The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not come to be headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, by happenstance; instead, thousands of Americans, and Mormon immigrants from Europe, went west in 1846 hoping to find peace and safety.
The Church had originally been organized in Fayette, New York in 1830, but local persecutions soon led the members of this new religion to move in the winter of 1831-32 -- it was always in winter, it seemed -- to Kirtland, Ohio. At the same time, a branch of the Church was organized in Jackson County, Missouri.
In July of 1833 the old settlers in Independence, Missouri began to agitate. Violence broke out as mobs attacked Mormon settlements. In January the Church agreed to leave the county by April 1, 1834. The Mormons moved north to newly organized Clay County. In Kirtland, things began to turn sour in 1837. The bank panic of that year caused the failure of the Church's Kirtland Safety Society, and anti-bank. The resulting bad feelings led many to leave the Church and fight against it. So, again in winter, the Mormons began leaving for Missouri.
Their stay in the "show me state" would not be a long one, for soon the Missourians were agitating again. once more violence broke out and Mormon settlements were attacked. Governor Lilburne Boggs signed an "extermination order" against the Mormons and The main settlement at Far West was laid under siege. The winter brought another involuntary migration, this time east to Illinois.
At first the Illini were generous in their welcome of the refugees and the Mormons were allowed to build the city of Nauvoo. But, again, it was only a matter of time before the citizens of another state began to agitate against the Mormons. In June of 1844 the president of the Church, Joseph Smith, was murdered by a mob in the jail at Carthage. A year later, the depredations began.
When the shock of the murder of their beloved Joseph had eased and it became clear that the Church was not going to disintegrate from the loss of its founder, the Illini again grew restless. Fields of grain were burned, cattle were driven off, then houses on the outskirts of Nauvoo were destroyed. Under these circumstances, Brigham Young and the other leaders of the Church decided that the time had come to seek out a place where the Mormons could live in peace, unmolested by mobs and prejudiced politicians.
So, in the fall of 1845, the Church began to make preparations for the westward migration. The Mormons once again agreed to leave their homes, this time in the spring of 1846. But, strangely, the Illini grew impatient, and two events prompted the Church to make an early departure. The first was the indictment of Brigham Young and eight other leaders on baseless charges of counterfeiting. The second was a warning by Governor Thomas Ford and others that federal troops in St. Louis planned to intercept the Mormons and destroy them. It wasn't until years later that it was learned that this was nothing but a rumor started to hasten the exit of the hated Mormons.
The final decision to leave early was made on February 2, 1846, and the first company, with Brigham Young in the lead, crossed the Mighty Mississippi River on the 4th. A few days later the river froze sufficiently to support teams and wagons. The freezing temperatures were both a blessing and a curse; the frozen river expedited the movement, but the cold brought intense suffering.
One woman, Eliza R. Snow, wrote in her diary:
"I was informed that on the first night of the encampment, nine children were born into the world, and from that time, as we journeyed onward, mothers gave birth to offspring under almost every variety of circumstances imaginable, except those to which they had been accustomed; some in tents, others in wagons -- in rain-storms and in snow-storms. . . .
"Let it be remembered that the mothers of the wilderness-born babies were not savages accustomed to roam the forest and brave the storm and tempest . . . . Most of them were born and educated in the Eastern States -- had there embraced the gospel as taught by Jesus and his apostles, and for the sake of their religion, had gathered with the saints, and under trying circumstances had assisted, by their faith, patience and energies, in making Nauvoo what its name indicates, 'the beautiful.' There they had lovely homes, decorated with flowers and enriched with choice fruit trees, just beginning to yield plentifully.
"To these homes, without lease or sale, they had just bid a final adieu, and with what little of their substance could be packed into one, two, and in some instances, three wagons, had started out desertward, for -- where? To this question the only response at that time was, God knows."
During the rest of February, 1846, three thousand people crossed the Mighty Mississippi, gathering to the camp at Sugar Creek. On the 14th it snowed, and on the 19th a northwest wind brought eight inches of snow, a very cold night, and "much suffering in the camp, for there were many who had no tents or any comfortable place to lodge: many tents were blown down, some of them were unfinished and had no ends." (Willard Richards, in History of the Church)
On March 1, 1846, the first company, with Brigham Young, departed Sugar Creek for the trail west. The original plan was to cross Iowa and the Great Plains and find a home in the Rocky Mountains. It did not take long for the harsh realities of the Iowa countryside to change that plan. It would take Brigham's "Camp of Israel" 131 days to cover the 300 miles across Iowa. One year later, Brigham's Pioneer Company would travel the 1,050 miles from the Missouri River to the Great Salt Lake in just 111 days. Inadequate preparation, lack of knowledgeable guides, delays, miserable weather, and difficult terrain made the Iowa journey one of the most trying in the Church's history.
