| OCR Text |
Show 600 WESTERN WILDS. and was credited with having added many hundred converts to the Church. In the late autumn of 1838 open war broke out. Enraged at some of their neighbors the Mormons drove them from their homes, and eventually burned the town of Gallatin. They had previously driven all dissenters away from Far West. In the first regular battle that en-sued Edward Patton, an apostle, was killed; and, on the trials following, Orson Hyde, President of the Twelve, turned State's evidence. This left Brigham the senior apostle, and therefore President. But the battle went against the Saints. Joseph and Hyrum, and nearly all the leaders, were captured and imprisoned; Brigham and others escaped to Illinois, and in the winter of 1838- 39 all the lay members followed them. Joseph and the others escaped early in 1839, and the Church was once more organized, with Quincy, Illinois, as head- quarters. Dr. Isaac Galland at that time owned a large tract of land at the head of Des Moines Rapids, on the Mississippi, part of which he deeded to Joe Smith, on condition that he would settle his people there, and build a city. Forthwith Joe had a revelation that that was to be the great " Stake of Zion" for the present; sold city lots at high prices, and grew very wealthy, while the magic city of Nauvoo sprang up. Brigham went to England ; reorganized the British mission ; es-tablished, the Millennial Star, which has ever since been the foreign organ of the Saints ; did wonders as a missionary, and came home in a year with seven hundred and sixty- nine converts. Thereafter he stood very close to the Prophet. But among those converts was a pretty English girl, named Martha Brotherton, whom Brigham wanted for a spiritual wife ; she rebelled, apostatized, revealed the inner workings of the Church, and thus set up a popular outcry against the Saints. Polygamy was regularly established so says the revelation in 1843; and early in 1844 a paper was started in Nauvoo by some opponents of the system, called the Expositor. It was " abated as a nuisance" by the Saints, for which Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested; and while in jail they were murdered by a mob, June 27, 1844. The Church was now without a head. Brigham, as President of the Twelve Apostles, claimed that they should govern till God raised up a leader. Sidney Rigdon claimed the right of succession, because he stood next in rank to the dead Prophet; William Smith claimed it as the only surviving member of the Smith family; and Strang, Brewster, Hedrick, Cutler, and others put in their claims. But Brigham circum-vented them all. Rigdon had a revelation that the wealthy members led by him were to found a new " stake " for the others to gather to ; then the Church would grow till able to conquer all the kingdoms of |
