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The Crisis in Missouri

In the middle of August, 1833, Oliver Cowdery arrived in Kirtland from western Missouri with news of shocking events there. In July, settlers in the Independence area had banded together and demanded that the Latter-day Saints leave Jackson County. This body was not like the ordinary lawless band that ruthlessly raided frontier settlements, for it included prominent citizens, such as a county clerk, an Indian agent, a postmaster, a lawyer, a constable and deputy constable, two justices of the peace, and two merchants.

To justify their unusual demands, non-Mormons in Jackson County prepared a long list of grievances. Evidence that there was a cultural clash between the Mormons, who had come to Jackson County primarily from northern states, and other Missourians, who had come primarily from southern states, was expressed in the sentiment that the Mormons were easterners, meaning Yankees. Although many Missourians were indifferent toward organized religion, the beliefs of the Saints also fell under attack. They were denounced for believing in visions, revelations, and modern-day miracles similar to those performed by apostles and prophets of old. They were condemned not only for teaching the reality of the restoration, but also because religion was such an all-pervasive force in their lives. Moreover, they were accused of being lazy, vicious, and poor, and of tampering with the slaves of the Missourians. Non-Mormons further complained that the Latter-day Saints believed and taught that Jackson County had been given to them by the Lord.

The concept that Zion would be built by the pure in heart prior to the Second Coming of Christ was incorrectly amplified to the view that Mormons were planning on taking control of all the land and businesses in Jackson County. Were they not growing at an alarming rate? Had they not increased to about one thousand members in just two years in a county that reported three thousand citizens in 1830? And were they not pooling their property, buying goods from a Mormon store, and using the profits from their economic enterprise to purchase additional lands for the constant influx of new immigrants? Were they not thus becoming an economic and political threat? These observations, combined with vicious rumors, persuaded some of the Missourians that Mormons were ultimately planning to expel from Jackson County all who did not embrace their faith.

After listing their grievances, the settlers enunciated their demands. In a written manifesto they specified that no more Mormons were to settle in Jackson County. They further demanded that Latter-day Saints living in Jackson County pledge to sell their property and leave the county immediately. The editor of the Evening and the Morning Star must close his office and discontinue printing works related to the Church, and stores and shops owned by Church members must close immediately.