Nevertheless, these hardy folk knew no such word as fail. The Iowa crossing simply hardened their resolve and provided invaluable experience for the future.
The "Camp of Israel," and the companies that followed in its wake, "traveled in a northwesterly direction, through a sparsely settled region between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In the early days of the movement, snow lay on the ground to a depth of six or eight inches, and their canvas wagon covers offered little protection against the cold north winds.
"With the coming of spring, the snow melted, making travel even more difficult. There were no roads in the direction the Saints traveled; they had to build their own. At times the mud was so deep that three yoke of oxen were required to pull a load of five hundred pounds. Exhausted by a day of pushing and pulling, chopping wood for bridges, loading and unloading wagons, the travelers would find they had moved only a half dozen miles. Slush and rain made their camps veritable quagmires. Exposure to such conditions, together with improper nourishment, took a heavy toll of life.
"Burials along the way were frequent. Crude coffins were fashioned from cottonwood trees, brief services were held, and the loved ones of the deceased turned their faces and their teams westward, realizing they would never pass this way again. One wonders why these people did not become bitter and vindictive, particularly when they remembered their comfortable homes now ravaged and burned by the Illinois mob.
"But they lightened their sorrows with self-made pleasures. They had their own brass band, and they made good use of it. The settlers of Iowa were often amazed to see these pioneers clear a piece of land about their camp fires, and then dance and sing until the bugler sounded taps.
"When food became scarce, the pioneers found it necessary to trade precious possessions -- dishes, silverware, lace -- brought from the East or across the sea, for a little corn and salt pork. In this way the homes of many Iowa settlers were made more attractive and the Mormons were able to replenish their scant food supplies. Occasionally the brass band traveled out of its way a considerable distance to give a concert in a frontier settlement in order to add to the commissary.
"One of the remarkable features of this movement was the building of temporary settlements along the way. The pioneer company occasionally stopped long enough to clear, fence, plow, and plant large sections of ground. The leaders called for volunteers -- some to split rails for fences and bridges, others to remove trees, and others to plow and sow. A few cabins were built, and several families were detailed to remain and care for the crops. Then the pioneer company moved forward, leaving the crops for later companies to harvest.
"This spirit of mutual service and cooperation characterized the entire movement. Without this, the migration of twenty thousand people through the wilderness could have ended in disaster.
"Approximately three and a half months after leaving Sugar Creek, their camp on the west shore of the Mississippi, the pioneer company reached Council Bluffs on the Missouri. Following them, across the entire territory of Iowa, was a slow-moving train of hundreds of wagons. They were to continue to filter out of Nauvoo and move over the rolling Iowa hills all of that summer and late into the year." [Gordon B. Hinckley, Truth Restored: A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pgs 82-86]
It was in the midst of these travails that Come, Come, Ye Saints was penned. On April 15, 1846, the "Camp of Israel" was encamped at Locust Creek, near the present Iowa-Missouri border. William Clayton, who shouldered much official responsibility in the company, was frustrated at the slow progress of the camp plus the burdens of caring for a large family. On this day there came news that his fourth wife, Diantha, who had been left behind in Nauvoo because she was pregnant and unable to travel, had given birth to a son, a "fine, fat boy," on March 30.
Now in a jubilant mood, Clayton sat down to write a new song, which he called "All Is Well."
Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear,
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
'Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell --
All is well! All is well!
With the words set to a popular English melody, the new song caught on immediatly. It became the anthem of the entire Mormon Pioneer epoch and is perhaps the song most closely associated with the LDS Church today. It speaks of optimism and assurance that ultimate joy awaits those who faithfully endure adversity. It is a remider to us, who have not suffered the hardships and depredations that these Mormon pioneers suffered, that we, too, can "with joy wend [our] way" through the trials and temptations we experience.
Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so, all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we'll have this tale to tell --
All is well! All is well!
We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We'll make the air with music ring.
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we'll tell --
All is well! All is well!
And should we die before our journey's through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh how we'll make this chorus swell --
All is well! All is well!
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