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S2E17 · Zion Part 1
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Standard of Truth · Season 2 · Episode 17 · 59:17

Zion Part 1

Edward Partridge set out as a skeptic to check on Joseph Smith, and one of the things that won him over was how well the Smiths kept their farm.

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What did the idea of Zion mean to the early Saints, and why did they feel so compelled to settle in Jackson County, Missouri?

Richard

Richard and Gerrit thank listeners, read a kind note from Kathy in Snowflake, Arizona, and admit most questions land in the polygamy file. Then Gerrit starts a series on Zion: the New Jerusalem promised in Ether and 3 Nephi 21, the Saints' long wait to learn where it would be, Oliver Cowdery's mission covenant to "rear up a pillar," and D&C 38's picture of a people who are one. When D&C 57 finally names Independence, Missouri, a rough frontier town a thousand miles from Kirtland, some, like the Methodist minister Ezra Booth, lose faith. The episode ends with Edward Partridge, a skeptic converted after looking over the Smith farm, called as the Church's only bishop and sent to Missouri while his daughter was sick.

Who comes upJoseph SmithOliver CowderyHiram PageParley P. PrattZiba PetersonPeter Whitmer Jr.Ezra BoothLevi HancockEdward PartridgeLydia PartridgeSidney RigdonLucy Mack Smith
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Kathy from Snowflake

The hosts thank listeners, read a kind email from Kathy in Snowflake, Arizona, and confess that most questions go in the polygamy file.

