Letter to the Church in Caldwell County, Missouri, 16 December 1838

To the church of latter day saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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in 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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and the saints scattered  abroad and are persecuted and made desolate and are afflicted in divers manners  for christ’s sake and the gospel’s, and whose perils are greatly augmented by  the wickedness and corruption of false brethren. May grace, mercy, and peace, be  and abide with you and notwithstanding all your sufferings we assure you that you  have our prayers and fervent desires for your welfare both day and night.  We believe that, that God who sees us in this solitary place will hear our prayers  & reward you openly. Know assuredly dear brethren that it is for the testim ony of Jesus that we are in bonds and in prison. But we say unto you that we  consider our condition better, (notwithstanding our suffering) than those who have  persecuted us and smitten us and <borne> bear false witness against us, and we most  assuredly believe that those who bear false witness against us <do> seem to have  a great triumph over us for the present. But we want you to remember Haman  and Mordecai you know that Haman could not be satisfied so long as he saw  Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he sought the life of Mordecai and the peop le of the jews. But the Lord so ordered that Haman was hanged upon his  own gallows. So shall it come to pass with poor Haman in the last days.  Those who have sought by their unbelief and wickedness and by the principle  of mobocracy to destroy us and the people of God by killing and scattering  them abroad and wilfully and maliciously delivering us into the hands of mur derers desiring us to be put to death thereby having us dragged about in  chains and cast into prison, and for what cause; it is because we were honest  men and were determined to defend the lives of the saints at the expense  of our own. I say unto you that those who have thus vilely treated us  like Haman shall be hanged upon their own gallows, or in other words shall  fall into their own gin and trap and ditch which they have prepared for us  and shall go backward and stumble and fall, and their names shall be  blotted out, and God shall reward them according to all their abominations.  Dear brethren do not think that our hearts faint as though some strange  thing had happened unto us for we have seen and been assured of all these  things beforehand, and have an assurance of a better hope than that of our  persecutors. Therefore God has made our shoulders broad that we can bear  it. We glory in our tribulation because we know that God is with us, that  he is our friend and that he will save our souls. We do not care for those  that kill the body they cannot harm our souls; we ask no favors at the hands  of mobs nor of the world, nor of the devil nor of his emissaries the dissenters.  We have never dissembled nor will we for the sake of our lives. Forasmuch then  as we know that we have been endeavoring with all our mights, minds, and strength [p. [1]]