AN EPISTLE OF THE TWELVE,
TO THE BTETHREN SCATTERED ABROAD ON THE CONTINENT
OF AMERICA, GREETING:
BELOVED BRETHREN,
It seemeth good to us to write unto you at this time
concerning the great things of the kingdom of our God,
and more especially as we have been called upon by the
late General Conference so to do; that the work may
not be hindered, but that all may understand their privi
lege and duty in this day of glorious events, so that by
exercising themselves therein, they may attain unto
those blessings which God has in store for his people in
the last days.
We have abundant occasion, and we rejoice exceed-
ingly at the privilege we have had of beholding so many
thousands of our brethren and sisters as were assembled
at the late conference, and for the most perfect harmony
and good feeling that prevailed throughout all their
deliberations; for the great amount of valuable instruc-
tions by President Joseph Smith and others; and for the
disposition which we have seen manifested by all who
were present to carry into effect all those noble plans
and principles which were derived from heaven, and
have been handed down to earth, to carry forward the
great and glorious work which is already commenced,
and which must be consummated to secure the salvation
of Israel.
While the minutes of the General Conference are be-
fore you, which will be read with interest by every lo-
ver of Zion, we shall recapitulate some items, and detail
more particularly to the understanding of those who
had not the privilege of being present on that interest-
ing occasion, the past, present and future situation and
prospects of the church, and the stakes, and those things
which immediately concern their best interests.
A short time since and the saints were fleeing before
their enemies. Whips, imprisonments, tortures and
death stared them in the face, and they were compelled
to seek an asylum in a land of strangers. They sought
they found it within the peaceful bosom of Illinois; a
State whose citizens are inspired with a love of liberty;
whose souls are endued with those noble principles of
charity and benevolence which ever bid the stranger
welcome and minister to his wants: in this State, whose
soil is vieing with its citizens in all that is good and
lovely, the saints have found a resting place, where,
freed from tyranny and mobs, they are beginning to real-
ize the fulfilment of the ancient prophets, "they shall
build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat
the fruit thereof, having none to molest or make afraid."
In this city the church has succeeded in securing sev-
eral extensive plots of land, which have been laid out in
city lots, a part of which have been sold, a part has
been distributed to the widows and orphan, and a part
remains for sale. These lots are for the inheritance of
the saints, a resting place for the church, a habitation for
the God of Jacob; for here he has commanded a house
to be built unto his name where he may manifest himself
unto his people as in former times, when he caused the
ark, the tabernacle, and the temple to be reared, and the
cloud and the fire to rest down thereon; and not that the
temple be built only, but that it be completed quickly, and
that no more general conference be held, till it shall be
held therein; and that the Nauvoo House be finished for the
accommodation of the brethren from afar, and the stran
ger who shall come up hither to inquire after the work
of the Lord and worship in his Temple.
Scores of brethren in this city, have offered to board
one and two labourers each till the Temple is completed;
many have volunteered to labour continually, and the
brethren generally are giving one-tenth part of their
time, or one-tenth part of their income, according to cir-
cumstances; while those sisters, who can do nothing
more, are knitting socks and mittens, and preparing gar-
ments for the laborers, so that they may be made as com-
fortable as possible during the coming winter. In view
of these things we would invite our brethren for many
miles distant around us, to send in their teams for draw-
ing stone, lumber, and materials for the buildings; and
at the same time load their wagons with all kinds of grain
and meat, provision and clothing, and hay and provender
in abundance, that the laborer faint not, and the teams be
made strong; also that journey men stone cutters, &c.
come, bringing their tools with them, and enlist in the
glorious enterprise.
Most of the plats in this city before referred to, as well
as several farms and large lots of land in this and the ad-
joining counties are paid for. and are secured to the
church by good and sufficient titles; while the town
plat for the town of Warren near Warsaw, is secured on
such conditions that the brethren can be accommodated
with lots on very reasonable terms; but the large plat
in Nauvoo, purchased by Messrs. Hotchkiss, Tuttle & Co.
of New Haven, Conn., remains unpaid for, and the time
has now arrived, when it is very desirable on the part of
the church, as well as on the part of the gentlemen of
whom it was purchased, that payment should be made
and a warrantee title secured; to accomplish which we
have been called upon by the united voice of the Gene-
ral Conference to address the churches in the eastern
states, to advise with the brethren in those regions, and
devise ways and means whereby this debt may be liqui-
dated, Hotchkiss & Co. satisfied, the plat secured to the
church, and the brethern in the east at the same time
transfer their real estate from the place where it now is,
to this city or region of country, according to their de-
sire.
