Volume 1 Chapter 28

Mob Violence in the Land of Zion.

 

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Demands of the Mob.

On the 20th of July, the mob collected, 1 and demanded the discontinuance of the Church printing establishment in Jackson county, the closing of the store, and the cessation of all mechanical labors. The brethren refused compliance, and the consequence was that the house of W. W. Phelps, which contained the printing establishment, was thrown down, the materials taken possession of by the mob, many papers destroyed, and the family and furniture thrown out of doors. 2

The Mob’s Treatment of Edward Partridge.

The mob then proceeded to violence towards Edward Partridge, the Bishop of the Church, as he relates in his autobiography:

I was taken from my house by the mob, George Simpson being their leader, who escorted me about half a mile, to the court house, on the public square in Independence; and then and there, a few rods from said court house, surrounded by hundreds of the mob, I was stripped of my hat, coat and vest and daubed with tar from head to foot, and then had a quantity of feathers put upon me; and all this because I would not agree to leave the county, and my home where I had lived two years.

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Before tarring and feathering me I was permitted to speak. I told them that the Saints had suffered persecution in all ages of the world; that I had done nothing which ought to offend anyone; that if they abused me, they would abuse an innocent person; that I was willing to suffer for the sake of Christ; but, to leave the country, I was not then willing to consent to it. By this time the multitude made so much noise that I could not be heard: some were cursing and swearing, saying, “call upon your Jesus,” etc.; others were equally noisy in trying to still the rest, that they might be enabled to hear what I was saying.

Until after I had spoken, I knew not what they intended to do with me, whether to kill me, to whip me, or what else I knew not. I bore my abuse with so much resignation and meekness, that it appeared to astound the multitude, who permitted me to retire in silence, many looking very solemn, their sympathies having been touched as I thought; and as to myself, I was so filled with the Spirit and love of God, that I had no hatred towards my persecutors or anyone else.

Charles Allen.

Charles Allen was next stripped and tarred and feathered, because he would not agree to leave the county, or deny the Book of Mormon. Others were brought up to be served likewise or whipped. 3

But from some cause the mob ceased operations, and adjourned until Tuesday, the 23rd. Elder Sidney Gilbert, the keeper of the store, agreed to close it; and that may have been one reason why the work of destruction was suddenly stopped for two days,

Reflections of the Prophet.

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In the course of this day’s wicked, outrageous, and unlawful proceedings, many solemn realities of human degradation, as well as thrilling incidents were presented to the Saints. An armed and well organized mob, in a government professing to be governed by law, with the Lieutenant Governor (Lilburn W. Boggs), the second officer in the state, calmly looking on, and secretly aiding every movement, saying to the Saints, “You now know what our Jackson boys can do, and you must leave the county;” and all the justices, judges, constables, sheriffs, and military officers, headed by such western missionaries and clergymen as the Reverends McCoy, Kavanaugh, Hunter, Fitzhugh, Pixley, Likens, and Lovelady, consisting of Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and all the different sects of religionists that inhabited that country, with that great moral reformer, and register of the land office at Lexington, forty miles east, known as the head and father of the Cumberland Presbyterians, even the Reverend Finis Ewing, publicly publishing that “Mormons were the common enemies of mankind, and ought to be destroyed”—all these solemn realities were enough to melt the heart of a savage; while there was not a solitary offense on record, or proof, that a Saint had broken the law of the land. 4

When Bishop Partridge, who was without guile, and Elder Charles Allen, walked off, coated like some unnamed, unknown bipeds, one of the sisters cried aloud: “While you, who have done this wicked deed, must suffer the vengeance of God, they, having endured persecution, can rejoice, for henceforth for them, is laid up a crown eternal in the heavens.”

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Surely this was a time for awful reflection; man, unrestrained, like the brute beast, may torment the body; but God will punish the soul!

Aftermath of Mob Violence.

After the mob had retired, and while evening was spreading her dark mantle over the scene, as if to hide it from the gaze of day, men, women, and children, who had been driven or frightened from their homes, by yells and threats, began to return from their hiding places in thickets, corn-fields, woods, and groves, and view with heavy hearts the scene of desolation and wo: and while they mourned over fallen man, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable that they were accounted worthy to suffer in the glorious cause of their Divine Master. There lay the printing office a heap of ruins; Elder Phelps’s furniture strewed over the garden as common plunder; the revelations, book works, papers, and press in the hands of the mob, as the booty of highway robbers; there was Bishop Partridge, in the midst of his family, with a few friends, endeavoring to scrape off the tar which, from its eating his flesh, seemed to have been prepared with lime, pearl-ash, acid, or some flesh-eating substance, to destroy him; and there was Charles Allen in the same awful condition. The heart sickens at the recital, how much more at the picture! More than once, those people, in this boasted land of liberty, were brought into jeopardy, and threatened with expulsion or death, because they desired to worship God according to the revelations of heaven, the constitution of their country, and the dictates of their own consciences. Oh, liberty, how art thou fallen! Alas, clergymen, where is your charity!

