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Appendix 3: Discourse, circa 4 July 1838

Source Note

Discourse, ca. 4 July 1838. Featured version printed [ca. Aug. 1838] as Oration Delivered by Mr. S. Rigdon on the 4th of July, 1838, at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, Far West, MO: Journal Office, 1838; eleven pages; CHL.
Three bifolia measuring 7¾ × 4⅞ inches (20 × 12 cm). At some point in time, the sheets were sewn together, leaving two needle holes along the fold; later, the sheets were resewn, leaving three holes. The pamphlet was later folded twice, possibly for carrying.
It is unknown when the featured copy of the published oration came into the possession of the Church History Library.

Historical Introduction

On 4 July 1838,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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delivered a lengthy discourse—which was possibly prepared with help from JS—celebrating the anniversary of
American

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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independence, pledging allegiance to the nation, and asserting the right of the Latter-day Saints to defend themselves from persecution. The discourse was not an extemporaneous speech but a carefully prepared declaration responding to the developing circumstances in which the Saints found themselves. The “oration” delivered by Rigdon was the outgrowth of three related developments among the Latter-day Saints in 1838: a new resolve to resist adversaries and fend off legal harassment; a renewed effort to develop
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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, Missouri, as a gathering center; and an assertion of the Saints’ rights to expand into neighboring counties unmolested.
The new resolve to fend off legal harassment grew out of the circumstance of the church community in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

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, Ohio, in 1837, when it was severely challenged by economic difficulties, internal dissent, and considerable opposition from local antagonists, including legal harassment. As
Eber D. Howe

9 June 1798–10 Nov. 1885. Newspaper editor and publisher, farmer, wool manufacturer. Born at Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., New York. Son of Samuel William Howe and Mabel Dudley. Moved with family to Ovid, Seneca Co., New York, 1804. Located at Niagara District...

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, editor of the newspaper in nearby
Painesville

Located on Grand River twelve miles northeast of Kirtland. Created and settled, 1800. Originally named Champion. Flourished economically from harbor on Lake Erie and as major route of overland travel for western emigration. Included Painesville village; laid...

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, Ohio, later recounted: “Many of our citizens thought it advisable to take all the legal means within their reach to counteract the progress of so dangerous an enemy in their midst, and many law suits ensued.”
1

Howe, Autobiography and Recollections, 45; see also Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession,” 159–188.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Howe, Eber D. Autobiography and Recollections of a Pioneer Printer: Together with Sketches of the War of 1812 on the Niagara Frontier. Painesville, OH: Telegraph Steam Printing House, 1878.

Adams, Dale W. “Grandison Newell’s Obsession.” Journal of Mormon History 30 (Spring 2004): 159–188.

Dozens of lawsuits were commenced in 1837 naming JS,
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, and other church leaders as defendants.
2

See Madsen, “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy,” 227–246.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Madsen, Gordon A. “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy.” In Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch, 227–246. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014.

This legal persecution contributed to the circumstances under which JS abandoned Kirtland in January 1838 and relocated to
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, with loyal church members to follow. Upon arriving in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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, JS composed a church “motto” that condemned all such “vexatious lawsuits.”
3

See Motto, ca. 16 or 17 Mar. 1838. An influential nineteenth-century law dictionary defined a “vexatious suit” as “one which has been instituted maliciously, and without probable cause, whereby a damage has ensued to the defendant.” (“Vexatious Suit,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:472.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

However, these “vexatious” or petty and malicious lawsuits continued after the relocation to Missouri, as disaffected Mormons there initiated legal proceedings against JS and others and encouraged lawsuits for debt among the Saints generally.
4

See Letter to Oliver Cowdery and Others, ca. 17 June 1838.


At the November 1838 hearing that followed the conflicts between the Saints and their Missouri neighbors,
John Corrill

17 Sept. 1794–26 Sept. 1842. Surveyor, politician, author. Born at Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Married Margaret Lyndiff, ca. 1830. Lived at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10 Jan. 1831,...