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Intro Welcome to the Standard of Truth Podcast, hosted by historian Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat, where we explore the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and gain rare historical insights into how a young farm boy was able to establish a new church and grow it by way of visions, manifestations and miracles.
Gerrit Hi, welcome to another episode of the Standard of Truth podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat, and I'm joined by my friend, Professor Richard LeDuc. Hello, Gerrit. We wanted to start off this week's podcast just to say thank you. We receive occasional emails from listeners that- Most of them negative. That's right. Yeah, Paul from Minnesota writes, why do you exist? And I don't think he means it in a philosophical way. What do you use specifically? Why is this podcast? What is this?
Richard But we do very much appreciate the listeners to the podcast and to the kind of emails that we receive.
Gerrit We don't respond to all of them, and we aren't able to get to all of the questions. We have an enormous operating budget of zero. And so essentially all of the time we spend doing this is we are the staff, it's us.
Richard That is correct.
Gerrit And so- Our wives are producers, basically. They tell us how bad each of the episodes are. That is right, yeah, that's right. And it's very accurate. It is, it's true. It's like we are in the middle of talking, we look back and it's like a Roman emperor thumb going up or down, always almost going, almost always going down. It's always, it could go either way, this podcast and it's always. No, no, we're not. Yeah. Whatever the topic is, you fail. But, but anyway, we, we do read all of the emails that we, we get and are very grateful for them. And we read the ones on the air that just say nice things. Right. Because like all self aggrandizing people do. That's right. This comes to us from Kathy from Snowflake, Arizona. No questions for now. Just a big, just a big thank you for making these podcasts. I enjoy them so much. Kathy, you are our favorite listener right now.
Gerrit It was Gina from Montpelier. Gina, we're going to need another email. That's right. Telling Gerrit how smart he is and how great he is and how, you know. No, we really appreciate everybody. And I wish we could answer every question. The problem is some of the questions we do get. Now, first of all, Kathy's is a very easy question to answer. Which she said I had no question for now. You got it, Kathy. Here's the answer coming for you. The answer is whatever we're about to podcast on today. That's right. But she's already regretting her email. She's like, geez. She's like, yeah, hopefully there's not too many Kathy's living in Snowflake. You didn't have to say where I live. People will see me at the store and know who I am. But some of the questions we get, they're just a little too obscure or a little too elaborate for us to be able to answer. Or they're about polygamy. Which is all of the other questions. So yeah, we have a file of questions about polygamy and then an empty file called questions that aren't about polygamy.
Gerrit But at some point, we'll try to do that. I know we talk about it. The problem is it's really hard in a 50 minute podcast to in any way cover any topic with any depth. And I know that people say, well, you don't cover it all the way in depth, but that's, you're talking to the wrong person, right? That you're talking to a historian who's like their entire job is to make sure that you cover every single nuance so that people really understand what it is. And you've got other people on the other side, they're just like, so just tell me what happened. Just tell me, just tell me, you know? And so we will at some point do it. I think we can commit to that. I mean, well, because we don't have any money behind it.
Richard Yeah, sure.
Gerrit Yeah, yeah, sure, we'll get to it. That's what we're holding out for. We're holding out for someone to say, I'm going to sponsor your podcast if you do a podcast on plural marriage.
Richard You know what, I've already turned on Kathy. You like it so much, send us money.
Gerrit Oh my goodness gracious. Kathy, please don't pay any attention to him. He's a business PhD. So he is, he's constantly thinking about money and, you know, how we got him to participate in this non-monetized free podcast, nobody knows. We're getting a lot of thumbs down right now. A lot of thumbs down. I was just kidding, Kathy. All right, well, we kind of talked about in our last episode that we were going to move into Missouri. I don't mean like it's the Second Coming and we're all better hurry and get to Missouri, but talking about the events surrounding that, and we've talked about some of these themes throughout the various, I mean, this is religion and history combined, right? And so there's a lot of overlapping themes. You're not gonna go very far in any of these church history podcasts where we don't mention Joseph Smith because this is the time period that we're covering.
Gerrit And so some things, if you're listening to all the episodes, there might be some that come across as repetitious because we cover the same point, but from a different angle. And one of those things that we've touched on multiple times, at least I think we have. Have we? I don't even know.
Richard The idea of Zion.
Gerrit The idea of Zion. Yeah, we talked about other kind of other communities and kind of the sense of the gathering, of bringing people together. And I think we want to focus on that, especially as we lead into what's going on in Missouri, because well, what eventually happens in Missouri isn't good. And so it's important that we understand what is going on leading up to it and why the saints feel so compelled to settle in Jackson County, Missouri, in particular. And so I figured we'd spend a little bit of time on that. Obviously, Zion is mentioned in the Bible. The idea of Zion is in the Bible, but that doesn't cause most Christians to believe that they need to build a city where they're going to await the Second Coming of Jesus. Now, the idea of creating a utopian city is not unique to Latter-day Saints. Obviously, there are multiple different utopian societies and Christian communities that try to do so and even try to share wealth and commodities.
Gerrit And we have a whole podcast where we talk about shakers, where they're trying to create these communal societies. But the concept of the city of Zion and the New Jerusalem is something different. And for Latter-day Saints, it's going to form a major basis of their beliefs throughout Joseph Smith's lifetime. And that's going to affect where the Latter-day Saints live. It's going to affect what their relationship is with other settlers in the area. It's going to affect why people leave the church or join the church. It's just such a prominent part of Latter-day Saint belief in the early period of the church. There are people who will join the church specifically because of the idea of Zion. Not because they read the Book of Mormon, but because of the idea of the city of Zion.
Gerrit So where does this start? Well, it starts as early as the translation of the Book of Mormon, when as they're translating it, of course, in Ether it talks about that Ether saw a vision of the New Jerusalem being built upon this land. And it's something that's reiterated in 3rd Nephi chapter 21, talking about this New Jerusalem that's going to be built. This, of course, is after Jesus has come and has appeared to the people and is preaching to them. And verily I say to you, this is verse 1 of 3rd Nephi chapter 21, verily I say to you, I give unto you a sign that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion my people, O house of Israel, and shall again, and shall establish again among them my Zion.
