The Zelph Story

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When the twenty men who formed the vanguard of Zion’s Camp left Kirtland, Ohio, on 1 May 1834, they could not know that one of their most lasting and intriguing contributions to Latter-day Saint history would take place, not on a Missouri battlefield but rather on top of a large mound in Illinois. There, on 3 June 1834, members of Zion’s Camp located a few bones, including a broken femur and an arrowhead, approximately a foot below the earth’s surface, and these remains became the catalyst for revelation to Joseph Smith regarding the skeleton’s identity. Joseph called the land “the plains of the Nephites.” They believed that the mounds had belonged to “that once beloved people,” and they interpreted the mere fact that skulls and bones were readily found as evidence of the divine authenticity of the book.

Wilford Woodruff and Zion’s Camp

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During his youth in Connecticut, Wilford Woodruff, who in 1889 became the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, turned his feet to the path that led to religious conversion. His journey eventually led to his baptism into the Mormon Church in 1833. The following year he accepted a call to march with Zion’s Camp. Wilford Woodruff was rebaptized by the fires of that experience, confirming his faith in Jesus Christ and causing him to devote the remainder of his life to the restored gospel.

We Also Marched

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Much like the women of the Mormon Battalion and other military expeditions, the Zion’s Camp women contributed in various ways to the overall character of the group and its success and helped prepare for later mass migrations to the West. The women helped with the traditional domestic duties of cooking and laundering and caring for children. They also provided a civilizing influence on the camp.

“Journal of the Branch of the Church of Christ in Pontiac, . . . 1834”

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On April 21, 1834, Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight set out from Kirtland, Ohio, for Pontiac, Michigan, to recruit volunteers for the march of Zion’s Camp. Their objective was to lead their recruits on a six-hundred-mile march to a prearranged rendezvous with Joseph Smith’s Kirtland division in Missouri. Typically, scholarly treatments have overlooked the Hyrum Smith-Lyman Wight division of Zion’s Camp. Yet Hyrum’s group, when compared with Joseph’s command, demonstrated a similarly significant commitment to addressing the needs of their fellow Saints in Missouri. In addition, a study of the Smith-Wight division offers new and insightful details about the recruitment, organization, and march of this ecclesiastical militia.

Included in this article is a transcription of the journal of the Pontiac Branch kept by Elijah Fordham. The day-by-day account of the march from Michigan to the Salt River in Missouri is contained in thirty-eight illuminating journal entries.

“We Believe the Hand of the Lord Is in It”

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Although the members of Zion’s Camp returned to Ohio not having accomplished their goal of restoring the persecuted Mormons to their rightful land, participants generally did not regard the expedition as a failure. One of the main reasons they felt the effort was valuable was because they believed the hand of God and his intervention was prevalent throughout the journey. Some accounts of divine intervention are present in contemporary Zion’s Camp documents, but they become more frequent and detailed in reminiscences and autobiographies written later by camp members. The increase in mentions of divine intervention does not mean that these later memories are necessarily false, embellished, or exaggerated. Rather, it shows that the events of the Camp of Israel took on additional meaning to indi­viduals as they progressed through life and had additional experiences. The author examines the varying accounts, acknowledging conflicting information that often arises when memories are recorded over time. This article looks at accounts of the camp grouped into these categories: inspiring individuals to volunteer for the camp or donate money; providing food and water for the camp; chastisement of participants; healing the sick; and providing protection from the elements.

“The Redemption of Zion Must Needs Come by Power”

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The story of the Camp of Israel, better known as Zion’s Camp, has been told many times. The tale of Joseph Smith leading a group of over two hundred individuals to Missouri to reclaim Mormon lands lost after Jackson County mobs forced the Saints from the county has assumed almost mythical status. Yet details about some aspects of the camp are still somewhat murky, especially in terms of its membership, its funding, its provisioning, and its intentions. Those of us working on the Joseph Smith Papers have discovered many new insights as we have examined documents pertaining to the camp. Such insights include how camp members funded much of the expedition themselves, the fact that the camp appeared to have adequate food and provisions, and indications that Missouri Governor Daniel Dunklin’s refusal to call up the state militia to assist the expedition was more complicated than has previously been depicted.