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testified that in April 1838 JS and Rigdon “appeared to be vexed on account of troubles & law suits they had had.” Corrill, who had disaffected by the time he made his statement, recounted that the two men said “that they would suffer vexatious law suits no longer, & that they would resist even an officer in the discharge of his duty.” In addition,
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

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Circuit Court clerk and dissident Mormon
John Cleminson

28 Dec. 1798–28 Nov. 1879. Farmer, teacher, cabinet maker, carpenter, clerk. Born at Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Migrated to St. John’s, New Brunswick (later in Canada), 1812. Moved to Louisville, Jefferson Co., Kentucky. Moved to Lexington, Lillard Co...

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testified at the hearing that JS had instructed him not to issue writs against church leaders in suits that appeared to be “vexatious.”
5

John Corrill, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [31]; John Cleminson, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [51]–[52], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]; see also Motto, ca. 16 or 17 Mar. 1838.


While their biases and the specific details of their memory may be questioned, they do affirm the sentiment expressed in the church motto JS composed upon arriving in Far West.
The second development resulted from the abandonment of
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

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. Upon arriving in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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, JS and other church leaders refocused their efforts on developing the settlement as a new headquarters for the church. In late April 1838, they passed resolutions to construct new church buildings and to reestablish the church press and newspaper.
6

Minutes, 21 Apr. 1838, in JSP, D6:110–111.


JS also dictated a revelation that designated Far West a city of
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

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with a
house of the Lord

Plans for Far West included temple on central block. Latter-day Saints in Caldwell Co. made preparations for construction and commenced excavating for foundation, 3 July 1837. However, while visiting Latter-day Saints in Far West, 6 Nov. 1837, JS gave instructions...

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, also known as a temple. The revelation directed that the Saints begin laying the foundation for the sacred edifice on 4 July. The revelation closed by announcing that JS would also direct Mormon settlement in “the regions round about.”
7

Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:6–12, 18].


The third development stemmed from anti-Mormon opposition to Mormon settlements outside of
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

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. Earlier, following the forced removals of the Saints from
Jackson

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

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and
Clay

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

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counties in the mid-1830s, the
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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legislature created Caldwell County with the intention that it could be safely settled by the Saints. Many anti-Mormons assumed that Mormon settlement would be confined to Caldwell County, although there is no contemporaneous evidence that church leaders agreed to any such arrangement. In June 1838, church members launched settlement projects in
Adam-ondi-Ahman

Settlement located in northwest Missouri. 1835 revelation identified valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman as place where Adam blessed his posterity after leaving Garden of Eden. While seeking new areas in Daviess Co. for settlement, JS and others surveyed site on which...

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in
Daviess County

Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...

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to the north of Caldwell County and in
De Witt

Located on bluffs north of Missouri River, about six miles above mouth of Grand River. Permanently settled, by 1826. Laid out, 1836. First called Elderport; name changed to De Witt, 1837, when town acquired by speculators David Thomas and Henry Root, who ...

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in Carroll County to the southeast.
8

LeSueur, “Missouri’s Failed Compromise,” 113–144.


Comprehensive Works Cited

LeSueur, Stephen C. “Missouri’s Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons.” Journal of Mormon History 31, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 113–144.

Both settlements grew rapidly. During the previous year, JS had received information regarding ongoing opposition to the Saints settling in adjoining counties.
9

See Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837; and Letter from David Thomas, 31 Mar. 1838; see also “A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:65–66.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Perhaps anticipating hostility to these settlements, he reportedly delivered a discourse in late June in which he declared that “if the people would let him alone he would conquer them by the sword of the Spirit, but if they would not he would beat the plow shears into swords & their pruning hooks into spears & conquer them.”
10

Abner Scovil, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [50], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]. In the wake of the 1838 conflict, JS expressed similar sentiments in a March 1839 letter: “If the inhabitance of the state of Missouri had let the saints alone and had been as deserable of peace as they ware there would have been nothing but peace and quiatude in this State unto this day.” (Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.)


At about the time of this speech, Mormon men in Caldwell County founded the Society of the Daughter of Zion (later known as the
Danites

The common name for the “Daughter of Zion,” an oath-bound military society organized among the Latter-day Saints in Missouri in summer 1838 to defend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from internal and external opposition. The official name ...

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), a vigilante group intent on defending the church from external opposition.
11

See Historical Introduction to Constitution of the Society of the Daughter of Zion, ca. Late June 1838; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to Oliver Cowdery and Others, ca. 17 June 1838.


