 25, three Latter-day Saints and one Ray County militiaman died. The most tragic event of the fighting came on October 30, 1838. Over 200 armed men attacked the saints at Hawn’s Mill, killing 17 and wounding 14 others.

As reports of the fighting reached the governor, he ordered the militia to converge on Far West. He declared that all Mormons “must be treated as enemies and exterminated or driven from the state.” A large army surrounded Far West, anticipating a siege. However, the city surrendered on November 1, 1838, without a fight. Joseph Smith and many other Church leaders were arrested and taken to trial in a neighboring county. Meanwhile, the state militia pillaged the city, mocking and abusing the citizens, plundering, and finally destroying much of the property.

After three weeks of legal proceedings in Richmond, Joseph Smith and five other men were sent to jail in Liberty. There, they awaited trial for the next five months. Meanwhile, thousands of Latter-day Saints were once again refugees. The Saints, forced to abandon their homes and land, moved out of Missouri to neighboring Iowa and Illinois. Faced with an uncertain future, Joseph Smith once again prayed for guidance and received the Lord’s direction.

The Missouri historic sites tell of years of violence and turmoil. Yet, they also show how the Lord continued to lead His people through revelation to His prophet. These locations and stories continue to inspire people. They encourage them to strengthen their own faith in Jesus Christ and make and keep covenants with God. They also prompt others to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and build up Zion in the communities where they live.