Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
We have probably all seen examples of a group of people with a 'mob mentality.' What causes a group of people to do things that they would not otherwise do if they were alone or sitting next to their mom. A mob mentality led to intense persecution of Saints in Jackson County, Missouri, and was the background of marvelous revelations from God. In the midst of the Missouri persecutions, the Lord assured the Saints that "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good" (D&C 98:3). God knows our trials and is there to use them to our benefit. In this longer video, I use several examples and quotes to illustrate this.
In the 1950s, researchers conducted a conformity experiment that showed how readily people conform or change their behavior to match social norms. It involved:
In the control group, with no pressure to conform to actors, the error rate was less than 1%.
In the group with actors:
Causes of Mob Mentality
Events Leading Up to the Expulsion from Jackson County
The Founding of Independence, Missouri
In the early 1800s, travelers moved westward from starting points in Missouri. These travelers wanted to get their wares as far westward as they could, as easily as possible. As a result, goods were often transported by water transportation as far as possible. The Missouri River extended west past the Mississippi and on the western portion of the river the city of Independence began.
In 1827, Independence was founded as a place in which steamboats could reach and where a permanent landings could be established. Soon thereafter, a steady growing number of merchants settled there to supply goods to the traders and farmers moving into the area. One of the first buildings constructed was a one-story log courthouse (and later sold to A. S. Gilbert). As the volume of trade going through Independence surpassed many larger towns farther downstream, its potential for growth seemed to increase as well.
Two main groups moved their wares through the Independence area. The first of these were the Santa Fe traders. These traders went from Missouri to the Spanish Santa Fe area, In 1824, a trader’s inventory carried with them:
Cotton goods consisting of coarse and fine cambrics, calicoes, domestic shawls, handkerchiefs, steam-loomed shirtings and cotton hose; a few woolen goods consisting of super blues, stroudings, pelisse cloth and shawls, crepes, bombazettes; some light articles of cutlery, a silk shawl, and looking glasses ....( Violette, 1918)
In 1845 alone the Santa Fe traders returned to Missouri with “$1,000,000.00 in gold, silver, and woolen blankets, in addition to droves of horses, mules, jacks, and jennets, the latter playing an important part in establishing the famous Missouri mule industry. Returns were often 200 percent to 300 percent on the investment made for goods each trip” (Lyon, 1972).
The second main group that left from the Independence area was the Missouri and Rocky Mountain fur traders. While not bringing to the United States the much needed gold and silver as was the case with the Spanish-American trade, still its monetary value was about equal. (Lyons, 1972)
Below is a paper that I wrote a while ago providing a background for Independence Missouri.
The People of Independence in 1830
Independence was a city on the edge of civilization. As a result, men of ill-repute seemingly congregated in the new border town. A missionary of the American Home Missionary Society, sent to Jackson County to proselyte for the Presbyterian and Congregational faiths, had sent a letter to the national office describing the conditions and people he found in the county:
I take my pen in hand to improve the opportunity to report my peregrinations since I last wrote. Please be informed, that, according to mission Board instructions, I have penetrated many miles of wilderness and after many privations and suffering physical discomforts due to the variable inclemency of the weather, have at last reached the western border of our nation. What I have found here is anything but encouraging. The prospects for our evangelical work appear less likely here than any place I have seen in my westward journeyings. Such a godless place, filled with so many profane swearers, would be difficult to imagine. The majority of the people make a mild profession of Christian religion, but it is mere words, not manifested in Christian living.
There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin. In this town, one soon learns not to make inquiry concerning the names nor home towns of this class of men. Apparently they are hiding something of their past of which they are not proud, and are also afraid of detection.
Christian Sabbath observance here appears to be unknown. It is a day for merchandising, jollity, drinking, gambling, and general anti-Christian conduct.
When the Santa Fe wagon trains return here, or pass through on their way eastward, there is a multiplication of sin beyond the usual amount.
There appears to be an over abundance of females here practicing the world’s oldest profession....
Gouging and more serious forms of violence are common. The sheriff has little support from the populace, except to prevent burglars breaking into the merchants’ shops. He confided to me that the citizens do not care to have the lawless punished....Lyon, 1972. Excerpted from the original in the files of the American Home Missionary Society in the Hammond Library of the Chicago Theological Seminary, Missouri File.)
The Coming of the Mormons
On June 7, 1831, a few leaders were instructed to convene the next church conference in Missouri (see D&C 52:1-6, 41-44). They had been authorized to locate a place for members to settle in the land of Zion. These four missionaries found that the physical features and potential agricultural wealth of Jackson County appealed to them. Oliver Cowdery composed a letter, dated “May 7, 1831, Kaw Township, Jackson County, Missouri,” which one of the missionaries soon hurried eastward to Kirtland, Ohio, to deliver to Joseph Smith. In it Cowdery gave promising reports of the agricultural prospects of Jackson County, but made an adverse evaluation of the inhabitants:
The letter we received from you informed us that the opposition was great against you. Now, our beloved brethren, we verily believe that we also can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name; for almost the whole country, consisting of Universalists, Atheists, Deists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and other professed Christians, priests and people; with all the devils from the infernal pit are united, and foaming out their own shame [against us]. God forbid that I should bring a railing accusation against them, for vengeance belongeth to Him who is able to repay; and herein, brethren, we confide.