It was within the broad context of these three developments that the church planned its first formally sponsored Independence Day celebration. By the 1830s, many American communities commemorated independence from the British empire with festivities on 4 July. At these events, ministers, politicians, and other local leaders gave speeches that were frequently prepared in advance and then published.
12

See Hay, “Providence and the American Past,” 79–101; Maier, American Scripture, chap. 4; and Criblez, Parading Patriotism.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hay, Robert P. “Providence and the American Past.” Indiana Magazine of History 65, no. 2 (June 1969): 79–101.

Maier, Pauline. American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

Criblez, Adam. Parading Patriotism: Independence Day Celebrations in the Urban Midwest, 1826–1876. DeKalb: Northern Illinois Press, 2013.

A “committee of arrangements” was appointed to prepare for the 1838 Independence Day celebration in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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. The committee appointed JS “president of the day”;
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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, JS’s second counselor in the First Presidency, was appointed “vice president”; and
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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, JS’s first counselor in the First Presidency, was named “orator” and invited to give the speech.
13

Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.


Mormon preachers in the 1830s did not normally prepare their sermons beforehand, preferring instead to rely on the Holy Ghost to direct their preaching.
14

See Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:15]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:85]; see also Jackson, “Oratory of the Great Basin Prophets,” 489–520.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jackson, Brian. “‘As a Musician Would His Violin’: The Oratory of the Great Basin Prophets.” In A New History of the Sermon: The Nineteenth Century, edited by Robert H. Ellison, 489–520. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2010.

However, the text of the Independence Day oration was reportedly prepared in advance.
Ebenezer Robinson

25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....

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, the church’s printer, recounted decades later that the oration “was a carefully prepared document, previously written, and well understood by the First Presidency.”
15

Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 170; see also William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [88], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

Although it seems that Robinson meant that the document was prepared in advance and that its contents were understood by the entire First Presidency prior to Rigdon’s delivery, it is possible that Robinson also meant to imply that members of the First Presidency worked together in preparing the document. Rigdon, who was considered a learned and skilled orator, likely composed much or all of the text that he would deliver, but JS or Hyrum Smith may have collaborated in its composition, as the First Presidency had done in the past.
16

See, for example, Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76]; and Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833.


It is also possible that JS provided general direction or advice on its content prior to its composition. Ultimately, it is unknown whether the oration was prepared by Rigdon on his own, by the First Presidency generally, or in another way.
The prepared oration was lengthy, amounting to over ten pages when printed. The opening section pledges allegiance to the nation and expresses deep patriotic sentiment. It rehearses the birth of the nation, venerates the founding fathers, and extols the political principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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, especially freedom of religion. It also recounts the history of persecutions endured by the Saints and the violations of their constitutional rights. The subject then shifts to the purpose and function of the
temple

Plans for Far West included temple on central block. Latter-day Saints in Caldwell Co. made preparations for construction and commenced excavating for foundation, 3 July 1837. However, while visiting Latter-day Saints in Far West, 6 Nov. 1837, JS gave instructions...

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they planned to build as a place of both religious and secular education. The secular education obtained therein would contribute to the national project of producing a literate citizenry that, through informed voting, could preserve American freedom. The conclusion of the speech returns to the violations of American freedom suffered by the Saints. Invoking the right to defend themselves, the oration declares the firm resolve of the Saints to resist any future physical threats or vexatious lawsuits. It threatened any mob who attacked them that they would fight back with deadly force and wage a “war of extermination.” This phrase was commonly used in the nineteenth century to describe intractable conflicts such as the violent struggles between European American settlers and Native American peoples.
17

Kiernan, Blood and Soil, chap. 8.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Kiernan, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.

While adamant and somewhat threatening in tone, the oration clarifies that the Saints would never be the aggressors and would never violate the rights of others.
The discourse apparently drew on an 1833 JS revelation that provided guidance for how the Saints were to respond to future mob violence. If any man were to “smite” or otherwise attack them, the Saints were to “bear it patiently.” However, following an opponent’s third offense, the revelation instructed that the Saints were to “warn him in my [God’s] name that he come no more upon you.” If the antagonist persisted, the Saints were informed: “thine enemy is in thine hands and if thou reward him according to his works thou art Justified.”
18

Revelation, 6 Aug. 1833 [D&C 98:22–31].