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The Second Gathering of the Mob.

Early in the morning of the 23rd of July, the mob again assembled, armed with weapons of war, and bearing a red flag; whereupon the Elders, led by the Spirit of God, and in order to save time, and stop the effusion of blood, entered into a treaty with the mob, to leave the county within a certain time. 5 The treaty was as follows:

Memorandum of agreement between the undersigned of the Mormon Society in Jackson County, Missouri, and a committee appointed by a public meeting of the citizens of said county, made on the 23rd day of July, 1833.

It is understood that the undersigned members of the society, do give their solemn pledges, each for himself, as follows, to-wit:—

That Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps, William M’Lellin, Edward Partridge, Lyman Wight, Simeon Carter, Peter and John Whitmer, and Harvey H. Whitlock shall remove with their families out of this county on or before the first day of January next, and that they, as well as the two hereinafter named, use all their influence to induce all the brethren now here to remove as soon as possible: one half, say, by the first of January next, and all by the first day of April next; to advise and try all means in their power to stop any more of their sect from moving to this county; and as to those now on the road, they will use their influence to prevent their settling permanently in the county, but that they shall only make arrangements for temporary shelter, till a new location is agreed on for the society. John Corrill and Algernon Sidney Gilbert, are allowed to remain as general agents to wind up the business of the society, so long as necessity shall require; and said Gilbert may sell out his merchandise now on hand, but is to make no new importation.

The Star is not again to be published nor a press set up by any of the society in this county.

If the said Edward Partridge and W. W. Phelps move their families by the first day of January, as aforesaid, that they themselves will be allowed to go and come, in order to transact and wind up their business.

The committee pledge themselves to use all their influence to prevent any violence being used, so long as a compliance with the foregoing terms is observed by the parties concerned, to which agreement is subscribed the names of the above named committee, as also those of the Mormon brethren named in the report as having been present. 6

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Which report of the committee was unanimously adopted by the meeting, and thereupon the meeting adjourned sine die.

Richard Simpson, Chairman.

S. D. Lucas,

J. H. Flournoy, Secretaries.

A Messenger Sent to Kirtland.

The execution of this treaty presented an opportunity for the brethren in Zion to confer with the Presidency of the Church in Ohio concerning their situation, which they improved two or three days later by sending Elder Oliver Cowdery as a special messenger to Kirtland.

The Western Monitor on Jackson County Troubles.

On the second day of August, the Western Monitor, printed at Fayette, 7 Missouri, edited by Weston F. Birch, published the proceedings of the mob as follows:

Mormonism.

At a meeting of the citizens of Jackson county, Missouri, called for the purpose of adopting measures to rid themselves of the sect of fanatics, called Mormons, held at Independence on the 20th day of July, 1833,—which meeting was composed of gentlemen from every part of the county, there being present between four and five hundred persons: the meeting was organized by calling Colonel Richard Simpson to the chair and appointing James H. Flournoy and Colonel Samuel D. Lucas, secretaries,—it was resolved, that a committee of seven be appointed to report an address to the public, in relation to the object of this meeting; and the chair named the following gentlemen to wit: Russel Hicks, Esq., Robert Johnson, Henry Chiles, Esq., Colonel James Hambright, Thomas Hudspeth, Joel F. Chiles and James M. Hunter. The meeting then adjourned, and convened again, when Robert Johnson, the chairman of the said committee, submitted for the consideration of the meeting, the following address:

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“This meeting, professing to act, not from the excitement of the moment, but under a deep and abiding conviction, that the occasion is one that calls for cool deliberation, as well as energetic action, deem it proper to lay before the public an expose of our peculiar situation, in regard to this singular sect of pretended Christians; and a solemn declaration of our unalterable determination to amend it.

“The evil is one that no one could have foreseen, and is therefore unprovided for by the laws; and the delays incident to legislation would put the mischief beyond remedy.