We are well, bless the Lord; and preach the Gospel we will, if earth and hell oppose our way—for we dwell in the midst of scorpions.... Amen. (Roberts, 1949)
In August 1831 Joseph Smith and other leading churchmen had traveled for almost a month when they visited Independence. When they arrived they participated in dedicating the land for the gathering of the Saints and ceremonially commenced building the first house in Kaw Township, a few miles west of Independence. They also dedicated a site upon which a temple complex was to be erected. It did not take long for hundreds of Saints to settle in Jackson County, mostly on farms outside of Independence.
Less than two full years after the first Mormon settlers had arrived in Jackson County, friction had developed between the Mormons and the old settlers.
Sources of Conflict
In July 1833 the tension manifested itself in public meetings, accusations, and then violence toward the Saints. The consensus of the old settlers was stated in five main areas which they envisioned as the cause of conflict:
Business conditions were also deteriorating. In the spring of 1833, about two months before the friction developed into open conflict, the turbulent waters of the flooding Missouri destroyed the excellent Independence landing and shifted the channel of the river away from Independence. Farther upstream, a new town, Westport, was established where a better landing was located. This city soon took over much of the Santa Fe trade and the fur trade. The business stagnation caused by this act of nature was blamed on the Mormons. (Lyon, 1972)
In July a meeting at Independence, attended by about five hundred Missourians, drew up these demands: (1) No additional Mormons were to settle in Jackson County. (2) Those then resident in the county were to sell their property as soon as they could and leave the vicinity. (3) The periodical, The Evening and the Morning Star, must cease publication. (4) All Mormon shops and the storehouse were to close as soon as possible.
The meeting then adjourned and the leaders presented their demands to the Mormon officials who refused to give an immediate answer, asking for time to study the impact of the proposals and to consider the problem of the large tracts of land which they had purchased. Angered by this refusal, the mob then wrecked the printing shop and threw the press in the river. Attempts were made by the Saints to sell, but with little success. Finally, on 23 July 1833, the Mormon leaders signed an agreement that half the Saints would leave by 1 January following and the remainder by 1 April 1834.
As this article had been made under duress, the Church leaders decided to appeal to Governor Dunklin, asking that the state protect them in their property and lives. In reply, Governor Dunklin suggested that the Saints employ lawyers and seek redress through the courts. Accordingly they hired lawyers, of whom Doniphan and Atchison were the most capable. Believing they had the support of the Governor, because of the sympathetic suggestions given in his letter, the Saints announced on 20 October 1833 their intention to remain and defend themselves while awaiting the outcome of court proceedings which had been instituted. Eleven days later the old settlers and many rowdies who had joined them attacked the Mormon settlement on the Big Blue, located a short distance from Independence. There they unroofed twelve houses, whipped men, and threatened women and children. The next day houses in Independence were stoned. A few days later a mob attacked other settlements and by November sixth and seventh the ferries were crowded with fleeing Saints seeking refuge in Clay County to the north.
Bibliography
Lyon Egar T. (1972). Independence, Missouri, and the Mormons, 1827-1833, BYU Studies.
Roberts, B.H. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. (Salt Lake City, 1949), 1:182–83.
Violette, E.G., A History of Missouri (New York, 1918), p. 196 as quoted in Lyon (1972).
A Presbyterian Missionaries' view of Independence Missouri in the 1800s.
Independence was a city on the edge of civilization. As a result, men of ill-repute seemingly congregated in the new border town. A missionary of the American Home Missionary Society, sent to Jackson County to proselyte for the Presbyterian and Congregational faiths, had sent a letter to the national office describing the conditions and people he found in the county:
“I take my pen in hand to improve the opportunity to report my peregrinations since I last wrote. Please be informed, that, according to mission Board instructions, I have penetrated many miles of wilderness and after many privations and suffering physical discomforts due to the variable inclemency of the weather, have at last reached the western border of our nation. What I have found here is anything but encouraging. The prospects for our evangelical work appear less likely here than any place I have seen in my westward journeyings. Such a godless place, filled with so many profane swearers, would be difficult to imagine. The majority of the people make a mild profession of Christian religion, but it is mere words, not manifested in Christian living.
“There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
“There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin.
“There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
“There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin.
“In this town, one soon learns not to make inquiry concerning the names nor home towns of this class of men. Apparently they are hiding something of their past of which they are not proud, and are also afraid of detection.
“Christian Sabbath observance here appears to be unknown. It is a day for merchandising, jollity, drinking, gambling, and general anti-Christian conduct.
“When the Santa Fe wagon trains return here, or pass through on their way eastward, there is a multiplication of sin beyond the usual amount.
“There appears to be an over abundance of females here practicing the world’s oldest profession....
“Gouging and more serious forms of violence are common. The sheriff has little support from the populace, except to prevent burglars breaking into the merchants’ shops. He confided to me that the citizens do not care to have the lawless punished....” (Lyon, 1972. Excerpted from the original in the files of the American Home Missionary Society in the Hammond Library of the Chicago Theological Seminary, Missouri File.)
Joseph Smith: “July [1833], which once dawned upon the virtue and independence of the United States, now dawned upon the savage barbarity and mobocracy of Missouri. Most of the clergy acting as missionaries to the Indians, or to the frontier inhabitants, were among the most prominent characters, that rose up and rushed on to destroy the rights of the Church, as well as the lives of her members.
“One Reverend Pixley, who had been sent by the Missionary Society to civilize and Christianize the heathen of the west, was a black rod in the hands of Satan; as well as a poisoned shaft in the hands of our other foes He wrote horrible falsehoods about the Saints which he sent to the religious papers in the East, from time to time, in order to sour the public mind against them;
“and used his influence among both Indians and whites to overthrow the Church in Jackson county.
