Part 4: 30 March–19 August 1836

The spiritual outpouring that occurred in , Ohio, when the was dedicated on 27 March 1836 continued in the days following that special event. Three days after the dedication, participants reported, the promised of power occurred at a . This event marked the culmination of a series of instruction from JS and other leaders, the organizing of the church’s structure, and the administration of rituals. JS’s journal records that another significant event took place on the afternoon of 3 April: JS and experienced a vision of Jesus Christ and visitations from Moses, Elias, and Elijah. This entry is the last entry in JS’s 1835–1836 Kirtland journal, the most detailed of his journals. Finally, 6 April 1836, the sixth anniversary of the church’s organization, was “set apart as a day of prayer to end the feast of the Passover and in honor of the jubilee of the church.” That day men ordained to the priesthood met to observe and participate in sacred . According to , as the meeting continued, “the spirit of prophecy was poured out upon the Assembly,” and this “marvellous spirit” continued for several days.

At about the same time that church members in witnessed and were celebrating this spiritual feast, church members in , Missouri, saw a rise in tension with their non-Mormon neighbors, similar to the events that led to violence in three years earlier. Clay County residents charged, as had their Jackson County counterparts, that the Mormon population opposed slavery and had unauthorized communications with American Indians. In late June 1836 at the courthouse, Clay County citizens organized a “Committee of nine,” composed of community leaders, to persuade church members to leave the county peaceably. Led by , church leaders in Clay County ultimately acquiesced. In a letter written 25 July 1836, JS and his associates in Kirtland approved that decision.

The same day that JS wrote to church leaders in , he, along with , , and , departed for the eastern . The indebtedness of the church and the pressing need to aid church members in Missouri were at the forefront of JS’s thoughts as he traveled east, and these concerns were major factors motivating this journey. The men visited , and saw its famous financial district that had recently burned down, before traveling to and ultimately reaching , Massachusetts, on 5 August. While there, JS produced three documents, including a revelation indicating that “treasures” would be available to the Latter-day Saints in that city. The four church leaders spent time preaching as well as visiting museums and touring historic sites. They sojourned in the Salem area for most of August before returning to Kirtland, arriving by mid-September.