“But little more than two years ago, some two or three of these people made their appearance on the Upper Missouri, and they now number some twelve hundred souls in this county; and each successive autumn and spring pours forth its swarms among us, with a gradual falling of the character of those who compose them; until it seems that those communities from which they come, were flooding us with the very dregs of their composition. Elevated, as they mostly are, but little above the condition of our blacks, either in regard to property or education; they have become a subject of much anxiety on that part, serious and well grounded complaints having been already made of their corrupting influence on our slaves.

“We are daily told, and not by the ignorant alone, but by all classes of them, that we, (the Gentiles,) of this county are to be cut off, and our lands appropriated by them for inheritances. Whether this is to be accomplished by the hand of the destroying angel, the judgments of God, or the arm of power, they are not fully agreed among themselves.

“Some recent remarks in the Evening and Morning Star, their organ in this place, by their tendency to moderate such hopes, and repress such desires, show plainly that many of this deluded and infatuated people have been taught to believe that our lands were to be won from us by the sword. From this same Star we learn that for want of more honest or commendable employment, many of their society are now preaching through the states of New York, Ohio, and Illinois; and that their numbers are increased beyond every rational calculation; all of whom are required as soon as convenient to come up to Zion, which name they have thought proper to confer on our little village. Most of those who have already come, are characterized by the profoundest ignorance, the grossest superstition, and the most abject poverty.

“Indeed, it is a subject of regret by the Star itself, that they have come not only unable to buy an inheritance, which means some fifteen acres of wild land for each family, but destitute of the means of procuring bread and meat. When we reflect on the extensive field in which the sect is operating, and that there exists in every country a leaven of superstition that embraces with avidity, notions the most extravagant and unheard of, and that whatever can be gleaned by them from the purlieus of vice, and the abodes of ignorance, is to be cast like a waif into our social circle it requires no gift of prophecy to tell that the day is not far distant when the civil government of the county will be in their hands; when the sheriff, the justices, and the county judges will be Mormons, or persons wishing to court their favor from motives of interest or ambition.

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“What would be the fate of our lives and property, in the hands of jurors and witnesses, who do not blush to declare, and would not upon occasion hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles, and have been the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures, have converse with God and His angels, and possess and exercise the gifts of divination and of unknown tongues, and fired with the prospect of obtaining inheritances without money and without price—may be better imagined than described.

“One of the means resorted to by them, in order to drive us to emigrate, is an indirect invitation to the free brethren of color in Illinois, to come up like the rest, to the land of Zion. True, they say this was not intended to invite, but to prevent their emigration; but this weak attempt to quiet our apprehension, is but a poor compliment to our understanding. The article alluded to, contained an extract from our laws, and all necessary directions and cautions to be observed by colored brethren, to enable them upon their arrival here, to claim and exercise the rights of citizenship. Contemporaneous with the appearance of this article, was the expectation among the brethren here, that a considerable number of this degraded caste were only awaiting this information before they should set out on their journey. With the corrupting influence of these on our slaves, and the stench, both physical and moral, that their introduction would set afloat in our social atmosphere, and the vexation that would attend the civil rule of these fanatics, it would require neither a visit from the destroying angel, nor the judgments of an offended God, to render our situation here insupportable. True, it may be said, and truly no doubt, that the fate has marked the rise and fall of Johanna Southcote and Ann Lee, will also attend the progress of Joe Smith; but this is no opiate to our fears, for when the fabric falls, the rubbish will remain.

“Of their pretended revelations from heaven—their personal intercourse with God and His angels—the maladies they pretend to heal by the laying on of hands—and the contemptible gibberish with which they habitually profane the Sabbath, and which they dignify with the appellation of unknown tongues, we have nothing to say; vengeance belongs to God alone. But as to the other matters set forth in this paper we feel called on by every consideration of self-preservation, good society, public morals, and the fair prospects, that if not blasted in the germ, await this young and beautiful county, at once to declare, and we do hereby most solemnly declare;—

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” ‘1—That no Mormon shall in future move and settle in this county.

” ‘2—That those now here, who shall give a definite pledge of their intention, within a reasonable time to remove out of the county, shall be allowed to remain unmolested until they have sufficient time to sell their property, and close their business, without any material sacrifice.

“‘3—That the editor of the Star be required forthwith to close his office, and discontinue the business of printing in this county; and as to all other stores and shops belonging to the sect, their owners must in every case strictly comply with the terms of the second article of this declaration; and upon failure prompt and efficient measures will be taken to close the same.

