The Evening and Morning Star, Will Be Published at

Independence, Jackson County, State of Missouri

As the forerunner of the night of the end, and the messenger of the day of redemption, the Star will borrow its light from the sacred sources, and be devoted to the revelations of God as made known to his servants by the Holy Ghost, at sundry times since the creation of man, but more especially in these last days, for the restoration of the house of Israel. We rejoice much because God has been so mindful of his promise, as again to send into this world the Holy Ghost, whereby we are enabled to know the right way to holiness; and, furthermore, to prove all doctrines, whether they be of God or man: for there can be but one, as Christ and the Father are one. All of us know, or ought to, that our heavenly Father, out of all the people which he had planted on the earth, chose but one people to whom he gave his laws, his revelations and his commandments, and this was Jacob his chosen and Israel his elect. All know too, or might, that for disobedience, or not keeping his commandments to do them, God had this people carried away captive into all countries, and scattered among all nations, but promised that he would gather them and bring them again unto their own lands: then the land should yet yield its increase, and at that time he would take away the stony heart and give them a heart of flesh, and write his law in it, that all might know from him from the least of them to the greatest of them: so that knowledge of him might fill the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea. At which time it shall no more be said, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whether [whither] he had driven them. And it shall come to pass in the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, and many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Seeing these things so plainly foretold, we have great confidence in declaring to all flesh, that, not only the day but the hour is at hand for all to be fulfilled: when the earth shall be transfigured, and return of the same beauty and goodness, as at the morn of creation; when the righteous shall rise, and flow together, to inherit the earth, until the children of Israel

become as numerous as the stars in the sky, or the sand upon the sea shore-Wherefore we beseech all that have ears to hear, or eyes to see, to beware for God, at all times, when he was about to visit the children of men for their wickedness, hath sent angels, or prophets, to warn them of what was about to take place. As before the flood he sent Enoch and Noah: before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, two angels; before he took Israel out of Egypt, Moses and Aaron, and so down to the coming of our Savior; and can less be expected before the great day of the Lord? Will God neglect to blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in his holy mountain; or refuse to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh that will serve him in truth, before the wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the nations that forget him? No; heaven and earth shall pass away but not a jot or tittle of his word shall ever fail. Therefore, in the fear of him, and to spread the truth among all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, this paper is sent that a wicked world may know that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer who shall come to Zion, will soon appear unto them who look for him, the second time without sin unto salvation, to make a full end of all nations whither he hath driven Israel, but will not make a full end of him, because he cometh to make restitution of all things which he hath spoken by the mouths of all his holy prophets since the world began.

The Book of Mormon, having already gone to world, being the fulness [fullness] of the gospel to the Gentiles according to the promises of old, we know that the blessing of Joseph is near at hand. For his glory, the firstling of his bullock, and his horns the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together from the ends of the earth, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount of Zion: for in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering over all people, and the vail [veil] that is spread over all nations: wherefore it is now made known and published to the world, by the authority of the beloved Savior, that the gathering of the house of Israel hath commenced upon the land of Zion; and that the church which is called the church of Christ, as an ensign to all nations, that the children of God are returning from their long dispersion, to possess the land of their inheritance, and reign with Christ a thousand years, while satan is bound.

We know there are many lying spirits abroad in the earth, to withstand the truth and deceive the people, but he cannot be called a disciple of the humble Jesus who doth not know the language of God from the language of man. The Savior declares: He that will not believe my words, will not believe me, that I am: and he that will not believe me, will not believe the Father which sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. Come unto me O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you, how great things the Father hath laid up for you from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief. Behold, when ye shall rend that vail [veil] of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, and then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you; yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel; and then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John, be unfolded in the eyes of the people. Remember when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed; and those endowed with power from on high shall do miracles by faith, and signs shall follow them that believe, until the Son of man cometh in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

To a man of God who looks upon the world as it now is, with nation against nation; kingdom against kingdom; rumor against rumor; revolution against revolution; war against war; robber against robber; persecutor against persecutor; sharper against sharper; society against society; sect against sect; and one against another over the face of the earth; the fear of judgment will rest upon him, and while he is silent as heaven, he will hear the groans of eternity over the corruption of the world, and, with a thrill of compassion which might jar the earth from the sides to the center, he will watch the angels receive the great command-Go reap down the earth!

