Show j I 1 copyright Secure secured aj j i HISTORY OF JOSEPH JOSEM SMITH NOVEMBER 1843 i four pm a meeting of the citizens in the tile t j assembly room when brigham young was I 1 chosen chairman of u the meeting and aud willard richards clerk j the object of the meeting was briefly exi by the thie clerk followed by judge phelps which was to petit petition loa ioA congre congress asfor for tor redress ot of I 1 grievances in relation to the missouri eions voted that the chairman appoint a committee to get the be names of memoria lists in this city the chairman appointed the assessors and collectors in their several wards voted that the same committee collect means to purchase paper prest S rigdon go to la harpe and elder H C to ramus y to procure signers signers 0 the chairman tip lip appointed pointed committees to visit other places joseph smith the mayor made some remarks and ills his appeal to the freeti mountain boys boys was read by W W phelps as follows I 1 aws 11 1 I 1 was born in sharon vermont in 1803 1805 where ane first quarter of my life grew with the growth crowth and strengthened with the strength 1 nath of thal that that first born state of the Unit united ef thirteen from the old french war to the final consummation of american independence my fathers heart to heart and shoulder to should 5 cr er with ith the noble fathers of our liberty fought and bled and with the most of that generale ven venerable erAle i band of patriots they have gone to rest bequeathing que athing a glorious country with all hei in herent erent rights to millions of posterity like other honest citizens citizen I 1 not onty only when manhood cane came sought my own peace prosperity and happiness but also the peace prosperity and happiness of my friends and with all the rights and realm before me and the revelations I 1 S of jesus christ to guide me into all truth I 1 habgood had good reason to ener emer into the blessings and I 1 privileges of an american citizen the rights 0 of f a green mountain boy unmolested and enjoy life and religion according to the most virtuous and enlightened customs rules and etl eti quette juette of or the nineteenth century but to the disgrace of the united states it is not so 3 these rights and privileges together with a large amount of property have been wrested i from me and thousands of my friends by law less mobs in missouri sti supported ili ported by executive I 1 i authority and th the e crime of pa plundering un dering our property 3 and the unconstitutional and barbar i ous oua act aa of our ei expulsion and even the ichu mahito of murdering men women and children have received the password pass word of justifiable by legislative enactments and the horrid deeds doleful and disgraceful as they are have been paid for by government in vain have we sought for redress of grievances and a restoration 0 to o our rights righta in the courts and legislature of missouri in vain have we sought for our rights and the remuneration ne for our property in the halls of congress and at the hands of the president the only consolation y yet yeb 1 et experienced from these highest tribunals and mercy seats of our bleeding country ia is that our cause is just but frament ernnie nt has no power to redress us our arms were forcibly taken from us ns by those missouri marauders and in spite of every effort elfort toha tofa ave them returned the state 0 of f missouri still regains retains them and the united states militia law with this fact before the government still compels us to do military fity duty and for a lack of said arms the law forces us to pay our pines fines as shakespeare would say 11 hans aan s a tale several hundred thousand dollars worth of land in missouri was purchased at the united states land offices in that district of country and the money without doubt has been appropriated to str strengthen enthen the army and ana navy or increase the power and glory of the nation in in some other way and notwithstanding missouri sour has robbed and mobbed me and twelve or fifteen thousand innocent inhabitants murdered hundreds and expelled the residue at the point of the bayonet without law contrary to the express language of the constitution of the united states and every state in the union I 1 and ind contrary to the custom and usage of civilized nations and especially one holding up the motto the asylum of the oppressed 2 yet the comfort we receive to raise our wounded bodies and invigorate our troubled spirits on account of such immense sacrifices of life property patience and right and as an esquival ent for the enormous taxes we are compelled d to pay to support these functionaries function aries in a dignified manner after we have petitioned and plead with tears and been showed like a cara avanof foreign animals for the peculiar gratification fi of connoisseurs in humanity that flare along in public life like lamps upon lamp posts post because they are better calculated for the schemes he mes of the night than for the scenes odthe of day dayl is as president van buren said your cause is just fust but government jias no power to redress you no wonder after the pharisees Pharis ees prayer the publican smote his brea stand laid kald lorf lord be merciful to me inc a sinner what must the man acied nations think of fre