N 1820, A YOUNG FARM BOY in search of truth has a vision of God Ithe Father and Jesus Christ. Three years later, an angel guides him to an ancient record buried in a hill near his home. With God’s help, he translates the record and organizes the Savior’s church in the latter days. Soon others join him, accepting the invitation to become Saints through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 1815–1846 But opposition and violence follow those who defy old traditions to embrace restored truths. The women and men who join the church must choose whether or not they will stay true to their covenants, establish Zion, and proclaim the gospel to a troubled world. The Standard of Truth is the first book inSaints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, and written under the direc- tion of the First Presidency, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8). SAINTSTHE OF S T TANDARD 1815–1846 RUTH SAINTS THE STANDARD ISBN 9781629724928 OF Volume RUTH T 9 781629 724928 1 SAINTS The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days SAINTS The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days Volume 1 The Standard of Truth 1815–1846 Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah © 2018 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America English approval: 1/18 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission. For more information, contact [email protected]. saints .lds .org Cover art by Greg Newbold Cover design and interior layout by Patric Gerber Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issuing body. Title: Saints : the story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days. Volume 1, The standard of truth, 1815–1846. Other titles: Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days | Standard of truth, 1815–1846. Description: Salt Lake City : The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018010147 (print) | LCCN 2018014350 (ebook) | ISBN 9781629724928 (paperbound) | ISBN 9781629737102 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-History-19th century. | Mormon Church-History-19th century. Classification: LCC BX8611 (ebook) | LCC BX8611 .S235 2018 (print) | DDC 289.309-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018010147 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done. —Joseph Smith, 1842 CONTRIBUTORS SAINTS THE STORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE LATTER DAYS Church Historian and Recorder Executive Director, Church History Department Elder Steven E. Snow Assistant Executive Director, Church History Department Elder J. Devn Cornish Assistant Church Historian and Recorder Managing Director, Church History Department Reid L. Neilson Director, Publications Division Matthew J. Grow Managing Historian Steven C. Harper Product Manager Ben Ellis Godfrey Digital Content Manager Matthew S. McBride Editorial Manager Nathan N. Waite VOLUME 1 THE STANDARD OF TRUTH 1815–1846 General Editors Matthew J. Grow Richard E. Turley Jr. Steven C. Harper Scott A. Hales Writers Scott A. Hales James Goldberg Melissa Leilani Larson Elizabeth Palmer Maki Steven C. Harper Sherilyn Farnes Historical Review Editors Jed L. Woodworth Lisa Olsen Tait Editors Leslie Sherman Edgington Nathan N. Waite Research Specialists Kathryn Burnside Chad O. Foulger Brian D. Reeves CONTENTS A Message from the First Presidency xv Preface xvii PART 1: My Servant Joseph April 1815–April 1830 1 Ask in Faith 3 2 Hear Him 14 3 Plates of Gold 20 4 Be Watchful 31 5 All Is Lost 43 6 The Gift and Power of God 54 7 Fellow Servants 65 8 The Rise of the Church of Christ 76 PART 2: A House of Faith April 1830–April 1836 9 Come Life or Come Death 89 10 Gathered In 102 11 Ye Shall Receive My Law 114 12 After Much Tribulation 125 13 The Gift Has Returned 136 14 Visions and Nightmares 146 15 Holy Places 158 16 Only a Prelude 171 17 Though the Mob Kill Us 182 18 The Camp of Israel 194 19 Stewards over This Ministry 207 20 Do Not Cast Me Off 219 21 The Spirit of God 232 PART 3: Cast into the Deep April 1836–April 1839 22 Try the Lord 247 23 Every Snare 260 24 Truth Shall Prevail 274 25 Move On to the West 286 26 A Holy and Consecrated Land 300 27 We