deeper in the wilderness. Cowdrey explored the forests and prairies beyond the Mississippi, and made reports of the beauty and fertility of the country, as glowing as those of the Hebrew spies from among the grape-vines of Eschol. Smith and a few friends started for the land of promise. Leaving St. Louis, they penetrated the wilderness on foot to Independence, in Jackson county, Missouri, three hundred miles distant. They were charmed with the climate and the scene, and near Independence Smith chose the spot for building Zion. It was designated by a special revelation, and he immediately set about the great work. He preached fervidly to crowds of Indians, squatters, and negroes, some of whom became converts. He laid out the area for the great temple and dedicated the spot to the Lord. He established a bishop there, and after a sojourn of three weeks departed for Kirtland, accompanied by ten Elders of the church.

Kirtland was made a "Stake" or support of Zion, and it was resolved to remain there five years, until the temple in the wilderness should be built. A bank was established, with Smith for president, and Rigdon, cashier. The chief men were also partners in a mill and store, and soon the whole of the Prophet's family were raised from poverty to affluence. Joseph continued to preach in various parts of the country, proselyting and procuring money from his dupes for the ostensible purpose of building the Temple and the City of Zion. The preaching and the practice of the Saints did not always agree, and they fell into disrepute with their neighbors. Feuds arose in the body of the church, because " common men" pretended to receive revelations from God. Their meetings were often disturbed by the "Gentiles; " and on one occasion, in mid-winter, the Prophet was dragged from his bed, at a little village called Hiram, where he was residing, and after being severely handled, was tarred and feathered. Rigdon was in the same village, and similarly treated by the mob. Soon after this outrage Smith left Ohio to "fulfill the revelation" in Missouri.

A special revelation informed Smith that the spot he had selected for the Temple of Zion, was the very place where "Adam's altar was built, in the centre of the Garden of Eden." The corner stone of the Temple was laid, Saints were gathered, the forest was felled, and a city was soon seen springing up in the midst of the wilderness. All property was consecrated to the Lord; a tithe of all labor, and time, and earnings was devoted to the building of the Temple; public store-houses to receive the offerings and donations were built, and three hundred missionaries, approved by the Prophet, were sent out in all directions to preach the new gospel and gather the Saints to Zion. These apostles were successful, and company after company of converts crossed the broad Father of Waters and pressed forward to the New Jerusalem. In less than two years, more than twelve hundred Saints were collected in Jackson county, a motley gathering of people of almost every hue, character, and creed. There were ambitious men among them, and feuds, bitter and uncompro mising, soon disturbed the peace of the church, and jeopardized its exist tence. These were speedily hushed by menances of perils from without. The people of Jackson county became uneasy because of the clanship

Canibited by the Mormons, and resolved to expel them before they became too formidable in numbers. They were driven to the wilderness across the river, and their consecrated places fell into the hands of the "Gentiles." Smith and the heads of the church had returned to Kirtland. When the attack upon the Mormons was known, the Prophet sent a band of men called the "Army of Zion," to aid the persecuted brethren. Alone, these valiant men could not cope with the Missouri militia and armed settlers; and as Heaven did not seem disposed to assist the Saints, the expedition proved fruitless. Zion was left to the invaders This persecution was unprovoked, and the Governor of Missouri exerted all his influence for the protection of the persons and property of the Mormons.

The expelled Mormons seated themselves in Clay county, and many returned to Kirtland. In May, 1834, Smith and a company of one hundred Saints visited the distressed brethren in Missouri. On the journey through the wilderness, Smith adduced a wonderful proof of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Among some ancient mounds was found a huge skeleton with an arrow between its ribs. It was immediately revealed to the Prophet that the skeleton was that of a Lamanite, the people treated of in the Book of Mormon; that his name was Zelph, a warrior known from Cumorah to the Rocky Mountains as one of the subjects of the great Prophet Omandagus; that the arrow was a Lamanitish one, and that the chief was killed in the last great battle fought between the Lamanites and Nephites. The people marveled, and the faith of all was strengthed.