“‘4—That the Mormon leaders here, are required to use their influence in preventing any further emigration of their distant brethren to this county, and to counsel and advise their brethren here to comply with the above requisitions.

“‘5—That those who fail to comply with these requisitions, be referred to those of their brethren who have the gifts of divination, and of unknown tongues, to inform them of the lot that awaits them.’

“Which address being read and considered, was unanimously adopted. And thereupon it was resolved that a committee of twelve be appointed forthwith to wait on the Mormon leaders, and see that the foregoing requisitions are strictly complied with by them; and upon their refusal, that said committee do, as the organ of this county, inform them that it is our unwavering purpose and fixed determination, after the fullest consideration of all the consequences and responsibilities under which we act, to use such means as shall insure their full and complete adoption; and that said committee, so far as may be within their power, report to this present meeting. And the following gentlemen were named as said committee;—

“Robert Johnson, James Campbell, Colonel Moses Wilson, Joel F. Chiles, Hon. Richard Fristoe, Abner F. Staples, Garr Johnson, Lewis Franklin, Russell Hicks, Esq., Colonel S. D. Lucas, Thomas Wilson and James M. Hunter, to whom was added Colonel R. Simpson, chairman.”

And after an adjournment of two hours, the meeting again convened, and the committee of twelve reported that they had called on Mr. Phelps, the editor of the Star; Edward Partridge, the Bishop of the sect; and Mr. Gilbert, the keeper of the Lord’s store house; and some others; and that they declined giving any direct answer to the requisitions made of them, and wished an unreasonable time for consultation, not only with their brethren here, but in Ohio.

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“Whereupon it was unanimously resolved by the meeting, that the Star printing office should be razed to the ground, the type and press secured. Which resolution was, with the utmost order, and the least noise and disturbance possible, forthwith carried into execution, as also some other steps of a similar tendency; but no blood was spilled, nor any blows inflicted. The meeting then adjourned till the 23rd instant, to meet again to know further concerning the determination of the Mormons.

“Resolved, that a copy of these proceedings be posted up at the post office in this place, for the information of all concerned; and that the secretaries of this meeting send copies of the same to the principal editors in the eastern and middle states for publication; that the Mormon brethren may know at a distance that the gates of Zion are closed against them—that their interests will be best promoted by remaining among those who know and appreciate their merits.”

Richard Simpson, Chairman,

S. D. Lucas,

J. H. Flournoy, Secretaries.

The citizens’ meeting again convened on the 23rd day of July, 1833, which was composed of gentlemen from all parts of the county, and much more unanimously attended than the meeting of the 20th instant.

The meeting was organized by the chairman taking his seat, when the following gentlemen were appointed a committee, to wit:—

Henry Chiles, Esq., Dr. N. K. Olmstead, H. L. Brazile, Esq., Zachariah Waller, Samuel Weston, Esq., William L. Irwin, Leonidas Oldham, S. C. Owens, Esq., George Simpson, Captain Benjamin Majors, James C. Sadler, Colonel William Bowers, Henry Younger, Russell Hicks, Esq., Aaron Overton, John Harris, and Harmon Gregg, to wait upon the Mormon leaders, who had intimated a wish to have a conference with said committee.

After an adjournment of two hours, the meeting again convened, when the committee reported to the meeting that they had waited on most of the Mormon leaders, consisting of the Bishop, Mr. Partridge; Mr. Phelps, Editor of the Star; Mr. Gilbert, the keeper of the Lord’s store house, and Messrs, Corrill, Whitmer, and Morley, Elders of the Church; and that the said committee had entered into an amicable agreement with them, which they had reduced to writing, which they submitted: and that the committee have assured Mr. Phelps, that when ever he was ready to move, that the amount of all his loses should be paid to him by the citizens. The written agreement is as follows; 8

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The Prophet’s Comment on the Monitor Article.

The foregoing is copied entire to give one sample of hypocritical bombast, and current falsehoods, with which the country was flooded in the early days of this Church. The declaration of the mob, by which they pledged to each other their lives, their bodily powers, fortunes, and sacred honors to remove the Church from Jackson county, is a very good climax for all the arguments used, falsehoods hoods set forth, and even a full interpretation of the sublime admission that “vengeance belongs to God alone.” The events that followed from this time till November, explain the modus operandi much more clearly than the publication in the Monitor, or other papers that generally were so willing to give the western missionaries, the doctors, lawyers, judges, justices, sheriffs, constables, military officers and other distinguished personages a fair chance against the Mormons.

