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Show zealous and frequently at odds with their non- Mormon neighbors. From Palmyra, New York, an exodus began which took the Mormons westward to three major settlements within the first fifteen years of the church's history. Each move was precipitated by conflict between the existing social norms and the Mormons' vision of life. Each move took them closer to the western frontier. In Kirtland, Ohio, the Church outwardly resembled Protestant churches of the day. But in the second settlement at Nauvoo, Illinois, the holy symbols of Masonry, among them the sun stones, the square and compass, and the "all-seeing eye," were adopted and openly displayed on church buildings and publications and were employed as decorative motifs on a variety of objects. The use of these powerful and suspicious symbols was an additional provocation to the already hostile anti- Mormon residents of those areas. When the Mormons built a city, Nauvoo, on the banks of the Mississippi River, Joseph Smith and his followers felt they finally had created a permanent home. But trouble with frontier neighbors led to the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother by a mob in 1844 as they were being held in the state's custody. The shock of their prophet's death was a final blow to the Saints of Mormondom who now found that their lovely7 city at the edge of civilization could not protect them. They would have to venture out into the wilderness to find a new home where they could live according to their tenets. The Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints describes the burial of Joseph and Hyrum Smith after their martyrdom at the Carthage Jail. "The bodies remained in the cellar of the Nauvoo House... until the fall, when they were removed... at Emma's [Joseph Smith's wife] request to near the mansion... and the bee house was then moved and placed over the graves...." One might speculate that not only would hives of bees discourage grave molesters, but perhaps this act also expressed a belief that the bee is a benevolent link between man and the immortal soul. The Bees of Deseret The Mormon link to beehive iconography (of ancient tradition) came undoubtedly through Grand Masonry, but it is clear that in the building of a newT Zion in Utah the beehive symbol came to have particular significance for the Mormons. Though we don't know exactly when or where the beehive took hold of the Mormon imagination, we can speculate that its importance grew soon after Brigham Young succeeded Joseph Smith and led the Church to the West. As the builder of the Kingdom of God on Earth, as general, and as candidate for President of the United States, Joseph Smith envisioned a destiny wherein America would embrace the concept of the Kingdom of God through a rapid conversion of the masses to the new religion. As the church recovered from the disappointment of this hope, the new prophet, Brigham Young, designed a different Kingdom, isolated, orderly, |