Similarly, the 1838 Independence Day oration featured here recounted how the Saints were “wearied of being smitten” and that they had endured this abuse “with patience.” The sermon further stated: “we warn all men in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more,” proceeding then to declare that persecution would provoke a “war of extermination.” The close parallels between the two texts strongly suggest that the oration was deliberately formulated to comply with the requirements of the 1833 revelation. As First Presidency scribe
George W. Robinson

14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...

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wrote in JS’s journal, the discourse represented the church’s “decleration of Independance from all mobs and persecutions which have been inflicted upon us time after time untill we could bear it no longer.”
19

JS, Journal, 4 July 1838.


Hereafter, all enemies had been duly warned and the Saints were justified in fighting back.
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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delivered the oration to a large audience. Recounting the events of the day in JS’s journal,
George W. Robinson

14 May 1814–10 Feb. 1878. Clerk, postmaster, merchant, clothier, banker. Born at Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Clerk and recorder for Kirtland high...

View Full Bio
estimated that there had been “several thousands of spectators” who gathered for the celebration, which was held at the public square in the center of
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

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. JS presided over the celebration.
20

JS, Journal, 4 July 1838; Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.


Ebenezer Robinson

25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....

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recalled that “a stand was erected for the officers and orator of the day, large enough also to seat several distinguished visitors.”
21

Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Oct. 1889, 148. The contemporaneous report of the celebration published in the church newspaper also spoke of “the stand, where the oration was to be delivered.” (Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

This stand was erected on the north side of the public square. It was likely situated near the
temple site

Plans for Far West included temple on central block. Latter-day Saints in Caldwell Co. made preparations for construction and commenced excavating for foundation, 3 July 1837. However, while visiting Latter-day Saints in Far West, 6 Nov. 1837, JS gave instructions...

More Info
, in the northeast corner of the public square, where the presidency would oversee the ceremonial laying of the temple cornerstones. The celebration began at ten o’clock in the morning with a parade in which both the
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

More Info
regiment of the state militia and the Danite society marched, as well as several church leaders and the temple architects. After the procession formed around the temple excavation, JS offered a prayer and the band played a number. Various church officers then participated in the ceremonial laying of the cornerstones for the temple that the Saints planned to build in their burgeoning community—a symbol that they intended to build a religiously oriented city and that they were building to stay. The procession of military and civilian officers then formed again around the stand, where the festivities culminated with Rigdon’s delivery of the oration. According to George W. Robinson, Rigdon delivered the discourse “under the hoisted flagg representing the Liberty and independence of these
United States of America

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
.”
22

JS, Journal, 4 and 27 July 1838; Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.


Following Rigdon’s emphatic conclusion that the Saints would no longer withstand persecution without fighting back, the assembled crowd responded with “a shout of hosanna.” The First Presidency then descended from the stand and “marched to the south side of the public square,” where the assembled troops “passed in review before them.” This demonstration of military preparedness brought the celebration to a close.
23

Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.


Efforts were soon made to publish the oration, perhaps as an attempt to further comply with the 1833 revelation’s injunction to warn the Saints’ opponents not to attack them. The text of the sermon was shared with attorney and newspaper editor Peter H. Burnett of
Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

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, Missouri, who printed it in his paper, the Far West.
24

JS, Journal, 1–3 Aug. 1838; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 171; Burnett, Recollections and Opinions, 53.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

Burnett, Peter H. Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer. New York: D. Appleton, 1880.

Copies of this newspaper version of the oration are apparently not extant. The discourse was also published in pamphlet form by the church printing office in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
.
25

Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 171. The pamphlet’s title page named the “Journal Office” as the publisher. This was the church printing office that published the Elders’ Journal, the official church newspaper edited by JS.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

Although the manuscript of the oration is not extant, church printer
Ebenezer Robinson

25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....

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occasionally supplied clarifying information in brackets in the printed text, indicating that he was attempting to accurately reproduce the text of the manuscript he had been given. At the same time, however, Robinson introduced a few minor typographical errors. The August 1838 issue of the Elders’ Journal included an editorial by JS in which he encouraged church members to obtain copies of the pamphlet for its history of the church’s persecution and its expression of their “fixed determinations” that they would not “be mobed any more without taking vengeance.”
26

Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 54.


