| OCR Text |
Show John Joshua and Nathan Join the 67 Army will wait for our brethren who have been driven out, to inform the governor of that state, that they are ready to go back to their lands. The Governor is bound to call out the Militia and take them back, and has informed our brethren of his readiness to do so they previous to this time. long one intended to impress the brethren with joining the expedition, even though a little late, as already a few day out. It stated that the larger the likely the Missouri mobbers would resist it. The letter is the importance of Zion's Camp was force, the less 14 a interesting to speculate about the governor's intentions and promises to the Mormon delegation. At the time of their visit, did he feel that with the aid of a Mormon force of five hundred men he might intimidate the Jackson County boys and restore the Saints to their homes? Or was he merely making the usual political promises which he had little expectation of keeping, but which the Mormon delegation was not politicaTIy wise enough to see through? Or had conditions changed materially since the visit of William W. Phelps and Orson Hyde in October of 1833, making former commitments difficult to comply with? Or had Phelps and Hyde misunderstood the governor and furnished the church leaders a far too optimistic report? It is the extent of his In any case when Joseph Smith arrived in the vicinity of the trouble it did not take him long to find out he would get no assistance from the governor. His prompt action in disbanding his little army seemed wise under the circumstances and may have prevented an attack from the mob. have been extremely critical of Governor enforcing the law with regard to the lawless mobs of the state. It is quite possible that a more courageous and de termined governor, acting in an incisive manner from the beginning, might have kept things under control and maintained the rights of the Mormon people. Mormon writers Dunklin for not On the other hand, it is easy to understand the difficulty of large proportion of the popu championing an unpopular cause to is conceive of a situation in which lation are opposed. It easy handle such a situation even if to the governor would be powerless when a he chose, and such a situation may have been reached both in Mis souri and later in Illinois. |
