To this prospect of peace the Prophet's personality had greatly contributed. In all the march through Missouri his magnificent qualities had impressed themselves upon the people whom he met. His course had been that of a worthy leader among men. He had shown in all his intercourse with the inhabitants of Missouri the utmost courage and generosity. It was his nature to extend consideration and kindness towards others, and he was as regardful of the rights of his fellow-men at this time as always before and always after during his lifetime. The leading men of Clay County who were brought into contact with him felt that he possessed remarkable power. There was that in his dignified deportment and in the fearless glance of his blue eyes which warmed the souls of other men to his own, and they submitted to his charm of manner, even when they had come to oppose him. And when at last, to allay the fears of his avowed enemies, he dispersed his party, while surrounded by vindictive mobs who sought his life and the lives of his associates, he evinced a courage and a wisdom as grand as they were rare.
Jackson County was alive with men who had sworn to assassinate him if he ventured within their reach. What could have been more admirable than his noble disregard of all their threats! On the 1st of July, 1834, unattended, except by two or three personal friends, he crossed the Missouri River from Clay into Jackson County, visited Independence and saw all that goodly land which the Lord had promised as a Zion, but which now was under the desecration of murder, rapine and a veritable reign of terror.
He stood among the ruins of once peaceful homes and gazed upon once fruitful fields which wicked men had laid waste, and his great heart swelled nigh to bursting. Did any premonition come to him of that awful hour when he should next look upon these scenes; when in chains he should be carried through the streets of Independence, as captive kings of old were dragged at their victor's chariot wheels to make the populace shout with cruel joy! Well might Joseph, Prophet of God, have indescribable emotions as he gazed upon this spot, hallowed in his mind by so many tender recollections and so many promised glories. Mobs had done their work, Zion was desolate. Joseph himself was free. But the day was not far distant, when he should, as a captive, be brought to Independence and his enemies should gloat over the tortured hero and his pale but undaunted face.
The Prophet had gone to Independence without ostentation, but without fear. While he prayed there, the eyes of the wicked were blinded, that they knew him not; and when he returned to his brethren he was unscathed.
On the 3rd day of July, the Prophet organized a high council near Liberty, in Clay County, and for several days he was engaged in imparting instruction to the members of that body, and such others as desired to listen to his words of wisdom.
An appeal was made and published to the world regarding the grievances of the Saints, and asking for the restoration of their rights, and for the privilege to live in peace.
On the 9th day of July, Joseph, in company with his brother Hyrum and Frederick G. Williams and others, departed for Kirtland. Returning, the journey was as toilsome as at first. The distance to be traversed was one thousand miles, and but few of the comforts of civilization existed for them along the path. Heat, thirst, hunger and pain of body alike oppressed them and were alike endured with patient fortitude. About the 1st day of August Joseph reached his home.
In leaving the Saints in Missouri the Prophet had hoped that for a time, at least, they would be blessed with protection from their enemies, and that the brethren would be accorded the opportunity to gain a maintenance for their suffering wives and children. Although before he parted with them many appeals had been made for a restoration to their possessions in Jackson County, it is not probable that he entertained any hope that Governor Dunklin would accomplish such a courageous act. Joseph's subsequent zeal in building up Kirtland seems to indicate that he had prescience of the continued exile of the Church from the land of Zion.
Shortly after the Prophet's return to Kirtland, he submitted before the high council some charges which had been made against himself by one of the rebellious spirits in Zion's Camp. This man, Sylvester Smith, had become angered on the march by Joseph's rebukes, which were only uttered in kindness and to secure proper discipline and mutual concession and forbearance among the brethren; and in his rage Sylvester had declared that the Prophet was corrupt in his heart. The complaint made by Sylvester did not include any specific charge of impurity, and the Prophet might have passed it by without notice. But he wanted to teach the brethren that no man was above the law of God, and he cheerfully and patiently submitted to an investigation. It was made fairly and fully, with no undue favor to him; and the result was a complete vindication of the Prophet's character and eventually a confession by Sylvester Smith of his own injustice, wrong-doing and evil inspiration. Thus, by his own example, Joseph showed to his brethren the saintly course for the settlement of difficulties.
Joseph gave another evidence of his devotion to the work and his personal humility, at this time. Labor upon the house of the Lord in Kirtland was in progress, but the poverty of the people and the surrounding difficulties made the advancement very slow. Only thirty families of Saints were then resident in Kirtland, and the toil and self-denial of the little handful cannot be described. Joseph gave his services as foreman in the temple stone quarry, and labored day after day with his own hands in bringing out the materials for that important structure. At the same time Hyrum was showing similar evidence of his industry and meekness. It was he who lifted the first spadeful of earth for the foundation trench, and he continued from that time on to watch and work and pray for the success of this sacred undertaking.