Although the sermon struck a defensive posture and was intended as a declaration of freedom from further persecution, anti-Mormon vigilantes and
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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newspapers regularly cited it in subsequent months as evidence that the Saints meant to defy the law and wage war against other Missouri citizens.
27

On 12 September 1838, anti-Mormons in Daviess County and Livingston County stated in a letter to Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs that “for several weeks past the Mormons have been making formidable preparation for a civil war—and one which they are pleased to call a war of extermination,” doubtless a reference to the 4 July 1838 oration. The editor of the Western Star, a newspaper based in Liberty, Missouri, asserted on 14 September that the 4 July speech contained “the essence of, if not treason itself” and that Rigdon’s declaration that vexatious lawsuits would not be tolerated was “a manifestation of a disposition to prevent the force of law.” (“Citizens of Daviess and Livingston Counties,” Daviess Co., MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 12 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; “The Mormons,” Missouri Argus [St. Louis], 27 Sept. 1838, [1].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

Missouri Argus. St. Louis. 1835–1841.

For both the Latter-day Saints and their opponents in Missouri, the oration set the tone for the conflict that followed.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Howe, Autobiography and Recollections, 45; see also Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession,” 159–188.

    Howe, Eber D. Autobiography and Recollections of a Pioneer Printer: Together with Sketches of the War of 1812 on the Niagara Frontier. Painesville, OH: Telegraph Steam Printing House, 1878.

    Adams, Dale W. “Grandison Newell’s Obsession.” Journal of Mormon History 30 (Spring 2004): 159–188.

  2. [2]

    See Madsen, “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy,” 227–246.

    Madsen, Gordon A. “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy.” In Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch, 227–246. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014.

  3. [3]

    See Motto, ca. 16 or 17 Mar. 1838. An influential nineteenth-century law dictionary defined a “vexatious suit” as “one which has been instituted maliciously, and without probable cause, whereby a damage has ensued to the defendant.” (“Vexatious Suit,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:472.)

    Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

  4. [4]

    See Letter to Oliver Cowdery and Others, ca. 17 June 1838.

  5. [5]

    John Corrill, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [31]; John Cleminson, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [51]–[52], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]; see also Motto, ca. 16 or 17 Mar. 1838.

  6. [6]

    Minutes, 21 Apr. 1838, in JSP, D6:110–111.

  7. [7]

    Revelation, 26 Apr. 1838 [D&C 115:6–12, 18].

  8. [8]

    LeSueur, “Missouri’s Failed Compromise,” 113–144.

    LeSueur, Stephen C. “Missouri’s Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons.” Journal of Mormon History 31, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 113–144.

  9. [9]

    See Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837; and Letter from David Thomas, 31 Mar. 1838; see also “A History, of the Persecution,” Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:65–66.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  10. [10]

    Abner Scovil, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [50], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes]. In the wake of the 1838 conflict, JS expressed similar sentiments in a March 1839 letter: “If the inhabitance of the state of Missouri had let the saints alone and had been as deserable of peace as they ware there would have been nothing but peace and quiatude in this State unto this day.” (Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.)

  11. [11]

    See Historical Introduction to Constitution of the Society of the Daughter of Zion, ca. Late June 1838; see also Historical Introduction to Letter to Oliver Cowdery and Others, ca. 17 June 1838.

  12. [12]

    See Hay, “Providence and the American Past,” 79–101; Maier, American Scripture, chap. 4; and Criblez, Parading Patriotism.

    Hay, Robert P. “Providence and the American Past.” Indiana Magazine of History 65, no. 2 (June 1969): 79–101.

    Maier, Pauline. American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

    Criblez, Adam. Parading Patriotism: Independence Day Celebrations in the Urban Midwest, 1826–1876. DeKalb: Northern Illinois Press, 2013.

  13. [13]

    Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.

  14. [14]

    See Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:15]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:85]; see also Jackson, “Oratory of the Great Basin Prophets,” 489–520.

    Jackson, Brian. “‘As a Musician Would His Violin’: The Oratory of the Great Basin Prophets.” In A New History of the Sermon: The Nineteenth Century, edited by Robert H. Ellison, 489–520. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2010.

  15. [15]

    Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 170; see also William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, p. [88], Transcript of Proceedings, 12–29 Nov. 1838 [State of Missouri vs. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes].