“On the first of July, he wrote a slanderous tract entitled, "Beware of False Prophets," which he carried from house to house, to incense the inhabitants against the Church, to mob them, and drive them away.
“The July number of The Evening and Morning Star, pursued a mild and pacific course; the first article therein, entitled, "Beware of False Prophets,”…was calculated to disabuse the honest public mind from Pixley's falsehoods; and the caution against "Free People of Color," settling in Missouri, was sufficient to silence the fears of every sober mind, yet, it was all in vain; the hour of trial must come: notwithstanding the constitution of Missouri - as published in the same paper.” (History of the Church, Vol 1, p. 305).
On Saturday, 20 July, four or five hundred disgruntled citizens met at the Independence courthouse. They chose officers and selected a committee to draft a document outlining their demands of the Mormons. The officers and committee members were some of the leading citizens of Jackson County: “In the main they were the county officers—the county judge, the constables, clerks of the court and justices of the peace.”
The lieutenant governor of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs, a resident and large landholder in the county, also attended the meeting and encouraged the anti-Mormon activity.
The “secret constitution” was read at the meeting, it declared that no Latter-Day Saint would be allowed to move to or settle in Jackson County, and those already there must leave as soon as possible.
Vienna Jaques: “Sister [Jaques] was picking some of [the scattered revelations] up, and while doing so, a mobber came along and remarked to her, ‘Madam, this is only a prelude to what you have to suffer,’ and said, ‘There goes your Bishop, tarred and feathered.’ She looked … and saw him going along, encircled in a bright light, surpassing the brightness of the sun. She exclaimed, ‘Glory to God! For he will receive a crown of glory for tar and feathers’” (Vienna Jaques, Statement, Feb. 22, 1859, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; spelling, capitalization, and punctuation standardized).
Mary Elizabeth Rollins: “The mob renewed their efforts again by tearing down the printing office, a two story building, and driving Brother Phelps’ family out of the lower part of the house and putting their things in the street. They brought out some large sheets of paper, and said, ‘Here are the Mormon Commandments.’ My sister Caroline and myself were in a corner of a fence watching them; when they spoke of the commandments I was determined to have some of them. Sister said if I went to get any of them she would go too, but said ‘They will kill us.’
"While their backs were turned, prying out the gable end of the house, we went, and got our arms full, and were turning away, when some of the mob saw us and called on us to stop, but we ran as fast as we could. Two of them started after us. Seeing a gap in a fence, we entered into a large cornfield, laid the papers on the ground, and hid them with our persons. The corn was from five to six feet high, and very thick; they hunted around considerable, and came very near us but did not find us.
“After we satisfied ourselves that they had given up the search for us, we tried to find our way out of the field, the corn was so high we could not see where to go. . . . Soon we came to an old log stable which looked as though it had not been used for years. Sister Phelps and children were carrying in brush and piling it up at one side of the barn to lay her beds on. She asked me what I had. I told her. She then took them from us, which made us feel very bad. They got them bound in small books and sent me one, which I prized very highly.” (Autobiography of Mary E. Lightner, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol. 17 (1926), 193–96).
July 20th - Mob destroys W. W. Phelps’s printing office and scatter pages of the Book of Commandments. Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen are tarred and feathered.
July 23rd - The mob returns with rifles, pistols, whips, and clubs. They set fire to haystacks and grain fields and destroyed several homes, barns, and businesses. The mob eventually confronted six leaders of the Church who, seeing the property and lives of the Saints in jeopardy, offered their lives as a ransom. They were forced to sign an agreement to leave Jackson County.
August 2nd - Section 97 is given.
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Lehi promised his son Jacob that God "shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (2 Nephi 2:2). In the midst of the Missouri persecutions the Lord assured the Saints that "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good" (D&C 98:3). As the Prophet Joseph Smith neared despair in his sufferings in Liberty Jail, the voice of the Lord gave comfort in declaring that "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (D&C 122:7). Those who can look upon their afflictions in this manner have spirituality.” (Pure in Heart , p.122).
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Whatever the outcome and no matter how difficult your experiences, you have the promise that you will not be denied the blessings of eternal family relationships if you love the Lord, keep His commandments, and just do the best you can. When young Jacob "suffered afflictions and much sorrow" from the actions of other family members, Father Lehi assured him, "Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (2 Nephi 2:1-2). Similarly, the Apostle Paul assured us that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). (President Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, May 2006, 73).
SOME BLESSINGS FOR FAITHFULLY ENDURING TRIALS
President George Q. Cannon: "No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character to do so. He is an unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God. We have made Him our friend, by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments" ("Freedom of the Saints," in Collected Discourses, 5 vols. 1987 92, 2:185).
Elder Orson F. Whitney: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” (as quoted in Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98).
Joseph Smith: “The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of its liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun. . . ." (History of the Church 3:304.)
Brigham Young: "The spirit and letter of our Constitution and laws will always give us our rights, and under them we could have served God in Missouri and Illinois as well as in the courts of high heaven. But the administrators of the law trampled it under their feet, and willfully and openly desecrated the holy principles held forth in the Constitution of our country." (Journal of Discourses 10:41.)
Three laws were given to the Lord's people in earlier dispensations, to the Nephites and Israelites long before they were given here to the Latter-day Saints. They are:
1. The law of retaliation (verses 23-32)
2. The law of war (verses 33-38)
3. The law of forgiveness (verses 39-48)
To the Latter-day Saints, the Lord gave patience as one of the divine attributes that qualifies a person for the ministry. (See D&C 4:6.) He counseled them to be patient in their afflictions (see D&C 24:8; 31:9; 54:10; 98:23-24), and to make their decisions in patience (see D&C 107:30). He taught us to be perfect (see Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48) and said, "Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected" (D&C 67:13). (Joseph B. Wirthlin, Finding Peace in Our Lives, p.203).