Gerrit He goes on then to give this description of these various things that are going to go on, primarily this missionary work, but you get some details about this. This is all going to be very familiar to you at this time. For in that day, for my name's sake, this is verse 9, the Father, shall the Father work a work which shall be great and marvelous work among them, and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand, therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them, yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Therefore, it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power, that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, it shall be done even as Moses said, they shall be cut off from among my people, or of the covenant.
Gerrit So describing this coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which of course Joseph, as he's translating, is engaged in that as their translating book, he goes on to talk about this place that's going to be established. But if they will repent and harken into my words and harden out their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem. And then shall they assist my people, that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them, and I will be in their midst.
Gerrit And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when the gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yet even all the tribes which have been lost, which the Father led away out of Jerusalem. So from the very beginning, from the translation of the Book of Mormon, there are these multiple references that prior to the Second Coming of the Lord, there is going to be this new Jerusalem, this city that is going to be established. Joseph is going to receive other revelations that are going to talk about how great and glorious the city is going to be. And we reference this, as you said, once before. In particular, when we talked about the false revelations that Hiram Page had received with Doctrine and Covenants Section 28. And so many people believe they were true. Well, what did those false revelations surround? The location of the city of Zion.
Gerrit So the Book of Mormon prophesies that there's going to be a city of Zion. Joseph's revelations talk about that there's going to be this new Jerusalem, the city of Zion. And so the natural response of many members is, you know, where is it? Doctrine and Covenants Section 28 reminds Oliver Cowdery that no man knows where it is. So even though Hiram Page has received these false revelations, now behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the city of Zion shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. So at some point in the future, they're going to have that, but they don't have it yet. Even after they moved to Kirtland, this question of where is the city of Zion is going to be such a big deal that Joseph's going to have to receive an entire revelation on this. They are establishing themselves in Kirtland. There's thousands of people now joining the church. It's growing very rapidly. And of course, it's very easy for people to say, hey, we're already building a city here in Kirtland.
Gerrit Maybe this is Zion. And in fact, in the history, this is how Doctrine and Covenants Section 48 is introduced. Some had supposed that Ohio was to be the place of gathering, even the place of the New Jerusalem spoken of in the Book of Mormon, according to the visions and revelations received in the last days. And so because people are claiming that, Joseph's going to ask. And verse five of Doctrine and Covenants Section 48 is going to say, the place is not yet to be revealed. But after your brethren come from the east, there are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall be given to know the place, or to them it shall be revealed. So you keep getting closer to the fact that this might actually be revealed. Even when Oliver Cowdery is sent on his mission, after Doctrine and Coven, Section 28, he's sent out on that mission because he was believing those higher-end page revelations.
Gerrit Part of his mission was apparently to try to locate the city of Zion while he was on his mission. In fact, the men who are leaving, they sign a missionary covenant. It's one of our earliest documents we have in the church. They sign this missionary agreement or covenant with one another of what it is that they are going to do on their mission. That covenant reads like this. It's October 17th, 1830. So Oliver Cowdery and his missionary command has been called by revelation to go on this mission, right? And it reads, I, Oliver Cowdery, being commanded of the Lord God to go forth unto the Lamanites to proclaim glad tidings of great joy unto them by presenting unto them the fullness of the gospel of the only begotten Son of God and also to rear up a pillar as a witness where the temple of God shall be built in the glorious New Jerusalem. And having certain brothers with me who are called of God to assist me, whose names are Parley Pratt, Peter Whitmer Jr.
Gerrit and Ziva Peterson, do therefore most solemnly covenant before God that I will walk humbly before him and do this business and this glorious work according as he shall direct me by the Holy Ghost, ever praying for mine and their prosperity and deliverance from bonds and imprisonments and whatsoever may befall us with all patience and faith. So early on, I mean, the Book of Mormon's published in March and by October, not only are revelations referencing the city of Zion and saints anxiously wondering where it's going to be, part at least of Oliver Cowdery's mission is to rear up a pillar as a witness where the Temple of God shall be built in the glorious New Jerusalem. So this is something that's very much on their minds. And when they get to Kirtland, one of the questions is, is this Zion? Now, the fact that it isn't is already being used by people who are trying to deceive, claiming that they know where the New Jerusalem is.
Gerrit Just like Hiram Page's revelation, we're able to try to convince people that this is where the New Jerusalem is. People in Kirtland were trying to say the same thing. It seems to be a kind of standard stock and trade we've already talked about that what's one of the things that everyone can always try to get some following for, and that is claiming that they know when the Second Coming is. In Joseph Smith's time, it's not only the Second Coming, it's where the city of the New Jerusalem is going to be because it precedes the Second Coming. So it's still related to the Second Coming, but that's the reality of it. In addition to that, Joseph's going to receive revelations that will continually look forward to this as this place of peace, as a place of a land flowing with milk and honey. The descriptions of Zion are incredible, and the Lord directly connects it to the city of Enoch, the Zion of Enoch, and how that holy city was taken up to God.
Gerrit So it could be the same type of peace and happiness among the Latter-day Saints. And that's why Zion is so attracted to people. This idea that I could actually go to a place where there actually is this equality and also love of God. Verse 18 of Doctrine and Covenants, section 38. I hold forth and deign to give you, unto you, great riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh. And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts. And this shall be my covenant with you. Ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand. And ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away. But verily I say unto you, that in time ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you. Wherefore hear my voice and follow me, and ye shall be a free people.
Gerrit And ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand? But verily I say unto you, teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you, and let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me. And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself. For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he sayeth unto the one, Be thou clothed in robes, and sit thou here, and to the other, be thou clothed in rags, and sit thou there. And look upon his sons, and sayeth, I am just. Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one. And if you are not one, ye are not mine. And again I say unto you, that the enemy in secret chambers seeketh your lives. Year of wars in far countries, and ye say that you know that there will see me great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
