This phrase was commonly used in the early American republic to describe religious liberty and appeared in several early state constitutions. JS paraphrased this language in the list of the church’s beliefs included in his 1842 essay “Church History.” (“Church History,” 1 Mar. 1842; see also [Jones], “Protestantism,” 26–29.)
[Jones, Joel]. “Protestantism.” Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review 9, no. 1 (Jan. 1837): 1–29.
Vigilantes expelled more than one thousand Latter-day Saints from Jackson County, Missouri, in 1833. One church member was killed. After finding temporary refuge in Clay County, Missouri, the Saints were asked to leave in 1836. During the 1838 conflict between the Saints and their opponents, approximately forty church members were killed, and more than ten thousand were expelled from the state of Missouri. (“Joseph Smith Documents from February 1833 through March 1834”; “Joseph Smith Documents from October 1835 through January 1838”; John B. Clark, Jefferson City, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 29 Nov. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839”.)
Records of Governor Thomas Reynolds, 1840–1844. MSA.