“IF …smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge” then:
John Murdock (Section 99) is an example of one who had bad things happen to him and bore it patiently:
Elder David A. Bednar: "To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else." (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2006/10/and-nothing-shall-offend-them?lang=eng).
Comfort and Advice to Missionaries in Section 100:
“Section 100 provides us with some principles and illustrations from the experiences of the Prophet Joseph Smith on how to preach the gospel. Since all members are counseled to be missionaries, the information is appropriate to all, with special reference to appointed missionaries. First, one must know what he is to teach. Second, he must seek to enjoy the guidance of the Holy Ghost by (a) living the commandments and (b) praying for the inspiration that comes from the Spirit. Third, rely, in faith, upon the Spirit to guide one in what to say. Fourth, remember the source from which the inspiration comes by acknowledging the Lord's hand in all things. Fifth, be earnest, enthusiastic, serious of heart, yet not boastful, but meek in all exhortations.” (Roy W. Doxey, The Doctrine and Covenants Speaks, 2:250)
On Friday night, the 1st of November, a party of the mob proceeded to attack a branch of the Church at the Whitmer settlement on the prairie on the Big Blue, about twelve or fourteen miles from the town of Independence. Parley P. Pratt will be hit in the head and almost killed. David Bennett will be sick in his bed, they went in, beat and shot him in bed. The bullet will cut a big gash across the top of his head but will not kill him.
On November 4, 1833 another battle is fought on the Big Blue. In this battle, was when Andrew Barber was killed. Philo Dibble was also shot in the stomach, it even shot some of his clothes up inside of him. Newel Knight will come in and bless him. Philo will stand up and he will vomit up several pints of blood, and even pieces of his shirt came out. He said that he watched as a burning fire went around the wound and started to close it. He said, "I got up onto a horse and rode several miles and felt somewhat weak due to loss of blood.
"The mob in Jackson County, Missouri, continued tormenting the Saints until all members of the Church were driven out of the county.
"Lyman Wight reported, “I saw one hundred and ninety women and children driven thirty miles across the prairie, with three decrepit men only in their company, in the month of November, the ground thinly crusted with sleet; and I could easily follow on their trail by the blood that flowed from their lacerated feet on the stubble of the burnt prairie!” (in History of the Church, 3:439).
Parley P. Pratt: “Hundreds of people were seen in every direction, some in tents and some in the open air around their fires, while the rain descended in torrents. Husbands were inquiring for their wives, wives for their husbands; parents for children, and children for parents. …
“The scene was indescribable, and, I am sure, would have melted the hearts of any people on the earth, except our blind oppressors, and a blind and ignorant community” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 102).
Murmuring consists of three steps:
Gathering:
Remember:
Teaching Thoughts:
In the 1950s, researchers conducted a conformity experiment that showed how readily people conform or change their behavior to match social norms. It involved:
- A single participant was put in a room with seven undercover accomplices.
- Asch presented the group with four lines, and the goal was to determine which two lines were the same length.
- Even though the answer was obvious, the undercover accomplices purposefully gave an incorrect answer.
- The real participant answered last.
- The intent of the experiment was to see if the real participant would give a false answer — conforming with the accomplices — even if the correct answer was clear. (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-mob-mentality)
In the control group, with no pressure to conform to actors, the error rate was less than 1%.
In the group with actors:
- Majority of participants' responses remained correct (63.2%).
- A sizable minority of responses conformed to the actors' (incorrect) answer (36.8 %).
- 75% of participants gave at least one incorrect answer out of the 12 critical trials.
- Asch put it this way: "That intelligent, well-meaning, young people are willing to call white black is a matter of concern."
Causes of Mob Mentality
- Deindividuation—when people are part of a group, they experience a loss of self-awareness.
- Identity—when people are part of a group, they can lose their sense of individual identity.
- Emotions—being part of a group can lead to heightened emotional states, be that excitement, anger, hostility, etc.
- Acceptability—behaviours that are usually seen as unacceptable become acceptable when others in a group are seen carrying them out.
- Anonymity—people feel anonymous within a large group, which reduces their sense of responsibility and accountability.
- Diffusion of responsibility—being part of a group creates the perception that violent or unacceptable behavior is not a personal responsibility but a group one.
- The larger the group or crowd, the more likely there will be deindividuation and diffusion of responsibility. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/facing-trauma-together/202101/the-psychology-mob-mentality)
Events Leading Up to the Expulsion from Jackson County
The Founding of Independence, Missouri
In the early 1800s, travelers moved westward from starting points in Missouri. These travelers wanted to get their wares as far westward as they could, as easily as possible. As a result, goods were often transported by water transportation as far as possible. The Missouri River extended west past the Mississippi and on the western portion of the river the city of Independence began.
In 1827, Independence was founded as a place in which steamboats could reach and where a permanent landings could be established. Soon thereafter, a steady growing number of merchants settled there to supply goods to the traders and farmers moving into the area. One of the first buildings constructed was a one-story log courthouse (and later sold to A. S. Gilbert). As the volume of trade going through Independence surpassed many larger towns farther downstream, its potential for growth seemed to increase as well.