Gerrit I tell you these things because of your prayers. Wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth. But if you are prepared, you shall not fear. This explanation of this city of peace and where everyone esteems their brother as themselves is part of why some people are drawn to early Latter-day Saint theology. They want to be in a place where the poor are taken care of, where the rich are giving of their substance so that they can take care of others. The Lord also connects this idea to the Nephites and their love of riches at times in the Book of Mormon.
Gerrit And if you seek the riches, which is the will of your Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity. It must needs be that riches of the earth are mine to give, but beware of pride, lest ye become the Nephites of old. So you get this direct correlation to the prophecies of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Mormon and the kind of warning that the earthly riches are not the things that we're supposed to be looking for. This really is a real test of discipleship, I think, for everybody. Whether you are rich or poor, everything about this world compels us to think that what is happening now in this material world matters most. What I have, what I can see and taste and touch, what I experience, that that's what matters most.
Gerrit And yet Christianity in general and Latter-day Saints theology in particular in relation to the idea of a city of Zion and a future life after this life is about sublimating the desires that you have for wealth and prosperity here so that you can receive the riches of eternity. If you seek the riches which it is the will of my Father to give unto you, you shall be the richest of all people. For you shall have the riches of eternity. The riches of eternity are not that your field produces more than anyone else's field does. They are not that you end up with the car that you want to have. The riches of eternity is that promise of eternal life, to be able to become like your Heavenly Father. And so, while we talk about the creation of the city of Zion as a physical place, and they very much believe that it is, it is a transitory thing of kind of trying to create heaven on earth.
Gerrit Reflective of the fact that in heaven, it won't really matter whether I was rich or whether I was poor. In heaven, we'll have the riches of eternity. And if I was poor on this earth, then I'll have the riches of eternity. If I was rich on this earth, as long as I strove to live the gospel and to help others. So that idea is so powerful. It's on the mind of everyone. Well, in the summer of 1831, Joseph is finally going to receive the revelation that explains that they are going to be told where the city of Zion is going to be built. They keep being told, you're going to get it. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming soon. It's coming in a minute. You eventually will have it. It's like you talking about the polygamy episode. It's essentially 100% me talking about polygamy.
Gerrit Actually, I don't really like the comparison of me to God in any way. But in the sense that they know that it's coming, and he keeps saying, just wait for it. Yes, very much so when it comes to polygamy. There is these promises that they're going to have it revealed to them if they are patient, right? If they follow the commandments, God's going to reveal it. Well, this is where section 57 of the Doctrine and Covenants comes in. So in the middle of July, there are several revelations in June of 1831 that talk about this great call of elders to go to Missouri. They're promised great blessings that they go. We've highlighted some of those in past podcasts, but they are asking the question, when will the wilderness blossom as the rose?
Gerrit When will Zion be built up in her glory? And where will thy temple stand, under which all nations shall come in at the last day? And then, Joseph's going to receive this revelation. Now, like I said, it had been prophesied of, Section 52 of the Doctrine and Covenants explained that they would receive this revelation after these saints go to the land of Missouri. But they would know where the city of Zion is going to be built. So if we go to Section 57, we could probably start, well, let's just start with the first verse. It's the first several verses. Hark! and all ye elders of my church say, The Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together according to my commandments in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. So right there, this is where the saints are going to gather.
Gerrit Verse 2, wherefore this is the land of promise and the place for the city of Zion. So Missouri, generally, where they're at is that land and then specifically where they are actually standing. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom, here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called independence is the center place, and a spot for the temple is lying westward upon a lot, which is not far from the courthouse. Wherefore it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the saints and also every tract lying westward, even unto the line running directly between Jew and Gentile. This is a reference to the fact that this is the very far western reaches of Missouri, and so when you hit the Missouri border, the border that you hit is the Native American lands that is part of the Louisiana Purchase. It's nominally owned by the United States, but this is land that Native Americans and even more Native Americans are going to be in because with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the federal government is actively relocating all of the Native American tribes east of the Mississippi to lands designated for them west of the Mississippi.
Gerrit Remember, Oliver Cowdery did go try to preach to them, Oliver Cowdery and Parley Pratt, and they actually enjoyed some initial success until the federal Indian agent told them that if they didn't leave, he would throw them in jail. Why are you going to throw us in jail? Well, because you're preaching to the Indians without a license, to which Parley Pratt and Oliver Cowdery say, well, how can we get a license? Well, you can't have a license because you're a Mormon, essentially. They aren't told that, but they never get their license. So it's very easy to win that circular argument when you say, you can't preach here unless you have a license. Can I have a license? No. OK, well, then I guess that makes it very simple. And so they're preaching temporarily in just in that independence area, but they don't have a ton of success. In fact, the very fact that this place of Zion is declared there in Jackson County is a real problem for many members of the church.
Gerrit If you're listening in Missouri, I don't mean in any way to denigrate your state. The Missouri I'm talking about is a Missouri back in the day before air conditioning. It's back in the day before roads. I mean, it is the furthest western point of an American state there in independence. I mean, there's part of Missouri slightly further west, but essentially this is far west. You can get in a state of the United States. This is so far west that it's a thousand miles west of Kirtland. A thousand miles. This is not just, hey, I think I'll take a walk over to Kirtland today. It is more than a month's journey for most people to travel it. And here in this furthest western part of very rural Missouri, which if you've ever been to western Missouri, I just described all of western Missouri. Drive north of Kansas City ever. I mean, right? I mean, what? Oh yeah. I know it's lovely country, but it's pretty remote.
