Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation Newsletter
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MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER Number 2 Jackson County, Missouri Winter 1994 Visiting Historian Series, VI active in driving the Mormons from Jackson County and H. Dean Garrett Missouri. There is much to be learned about the Tuesday, 17 August 1993 Mormons in Missouri in the early 1830's. RLDS Temple Topic: The Lamanite Mission --------� : �.. ·----- Dean Garrett and his son Brian were in The 1993 Annual Meeting of the John Whitmer History Independence to do research on the 1831 Mormon Association was held in the RLDS Temple on September mission to the Indians bordering Missouri. The Garretts 24-26, 1993. A sufficient supply of MMFF Newsletters had spent the day with Ron Romig at the RLDS Archives were available to introduce the MMFF organization to and touring Lafayette County. other potentially interested persons. It seemed to attract Most of the contemporary informationthat we have quite a bit of attention. today on the 1831 Mormon mission to the Indians in the area of Jackson County, Missouri is from Parley P. MMFFvice president, Ron Romig, presented a paper on Pratt's writings. Five Mormon missionaries arrived in the Lamanite Mission at the John Whitmer Association Independence in mid-January 1831, namely, Sidney Annual Meeting. Rigdon, P.P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Ziba Petersen and Frederick G. Williams. No one had asked permissionfor them to visit Indian Territory to preach to the Indians. Isaac McCoy, who Visiting Historian Series, VII had established a mission to the Shawnee Indians under Roger Lannius government authority, was one who was not pleased to see them. While Parley P. Pratt went to St. Louis to seek Thursday, 23 September 1993 permission, which was denied due to the Indian agent's RLDSTemple letter ahead, and to Ohio and New York to confer with · Topic: AlexanderDoniphan Joseph Smith, the rest stayed in Missouri. They turned their attention to converting the settlers already in this · Roger Lannius is the historian for NASA. He has area of Missouri. been asked to write on Alexander Doniphan forone in a Letters indicate they were being successful in series of books on famousMissourians. He was selected converting white settlers in Jackson and Lafayette due to a short published monograph he wrote about counties. Familial relationships seem to appear between Doniphan. the converts. A news article of October 1899 based on He shared his knowledge about this famed Missouri information from Mary Bums states that 44 were military leader and statesman who took on the task of baptized in the Lexington area. Who were they and what seeking justice for the Mormons. He presented some happened to them? A few names are Charles Hopper, theories about why Alexander Doniphan was willing to Rebecca Hopper who married Ziba Peterson, Thomas defendthe Mormons. Roger welcomed any information Hopper (uncle of Mary Burns), and William Jennings about Doniphan and about repositories with significant who married Elizabeth Hopper. Doniphan research material that the audience had to A connection also seems to appear in names of early share. converts or their families and people who were later MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION Number 2, Winter 1994 Page 2 MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FOUNDATION Ronald G. Putz is a duly organized GENERAL NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION This past year we put The Missouri Mormon under the Laws of Missouri Frontier Foundation on a firm footing. We went from The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation is a almost no members to over 60. We sponsored a nonsectarian organization dedicated to collecting and number of interesting speakers. We published our first preserving informationrelated to the Mormon experience newsletter. We incorporated as a Not-for-Profit in western Missouri during the l 830's. Corporation in Missouri. We completed all The purposes ofMMFF are stated in the By-Laws as requirements to apply fortax-exempt status with the follows: IRS. 1. To promote the research, documentation, plan We are ready for more progress in 1994. We verification,renovation and restoration of events and to publish at least three more newsletters. We wish to sites associated with the Missouri Mormon Frontier. retain those members we already have and add many 2. To preserve documents, photographs, artifacts, sites will continue to sponsor speakers as they more. We and other historical memorabilia associated with that become available. We also will be forming interest period. groups of persons who wish to pursue specific areas of 3. To facilitate the gathering and preservation of interest which relate to our purposes. We also will be genealogical information from the affected ··publishing a Early Independence, Missouri "Mormon" geographical area. History Tour Guide of early Independence. Our February