| 1120 TIMES AND SEASONS.
"TRUTH WILL PREVAIL."
VOL. VI. NO. 23.] CITY OF NAUVOO, ILL. FEB. 15, 1846 [WHOLE NO 131.
HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
CONTINUED.
Since the disgraceful combination of the inhabitants of Jackson county, has set the law at defiance, and put all hopes of criminal prosecution, against them in that vicinage beyond the reach of judge or jury, and left us but a distant expectation of civil remuneration for the great amount of damage we have sustained, necessity compels us to complain to the world, and if our ease and calamity are not sufficient to excite the commiseration of the humane, and open the hearts of the generous, and fire the spirits of the Patriotic, then has sympathy lost herself in the wilderness, and justice fled from power; then has the dignity of the ermine shrunk at the gigantic front of a mob, and the sacred mantle of freedom been caught up to heaven where the weary are at rest, and the wicked cannot come.
To be obedient to the commandments of our Lord and Savior, some of the leaders of the church commenced purchasing lands in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, according to the revelations of God, for the city of Zion: in doing which no law was evaded, no rights infringed, nor no principle of religion neglected, but the laudable foundation of a glorious work began, for the salvation of man kind in the last days, agreeable to our faith, and according to the promises in the sacred scriptures of God, we verily believe, knowing that the national and state constitutions and the statute laws of the land, and the commandments of the Lord, allowed all men to worship as they pleased-that we should be protected, not only be all the law of a free republic, but by every republican throughout the realms of freedom.
The holy prophets have declared, "that it should come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house should be established in the top of the mountains and should be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people should go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." And again it was said by Joel, seemingly to strengthen the faith of the Latter-day Saints in the above, "that whosoever should call on the name of the Lord should be delivered, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." The Book of Mormon, which we hold equally sacred with the Bible, says "that a New Jerusalem shall be built up on this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for the which things there has been a type."
In fact all the prophets from Moses to John the revelator, have spoken concerning these things, and in all good faith, by direct revelation from the Lord, as in days of old, we commenced the glorious work, that a holy city, a New Jerusalem, even Zion might be built up, and a temple reared in this generation, where unto, as saith the Lord, all nations should be invited: Firstly the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble; and after that cometh the day of his power; but the inhabitants of Jackson county arrayed themselves against us, because of our faith and belief, and destroyed our printing establishment, to prevent the spread of the work, and drove men, women and children from their lands, houses and homes, to perish in the approaching winter; while every blast carried the wailing of women and the shrieks of children, across the wide spread prairie, sufficiently horrible to draw tears from the savage, or melt a heart of stone!
Now, that the world may know that our faith in the work and word of the Lord is firm and unshaken, and to shew [show] all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, that our object is good, for the good of all, we come before the great family of mankind for peace, and ask their hospitality and assurance for our comfort, and the preservation of our persons and property and solicit their charity for the great cause of God. We are well aware that many slanderous reports, and ridiculous stories are in circulation against our religion and society, but as wise men will hear both sides and then judge; we sincerely hope and trust, that the still small voice of truth will be heard, and our great revelations read and candidly compared with the prophecies of the Bible, that the great cause of our Redeemer, may be supported by a liberal share of public opinion, as well as the unseen power of God.
It will be seen by a reference to the book of Commandments, page 135, that the Lord has said to the church, and we want to live by his words: "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God, hath
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