Gerrit To give you an idea of how rural Missouri is, there were more people living in Caldwell County in Missouri, which is where far west is in Missouri. There were more people living in Caldwell County in 1838 when the Mormons lived in far west than live in Caldwell County today. However much the population of the state has, I don't know how many times it's increased, we should get our people on that. Yeah, we'll get the researchers on that right away. Get the research team on that. And by that, I mean, Richard will open his computer. It would be bad form if you heard me asking Siri on the podcast, but I'm sure you're already doing that at home. Gerrit, they're crunching the numbers as we speak. Okay, good. We've got our team working on it, and they'll get back to us. But the population of the United States is hundreds of millions of more people than it was in 1838.
Gerrit And yet that area is so rural that minus a group of religious zealots who were settled there because God commanded them to settle there, you don't get a ton of settlement. So there are people who view the location of Zion as a kind of a mistake. This is not what they signed up for. For instance, one of the people who has traveled with the Latter-day Saints down there that has come to see this great city of Zion is one of the early apostates from the church and one of the more powerful apostates. His name is Ezra Booth. Ezra Booth was an ordained Methodist minister and a very powerful one, and he is converted. And one of the things that converts him is the idea of the city of Zion.
Gerrit This idea that there is this perfect place where we're going to go and we're going to establish this city where there's going to be no rich and no poor and everyone's going to live the gospel and it's going to be a place of peace and of refuge and of happiness. It's what makes him a believer. These men set out from Kirtland with high hopes that they're going to be arriving at this wonderfully great and prepared land for this. The problem is it's a long journey. I don't know if any of you have ever taken a really long car ride with friends. I mean, if you're going to go on a trip with friends, you kind of top out at two days. By the third day, something that one of your friends is doing is going to annoy you. By the fourth day, you'll wonder why it is your friends, and by the fifth day, you won't be friends. And someone flies home early.
Gerrit Or to quote Benjamin Franklin, that fish and house guests both stink after three days. Well, that's the reality is that on this incredibly difficult long journey down to Missouri, by the time that many of these men arrive, they are worn out, they are hungry. People like Levi Hancock couldn't even make it down there because he got such bad blisters on his feet that he had to be convalescing in some non-member's house for several weeks, didn't even make it down there. So I think for some of them, they built up in their mind that when they got to Zion, that there'd be no cats in America and the streets would be paved with gold. That's a reference.
Richard Cheese.
Gerrit Yeah, yeah. Oh, they're paved with cheese, I guess you're right. Yeah, there are no cats in America, according to... Fieffel-Nauskegans.
Richard Yeah, that's right.
Gerrit But the idea is that we're going to get there, and this place is going to be the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Well, that is not what Jackson County, Missouri is in 1831. Because it is this extremely western town in Missouri. I mean, Missouri's primary population is in the St. Louis area, I mean, then as now, but really, especially then. I mean, there was no Kansas City the way that there is today. That's going to come later. And so, as one Latter-day Saint remarked, the only way you could tell whether or not people were, whether or not it was the Sabbath day in Independence was that the saloons and gambling halls were more filled on that day than the other days of the week. It kind of gives you an idea of the visual. This is kind of this, you know, dirty Western frontier settlement with a lot of gambling and lack of refinement.
Gerrit And so for people like Ezra Booth, when they saw that, they were like, I think you need to check your compass again. You know, this is, this can't be, this can't be the land of Zion. How could it possibly be? And they apostatize.
Richard So the researchers got back to me.
Gerrit There was about 9,000 people living in Caldwell County today, and there were about 10,000 Mormons living in Caldwell County in about 1838. There you go. You have in Missouri, you have back in 1840, about 384,000 people in Missouri and about 6.1 million in Missouri today. Right. So even though the population of Missouri has increased essentially, I mean, what is that? 18 times?
Richard Quite a few.
Gerrit And thank you to our researchers, Max, Parker, Andrew, the whole team. Did they do this?
Richard They crunched all the numbers.
Gerrit Thank you so much. I'm pretty sure I don't even know that they're around. They're on the payroll. We have zero operating budget.
Richard Well, yeah.
Gerrit So you're paying them in love. That's right. Those are Richard's sons, so he's going to press them into the work. There are a couple of my sons. Yeah, it's not all of a sudden. No, that's true. Rigdon's still working off that car accident. Right. I noticed you didn't mention him. I did. Yeah. Well, we need to get him on this. He's good with numbers. So the very fact that the temple is going to be located there is a problem, and it's not just a problem for Ezra Booth. It's a problem for Edward Partridge. And with Edward Partridge, it is a really, it's one of those painful episodes to actually deal with in early church history, because Edward Partridge is the kind of person you want to love. I mean, this guy, he, a bunch of, okay, let's paint the picture for Edward Partridge.
Gerrit He is a business owner in the Kirtland area, in the Painesville area especially, and doing very well, he's well off, and a few of these crazy preachers come to town. It's Parley Pratt and Oliver Cowdery and Ziba Peterson and Peter Whitmer Jr. They are telling this crazy story that Joseph Smith is a prophet who's translated an entirely new book of scripture, that angels are appearing to him, that this church has been restored, and Sidney Rigdon, one of the prominent preachers in the area, in Mentor, Ohio, has this large congregation, and they are all, not all, many of them are converted. About half of them are converted, actually. And then the other half actually vote to dispossess Sidney Rigdon of the house that they'd given him because he was their pastor.
Gerrit So it's not a good way to maintain your home is to convert to Latter-day Saint if you happen to be a pastor of another religion. So Partridge sees many of his friends who are parts of this congregation joining this church. And the church goes from having zero members in Ohio to having 100, 150 members within the space of three weeks. It's this massive explosion. I'm sure there's, well, I'm not sure, if there happens to be a missionary on their mission in Ohio today, they will be saying to me, oh, really, 150 in two weeks, huh? I'd like to see those numbers again. I mean, they are certainly not enjoying that same level of success. Or if you are, please email us. And so Edward Partridge decides, I can't let this happen because my friends and family members are being deceived by this.
Gerrit Or at the very least, I need to go meet this Joseph Smith guy. They're claiming that he's a prophet. And Partridge is going to go and meet Joseph and be converted. Well, imagine if you happen to be, you know, if you happen to be Mrs. Partridge, and home comes your husband. He left saying, I'm going to go demonstrate what these Mormons are all about. And he comes back saying, hey, I'm a member of one of them. And by the way, only a few days later, he's called to be the first bishop in the church. And he's called to go on this mission. And Lydia Partridge, his wife talks about what a terrible thing this is because their family is all sick because they've taken people in. And so Edward Partridge is going to leave his family to go to Missouri at the worst possible time.
