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Earliest Congregations (1828-1831)

Susan Easton Black

Announcements in the early 1800s of land "well-timbered, well-watered, easily accessible, and undeniably fertile--all to be had on long term payments for only two or three dollars an acre," piqued interest and propelled the American populace to press against the frontier from Maine to Kentucky (Stilwell, 135). The lure of superior soil and the promise of the Erie Canal extending water transport to the Great Lakes led many of the adventurous and the hopeful to western New York. Among those

joining the pioneering quest for a better life were future prominent Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith, Sr., Hiram Page, Hezekiah Peck, Benjamin Slade, and Oliver Cowdery, all former residents of Vermont. They ventured west with many contemporaries seeking a new beginning in the New York wilderness.

The explosive growth of small villages and townships in western New York was paralleled by the religious fervor among the new inhabitants. Itinerant preachers from the East moved west with the hope of instilling religion in the pioneers. Early revivals, dating from 1799, ignited townsfolk from one village to another in a spiritual awakening. Congregations often doubled as enthusiasm for old-time religion rekindled. Lucy Mack Smith penned, "There was a great revival in religion, which extended to all the denominations of Christendom in the surrounding country in which we resided. Many of the world's people concerned about the salvation of their souls came forward and presented themselves as seekers after religion" (Smith, 74).

During this revival era, young Joseph Smith labored "under the extreme difficulties" occasioned by contesting religionists (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith--[H]istory 1:11). Seeking to unravel the prevailing religious confusion, he sought the Lord in prayer in the spring of 1820. His heavenly answer included "a promise that the fulness of the gospel should at some future time be made known unto [him]" (The Wentworth Letter, cited in Backman, 169).