Zion's Camp and Some Reflection
The Fourteenth in a Series on my Church History Class
This class began with something that I found very interesting: an invitation to reflect upon the question, “What has stood out to me the most this semester?” We were given an opportunity to contemplate the question and come up with answers, and several students were invited to share. I’d also invite you to contemplate on the lessons you’ve learned from Church history, either as you’ve followed along with my posts or with your own studies. With you, I’ll share what has stood out to me:
The faith of the early Saints. Despite trial, setback, difficulty, persecution, and more, the early Saints persevered. I (and some of my classmates who shared their thoughts) find their resilience and their endurance to be supremely inspiring.
Overcoming sin and mistakes through grace. Joseph Smith and other members and leaders of the Church found themselves repeatedly chastened by the Lord throughout the revelations given to the Church; just as often, though, it seems that they are given grace and forgiveness as they strive to faithfully pursue the Lord’s commandments to them.
The early Saints didn’t know what we know. I think this is perhaps where I struggle with presentism the most. I take for granted, as a student of Church history, that I know the ending; I know what happens to the early Saints, and I can see that their faith eventually produces the many events that lead not only to my membership in the faith, but my existence as a particular descendant of certain individuals who were only brought together because of their commitment to the Church. In taking this for granted, I lose the valuable insight that can be gained from recognizing that the early Saints did not know what was ahead. When they were forced out of Missouri, did they chuckle and say, “Well, that’s okay—we’ll build our temple anyway when we get to Nauvoo”? I believe they probably didn’t. Rather, I imagine it played out something like: “We’ve lost our homes and possessions, we’ve got nothing left! Oh, Lord, what are we supposed to do now?” This shift in perspective opens the door for learning more fully from their example of faithfulness and commitment.
Everything builds toward the temple. Throughout the Restoration, we see everything added, line upon line and precept upon precept, until it culminates in the restoration of temple ordinances. Access to the temple is the crowning element of the Restoration. It is in temples that we covenant with God, and it is through those very covenants that we become like Him and are able to return to His presence.
Now, briefly on to Zion’s Camp. The professor stressed that one cannot understand Zion’s Camp without understanding the history of the Church in Missouri. We touched on that in my last post, but the professor had run out of time last week and did not have the opportunity to talk until today about Hawn’s (sometimes spelled “Haun’s”) Mill. This event, among those we’ve previously discussed, was one of many terrible episodes of mob violence perpetrated against the Saints. One of my ancestors (through my maternal grandmother’s line), Amanda Barnes Smith, was there at Hawn’s Mill during the massacre. Her story is somewhat well-known because of the miracle that occurred for her and her young son, Alma. Amanda lost her first husband and an older son to the mob, and young Alma’s hip was blown out completely by musket-fire. Amanda’s faith, and the faith of her son, led to the miracle that enabled Alma to fully recover. You can read more about their story here.
The larger scope of Zion’s Camp, in the lead-up to the event, was one of recouping losses. From this perspective, Zion’s Camp was absolutely a failure. It becomes pertinent, then, to begin exploring other perspectives in order to understand why the Lord might have commanded it. In doing so, we can find that this event is better viewed as a test—a test of faithfulness, of commitment, of consecration. The events following Zion’s Camp see nine of the first members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles being present at Zion’s Camp, as well as many of the first Seventies called in the Restoration. Some prominent members of the expedition even reflect on Zion’s Camp as being a crucial experience for their faith.
Having given that brief overview, I’ll turn you toward one of my favourite professionals, Scott Woodward, a professor here at BYUI and one of the hosts of the Church History Matters Podcast, who goes into more detail on the events, impacts, and results of Zion’s Camp: