CHURCH HISTORY IN THE FULNESS OF TIMES Student Manual RELIGION 341 THROUGH 343 RELIGION 341 THROUGH 343 CHURCH HISTORY IN THE FULNESS OF TIMES Student Manual The History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Prepared by the Church Educational System Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah Acknowledgment We extend appreciation for the use of the visuals in this manual. Visuals that are not specifically identified were provided by Church Archives, the Museum of Church History and Art, Church Educational System College Curriculum, and the Church Visual Resources Library. Cover art The Grove Awaits by Kent Wallis Send comments and corrections, including typographic errors, to CES Editing, 50 E. North Temple Street, Floor 8, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-2772 USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Second edition © 1989, 1993, 2000, 2003 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America English approval: 1/03 CONTENTS Preface Chapter One Prelude to the Restoration. 1 Chapter Two Joseph Smith’s New England Heritage . 14 Chapter Three The First Vision . 28 Chapter Four A Period of Preparation, 1823–29. 37 Chapter Five Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon and Restoration of the Priesthood. 52 Chapter Six Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ. 67 Chapter Seven The Infant Church Expands. 79 Chapter Eight Gathering to Ohio . 89 Chapter Nine Gathering to the Land of Zion . 102 Chapter Ten Development of the Church in Ohio, 1831–34. 113 Chapter Eleven Expulsion from Jackson County. 127 Chapter Twelve Zion’s Camp . 140 Chapter Thirteen Glorious Days in Kirtland, 1834–36 . 153 Chapter Fourteen The Apostasy in Kirtland, 1836–38. 169 Chapter Fifteen The Church in Northern Missouri, 1836–38 . 181 Chapter Sixteen Missouri Persecutions and Expulsion. 193 Chapter Seventeen Refuge in Illinois . 211 Chapter Eighteen The Mission of the Twelve . 225 Chapter Nineteen Life in Nauvoo the Beautiful. 240 Chapter Twenty Doctrinal Developments in Nauvoo . 251 Chapter Twenty-one Growing Conflict in Illinois . 263 Chapter Twenty-two The Martyrdom . 272 Chapter Twenty-three The Twelve to Bear Off the Kingdom . 286 Chapter Twenty-four Nauvoo under Apostolic Leadership. 297 Chapter Twenty-five The Trek across Iowa. 308 Chapter Twenty-six Pioneers to the West . 322 Chapter Twenty-seven Establishing a Refuge in Deseret. 337 Chapter Twenty-eight Utah in Isolation. 352 Chapter Twenty-nine The Utah War . 368 Chapter Thirty The Civil War Period. 380 Chapter Thirty-one The Quest for Self-Sufficiency . 392 CHURCH HISTORY IN THE FULNESS OF TIMES Chapter Thirty-two Brigham Young’s Presidency: The Final Decade . 406 Chapter Thirty-three A Decade of Persecution, 1877–87. 422 Chapter Thirty-four An Era of Reconciliation . 435 Chapter Thirty-five The Church at the Turn of the Century . 451 Chapter Thirty-six The Church in the Early Twentieth Century. 465 Chapter Thirty-seven Moving Forward into the New Century . 480 Chapter Thirty-eight Change and Consistency . 495 Chapter Thirty-nine The Church during the Great Depression . 509 Chapter Forty The Saints during World War II . 522 Chapter Forty-one Postwar Recovery . 535 Chapter Forty-two Growth into a Worldwide Church . 550 Chapter Forty-three An Era of Correlation and Consolidation. 562 Chapter Forty-four The Church Lengthens Its Stride. 579 Chapter Forty-five Meeting the Needs of a Worldwide Church . 591 Chapter Forty-six A Period of Challenge and Growth . 601 Chapter Forty-seven Continued Growth during the Early 1990s . 616 Chapter Forty-eight The Church Comes out of Obscurity. 628 Chapter Forty-nine The Destiny of the Church . 646 Doctrine and Covenants Cross-references to Church History. 650 Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles . 653 Resources for Further Reading . 661 Index . 669 PREFACE N THE LAST DAYS “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” This kingdom, as foreseen by Daniel, Iwas likened unto a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands,” which would roll forth and gain momentum until it eventually filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:44–45; see also D&C 65:2). Elder Mark E. Petersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, testified, “The Church to which you and I belong is that stone. It has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and your destiny and mine is to help roll it forth” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1960, p. 82). From the days of Adam the prophets have looked forward to the time when the dispensation of the fulness of