emens rights in the land of libert ilbert liberty 9 were I 1 a caldean chaldean I 1 would exclaim aeed bauh ta deroon le hoam dey slie she mayaux ma y auh v eh lau in ma rg na fomeen teh oat auh allah thus T aia ala shall hall ye say unto them th eloda that have not made the heavens and the earth they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens an egyptian an sti su e eh ui ul what other persons so ns are re t those 0 e A grecian abolos Di bass baesl leuel the devil reigns A frenchman messieurs sans dieu dicu gentlemen without god A turk ain the the fountain of light li 11 A german sie bind what consummate ignorance A syrian sacrifice A spaniard II 11 sabio muda conscio conselo con cons scio clo il no noa A wise mail man reflects a fool does not A samaritan sau nau 0 stranger an italian oli oh tempa oh dif fidanza 0 the times 0 the diffidence A hebrew L ail raney thou god seest beest me A dane licad ti dende what tidings A saxon hwat liht what right A swede evad what skill A olander nav yen shoo bah pon na jesu chri christus 1 blessed be the name of jesus christ A western indian she mo kah she mo kah ough t ne gah gab the white man 0 the ebl ehl white ite m man an he very uncertain A roman 0 este pro fani ide be off be off ye profane but as I 1 am I 1 will wil I 1 only add when the wicked rule the people mourn now therefore having failed in every attempt to obtain satisfaction at the tribunals where all men seek for it according to the rules of right I 1 am compelled c to appeal to the honor and patriotism of my native state stale to the clemency and valor of green mountain boys for throughout the various periods of the world whenever a nation kingdom state family or individual has received ail an insult or an injury from a superior bip wip eilor force unless satisfaction was made it has been the custom to call in theair the aid ald of friends to assist in obtaining redress for proof we have only to refer to the recovery of botand lot and his effects by abraham in the days of sodom and gomorrah or to turn to the relief afforded by france and holland for the achievement of the independence of these united states without bringing up the great bulk of historical facts rules laws decrees and treaties and bible records b by which nations have been governed to show that mutual alliance for the general benefit benefit of mankind to retaliate and repel foreign aggressions to punish and anti prevent home wrongs when the conservators conservatory conserva torb tors of justice and the laws have failed to afford a remedy are not only common and in the highest sense justifiable and wise but they are also proper expedients to promote the enjoyment of equal rights the pursuit of hap the preservation of life and the benefit of posterity I 1 with all these facts before me and a apura pure desire to ameliorate the codi condition tion of the poor and unfortunate among men and if poss possible ible ibie to entice all men fromi from evil to good and with a firm reliance that god will reward the just I 1 have been stimulated to call upon my native state for a union of all honest men man and to appeal to the valor of the green mountain boys by all honorable methods and means to bassist me in obtaining justice from missouri not only for the i property she has stolen and confiscated the murders she has committed among among my friends and for our expulsion from the stafe stat e but also to humble and chastise or abase her for the disgrace she has brought U upon ter on constitutional liberty until she atones for her sins I 1 appeal also to the fraternity of brethren who are bound by kindred ties to assist a brother in distress in all cases where it carf be done according to the rules of the order to extend the boon of benevolence and protection in avenging the lord of his enemies as if a solomon a hiram a st john or a washington raised his hands before a wondering world and exclaimed my life for his light and virtue for or ever I 1 bring this appeal before my ray native state for the solemn reason that an injury has haa been done and crimes have been committed which a sovereign state of the federal compact one of the great family of ae E pluribus unum 1 refuges refuses to compensate by consent of parties rules of law customs of nations or in any other way I 1 bring it also because the na national tiong government has fallen short of affording the necessary relief as before stated for want of power leaving a large body of her own free citizens whose wealth went freely into her treasury for lanus and whose gold and silver for tor taxes still fills the pockets of her dagni aries ariee li in ermine and lace defrauded robbed mobbed plundered ravished lavished ravi shed driven exiled and bani banished shea bhea from the Cin independent dependent republic of missouri and in this appeal let me say raise raise your towers pile your monuments to the skies build your steam frigates spread yourselves far and wide and open the iron eyes of your bulwarks bulwa by sea and land andlee the towe towering church steeples marshal the country like the dreadful splendor of an army with bayonet bayonets but remember the flood of noah remember the fate of sodom and Gomorrah remember the d dispersion r g 1 on and confusion at the tower cf ef babel re remember m e aber the