Two main groups moved their wares through the Independence area. The first of these were the Santa Fe traders. These traders went from Missouri to the Spanish Santa Fe area, In 1824, a trader’s inventory carried with them:
Cotton goods consisting of coarse and fine cambrics, calicoes, domestic shawls, handkerchiefs, steam-loomed shirtings and cotton hose; a few woolen goods consisting of super blues, stroudings, pelisse cloth and shawls, crepes, bombazettes; some light articles of cutlery, a silk shawl, and looking glasses ....( Violette, 1918)
In 1845 alone the Santa Fe traders returned to Missouri with “$1,000,000.00 in gold, silver, and woolen blankets, in addition to droves of horses, mules, jacks, and jennets, the latter playing an important part in establishing the famous Missouri mule industry. Returns were often 200 percent to 300 percent on the investment made for goods each trip” (Lyon, 1972).
The second main group that left from the Independence area was the Missouri and Rocky Mountain fur traders. While not bringing to the United States the much needed gold and silver as was the case with the Spanish-American trade, still its monetary value was about equal. (Lyons, 1972)
Below is a paper that I wrote a while ago providing a background for Independence Missouri.
The People of Independence in 1830
Independence was a city on the edge of civilization. As a result, men of ill-repute seemingly congregated in the new border town. A missionary of the American Home Missionary Society, sent to Jackson County to proselyte for the Presbyterian and Congregational faiths, had sent a letter to the national office describing the conditions and people he found in the county:
I take my pen in hand to improve the opportunity to report my peregrinations since I last wrote. Please be informed, that, according to mission Board instructions, I have penetrated many miles of wilderness and after many privations and suffering physical discomforts due to the variable inclemency of the weather, have at last reached the western border of our nation. What I have found here is anything but encouraging. The prospects for our evangelical work appear less likely here than any place I have seen in my westward journeyings. Such a godless place, filled with so many profane swearers, would be difficult to imagine. The majority of the people make a mild profession of Christian religion, but it is mere words, not manifested in Christian living.
There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin. In this town, one soon learns not to make inquiry concerning the names nor home towns of this class of men. Apparently they are hiding something of their past of which they are not proud, and are also afraid of detection.
Christian Sabbath observance here appears to be unknown. It is a day for merchandising, jollity, drinking, gambling, and general anti-Christian conduct.
When the Santa Fe wagon trains return here, or pass through on their way eastward, there is a multiplication of sin beyond the usual amount.
There appears to be an over abundance of females here practicing the world’s oldest profession....
Gouging and more serious forms of violence are common. The sheriff has little support from the populace, except to prevent burglars breaking into the merchants’ shops. He confided to me that the citizens do not care to have the lawless punished....Lyon, 1972. Excerpted from the original in the files of the American Home Missionary Society in the Hammond Library of the Chicago Theological Seminary, Missouri File.)
The Coming of the Mormons
On June 7, 1831, a few leaders were instructed to convene the next church conference in Missouri (see D&C 52:1-6, 41-44). They had been authorized to locate a place for members to settle in the land of Zion. These four missionaries found that the physical features and potential agricultural wealth of Jackson County appealed to them. Oliver Cowdery composed a letter, dated “May 7, 1831, Kaw Township, Jackson County, Missouri,” which one of the missionaries soon hurried eastward to Kirtland, Ohio, to deliver to Joseph Smith. In it Cowdery gave promising reports of the agricultural prospects of Jackson County, but made an adverse evaluation of the inhabitants:
The letter we received from you informed us that the opposition was great against you. Now, our beloved brethren, we verily believe that we also can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name; for almost the whole country, consisting of Universalists, Atheists, Deists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and other professed Christians, priests and people; with all the devils from the infernal pit are united, and foaming out their own shame [against us]. God forbid that I should bring a railing accusation against them, for vengeance belongeth to Him who is able to repay; and herein, brethren, we confide.
We are well, bless the Lord; and preach the Gospel we will, if earth and hell oppose our way—for we dwell in the midst of scorpions.... Amen. (Roberts, 1949)
In August 1831 Joseph Smith and other leading churchmen had traveled for almost a month when they visited Independence. When they arrived they participated in dedicating the land for the gathering of the Saints and ceremonially commenced building the first house in Kaw Township, a few miles west of Independence. They also dedicated a site upon which a temple complex was to be erected. It did not take long for hundreds of Saints to settle in Jackson County, mostly on farms outside of Independence.
Less than two full years after the first Mormon settlers had arrived in Jackson County, friction had developed between the Mormons and the old settlers.
Sources of Conflict
In July 1833 the tension manifested itself in public meetings, accusations, and then violence toward the Saints. The consensus of the old settlers was stated in five main areas which they envisioned as the cause of conflict:
- Religion. The Mormon people had a peculiar religion, which made them stand aloof from all other people in the county, as they did not participate in the contemporary community life. There was practically no social intercourse with them, hence there would be no leveling of their peculiarities through intermarriage or longer association together.
- Slavery. The Saints were accused of interfering with the settlers’ black slaves, making them discontented by preaching a strange gospel to them.
- Culture. The cultural mores of the Saints were not in harmony with those of the earlier inhabitants of the county, which were essentially Yankee in origin. The old settlers were mostly of southern backgrounds, with their roots in the slave culture.
- Politics. The Mormons presented a political threat to the old settlers. Already 1200 of the 3500 inhabitants of the county were adherents of the new religion. More continued to arrive each month and it was openly boasted that thousands more were coming to settle in the county. By simple arithmetic a few hundred additional Mormons could have wrested political control from those who had established the city and county.
