THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
down under the storm of persecution that came upon him. Smith had success as a prophet and as the founder of a new religion because the soil was prepared for it. From the beginning the drawing power of Mormonism lay in its claim to possess the gift of prophecy. And as the burden of the prophecy is the promise of material advantage and sensuous enjoyment and glory in the " latter day " and eternally — and withal offered easy conditions as to repentance and inward renewal — it is not hard to see how the enthusiasm that first drew followers to Joseph Smith has continued to be the great animating force of Mormonism. Smith began his career as " Peep-stone Joe " and developed into the " prophet, seer, and revealer " of the Latter-day Saints. After attaining to this dignity he was ever ready with a fresh revelation to meet each new emergency. Smith and his successors have been the ideal opportunists. In his prophesyings, however, Smith practised self-restraint: " We never inquire at the hand of God for special revelation only in case of there being no previous revelation to suit the case " {Times and Seasons, V., 753). Revelations were uttered pertaining to almost every conceivable concern except, perhaps, religion proper.
The formal founding of the new sect took place Apr. 6, 1830, in Fayette, N. Y. At that time it numbered some seventy adherents. 7. The Its official name was fixed somewhat New later. By revelation Smith took the Church; title of " seer, translator, prophet, Various apostle of Jesus Christ, and elder of the Centers, church." He began a vigorous propaganda. Every convert was baptized — no previous baptism was recognized. Among the first notable converts were Pratt (author of The Voice of Warning) and Sidney Rigdon, the chief figure in early Mormon history after Smith himself. As he found too little faith in the neighborhood of his home, Smith in 1831 removed with many of the " Saints " to Kirtland, O., whither Rigdon had already preceded him. The object in view was to find the land of promise, to establish therein a theocracy with the prophet as God's mouthpiece and vicegerent, and to build up a new city of Zion in preparation for the glory of the latter day. To realize this object four successive attempts were made in as many places: at Kirtland, O.; Far West (now Independence), Mo.; Nauvoo, 111., and finally in Utah. In the first three places extraordinary temporary success was followed by so fierce and determined opposition on the part of the surrounding " Gentiles " that the saints could make no effectual resistance. That in Utah they have been able not only to hold their ground, but also to prosper greatly is to be ascribed to prior possession and isolation, together with an improved organization and a saner leadership. The successive settlements of the Mormons represent, in general, stages not only of outward progress but also of inner development. At Kirtland the new sect met with immediate and striking success; its missionaries displayed immense zeal and churches were •founded in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, and Illinois. Within a few months after the
removal to Kirtland the number of the Mormons grew to at least 1,200 souls. Here Sidney Rigdon became prominent. He had assimilated some of the ideas of Fourier, the French collectivist. Following a special revelation of February, in 1831, the Kirtland saints began to organize communal business ventures, in which, for a time, they met with success.
The opposition, however, of the " unbelievers "
about them caused Smith to turn his eyes toward
the Western bounds of civilization, in
8. Indus- order to find there a place where he
trial Devel- might without hindrance fully carry opment; out his views. In the autumn of 1831
Opposition, he founded a colony in Jackson County, Mo. A revelation had declared that here was the promised land and the place for the city of Zion. Large tracts of land were bought; the town of Far West, or Zion, was founded, where the city of Independence now lies; a monthly and a weekly paper for the propagation of the new faith were established; and all the affairs of the colony were carried on with admirable zeal and vigor. Nevertheless, although continuing to regard Far West as the destined site for the city of Zion, Smith made Kirtland for an indefinite time the chief seat of the saints. Thither he returned in 1832. He now thrust the communion into various perilous business ventures, all under the control of the church and without adequate financial foundation. In the summer of 1833 a temple was built at the cost of $40,000, and although most of the Saints gave one-seventh of their time to its construction, a debt of from $15,000 to $20,000 was left upon it. Very early the non-Mormons in the region about Kirtland began to show a bitter hostility toward the new sect. Their opposition had its root partly in religious differences and partly in their indignation at Smith's domination in financial affairs that concerned the public at large. In May, 1832, a mob broke into the prophet's house, brought him into a neighboring field and tarred and feathered him. Rigdon suffered the same disgrace. Nothing daunted, however, Smith on the following day preached and baptized three converts, and afterward continued to prosecute his various undertakings with energy.
In 1834 Smith organized the first high council
of the church with himself, Rigdon, and Williams
as the first presidency. In associating
9. Develop- these men with himself in the highest
ing Organ- office Smith did not make them in any ization; sense equal with himself. They were
Missionary his counselors, but both in prophesy- Operations. ing and in ruling he was to be unconditionally supreme. In 1835 a further step in the development of the hierarchy was taken in the founding of the body of the twelve apostles. One of the twelve was Brigham Young, who became Smith's successor in the presidency. Young had become a Mormon about the end of 1832 and had already rendered important service in the church by suppressing dissensions due to the prophet's growing profligacy. In 1836 the constitution was further developed by the establishment of a more general council for each district of the church