Gerrit She says, my eldest daughter was taken down with lung fever. And while she was at the worst, my husband was called by Revelation to go with a number of others to Missouri to locate a place for the gathering of the Saints. The unbelievers thought he must be crazy or he would not go. Talk about your reversal, right? In December of 1830, Partridge is a skeptic who doesn't believe. In February of 1831, Partridge is the first and only at the time bishop in the church and being called to this high office. And then only a few months later, he's called to go on this thousand mile each way mission to Missouri. And at a time when his family is sick. So that is quite the turnaround. Could you give some additional insight to what his conversion must have looked like?
Gerrit Well, I mean, I don't want to do it any injustice. You know, I'm sure that there are Partridge family members listening. And I don't mean the TV show. I don't mean that. Partridge. Right? That other people can probably fill in some more gaps. But we at least have some sources that say that the reason why Partridge goes, he goes with Sidney Rigdon, right? So he's very familiar with Sidney Rigdon. Sidney Rigdon is his preacher. But Sidney Rigdon is going because he's a believer, because he's already joined, he's already accepted the Book of Mormon, and that Partridge is going more because he is a skeptic. He doesn't believe. So you have one source that says that he was going to represent others in Painesville who were inquiring about the church.
Gerrit And one source says that the Ohio citizens, they held a meeting and specifically chose Partridge because, quote, he is a man who would not lie to save his right arm. And at least according to this source, and again, it's so hard when you only have these later sources looking back, they at least, the source at least claims that these residents of Painesville, these skeptical residents of Painesville actually paid part of his expenses to go. So you're going to go investigate this because we know you're not going to lie about it. We know that, you know, again, now think about we talked about the early, the early issues with with anti Mormonism, right? Initially, what's the reaction? This is crazy. Only a crazy, stupid person would believe that an angel brought gold plates to somebody, right? So what's a way of diffusing that? Well, here's someone I know who's not poor, is well off, who's intelligent, who's proven himself to be an honest community leader like Edward Partridge, right?
Gerrit So we'll send him to investigate it because what what they're thinking in their mind is there's no possible way that someone like Edward Partridge is going to be deceived by this. I mean, sure, I mean, Heman Bassett, you know, thinking an angel is showing him a picture of God's crown. Sure, Heman Bassett all day long, but not Edward Partridge. And so I really want to believe that that's true, that they help pay his way out there to try to keep him, you know, to have him bring back the dirt on Joseph and then he gets converted. But I don't know. But that's at least a source. One of Lucy Mack Smith is going to talk about this whole experience. So I'm going to quote from her book. In December of the same year, Joseph appointed a meeting at our house. While he was preaching, Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge came in and seated themselves in the congregation. When Joseph had finished his discourse, he gave all who had any remarks to make the privilege of speaking up.
Gerrit Upon this, Mr. Partridge arose and stated that he had been to Manchester with the view of obtaining further information respecting the doctrine which we preached. But not finding us, he made some inquiry of our neighbors and concerning our character, which they stated had been unimpeachable until Joseph deceived us relative to the Book of Mormon. So he's going to ask the neighbors, like, so were the Smiths honest? Well, they were honest till they believe the gold Bible thing and then other than that, you know. He also said that he had walked over our, this is my favorite part of this story. And it gives you an idea. Remember back to our conversation about competency. That was the one that was slightly worse than the conversation about townships.
Richard Yes.
Gerrit You remember that one?
Richard A competent farmer.
Gerrit Yeah, a competent farmer. It gives you an idea of how culturally important land ownership is and how people take care of their land. Apparently, one of the things that really convinces him that these people must not be evil people is he goes and looks at their farm. You know, if you think, well, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Edward Partridge is judging you by your farm. How does it look? This is, again, back to Lucy, he said that he'd walked over our farm and observed the good order and industry which it exhibited, and having seen what we had sacrificed for the sake of our faith, and having heard that our veracity was not questioned upon any other point than that of our religion, he believed our testimony and he was ready to be baptized. He said, if Brother Joseph will baptize me. Joseph responds to him again, according to Lucy Mack, you are now much fatigued, Brother Partridge. You'd better get rest today and be baptized tomorrow.
Gerrit Just as Brother Joseph thinks best, replied Mr. Partridge, and I'm ready at any time. And he's baptized the next morning in the Seneca River.
Richard So he comes. Okay, so I'm having some difficulty here.
Gerrit This doctrine is a little hard. I don't quite understand. Let me go take a look at your corn. Yeah. Those furrows are right nice, aren't they?
Richard You know what? All right, let's do it.
Gerrit I'm baptized right now.
Richard Well, you're tired.
Gerrit Let's do it tomorrow. I mean, but he is willing to be baptized, at least according to that account. And so imagine if you're Lydia Partridge, right? Again, the Partridges are fairly well off. He's actually a haberdasher. I'll let you explain what that is to the folks at home.
Richard A person that sells things.
Gerrit What type of things?
Richard Habitash related items.
Gerrit Like a mercantile exchange. Well, I mean, it sounds like a kind of... I'm getting some comments from the Peanut Gallery that a habitasher is a hat maker and salesman.
Richard Oh, there we go.
Gerrit And so you can actually, if you get the Painesville Telegraph and other early Ohio newspapers, you can find ads for Edward Partridge and his shop. But it seems to be doing pretty well. He also owns land. I mean, he's not... So then you have him going back to Lydia Partridge and saying, okay, so lay it out for me.
Richard It's like, well, I was baptized.
Gerrit You did what? You should have seen their cord. Exactly. I mean, that's his argument that he's going to make to them. He's like, I know, Lydia, I know, but their corn was in the right furrows. Well, but he also, you know, he talked to their... Of course. He did this investigation. It's very interesting because he kind of does this secular investigation, right? Well, I'm going to go talk to the people who know them and see what they say. And he finds that they all have one negative thing to say, and that is that they believe the gold Bible is real, but they don't really have any depth of that. You know, what's the problem with the Smiths? It's that they believe that the gold Bible is real. So this is interesting. So it's that they didn't necessarily, because in terms of doctrine and teachings, they aren't really jumping in to the deep end yet, right? So it really comes down to this idea of, hey, this is Christ's church on earth, and here is this Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.
Gerrit Is it just coming to understand that, yeah, this thing, the story that you're telling me, this thing is true, I believe this story. I mean, for Protestants, which everyone involved in this is, it's established fact and has been for 300 years at this point, that the Bible is literally the only source of the Word of God. It is the primary argument against the Catholic Church is that they, well, there's lots of arguments. Let me just backtrack. There's all kinds of arguments against the Catholic Church that Protestants make, but one of those main arguments is that they have beliefs that cannot be sustained in Scripture. The Scripture is the only place, the Bible is the only place to have knowledge. There's a reason why when you talk to your Christian friends and you share the Gospel with them, they will very, very, very often respond to you, can you show me that in the Bible?