The Evening and Morning Star, besides the secret of the Lord, which is now with them that fear him, and the everlasting gospel, which must go to all nations, before the Holy One shall stand upon the mount of

Olivet, and upon the mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of the sea, and upon the land of Zion, to destroy the wicked with the brightness of his coming-will also contain whatever of truth or information that can benefit the saints of God temporally as well as spiritually, in these last days, whether in prose or poetry, without interfering with politics, broils, or the gainsayings of the world. While some may say this paper is opposed to all combinations under whatever plausible character, others will know, that it is for an eternal union whose maker and supporter is God; thus all may be as they are, inasmuch as they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness reap the same-but wisdom is justified of her children.

From this press also, may be expected as soon as wisdom directs, many sacred records, which have slept for ages.

• Terms.-The Star will be issued monthly on a royal. sheet quarto, at one dollar a year, till it shall be deemed proper to publish it oftener. (A supplement will be published weekly, if required, containing the advertisements of Jackson county, &c.) Letters to the editor must be paid-and subscriptions in specie or United States' bills.

W. W. PHELPS.

February, 1832.

February, 22, 1832.

According to previous calculations, we now began to make preparations to visit the brethren who had removed to the land of Missouri. Before going to Hiram to live with father Johnson, my wife had taken two children, (twins) of John Murdock, to bring up. She received them when only nine days old; they were now nearly eleven months. I would remark that nothing important had occurred since I came to reside at father Johnson's house in Hiram; I had held meetings on the sabbaths and evenings and baptized a number. Father Johnson's son, Olmsted Johnson, came home on a visit, during which I told him if he did not obey the gospel, the spirit he was of would lead him to destruction; and then he went away, he would never return or see his father again. He went to the southern states and Mexico;-on his return took sick and died in Virginia. In addition to the apostate Booth, Simonds Rider Eli Johnson, Edward Johnson and John Johnson, jr. had apostatized.

On the 25th of March, the twins before mentioned, which had been sick of the measles for some time, caused us to be broke of our rest in taking care of them, especially my wife. In the evening I told her she had better retire to rest with one of the children, and I would watch with the sickest child. In the night she told me I had better lay down on the trundle bed, and I did so, and was soon after awoke by her screaming murder! when I found myself going out of the door, in the hands of about a dozen men; some of whose hands were in my hair, and some hold of my shirt, drawers and limbs. The foot of the trundle bed was towards the door, leaving only room enough for the door to swing. My wife heard a gentle taping on the windows which she then took no particular notice of, (but which was unquestionably designed for ascertaining whether we were all asleep,) and soon after the mob burst open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant, and, as I said, the first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob, I made a desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which I made a pass at one man, and he fell on the door steps. I was immediately confined again; and they swore by God, they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me. As they passed around the house with me, the fellow that I kicked came to me and thrust his hand into my face, all covered with blood, (for I hit him on the nose,) and with an exulting horse laugh, muttered: "ge, gee, God damn ye, I'll fix ye."

They then seized me by the throat, and held on till I lost my breath. After I came to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from the house, I saw elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged him by the heels. I supposed he was dead.