In the autumn of 1834, Smith returned to Kirtland, and with others, entered largely into property speculations in 1835 and '36. The crash of 1837 came; the Bank of Kirtland failed; the managers were prosecuted for swindling, and Smith had a revelation commanding himself, Rigdon, and others to leave Kirtland under cover of night, and go to the brethren in Missouri. They found the church in great disorder. The numbers were rapidly increasing, and quarrels with the "Gentiles" around them often waxed into conflicts. A spirit of insubordination appeared in the church, and by revelation, Smith denounced Cowdrey, Rigdon, and other early associates. Contention within and without menaced the church with destruction, and for three years great excitement prevailed in Missouri. The Mormons and their opponents had frequent collisions, and many lives were sacrificed. Some of the fiery spirits among the Mormons openly defied the people of Missouri, and even threatened to march upon St. Louis, and lay it in ashes. These imprudent menaces exasperated the people to such a degree that the civil power could not restrain them. Tales of polygamy, debauchery, theft, and murder, were told of the Mormons, and their utter expulsion from the State was demanded. A lawless, heartless mob, under the implied sanction of the civil authority, assumed the task, and during the bleak days of November, 1838, the Mormons were driven before them like chaff on the blast, toward the Mississippi. Young and old, the sick, the feeble, delicate women and sucklings, were exposed to storms, hunger, and every privajon.

In sad plight, weighed down with intensest sufferings, twelve

thousand of these miserable people arrived upon the western bank of the Mississippi, pursued by the exasperated Missourians. The people of Illinois, on the opposite shore, commiserated their fate, and opened to them the arms of succor. This cruel persecution of thousands of innocent people, is a lasting stain upon the character not only of Missouri, but the boasted and enlightened age in which we live. Instead of damping the ardor of the Saints, it increased it a hundred fold; and in this case, as in all others, "the blood of the martyrs " became "the seed of the church."

Upon a rich delta formed by the Desmoines and Mississippi Rivers, in Hancock county, Illinois, the homeless and starving fugitives pitched their tents, and the spot was solemnly consecrated as an "everlasting residence" for the Saints. A town soon arose, and was named Nauvoo, the City of Beauty; and upon the brow of a lofty bluff a tempie site was chosen, and consecrated. A plan of the temple was revealed to Smith, and a Gentile architect was employed to construct it. With pomp and solemn ceremonials its corner-stone was laid on the 6th of April, 1841. It was built of beautiful white limestone, and in style, size, and decorations was intended to exceed in magnificence every other fane upon earth. The Saints every where responded nobly to the call for contributions, and when the Mormons left Nauvoo for the land of the Honey Bee, they had expended almost a million of dollars upon this temple.

A day of peace now dawned upon the the Mormon Church, and its head was assiduous in promoting its strength and extension. Made wiser by past conflicts, he prepared for future contingencies, and a large portion of his brethren were organized into a military corps, called "The Nauvoo Legion," of which he assumed command and the rank of Lieutenant-general. He was fond of military display, and this fine corps. was often paraded. On such occasions the prophet usually appeared at their head, accompanied by a half-dozen ladies on horseback, who were dressed in black velvet, and wore waving plumes of white feathers. Yet he did not forget the spiritual interests of the Church, and he often crossed the Mississippi, and preached the new gospel to groups of Indians on the borders of the prairies of Iowa.

External peace seemed productive of internal troubles. Sidney Rigdon and others began to receive monstrous revelations, and among other things was authority for one man to have several "spiritual wives; doctrine which has now become settled as correct, and which is manifested by polygamy openly practiced and defended. Rumors of these immoral doctrines and corresponding practices went abroad, and the people of Illinois felt scandalized. Smith endeavored to allay the storm of indignation which he saw rising, by flat contradictions, excommunications of indiscreet revelators, and denunciations of some of the most active agitators in Nauvoo. The denounced and excommunicated retaliated. Smith was charged with all the crimes he had accused others of; and a newspaper was established in Nauvoo to expose his alleged vicious conduct. By his order the obnoxious press was destroyed, the printing materials were scattered to the winds and the editors were obliged to flee