Gerrit Because that's where truth comes from. That doesn't mean you can't hear nice things and have a nice meme on Instagram that you like. It means that if we're talking about eternal truth, it has to come from the Bible. So the real radical part of everything that Joseph was saying is that there is other scripture and that angels are appearing to him. The doctrine itself in 1831 is not super radical, right? They haven't revealed work for the dead. They haven't revealed that hell doesn't exist. They haven't revealed multiple levels of heaven. They haven't revealed becoming like God. They haven't revealed, well, they kind of have revealed the preexistence if people have really read the Book of Moses. But I doubt Edward Partridge knows that. The Book of Moses hasn't been published. But the reality is the radical aspect of Mormonism at the time of Edward Partridge's conversion is that it exists at all.
Gerrit This is interesting though, because if I think to my mission, if I really kind of reflect upon that, the people that feel the Spirit and are converted and ultimately are baptized, it's a pretty similar process. We talk a little bit about some doctrinal things and some teachings as it relates to the restoration and some of those things. And you've got, I don't know what the kids are into these days with their missions, I assume it's fidget spinners and reading, darkened iPhones. I don't know, I'm not as hip to the kids missionary wise, but in the fourth discussion back when we had, Charles in the good old day, we'd memorize them and just recite them. The fourth discussion was the opening of the, talking about the kind of the plan of salvation in a larger way. But ultimately it followed a similar path. They would read the Book of Mormon, they would pray, and they would come to a knowledge of the truthfulness of that thing.
Gerrit And then from that, then everything comes. And with these, with the conversion that comes through the Spirit, I mean, I think all of us know, and you probably know very well right now as you're waiting, you know, your son's mission call, right? That the idea that anyone anywhere joins our church because an 18 year old said, Hey, let me let you know something about life. It really is a miracle. It really is. I mean, and I'm not to put down these men and women who go out 18, 19 and sacrifice. I mean, you know, there are some of them who have, you know, the Spirit of God, like a fire is burning in them, and they are out preaching the gospel. But it's not because they have a PhD in theology that they're converting the people that they convert. It really is evidence to the Holy Spirit converting people. And what God has said, that I've chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wise, right?
Gerrit But the whole point is, this gospel is so true that you don't have to have it along theological lines. Are there theologies you can study? Yes, are there so-called history podcasts that you can listen to? Sure. But ultimately, whether or not someone believes is going to be a spiritual experience and one that then naturally progresses to if this really is true, then I guess all of this is true.
Richard It is interesting.
Gerrit As I was asking the question about, boy, his conversion had to have been the most miraculous.
Richard And not to say that, you know.
Gerrit The corn was strong. Yeah, I mean, I do also love that. But essentially, he joins the church the same way, I don't know, the same way I gained a testimony and the same way that other people, they heard the thing, explained what happened, they felt the Spirit, and then they walked 2,000 miles round trip. Well, yeah. No, he didn't walk that far yet because he went from Painesville to Palmyra and then down to Fayette. So I mean, that's several hundred miles, but he hasn't gone to Missouri yet. No, I just mean like that is actually kind of a beautiful thing. I think when I asked the question, I was thinking there was going to be some miraculous thing, and ultimately his conversion was what most conversions actually end up being. It really is. And you know, back to again, poor Lydia, right? I don't think she thinks her husband is going to come back home a Mormon.
Gerrit Maybe he'll come back home and be like, they're not that bad. You know what? I'm not worried about people joining it at all. And maybe she, I mean, maybe she thinks there's a chance of them joining. But he not only comes back a believer, he comes back a fervent believer. And it is the first revelation that Joseph Smith receives in Ohio. So he's commanded by God to leave in December and January of 30 and 31. And he arrives in Ohio in February. And the first revelation he receives is the one that we covered several podcasts ago, which is Doctrine and Coven, Section 41, and it names him to be the bishop of the church. Now, in today's day and age in the church, I mean, I'm not saying that anyone you know is trying to big time you by telling you that they were a bishop. I mean, hopefully that wasn't your bishop. But there are a lot of bishops.
Gerrit There are a lot of former bishops. I would guess in everybody's ward, there's more than one person who was a bishop, right? The reality is with all the thousands of wards in the church, there are tens of thousands of bishops and then former bishops because they don't serve the whole time. So the office of bishop is very important on a local level. We all understand that because we interact with it. But in that time period, there's only one bishop. There's just just Edward Partridge. And not only does Doctrine and Coven, Section 41 call him and not give him a handbook of instructions, Doctrine and Coven, Section 42 then lays on him the fact that it's going to be his job that as people are consecrating all of their property to the church, so these are the people giving their property to the church, he is going to be the one deciding how much property they get back as a stewardship for the church. So I donate my 500-acre farm to the church and Partridge is the one who's going to decide, okay, well, you probably only really need 60 acres to farm on.
Gerrit You know, it's hard to think of a place where there would be any more contention than the position that he's in, where he has to be the arbitrator, not just of whatever religious experiences he has, but also of the fact that people are donating all of their funds to the church. For Partridge, when he's called on the mission, it seems like his heart sinks. I mean, now where we're at, it's June. It's June of 31. In December of 30, he wasn't a member of the church. Six months later, there's a revelation that says, hey, I know your family is sick because they've taken in all of these refugee Mormons from New York. And his daughter is very sick, but you need to go a thousand miles. And as Lydia Partridge says, there are people who make fun of him over it.
Gerrit They thought that he must be crazy or he would not go. She goes on to say, and I thought myself that I'd reason to think my trials had commenced, and so they had. But this trial, like all others, was followed with blessings for our daughter recovered. And Partridge walks down there, has gone from his family for months to down to this place, the city of Zion. And so Partridge is somebody who has made enormous sacrifices and has become very committed to the church. But even he, when the location of Zion is declared, looks around him and says, can we get a second opinion on the Revelation? So what we'll talk about in our next episode is, we'll talk about Partridge's reaction and the reaction of other saints and how Zion is going to be built up there in this new Jerusalem that's been declared by Revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