times would be ushered in and the Lord would “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth,” which are necessary for his second coming and millennial reign (Ephesians 1:10). The appointed hour foretold by all the holy prophets came in the spring of 1820 when God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. With this glorious vision the prophetic words of Isaiah began to be fulfilled, wherein he testified that the Lord would do “a marvellous work and a wonder” among the children of men (Isaiah 29:14). Joseph Smith, called of God, laid the foundation that his successors have built upon. Through the inspiration of heaven, the Prophet translated the Book of Mormon, received the holy priesthood, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ once again among mortal man. Through him the keys of the priesthood were restored. “And again, what do we hear? . “The voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!” (D&C 128:20–21). With the restoration of these keys Israel could now be gathered in from its long dispersion, and all saving ordinances of the gospel could now be administered for both the living and the dead. v CHURCH HISTORY IN THE FULNESS OF TIMES Among the early commandments to the Church was the injunction that “Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments” (D&C 82:14). Since those days the Church has survived exile from four states, harassment and continuous persecution of its leaders and members, an extermination order from a governor, martyrdom of its prophet, disenfranchisement by the government, and poverty of the Saints. This is what the Church endured and survived in the first century of its history; through such adversity, persecution, and impoverishment, the Church gained strength and matured. By the time Joseph F. Smith, son of the Prophet Joseph’s brother Hyrum, became President of the Church, he could say, “We have passed through the stages of infancy . and are indeed approaching the condition of manhood and womanhood in our experience in the Gospel” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1909, p. 2). The missionary force brought a harvest of converts from all over the world. Seeds were planted abroad as missions became stakes. Zion’s borders became enlarged. When Joseph Fielding Smith, son of President Joseph F. Smith, became President of the Church, he declared, “We are coming of age as a church and as a people. We have attained the stature and strength that are enabling us to fulfill the commission given us by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith that we should carry the glad tidings of the restoration to every nation and to all people” (in Manchester England Area Conference 1971, p. 5). Two years later, President Smith’s successor, President Harold B. Lee, said: “Today we are witnessing the demonstration of the Lord’s hand even in the midst of his saints, the members of the Church. Never in this dispensation, and perhaps never before in any single period, has there been such a feeling of urgency among members of this church as today. Her boundaries are being enlarged, her stakes are being strengthened. “No longer might this church be thought of as the ‘Utah church,’ or as an ‘American church,’ but the membership of the Church is now distributed over the earth” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1973, p. 6; or Ensign, July 1973, pp. 4–5). A “stone . cut out of the mountain without hands” by God’s intervention (Daniel 2:45) is the metaphor used by the Lord to describe the expansion of the gospel to all the world. This stone is rolling forth and, indeed, will fill the earth. Then will the Lord’s kingdom stand forever, and he will rule over the world and reign among the house of Israel, who have loved him and kept his commandments. vi vii CHAPTER ONE PRELUDE TO THE RESTORATION Time Line HE RESTORATION of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Date Significant Event establishment of Zion are the two great events in the history of 34–100 Apostles lead New mankind that precede the second coming of Jesus Christ. “The Testament church T building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every 60–70 Peter and Paul martyred age,” wrote the Prophet Joseph Smith. “It is a theme upon which prophets, 325 Council of Nicaea priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked 1300–1500 European Renaissance 1 1438 Gutenberg refined forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live.” This latter- movable type day restoration is the last act in God’s divine drama for his children before 1492 Columbus made first the Millennium.