- Economics. Economically the Mormons were a detriment to the city and county. They did not purchase goods from the local merchants, as they had no money, but traded among themselves at the Church storehouse. It was likely that this condition would continue to worsen as more Saints settled there. Some of the old settlers were selling their property to the Mormons and moving away. This meant fewer and fewer customers in the stores, and future financial ruin.
Business conditions were also deteriorating. In the spring of 1833, about two months before the friction developed into open conflict, the turbulent waters of the flooding Missouri destroyed the excellent Independence landing and shifted the channel of the river away from Independence. Farther upstream, a new town, Westport, was established where a better landing was located. This city soon took over much of the Santa Fe trade and the fur trade. The business stagnation caused by this act of nature was blamed on the Mormons. (Lyon, 1972)
In July a meeting at Independence, attended by about five hundred Missourians, drew up these demands: (1) No additional Mormons were to settle in Jackson County. (2) Those then resident in the county were to sell their property as soon as they could and leave the vicinity. (3) The periodical, The Evening and the Morning Star, must cease publication. (4) All Mormon shops and the storehouse were to close as soon as possible.
The meeting then adjourned and the leaders presented their demands to the Mormon officials who refused to give an immediate answer, asking for time to study the impact of the proposals and to consider the problem of the large tracts of land which they had purchased. Angered by this refusal, the mob then wrecked the printing shop and threw the press in the river. Attempts were made by the Saints to sell, but with little success. Finally, on 23 July 1833, the Mormon leaders signed an agreement that half the Saints would leave by 1 January following and the remainder by 1 April 1834.
As this article had been made under duress, the Church leaders decided to appeal to Governor Dunklin, asking that the state protect them in their property and lives. In reply, Governor Dunklin suggested that the Saints employ lawyers and seek redress through the courts. Accordingly they hired lawyers, of whom Doniphan and Atchison were the most capable. Believing they had the support of the Governor, because of the sympathetic suggestions given in his letter, the Saints announced on 20 October 1833 their intention to remain and defend themselves while awaiting the outcome of court proceedings which had been instituted. Eleven days later the old settlers and many rowdies who had joined them attacked the Mormon settlement on the Big Blue, located a short distance from Independence. There they unroofed twelve houses, whipped men, and threatened women and children. The next day houses in Independence were stoned. A few days later a mob attacked other settlements and by November sixth and seventh the ferries were crowded with fleeing Saints seeking refuge in Clay County to the north.
Bibliography
Lyon Egar T. (1972). Independence, Missouri, and the Mormons, 1827-1833, BYU Studies.
Roberts, B.H. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. (Salt Lake City, 1949), 1:182–83.
Violette, E.G., A History of Missouri (New York, 1918), p. 196 as quoted in Lyon (1972).
A Presbyterian Missionaries' view of Independence Missouri in the 1800s.
Independence was a city on the edge of civilization. As a result, men of ill-repute seemingly congregated in the new border town. A missionary of the American Home Missionary Society, sent to Jackson County to proselyte for the Presbyterian and Congregational faiths, had sent a letter to the national office describing the conditions and people he found in the county:
“I take my pen in hand to improve the opportunity to report my peregrinations since I last wrote. Please be informed, that, according to mission Board instructions, I have penetrated many miles of wilderness and after many privations and suffering physical discomforts due to the variable inclemency of the weather, have at last reached the western border of our nation. What I have found here is anything but encouraging. The prospects for our evangelical work appear less likely here than any place I have seen in my westward journeyings. Such a godless place, filled with so many profane swearers, would be difficult to imagine. The majority of the people make a mild profession of Christian religion, but it is mere words, not manifested in Christian living.
“There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
“There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin.
“There are a few so-called ministers of the Gospel here-abouts, but they are a sad lot of churchmen, untrained, uncouth, given to imbibing spiritous liquors, and indulging, as participants, in the gambling which accompanies horse-racing, and cock fighting.
“There are many suspicious characters who headquarter here, but when intelligence arrives that a federal marshall is approaching this county, there is a hurried scurrying of many of this element to the Indian territory on the west side of the Missouri. As soon as the marshall returns down stream, this element is back in the saloons and other centers of sin.
“In this town, one soon learns not to make inquiry concerning the names nor home towns of this class of men. Apparently they are hiding something of their past of which they are not proud, and are also afraid of detection.
“Christian Sabbath observance here appears to be unknown. It is a day for merchandising, jollity, drinking, gambling, and general anti-Christian conduct.
“When the Santa Fe wagon trains return here, or pass through on their way eastward, there is a multiplication of sin beyond the usual amount.
“There appears to be an over abundance of females here practicing the world’s oldest profession....
“Gouging and more serious forms of violence are common. The sheriff has little support from the populace, except to prevent burglars breaking into the merchants’ shops. He confided to me that the citizens do not care to have the lawless punished....” (Lyon, 1972. Excerpted from the original in the files of the American Home Missionary Society in the Hammond Library of the Chicago Theological Seminary, Missouri File.)
Joseph Smith: “July [1833], which once dawned upon the virtue and independence of the United States, now dawned upon the savage barbarity and mobocracy of Missouri. Most of the clergy acting as missionaries to the Indians, or to the frontier inhabitants, were among the most prominent characters, that rose up and rushed on to destroy the rights of the Church, as well as the lives of her members.
“One Reverend Pixley, who had been sent by the Missionary Society to civilize and Christianize the heathen of the west, was a black rod in the hands of Satan; as well as a poisoned shaft in the hands of our other foes He wrote horrible falsehoods about the Saints which he sent to the religious papers in the East, from time to time, in order to sour the public mind against them;
“and used his influence among both Indians and whites to overthrow the Church in Jackson county.