Corner Stones of Kirtland Temple Laid.

On the same day (July 23rd), while the brethren in Missouri were preparing to leave the county, through the violence of the mob, the corner stones of the Lord’s House were laid in Kirtland, after the order of the Holy Priesthood.

August 2.—I received the following:

Revelation. 9

1. Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of Zion, many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.

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2. Verily, verily I say unto you, blessed are such, for they shall obtain; for I, the Lord, show mercy unto all the meek, and upon all whomsoever I will, that I may be justified when I shall bring them unto judgment.

3. Behold, I say unto you, concerning the school in Zion, I, the Lord, am well pleased that there should be a school in Zion, and also with my servant Parley P. Pratt, for he abideth in me.

4. And inasmuch as he continueth to abide in me he shall continue to preside over the school in the land of Zion until I shall give unto him other commandments.

5. And I will bless him with a multiplicity of blessings, in expounding all scriptures and mysteries to the edification of the school, and of the church in Zion.

6. And to the residue of the school, I, the Lord, am willing to show mercy; nevertheless, there are those that must needs be chastened, and their works shall be made known.

7. The ax is laid at the root of the trees; and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire. I, the Lord, have spoken it.

8. Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.

9. For I, the Lord will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.

10. Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be built unto me in the land of Zion like unto the pattern which I have given you.

11. Yea, let it be built speedily, by the tithing of my people.

12. Behold, this is the tithing and the sacrifice which I, the Lord, require at their hands, that there may be a house built unto me for the salvation of Zion—

13. For a place of thanksgiving for all saints, and for a place of instruction for all those who are called to the work of the ministry in all their several callings and offices;

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14. That they may be perfected in the understanding of their ministry, in theory, in principle, and in doctrine, in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth, the keys of which kingdom have been conferred upon you.

15. And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled my glory shall rest upon it;

16. Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.

17. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples.

18. And, now, behold, if Zion do these things she shall prosper, and spread herself and become very glorious, very great, and very terrible.

19. And the nations of the earth shall honor her, and shall say: Surely Zion is the city of our God, and surely Zion cannot fall, neither be moved out of her place, for God is there, and the hand of the Lord is there;

20. And he hath sworn by the power of his might to be her salvation and her high tower.

21. Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion—THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.

22. For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it?

23. The Lord’s scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come;

24. For the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their wicked works.

25. Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her.

26. But if she observe not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire.

27. Nevertheless, let it be read this once to her ears, that I, the Lord, have accepted of her offering; and if she sin no more none of these things shall come upon her;

28. And I will bless her with blessings, and multiply a multiplicity of blessings upon her, and upon her generations forever and ever, saith the Lord your God. Amen. 10

August 6th.—I received the following:

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Revelation. 11

1. Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

2. Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

3. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.

4. And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.

5. And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

6. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;

7. And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this cometh of evil.

8. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.

9. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.

10. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

11. And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.

12. For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.

13. And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.

14. Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.

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15. For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.

16. Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;

17. And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.

18. Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father’s house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also.

19. Behold, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with many who are in the church at Kirtland;

20. For they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have given unto them.

21. Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will chasten them and will do whatsoever I list, if they do not repent and observe all things whatsoever I have said unto them.

22. And again I say unto you, if ye observe to do whatsoever I command you, I the Lord, will turn away all wrath and indignation from you, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

23. Now, I speak unto you concerning your families—if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded;

24. But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you.

25. And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundredfold.

26. And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;

27. And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out.

28. And now, verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.

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29. And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands;

30. And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.

31. Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified.

32. Behold, this is the law I gave unto my servant Nephi, and thy fathers, Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient prophets and apostles.

33. And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.

34. And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue;

35. And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before the Lord;

36. Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people.

37. And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.

38. Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your God, for justification before me.

39. And again, verily I say unto you, if after thine enemy has come upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy forgiveness, thou shalt forgive him, and shalt hold it no more as a testimony against thine enemy—

40. And so on unto the second and third time; and as oft as thine enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee, thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven.

41. And if he trespass against thee and repent not the first time, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.

42. And if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.

43. And if he trespass against thee the third time, and repent not, thou shalt also forgive him.

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44. But if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not forgive him, but shalt bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four-fold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against thee.

45. And if he do this, thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart; and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hundred-fold;

46. And upon his children, and upon his children’s children of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation.

47. But if the children shall repent, or the children’s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed, or their father’s fathers, then thine indignation shall be turned away;

48. And vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them. Amen.