Documents, Volume 6 includes
many beginnings and endings
in the 19 months it covers
in Joseph Smith's life.
The last part of the
volume focuses on April
to August 1839.
In April 1839, Joseph
and his fellow prisoners
are able to escape
state custody.
And they make their way
to Quincy, Illinois,
where Emma Smith and many
other Latter-day Saints
had found refuge after being
driven out of Missouri.
Rather than seeking
time to recover
or taking a well-deserved
break, Joseph quickly
gets back to work.
Within a week, he's holding
Church meetings again
and directing Church matters.
And one of the most
important things in his mind
is purchasing the
land for the Saints
to settle on, to gather to.
They had been offered land
by Isaac Galland in Commerce,
Illinois.
And Joseph determines
to buy that land
and arranges to purchase
it in April of 1839
and moves there in May of 1839.
And it's in the Commerce
area that the Saints
will build the city of Nauvoo.
From May to August,
the community
faces a lot of trials.
They are preparing
to send the Twelve
Apostles on a second
mission to Great Britain.
Joseph had been instructing
the Twelve, preaching to them,
helping them acquire
the knowledge
that they would need to
leave on a second mission
to Great Britain.
They weather a severe malaria
epidemic in the community,
and Joseph helps
care for the sick.
And finally, they
are still reeling
from the losses in Missouri,
and they try and seek redress
from the government.
This volume really demonstrates
Joseph Smith's determination
and his perseverance to start
again, to rebuild yet again,
and to find a place for
the Saints to gather.
And you can read about this
and Joseph's other experiences
in Missouri in
Documents, Volume 6.
