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Appeal to the American People (S. Rigdon)

Sidney Rigdon

1840

Whereas the church of Christ, recently styled the church of the Latter Day Saints, contumeliously called Mormons, or Mormonites, has suffered many privations, afflictions, persecutions and losses on account of the religious belief and faith of its members, which belief and faith are founded in the revealed word of God, as recorded in the holy Bible, or the Book of Mormon, the Revelations and Commandments of our Savior, Jesus Christ; and whereas the said church, by revelation, commenced removing to the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, where lands were purchased of the Government, and where it was calculated to purchase of those who were unwilling to reside with the church as a society, all lands that could be bought, for the purpose of building up a holy city unto God, a New Jerusalem, a place where desirous to call Zion, as we believe a place of refuge from the scourges and plagues which as so often mentioned in the Bible by the prophets and apostles, that should be poured out upon the earth in the last days; and whereas the inhabitants of Jackson county, Missouri have leagued and combined against said church, and have driven the saints from their lands and took their arms from them and turned down many of their houses, without any provocation, and whereas we have petitioned the Governor of this State, and the President of the United States, for redress of wrongs (the law being put to defiance in Jackson county.) and for redemption of rights, that we might be legally repossessed of our lands and property; and whereas the said inhabitants of Jackson county, have not only bound themselves to keep us out of that county, but have armed themselves, cap-a-pie, and even with cannon, for war; and whereas our people, residing in the upper Missouri, have recently armed themselves for military duty and self defense, seeing their arms taken from them by the inhabitants of Jackson county, were purposely kept from them; and whereas a number of the members of the church in the east, have emegrated to this region of country to settle and join their brethren, with arms to answer the military law, which has created some excitement among the inhabitants of the upper counties of this State; whereupon, to show that our object was only the peaceable possession of our rights and property, and to purchase more land in the regions round about, we met a committee from Jackson county for compromise and our emigrating brethren met some gentlemen from Clay and other counties to satisfy them that their motives were good, and their object peace, which they did; and whereas the propositions of the Jackson committee could not be accepted on our part, because they proposed to "buy or sell," and to sell our land would amount to a denial of our faith as that land is the place where the Zion of God shall stand, according to our faith and belief in the revelations of God and upon which Israel will be gathered according to the prophets;-And, secondly, the propositions were unfair, notwithstanding they offered double price for our lands, in thirty days, or sell theirs at the same rate, for this plain reason, that the whole large county of Jackson would be as thirty to one, or nearly so, in comparison with the matter in question, and in supposition, for one thousand dollars, two thousand dollars to our people, was asking for three hundred thousand dollars, the exorbitant sum of six hundred thousand dollars, taking the land, rich and poor, in thirty days! with the reproachable, vicious, unamerican and unconstitutional proviso, that the committee on our part bind themselves "that no Mormon should ever settle in Jackson County," and whereas our committee proposed to the said Jackson committee, (if they would not grant us our rights otherwise,) that our people would buy the land of those that were unwilling to live among our people, in that county, and pay them in one year, they allowing the damage we have sustained in the loss of a printing office, apparatus, and book work, houses, property, &c., to come out of the purchase money, but no answer returned; and whereas, to show our honest intentions, and awaken the friends of virtue, humanity to equal rights, it becomes our duty to lay our case before the world, to be weighed in the balances of public opinion:-