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There are people who will join the church specifically because of the idea of Zion. Not because they read the Book of Mormon, but because of the idea of the city of Zion.

GerritInsight

This really is a real test of discipleship, I think, for everybody. Whether you are rich or poor, everything about this world compels us to think that what is happening now in this material world matters most.

GerritInsight

The riches of eternity are not that your field produces more than anyone else's field does. They are not that you end up with the car that you want to have. The riches of eternity is that promise of eternal life, to be able to become like your Heavenly Father.

GerritInsight

Or to quote Benjamin Franklin, that fish and house guests both stink after three days.

GerritBanter

So it's not a good way to maintain your home is to convert to Latter-day Saint if you happen to be a pastor of another religion.

GerritBanter

You know, if you think, well, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Edward Partridge is judging you by your farm.

GerritBanter

But the reality is the radical aspect of Mormonism at the time of Edward Partridge's conversion is that it exists at all.

GerritInsight

But in that time period, there's only one bishop.

GerritInsight

More from this episode

Claim checkThings people say, and what the episode shows.

Claim check

What critics say, and what the episode found
The Saints chose Jackson County because it was a pleasant, settled place.
Early converts joined because of radical new doctrines.
Take it to classReady to use in a lesson or a talk.

Take it to class

Ready to copy into a lesson or a text

Zion drew people because it promised a place where everyone esteems their brother as themselves. D&C 38 puts it plainly: "Be one. And if you are not one, ye are not mine."

The riches of eternity are not a better field or a nicer car. They are the promise of eternal life and becoming like our Heavenly Father.

The Lord told the Saints again and again that the place of Zion would be revealed "hereafter." They had to wait, just as we sometimes do.

Edward Partridge's conversion had no dramatic miracle. He heard, felt the Spirit, and acted, like most converts, and then walked a thousand miles.

Banter binThe funniest moments in this episode.

Banter bin

The running jokes, for people who skip ahead
Only the nice emailsThey read the ones that say nice things, like Kathy from Snowflake, who now worries people will recognize her at the store (1:32, 2:34).
Episodes promised, never madeA file of polygamy questions and an empty file of everything else; they are holding out for a sponsor (2:34, 4:29).
Wives as producersLike a Roman emperor, the thumb is almost always going down (1:32).
Zero operating budgetThey are the staff, and the researchers are paid in love (1:11, 35:55).
The crack research staffRichard's sons Max, Parker and Andrew crunch the Caldwell County numbers, while Rigdon is still working off a car accident (29:50, 35:18, 36:04).
Business PhD wants moneyRichard turns on Kathy: "send us money" (4:40, 4:44).
No cats in AmericaGerrit says the streets are paved with gold; Richard corrects him to cheese (32:55, 33:45).
Partridge's corn"Let me go take a look at your corn," and Lydia hearing "their corn was in the right furrows" (46:30, 47:58).
What is a haberdasher?Richard: "a person that sells things," until the peanut gallery says hat maker (47:06, 47:33).
Missionaries today"Oh, really, 150 in two weeks, huh?" Missionaries in Ohio, please email (38:07).
The Phebe Draper Palmer Brown MailbagSend Gerrit and Richard your question.

The Phebe Draper Palmer Brown Mailbag

Your question could be next week’s episode
Questions from Litners drive a lot of episodes. Send yours. If it makes the show, Richard reads it on air.
General ConferenceGeneral Conference talks that cite a scripture read in this episode.

In General Conference

Talks from the latest General Conference that cite a scripture this episode reads or names on air
October 2026 General Conference · cites D&C 38:24–27Christ-Centered UnityPresident Dieter F. UchtdorfPresident Uchtdorf, recalling his own baptism in a public swimming pool, teaches that baptism is an individual ordinance that also joins us to a covenant people.

Summaries, themes and lessons for every talk are on What Did They Say?

Go deeperWhere to read more.

Go deeper

Deep dives the episode points toward
Oliver Cowdery's 1830 missionary covenant, one of the earliest documents in Church history (14:23).
D&C 38's parable of the father with twelve sons and what it teaches about Zion (18:44).
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the mission to the Lamanites on the Missouri border (26:16).
Lucy Mack Smith's account of Edward Partridge's visit and baptism (43:28).
Part 2 picks up Partridge's reaction to the location of Zion (58:17).
SOT Litner · S2E17.