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

  16. [16]

    See, for example, Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76]; and Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 25 June 1833.

  17. [17]

    Kiernan, Blood and Soil, chap. 8.

    Kiernan, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.

  18. [18]

    Revelation, 6 Aug. 1833 [D&C 98:22–31].

  19. [19]

    JS, Journal, 4 July 1838.

  20. [20]

    JS, Journal, 4 July 1838; Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.

  21. [21]

    Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Oct. 1889, 148. The contemporaneous report of the celebration published in the church newspaper also spoke of “the stand, where the oration was to be delivered.” (Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.)

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

  22. [22]

    JS, Journal, 4 and 27 July 1838; Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.

  23. [23]

    Celebration of the 4th of July, Aug. 1838.

  24. [24]

    JS, Journal, 1–3 Aug. 1838; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 171; Burnett, Recollections and Opinions, 53.

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

    Burnett, Peter H. Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer. New York: D. Appleton, 1880.

  25. [25]

    Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Nov. 1889, 171. The pamphlet’s title page named the “Journal Office” as the publisher. This was the church printing office that published the Elders’ Journal, the official church newspaper edited by JS.

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

  26. [26]

    Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 54.

  27. [27]

    On 12 September 1838, anti-Mormons in Daviess County and Livingston County stated in a letter to Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs that “for several weeks past the Mormons have been making formidable preparation for a civil war—and one which they are pleased to call a war of extermination,” doubtless a reference to the 4 July 1838 oration. The editor of the Western Star, a newspaper based in Liberty, Missouri, asserted on 14 September that the 4 July speech contained “the essence of, if not treason itself” and that Rigdon’s declaration that vexatious lawsuits would not be tolerated was “a manifestation of a disposition to prevent the force of law.” (“Citizens of Daviess and Livingston Counties,” Daviess Co., MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 12 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; “The Mormons,” Missouri Argus [St. Louis], 27 Sept. 1838, [1].)

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

    Missouri Argus. St. Louis. 1835–1841.

Page [3]

ORATION.
 
Friends and Fellow Citizens;
By your request, I am called upon to address you this day, under circumstances novel to myself, and I presume as much so to the most of you; for however frequently we may have met with our fellow-citizens, in times past, in the places of our nativity, or of our choice, to mingle our feelings with theirs, and unite with them in grateful acknowledgments to our Divine Benefactor, on the anniversary of our national existance; but not before, have we been assembled by reason of our holy religion; for which cause alone, a very large majority of us is here this day. But though our residence here, is far from the sepulchres of our fathers, and from the land of our nativity and former choice; and our association here, as novel, and as strange to ourselves, as it could be, to any portion of our fellow-men; still, we hail the return of the birth day of our liberties, with no less feelings of joy and gratitude: nor no less desire, for the prosperity and continuance, of the fabric of our national government, inspires our breasts this day, than when met in the mixed assemblies of all religions, as in times past, in the lands of our nativity.
Nor indeed could it otherwise be; from our infancy, we have been traditionated to believe ours, to be the best government in the world. Our fathers, our neighbors, and our associates in life, have extalled its excellence to the highest pinacle of fame in our ears, even before we were capable of judging of its merits for ourselves, or were able to form an estimate of its worth. As we advanced in life, we heard nothing else from our statesmen and heroes, but the perfection and excellence of our political institutions, and the superiority of our government, over all the governments of the world; whether they existed in former or latter time. It is the government under which we were born and educated, or else we exchanged another for it, with whose form we were not satisfied, and in our hearts gave this the preference, and sought by removal to enjoy its benefits.
We have been taught from our cradles, to reverence the fathers of the Revolution, and venerate the very urns which contain the ashes of those who sleep; and every feeling of our hearts responds in perfect unison to the precept. Our country and its institutions, are written on the tablet of our hearts,
1

See Proverbs 3:3; and 2 Corinthians 3:3.


as with the blood of the heroes who offered their lives in sacrifice, to redeem us from oppression. On its towers the flag of freedom waves, and invites the [p. [3]]
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Editorial Title
Appendix 3: Discourse, circa 4 July 1838
ID #
9645
Total Pages
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Proverbs 3:3; and 2 Corinthians 3:3.

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