destruction of pharaoh and his is h hosts t remember the hand writing upon the wall mene mene up harsin harbin P 1 rem remember ember the ange angas Js vis visit it to and the one hundred and eighty bise five thousand As syrians remember the ena end end of the jews and jerusalem and remember the lord almighty will avenge the blood of his saints that now crimsons crim sons the skirts of missouri shall wisdom cry aloud and her speech not be heard has the majesty of american liberty sun sunk k into such vile servitude and oppression that justice has fled has the glory and influence of a washington an adams a jefferson a lafayette and a host of bf others forever departed i and the wrath of a cain a judas pudas and a nero whirled forth in the heraldry of hell to sprinkle our garments with blood and lighten the darkness of midnight with the blaze of our dwellings where is the patriotism of 76 where esthe virtue of our forefathers anil anik where is the sacred honor of freemen must wey we because we believe in the falness of the gospel of jesus christ the administration of angels a aels zeis and the communion of the holy ghost like ilke the prop prophets bets and apostles of old must we be mobbed with impunity be exiled from our habitation habitations s and property without remedy murdered without mercy and govern eisent weapons wea pons and pay the vagabonds for doing dohig the jobs and give them the plunder into the thed theo argain must we because we believe in enjoy enjoying inc inz the constitutional privilege L and right of oi worshipping wor shipping almighty bod god according to the dictates of or oar our own consciences and because we believe in repentance and ba baptism cism for the remission of sins the gift of tip the e holy ghost Gh ghostly ostby I 1 by the laying kayin on of the hands the resurrection of the dead deal the millennium the day of gr judgment and the book of mormon as the history of the aborigines of this continent con fi must we be expelled ex from the institutions of our country the rights of citizenship and the graves of our friends mid and brethren and the government lock lode the gate of humanity and shut the ille door of redress against us it if so farewell freedom adieu to personal safety and let the red hot wrath of an offended god purify i fy the nation of such of corruption vr for r that realm is hurrying to ruin where vice has the power to expel virtue my aly father who stood several times in the battles of tha american revolution till his companions in arms had been shot dead at cit his feet was forced from his home in far par west missouri by those civilized or savages a ea in the dreary season of winter to seek a zelter shelter in another state and the vicissitudes and sufferings consequent to his flight brought I 1 his bis honored honoret grey head bead to the grave a few months after and my youngest brother alap in the vigor and bloom of youth from his great I 1 exposure and fatigue in endea endeavoring to assist his parents on their journey 1 I and my brother hyrum being in chains in dungeons in mis nils sours sourn where they tried to feed u with human flesh wab was as likewise so debilitated that he found a premature grave shortly after my father and my mother too thouc though 0 I 1 she yet 1 lingers ingers among us from her extreme exposure in that lat dreadful tragedy was filled with rheumatic affections and other diseases which leaves her w no enjoyment of health she is sinking in grief brief and pain broken hearted from missouri persecution se 0 death wilt thou not give to every honest man a heated dart to sting those wretches while they pollute the land and 0 grave gravel wilt thou thor not open the trap door to the pit of ungodly men that they may stumble in I 1 appeal to the green mountain boys of my i native na ti lve ive state to rise in the majesty ot of virtuous virtu oils freemen and by all honorable means help bringa missouri to the bar of justice if there is one whisper from the spirit of an ethan alien allen dr or a gleam from the shade of a gen stark let it mingle with our sense of honor and fire our bosoms for the cause of suffering innocence for the reputation of our disgraced country and for the glory of god and may all the earth bear me witness ii if missouri blood stained missouri escapes the due demerit of other her crimes the vengeance she so justly deserves that vermont is a hypocrite a coward and this nation the hob bob bed of political demagogues 1 I make this appeal to the sons of liberty of my native state for help to frustrate the wicked designs of sinful men I 1 make it to hush the viole violence hice fice of mobs I 1 make it to cope with the unhallowed influence of wicked men in high places I 1 make mahke it to resent the insult and injury made to an innocent unoffending people by a lawless ruffian state I 1 make it to obtain justice where law ia is put at defiance I 1 make it to wipe off the stain of blood from our nations escutcheon I 1 make mike it to show presidents governors and rulers prudence I 1 I 1 make in a ke it to fill honorable men with discretion I 1 make it to teach senators wisdom I 1 make it to learn judges justice I 1 make it to toai toji point clel ciel clergymen to the path of virtue and I 1 make it to turn the hearts of or this nation truth and |