I began to plead with them, saying: you will have mercy and spare my life, I hope. To which they replied: "God damn ye, call on yer God for help, we'll show ye no mercy;" and the people began to show themselves in every direction: one coming from the orchard had a plank, and I expected they would kill me, and carry me off on the plank. They then turned to the right, and went on about thirty rods further; obout [about] sixty rods from the house, and thirty from where I saw elder Rigdon; into the meadow, where they stopped, and one said "Simonds, Simonds" (meaning I suppose Simonds Rider,) "pull up his drawers, pull up his drawers, he will take cold." Another replied: a'nt ye going to kill 'im? a'nt ye going to kill 'im? when a group of mobbers collected a little way off and said: "Simonds, Simonds, come here:" and Simonds charged those who had hold of me to keep me from touching the ground. (as they had done all the time) lest I should get a spring upon them They went and held a council, and as I could occasionally overhear a word, I suppose it was to know

whither [whether] it was best to kill me. They returned after a while, when I learned that they had concluded not to kill me but to pound and scratch me well, tear off my shirt and drawers, and leave me naked, one cried, 'Simonds, Simonds, where's the tar bucket?' 'I don't know' answered one, 'where 'tis, Eli's left it.' They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when one exclaimed, 'God damn it, let us tar his mouth;' and they tried to force the tar-paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around, so that they conld [could] not; and they cried out: 'God damn ye, hold up yer head and let us give ye some tar.'-They then tried to force a vial into my mouth, and broke it in my teeth. All my clothes were torn off me except my shirt collar; and one man fell on me and scratched my body with his nails like a mad cat, and then muttered out:-'God damn ye, that's the way the Holy Ghost falls on folks.'

They then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again; I pulled the tar away from my lips, &c. so that I could breath more freely, and after a while I began to recover, and raised myself up, when I saw two lights. I made my way towards one of them, and found it was father Johnsons.' When I had came to the door, I was naked, and the tar made me look as though I had been covered with blood, and when my wife saw me she thought I was all mashed to pieces, and fainted. During the affray abroad, the sisters of the neighborhood had collected at my room. I called for a blanket, they threw me one and shut the door; I wrapped it around me and went in.

In the mean time, brother John Poorman heard an out cry across the corn field, and running that way met Father Johnson, who had been fastened in his house at the commencement of the assault, by having the door barred by the mob, but on calling to his wife to bring his gun, saying he would blow a hole through the door, the mob fled, and father Johnson seizing a club ran after the party that had elder Rigdon, and knocked one man, and raised his club to lever another, exclaiming: 'what are you doing here?' when they left elder Rigdon and turned upon father Johnson, who, turning to run towards his own house met brother Poorman coming out of the cornfield; each supposing the other to be a mobber, an encounter ensued, and Poorman gave Johnson a severe blow on the right shouleer[shoulder] with a stick or stone, which brought him to the ground. Poorman ran immediately towards father Johnsons,' and arriving while I was waiting for the blanket, exclaimed: 'I'm afraid I've killed him.' Killed who? asked one; when Poorman hastily related the circumstancea [circumstances] of the rencounter [encounter] near the corn field, and went into the shed and hid himself. Father Johnson soon recovered so as to come to the house, when the whole mystery was quickly solved concerning the difficulty between him and Poorman, who, on learning the facts, joyfully came from his hiding place.

My friends spent the night in scraping and removing the tar, and washing and cleansing my body; so that by morning I was ready to be clothed again. This being Sabbath morning, the people assembled for meeting at the usual hour of worship, and among those came also the mobbers; viz: Simonds Rider, a Campbelite preacher, and leader of the mob; one McClentic, son of a Campbelite preacher, and Pelatiah Allen, Esq. who gave the mob a barrel of whiskey to raise their spirits; and many others. With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized three individuals.

The next morning I went to see elder Rigdon, and found him crazy, and his head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and those too, so high from the earth he could not raise his head from the rough frozen surface, which lascerated [lacerated] it exceedingly; and when he saw me he called to his wife to bring him his razor. She asked him what he wanted of it? and he replied to kill me. Sister Rigdon left the room, and he asked me to bring him his razor; and I asked him what he wanted of it, and he replied he wanted to kill his wife, and he continued delirious some days. The feathers which were used with the tar on this occasion, the mob took out of elder Rigdon's house. After they had seized him, and dragged him out, one of the banditti returned to get some pillows; when the women shut him in and kep [kept] him some time.

(To be Continued.)