Proclaim Ourselves Free 311 28 Tried Long Enough 323 29 God and Liberty 335 30 Fight like Angels 347 31 How Will This End? 359 32 Though All Hell Should Endeavor 371 33 O God, Where Art Thou? 384 PART 4: Fullness of Times April 1839–February 1846 34 Build Up a City 399 35 A Beautiful Place 415 36 Incline Them to Gather 428 37 We Will Prove Them 442 38 A Traitor or a True Man 456 39 The Seventh Trouble 469 40 United in an Everlasting Covenant 481 41 God Must Be the Judge 494 42 Round Up Your Shoulders 509 x 43 A Public Nuisance 521 44 A Lamb to the Slaughter 537 45 An Almighty Foundation 553 46 Endowed with Power 569 Notes 587 Note on Sources 659 Sources Cited 661 Acknowledgments 683 Index 684 xi the S UTH the S UTH TANDARD of TR TANDARD of TR • LIVERPOOL FAR WEST • • PALMYRA INDEPENDENCE • • • NAUVOO KIRTLAND • JERUSALEM ▪ TAMBORA TAHITI TUBUAI JULY 1837 – British mission OCTOBER 1841 – Orson Hyde dedicates the Holy Land MAY 1843 – Pacific mission APRIL 10, 1815 – Eruption of Mt. Tambora, Indonesia SEPTEMBER 22, 1827 – Joseph receives gold plates JULY 20, 1831 – Zion established in Missouri MARCH 27, 1836 – Dedication of Kirtland temple APRIL 30, 1846 – Dedication of Nauvoo temple the S UTH the S UTH TANDARD of TR TANDARD of TR • LIVERPOOL FAR WEST • • PALMYRA INDEPENDENCE • • • NAUVOO KIRTLAND • JERUSALEM ▪ TAMBORA TAHITI TUBUAI JULY 1837 – British mission OCTOBER 1841 – Orson Hyde dedicates the Holy Land MAY 1843 – Pacific mission APRIL 10, 1815 – Eruption of Mt. Tambora, Indonesia SEPTEMBER 22, 1827 – Joseph receives gold plates JULY 20, 1831 – Zion established in Missouri MARCH 27, 1836 – Dedication of Kirtland temple APRIL 30, 1846 – Dedication of Nauvoo temple A MESSAGE FROM THE FIRST PRESIDENCY Throughout the scriptures the Lord asks us to remem- ber. Remembering our shared legacy of faith, devotion, and perseverance gives us perspective and strength as we face the challenges of our day. It is with this desire to remember “how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men” (Moroni 10:3) that we present Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. This is the first volume of a four-volume series. It is a narrative history that includes stories of faithful Latter-day Saints of the past. We encourage all to read the book and make use of the supplementary material available online. You are an important part of the continuing history of this Church. We thank you for all you do to build on the foundation of faith laid by our forebears. We testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that His gospel is the standard of truth today. The Lord called Joseph Smith to be His prophet, seer, and revelator in the latter days, and He continues to call living prophets and apostles to guide His Church. We pray that this volume will enlarge your under- standing of the past, strengthen your faith, and help you make and keep the covenants that lead to exaltation and eternal life. Sincerely, The First Presidency PREFACE True stories well told can inspire, caution, entertain, and instruct. Brigham Young understood the power of a good story when he counseled Church historians to do more than simply record the dry facts of the past. “Write in a narrative style,” he advised them, and “write only about one tenth part as much.”1 What follows is a narrative history designed to give readers a foundational understanding of Church history. Every scene, character, and line of dialogue is founded in historical sources, which are cited at the end of the book. Those who wish to read these sources, better understand related topics, and discover even more stories can find links to additional resources online at history.churchofjesuschrist.org. This book is the first of a four-volume history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Together, the volumes tell the story of the Restoration of the gos-pel of Jesus Christ from the earliest days of the Church until now. They are written in an engaging style that is accessible to the Saints throughout the world. The Church has published two multivolume his- tories in the past. The first was a documentary history begun by Joseph Smith in the 1830s and published beginning in 1842.