The contract for the "Hotchkiss purchase" in Nauvoo,
consisting of upwards of five hundred acres, was entered
into, on, or about the 9th of August. 1839, for the specified
sum of fifty three thousand five hundred dollars, and se-
curity was given to Messrs. R. H. Hotchkiss, Smith Tut-
tle, and John Gillet, for the amount of the same in two
notes of equal amount, one payable in ten years, and the
other in twenty years from the date thereof, signed by
Messrs. Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith, and Sidney Rigdon.
In August last, interest to the amount of six thousand
dollars or upwards, had accumulated on sailnotes which
it has not been in the power of the church to pay up to
the present time. The nature of this purchase, and the
situation of the church is such, that it is necessary that
the notes should be taken up, the interest stopped, and a
warrantee title secured immediately; and a correspon-
dence is now in progress with Messrs. Hotchkiss & Co.
to effect this thing, and bring forward a final settlement.
But, say you, what can we do to accomplish this great
and desirable object? Let the brethren in the eastern
states, who have lands which they wish to dispose of, so
that they may remove hither and secure to themselves
an inheritance among the saints, either in the cities or
farms in the vicinity, and are willing to have their lands
in the east made over to Messrs. Hotchkiss & Co. towards
the payment of the foregoing notes, communicate with
us immediately, at this place,stating to us the extent and
value of their property. Then as soon as we shall have
received communications concerning property sufficient
to cancel the obligations, and the necessary prelimina-
ries are understood with Messrs.Hotchkiss & Co. we will
dispatch an agent to New Haven, to complete the nego-
ciation, transfer your property, take up the notes, and
secure a deed; and those whose property is thus trans-
ferred can have the value thereof here, in city lots, or
lands in the vicinity; and thus your property will prove
to you as good as money, inasmuch as you desire to emi-
grate, and you will no longer be obliged to tarry afar off,
because that money is so scarce you cannot sell and get
your pay. If there are those among you to whom God
has given in abundance, and they desire to appropriate
some portion thereof for the beenfit of his people, for the
redemption of Zion; for a blessing to the widows of those
who have been slain for the word of God, and been bu-
ried in a well, for a sustenance for their fatherless chil
dren, and provide for them a habitation, they cannot do
it more effectually than by devoting a portion of their
sustenance towards liquidating this claim.
To those brethren who live so far distant that they
cannot send in their loaded teams,and yet desire to assist
in building the Lord's house, we would say, gather
yourselves together and bring of your substance, your
silver, and gold, and apparel, and of your superabundance
cast into the treasury of the Lord and see if he will not
pour you out a blessing till there is not room enough to
ceive it.
Brethren, the blessings of the kingdom are for you, for
the body of Christ, for all the members, and God will
help those who help themselves, and bless those
who will bless each other, and do as they would be done
unto. The gold and the silver is the Lords; all the trea-
sures of the earth, the flocks and the herds of the fields
and the cattle of the thousand hills are his; if he were
hungry would he crave thy food, or thirsty would he
ask thy drink? Nay: he would only ask that which was
his own, he would feast on his own flocks, and quench
his thirst at his own springs. This God is the God of
the saints; he is your God, and he has made you stewards
of all that has been committed to you, and will require
his own with usury; and will you not be faithful in a
little that you may be made rulers over many cities?
Yes, you will, we know you will.
