History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 3

by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Jr. Joseph Smith

Thursday, July 5.—The camp commenced organizing on a piece of land in the rear of the house formerly occupied by Mayhew Hillman, about one hundred rods south of the House of the Lord, in Kirtland. The morning was beautiful. At an early hour the heavens were overspread with a cloud which continued to hide the scorching rays of the sun till towards evening, when it moved away. The horizon at every point that was unobstructed by intervening objects was clear, and everything seemed to indicate that the God of heaven has His all-searching eye upon the camp of the Saints, and had prepared the day for the express purpose of organizing the camp, that the Saints might start on their journey in the order which had been shown in the beginning. About twenty tents were pitched in the course of the day and several other companies came on late who had not time to pitch their tents. Many spectators from the towns round about came to behold the scene, and, with few exceptions, they behaved with the greatest decorum. The day was solemn to all concerned and the greatest solemnity was visible on the countenances of the Saints who expected to tarry for a season in Kirtland, and also on the countenances of many of the unbelievers in the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the great work of the gathering of the Saints of the Most High in these last days of wickedness before God's judgments shall have been poured out without measure upon the wicked, to sweep them off from the face of the earth.

Solemn Reflections.

Between four and five hundred of the camp tented on the ground during the night. The spectators retired at a late hour and left the camp in quietude. The night was clear and the encampment and all around was solemn as eternity; which scene, together with the remembrance of those other scenes through which the Saints in Kirtland had passed during the last two years all presented themselves to the thinking mind; and, together with the greatness of the undertaking, the length of the journey, and many other things combined, could not fail to awaken sensations that could be better felt than described.

The Start.

Friday, July 6.—At an early hour in the morning the people began to assemble to witness the exodus of the camp, and several hundred persons had gathered together before all things could be arranged in order to move off from the ground without confusion, all of which consumed most of the forenoon. At twelve o'clock, noon, the camp began to move, and at half-past twelve the whole company had left the ground in order, and took up their line of march towards Chester, south from Kirtland, where they encamped at six o'clock p. m., a distance of seven miles from Kirtland.

Number in the Camp.

After the tents were pitched and all things arranged an enumeration of the camp was taken, when it was ascertained that there were in the camp 529 souls present—a few necessarily absent—of which 256 were males, and 273 females. There were 105 families, all on the ground excepting five, which had not time to get ready in season to start with the camp, two of which came up in the evening; of the others Elder Martin H. Peck joined at Petersburgh; the other two, Elders S. Shumway and Brother Charles Wood, joined the camp at the same place a few hours after. President William Marks and some other brethren from Kirtland accompanied the camp to Chester, and on parting with the Councilors blessed them, in the name of the Lord, and left his blessing with them, and with the camp, covenanting to uphold them by the prayer of faith and required the same of the Councilors and of the brethren of the camp.

Sorrow at Parting.

The feelings of the brethren on leaving Kirtland and parting with those who were left behind were somewhat peculiar, notwithstanding the scenes they had passed through in Kirtland; but the consciousness of doing the will of their heavenly Father, and obeying His commandments in journeying to Zion, over balanced every other consideration that could possibly be presented to their minds, and buoyed up their spirits, and helped them to overcome the weaknesses and infirmities of human nature which men are subject to here on the earth.

First Experiences.