“On the first of July, he wrote a slanderous tract entitled, "Beware of False Prophets," which he carried from house to house, to incense the inhabitants against the Church, to mob them, and drive them away.
“The July number of The Evening and Morning Star, pursued a mild and pacific course; the first article therein, entitled, "Beware of False Prophets,”…was calculated to disabuse the honest public mind from Pixley's falsehoods; and the caution against "Free People of Color," settling in Missouri, was sufficient to silence the fears of every sober mind, yet, it was all in vain; the hour of trial must come: notwithstanding the constitution of Missouri - as published in the same paper.” (History of the Church, Vol 1, p. 305).
On Saturday, 20 July, four or five hundred disgruntled citizens met at the Independence courthouse. They chose officers and selected a committee to draft a document outlining their demands of the Mormons. The officers and committee members were some of the leading citizens of Jackson County: “In the main they were the county officers—the county judge, the constables, clerks of the court and justices of the peace.”
The lieutenant governor of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs, a resident and large landholder in the county, also attended the meeting and encouraged the anti-Mormon activity.
The “secret constitution” was read at the meeting, it declared that no Latter-Day Saint would be allowed to move to or settle in Jackson County, and those already there must leave as soon as possible.
Vienna Jaques: “Sister [Jaques] was picking some of [the scattered revelations] up, and while doing so, a mobber came along and remarked to her, ‘Madam, this is only a prelude to what you have to suffer,’ and said, ‘There goes your Bishop, tarred and feathered.’ She looked … and saw him going along, encircled in a bright light, surpassing the brightness of the sun. She exclaimed, ‘Glory to God! For he will receive a crown of glory for tar and feathers’” (Vienna Jaques, Statement, Feb. 22, 1859, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; spelling, capitalization, and punctuation standardized).
Mary Elizabeth Rollins: “The mob renewed their efforts again by tearing down the printing office, a two story building, and driving Brother Phelps’ family out of the lower part of the house and putting their things in the street. They brought out some large sheets of paper, and said, ‘Here are the Mormon Commandments.’ My sister Caroline and myself were in a corner of a fence watching them; when they spoke of the commandments I was determined to have some of them. Sister said if I went to get any of them she would go too, but said ‘They will kill us.’
"While their backs were turned, prying out the gable end of the house, we went, and got our arms full, and were turning away, when some of the mob saw us and called on us to stop, but we ran as fast as we could. Two of them started after us. Seeing a gap in a fence, we entered into a large cornfield, laid the papers on the ground, and hid them with our persons. The corn was from five to six feet high, and very thick; they hunted around considerable, and came very near us but did not find us.
“After we satisfied ourselves that they had given up the search for us, we tried to find our way out of the field, the corn was so high we could not see where to go. . . . Soon we came to an old log stable which looked as though it had not been used for years. Sister Phelps and children were carrying in brush and piling it up at one side of the barn to lay her beds on. She asked me what I had. I told her. She then took them from us, which made us feel very bad. They got them bound in small books and sent me one, which I prized very highly.” (Autobiography of Mary E. Lightner, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol. 17 (1926), 193–96).
July 20th - Mob destroys W. W. Phelps’s printing office and scatter pages of the Book of Commandments. Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen are tarred and feathered.
July 23rd - The mob returns with rifles, pistols, whips, and clubs. They set fire to haystacks and grain fields and destroyed several homes, barns, and businesses. The mob eventually confronted six leaders of the Church who, seeing the property and lives of the Saints in jeopardy, offered their lives as a ransom. They were forced to sign an agreement to leave Jackson County.
August 2nd - Section 97 is given.
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Lehi promised his son Jacob that God "shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (2 Nephi 2:2). In the midst of the Missouri persecutions the Lord assured the Saints that "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good" (D&C 98:3). As the Prophet Joseph Smith neared despair in his sufferings in Liberty Jail, the voice of the Lord gave comfort in declaring that "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (D&C 122:7). Those who can look upon their afflictions in this manner have spirituality.” (Pure in Heart , p.122).
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Whatever the outcome and no matter how difficult your experiences, you have the promise that you will not be denied the blessings of eternal family relationships if you love the Lord, keep His commandments, and just do the best you can. When young Jacob "suffered afflictions and much sorrow" from the actions of other family members, Father Lehi assured him, "Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (2 Nephi 2:1-2). Similarly, the Apostle Paul assured us that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). (President Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, May 2006, 73).
SOME BLESSINGS FOR FAITHFULLY ENDURING TRIALS
- God hears your prayers (v. 2).
- God acts on and answers your prayers (v. 2).
- God’s promises and covenants ‘shall be fulfilled’ (v. 3).
- ‘All things … shall work together for your good…’ (v. 3).
- The faithful will receive “line upon line, precept upon precept;” (v. 12).
- Promise of eternal life (v. 13).
- God ‘will turn away all wrath and indignation from you” (v. 22).
- ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail against you’ (v. 22).
President George Q. Cannon: "No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character to do so. He is an unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God. We have made Him our friend, by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments" ("Freedom of the Saints," in Collected Discourses, 5 vols. 1987 92, 2:185).
Elder Orson F. Whitney: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” (as quoted in Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98).
Joseph Smith: “The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of its liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun. . . ." (History of the Church 3:304.)
Brigham Young: "The spirit and letter of our Constitution and laws will always give us our rights, and under them we could have served God in Missouri and Illinois as well as in the courts of high heaven. But the administrators of the law trampled it under their feet, and willfully and openly desecrated the holy principles held forth in the Constitution of our country." (Journal of Discourses 10:41.)