The journeyings and gatherings, and buildings of the
saints are nothing new, and as they are expecting, look
ing, and praying for the completion of the dispensation
of the fullness of times, they must also expect that their
progress will be onward or they will be of no avail, for
what is not of faith is sin, and can you believe that God
will hear your prayers, and bring you on your journey,
gather you, and build your houses, and you not put forth
one hand or make one exertion to help yourselves? No;
therefore inasmuch as the saints believe that father
Abraham journeyed to a distant land, at the command of
the Highest, where himself and household (whose house-
hold we are, if we keep the commandments) might en-
joy the fruits of their labors unmolested, and worship
the God of heaven according to the dictates of their own
conscience and his law. That his seed afterwards gath-
ered to Canaan, the Land of Promise; that David was
commanded to build a house, where the son of man
might have a place to lay his head, and the disciples be
endued with power from on high, and were with one ac-
cord in one place; they must also believe that this dis-
pensation comprehends all the great works of all former
dispensations; and that the children must gather as did
the fathers; must build a house, where they may be en-
dued, and be found together worshipping and doing as
their fathers did, when Jehovah spake and the angels of
heaven ministered unto them; and if these things are
not in this generation, then we have not arrived at the
dispensation of the fullness of times as we anticipate,
and our faith and prayers are vain.
Is it possible that we labour in vain, and toil for nought,
and that we shall be disappointed at the last? No, we
know assuredly that the set time to favor Zion has come
and her sons and daughters shall rejoice in her glory.
The time has come when the great Jehovah would have a
resting place on earth, a habitation for his chosen, where
his law shall be revealed, and his servants be endued
from on high, to bring together the honest in heart from
the four winds; where the saints may enter the baptis-
mal font for their dead relations, so that they may be
judged according to men in the flesh, and live according
to God in the spirit, and come forth in the celestial king-
dom; a place over which the heavenly messengers
may watch and trouble the waters as in days of old, so
that when the sick are put therein they shall be made
whole; a place where all the ordinances shall be made
manifest and the saints shall unite in the songs of Zion,
even praise, thanksgiving, and hallelujahs to God and
the Lamb, that he has wrought out their deliverance, and
bound Satan fast in chains.
What then shall we do? Let us all arise, and with one
united mighty exertion, by the strength of Israel's
God, oppose the powers of darkness, and every being
and principle that may rise up against us, and complete
the work already commenced. Let us not for a moment
lend an ear to evil and designing men who would sub-
vert the truth, and blacken the character of the servant
of The Most High God, by publishing abroad that the pro-
phet is enriching himself on the spoils of the brethren.
When brother Joseph stated to the general conference
the amount and situation of the property of the church,
of which he is trustee in trust by the united voice of the
church, he also stated the amount of his own possessions
on earth; and what do you think it was? We will tell
you. His old horse Charley, given him in Kirtland; two
pet deer; two old turkeys, and four young ones; the
old cow given him by a brother in Missouri, his old Ma-
jor, dog; his wife, children, and a little household furni-
ture; and this is the amount of the great possessions of that
man whom God has called to lead his people in these last
days; this the sum total of the great estates, the splendid
mansions and noble living of him who has spent a life of
toil and suffering, of privation and hardships, of impris-
onments and chains, of dungeons and vexations suits,
and every kind of contumely, and contempts ungodly
men could heap upon him, and last of all report him as
rolling in wealth and luxury which he had plundered
from the spoils of those for whose good he had thus toil-
ed and suffered. Who would be willing to suffer what
he has suffered, and labour near twenty years as he has
done, for the wealth he is in possession of?
Brethren, in view of all these things let us be up and
doing. Let those in the eastern States use all diligence
in communicating to us their ability to assist in the
Hotchkiss payment, being assured that no exertion they
can make, will equal what has already been made for
you and the church generally;and let all the saints come
up to the places of gathering, and with their mites and
their abundance, as God has given them in trust, help to
build up the old waste places, which have been thrown
down for many generations, knowing, that when they
are completed, they will belong unto the people of the
Most High God, even the meek, the honest in heart, he
shall possess all things in the due time of the Lord. Be
not covetous, but deal in righteousness, for what the
saints shall not possess by purchase and in righteous-
ness they shall not possess, for no unrighteous thing
can enter into the kingdom; therefore, beloved breth-
ren, deal justly, love mercy, walk humbly before God,
and whatever your hands find to do, do it with your
might, keeping all the commandments, and then, whether
in life or in death, all things will be yours, whether they
be temples or lands, houses or vineyards, baptisms or
enduements, revelations or healings, all things will be
yours, for you will be Christ's and Christ is God's.