meeting (advertised in another All meetings, including Board meetings, are open to section) will focus on forming interest groups. These everyone.. You are invited to bring other interested interests can be as diverse as camping ( on LDS / people to any of our meetings. RLDS historical sites), artistry, memberships, long range plans, publicity, period clothing, period architecture, fund raising, newsletter, abstracting historical documents, scholarly research or any other First Annual Meeting subject that our members would like to participate in. The First Annual Meeting of the Missouri Mormon The Tour Guide features ten sites in Independence. Frontier Foundation was held on Tuesday evening Some of these are well known, others are more obscure November 9, 1993 at 7p.m. in the Mormon Visitors though not less important. Ron Romig, RLDS Center. By-Laws were approved and officers and Archivist, furnishes fascinating text about each site. boardmembers were elected as follows: Henry Inouye, a gifted local artist provides many Ronald G. Putz - President riveting illustrations. At a later date, pending Ronald E. Romig - Vice President permission from local jurisdictions andsufficient fund WilliamJ. Curtis - Secretary raising, we will mark each site. Publishing this booklet raises an immediate need. Jesse E. Ehlers -Treasurer It will cost about $1,000 to publish 1,000 of the 44 Board Members - Annette Curtis page booklets. We have arranged a loan from one of Alta Short our members to get the booklet in print before summer. Henry Inouye However, we need donations to pay offthe loan. This Drew Henson is a good arrangement because it enables us to get the booklet into your hands, still leaving time for Some readers may have noticed that the word "Mormon" contributions. The booklets will then be sold for $1.00 was missing from the MMFF incorporation certificate or $2.00 each to provide fundsfor reprints and printed on page 2 of our first newsletter. That was expanded editions. noticed and corrected. The second certificate was for the "Missouri MormanFrontier Foundation". The third one Tour Guide Donation form on page 7. got it all right. We are now duly and correctly incorporated. Papers are now being prepared for tax -------------------- exempt status. Newsletter editor: AnnetteW. Curtis MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION Number 2, Winter 1994 Page 3 Early Independence, Missouri "Mormon" History Tour Guide It is coming! See the "President's Message" on page 2. A sample of the artworkby Henry Inouye that will appearin the Tour Guide. The Guide promises to be both an attractive and an informativebooklet. ----------...:.... -�---------- Who's Who in MMFF Henry K. Inouye, Jr. • Honored with the Independence Beautification . award - 1993 and the Neighborhood Council's Henry K. Inouye, Jr. holds a B.A. degree in artand Beautification award, 1993. art history from the University of Hawaii and an • Currently writing a book on Roy Cheville to be M.A. in religion from the School of Theology at published in the winter of 1995 by Herald Claremont. He is a professional artist in both House. This is part of a series to be called commercial and finearts. His interest in aesthetics "Makers of Church Thought" edited by Paul ranges from theory to practice, from theological Edwards. studies to landscape design and beautification. He • A volunteer at the RLDS archives. grew up in Independence and is married to a • An instructor in the RLDS temple field school. wonderful lady named Helen. • A boardmember of MMFF and contributing the art work for a walking tour guide to Mormon Henry Inouye is: sites in Independence. MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION Number 2, Winter 1994 Page 4 THEY LIVED IN ZION Vignettes of Mormons in Jackson County 1831-1833 by Ronald G. Putz SOLOMON CHAMBERLAIN and began to preach to them, in the words that the angel had made known to me in the vision, that all churches Solomon was from Connecticut. He was born in and denominations on the earth had become corrupt, Tolland, July 30, 1788. His fatherdied when he was 8, and no church of God on the earth, but that he would . his mother died about 10 years later. He states in his shortly raise up a church that would never be autobiography that he lived a very wicked life from the confounded nor brought down and be like unto the time his father died until he was 19 years old [about Apostolic Church. They wondered greatlywho had been 1807]. That year he had a vision of hell which alarmed telling me these things, for said they, we have the same him into reforming his ways. Then he had another things wrote [written] down in our house, taken from the vision, this one · ..... of three heavens, and their glories, Gold record, that you are preaching to us. I said, 'The and the third one, farexceeded the others." Now he truly Lord told me these things a number of years ago. " I then wanted to be saved and looked for someone to tell him said, "Ifyou are a visionary house, I wish you would what he must do.