Three laws were given to the Lord's people in earlier dispensations, to the Nephites and Israelites long before they were given here to the Latter-day Saints. They are:
1. The law of retaliation (verses 23-32)
2. The law of war (verses 33-38)
3. The law of forgiveness (verses 39-48)
To the Latter-day Saints, the Lord gave patience as one of the divine attributes that qualifies a person for the ministry. (See D&C 4:6.) He counseled them to be patient in their afflictions (see D&C 24:8; 31:9; 54:10; 98:23-24), and to make their decisions in patience (see D&C 107:30). He taught us to be perfect (see Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48) and said, "Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected" (D&C 67:13). (Joseph B. Wirthlin, Finding Peace in Our Lives, p.203).
“IF …smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge” then:
- Once = ‘rewarded’ (v. 23).
- Second time = rewarded a ‘hundred-fold’ (v. 25).
- Third time = double unto you four-fold (v. 26). In other words, rewarded 1600 fold (200=>400=>800=1600).
- Fourth time - You will be blessed – ‘thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation” (v. 30).
John Murdock (Section 99) is an example of one who had bad things happen to him and bore it patiently:
- On April 30, 1831, Julia Clapp died giving birth to twins .
- Joseph Smith and his wife Emma adopted the children, Joseph and Julia.
- Joseph (infant) dies after mob attacks Joseph Smith. Emma takes twins out into cold to hide from mob.
- Called on a mission (Section 99:1) and leaves his children with neighbors and family members as commanded (99:6). Devoted most of his life to full-time missionary service for the LDS Church
Elder David A. Bednar: "To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else." (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2006/10/and-nothing-shall-offend-them?lang=eng).
Comfort and Advice to Missionaries in Section 100:
- God watches over missionary’s families (100:1).
- Listen (100:2).
- “Effectual” doors will be opened for missionaries (100:3). (Effectual = producing the desired or intended effect.)
- “I, the Lord have suffered you to come unto this place (100:4).
- Expedient for the salvation of souls (100:4).
- “Lift up your voices” (100:5).
- “Speak the thoughts” that God places in your hearts (100:5).
- Speak with solemnity and meekness (100:7).
- “…as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say” (100:8).
“Section 100 provides us with some principles and illustrations from the experiences of the Prophet Joseph Smith on how to preach the gospel. Since all members are counseled to be missionaries, the information is appropriate to all, with special reference to appointed missionaries. First, one must know what he is to teach. Second, he must seek to enjoy the guidance of the Holy Ghost by (a) living the commandments and (b) praying for the inspiration that comes from the Spirit. Third, rely, in faith, upon the Spirit to guide one in what to say. Fourth, remember the source from which the inspiration comes by acknowledging the Lord's hand in all things. Fifth, be earnest, enthusiastic, serious of heart, yet not boastful, but meek in all exhortations.” (Roy W. Doxey, The Doctrine and Covenants Speaks, 2:250)
On Friday night, the 1st of November, a party of the mob proceeded to attack a branch of the Church at the Whitmer settlement on the prairie on the Big Blue, about twelve or fourteen miles from the town of Independence. Parley P. Pratt will be hit in the head and almost killed. David Bennett will be sick in his bed, they went in, beat and shot him in bed. The bullet will cut a big gash across the top of his head but will not kill him.
On November 4, 1833 another battle is fought on the Big Blue. In this battle, was when Andrew Barber was killed. Philo Dibble was also shot in the stomach, it even shot some of his clothes up inside of him. Newel Knight will come in and bless him. Philo will stand up and he will vomit up several pints of blood, and even pieces of his shirt came out. He said that he watched as a burning fire went around the wound and started to close it. He said, "I got up onto a horse and rode several miles and felt somewhat weak due to loss of blood.
"The mob in Jackson County, Missouri, continued tormenting the Saints until all members of the Church were driven out of the county.
"Lyman Wight reported, “I saw one hundred and ninety women and children driven thirty miles across the prairie, with three decrepit men only in their company, in the month of November, the ground thinly crusted with sleet; and I could easily follow on their trail by the blood that flowed from their lacerated feet on the stubble of the burnt prairie!” (in History of the Church, 3:439).
Parley P. Pratt: “Hundreds of people were seen in every direction, some in tents and some in the open air around their fires, while the rain descended in torrents. Husbands were inquiring for their wives, wives for their husbands; parents for children, and children for parents. …
“The scene was indescribable, and, I am sure, would have melted the hearts of any people on the earth, except our blind oppressors, and a blind and ignorant community” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 102).
Murmuring consists of three steps:
- Questioning with evil intent - doubt and selfishness (101:47, 48).
- Rationalization (101:49).
- Slothful and hearkened not (101:50).
Gathering:
- “Go and gather … and redeem my vineyard (101:55-56).
- “When shall these things be?” (101:59)
- “When I will” (101:60).
- “After ,many days all things were fulfilled” (101:62).
Remember:
- “…in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.. (101:36).
- “And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life (101:38).
- You have been called to be the salt and savor of men (101:39-40).
Teaching Thoughts:
- Examples of courage in the face of adversity: Vienna Jaques, Mary Elizabeth Rollins and Caroline Rollins. What can we learn from these faithful sisters?
- Discuss what helps you faithfully endure trials? That is a theme for these sections (98 – 101).
- Testify that because of our faith in Christ, “he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (See Section 98:3; 2 Ne 2:2; Section 122:7; Romans 8:28).
- God sees you as a jewel (101:3). Do you see yourself the same way?
- What have you learned from trials?