2. Gathering to Missouri.

Questions and Review.--1. Where is the land of Zion? 2. What is said in
the Book of Mormon about this land? 3. Where is Jackson county? 4. What
place is now nearly the center of the United States? 5. What river flows by
Jackson county? 6. Where will the New Jerusalem be built? 7. What kind of
city will it be? 8. When, where, and how was the foundation of Zion laid?
9. Where is the temple lot? 10. Who dedicated it? 11. What was the
Colesville Branch? 12. How were the Saints to obtain the land of Zion? 13.
What were the duties of Sidney Gilbert and Edward Partridge? 14. When did
Joseph visit Jackson county the second time?

CHAPTER XIII.

PERSECUTION IN JACKSON COUNTY.

A great many of the old settlers of Jackson county, meaning those who were
there before the Saints, were of a shiftless, ignorant class from the
Southern States. They made but little improvement in their homes, being
content to live in small, log huts, many of them without windows or board
floors. They all believed it right to have negro slaves. They were also
eager to hold public office.

At that time there were also many persons in western Missouri who had fled
from the east on account of crimes which they had committed. Being near the
boundary line of the United States, these persons would need only to cross
the line into Mexico to be safe if an officer should come after them.

You will readily see by this what kind of neighbors the new settlers had.
Of course the Saints could not join with these wicked people in their horse
racing, Sabbath breaking, idleness, drunkenness, and other things which the
Missourians took delight in. Most of the Saints were from the Eastern and
Northern States and did not believe in slavery. They worked hard, and as
the land produced good crops, they were soon prospering, while their idle
neighbors remained in poverty.

All this naturally led the Missourians to hate the "Mormons," and as early
as the spring of 1832 they began to molest them by throwing stones into
their houses, etc. That same fall mobs began to come against the Saints,
burning some of their hay and shooting into their houses.

In April, 1833, the mobbers held a meeting at Independence to discuss plans
whereby they could rid the county of the "Mormons." However, the meeting
broke up in a row. July 20th, they held another meeting which was more
successful. An address was read to the people wherein the Saints were
fals