Essentials in Church History / A History of the Church from the Birth of Joseph Smith to the Present Time (1922), with Introductory Chapters on the Antiquity of the Gospel and the "Falling Away"

by Joseph Fielding Smith

Importuning for Redress

Having appealed in vain to the courts, the governor and the legislature of Missouri, the Saints now determined to “importune for redress and redemption at the feet of the President.” This course the Lord commanded them to take. It was his will that the national government should have the privilege of correcting the wrongs of the Latter-day Saints, or share in the responsibility of their persecutions, should they also turn a deaf ear to the appeal of thousands of citizens, who had been banished from their homes.^[1] The Constitution guarantees that “the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens of the several states.” This great privilege had been denied the Latter-day Saints by the officers of the State of Missouri.

President Sidney Rigdon arrived in Quincy, Illinois, after his release from prison, in March, 1839, and was at that time very zealous for the punishment of Missouri for the violation of the constitutional rights of the Saints while in that state. He devised a plan, on an elaborate scale, for the impeachment of Missouri before the other states and the general government. He proposed to have the governors of the several states present before their respective legislative bodies the matter of Missouri’s abdication of republican government, and at the same time have presented to the President of the United States and Congress a petition for redress of the wrongs inflicted upon the Saints. Governor Carlin of Illinois encouraged him in this desire and promised to aid in the work. Governor Robert Lucas of Iowa also lent some assistance to the plan. The latter issued letters of introduction to President Martin Van Buren and Governor Shannon of Ohio, conveying the information that President Rigdon expected to visit Washington as the representative of the “Mormon” people to seek an investigation into the causes for the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri. However, nothing came of this rather impractical plan.

The Prophet’s Appeal to the People

About this same time (April, 1839) the Prophet made an appeal to the citizens of the United States in the following language:

“I ask the citizens of this Republic whether such a state of things is to be suffered to pass unnoticed, and the hearts of widows, orphans, and patriots to be broken, and their wrongs left without redress? No! I invoke the genius of our Constitution. I appeal to the patriotism of Americans to stop this unlawful and unholy procedure; and pray that God may defend this nation from the dreadful effects of such outrages.

“Is there no virtue in the body politic? Will not the people rise up in their majesty, and with that promptitude and zeal which are so characteristic of them, discountenance such proceedings, by bringing the offenders to that punishment which they so richly deserve, and save the nation from that disgrace and ultimate ruin, which otherwise must inevitably fall upon it?”^[2]

A Delegation Appointed to Visit Washington

At a conference of the Church held in Quincy in May, 1839, President Rigdon was formally appointed to carry the message of grievances to Washington, and Elder Lyman Wight was appointed to collect the necessary affidavits from those injured, to be presented at Washington. President Rigdon made no great effort to get away on this mission, and as time passed his ardor cooled and his desire to fill his appointment lessened. At the October Conference, held at Commerce, President Joseph Smith, who had arrived in Illinois during the summer, and Judge Elias Higbee were also chosen to go to Washington as well as Sidney Rigdon, to importune for redress. On the 29th of October, these three delegates left Commerce in a carriage driven by Orrin Porter Rockwell, with the intention of laying before Congress the grievances of the Saints while in Missouri. At Quincy they were joined by Dr. Robert D. Foster who accompanied them on their way to administer to Sidney Rigdon, who was ill. At Springfield Judge James Adams took the Prophet to his home and treated him with every consideration as though he had been his own son. After an eventful journey the Prophet and Judge Higbee arrived in Washington, November 28, 1839. They did considerable preaching on the way and were forced to leave Sidney Rigdon in Ohio because of his sickness; Orrin P. Rockwell and Dr. Robert D. Foster remained with him.

Interview with the President

The first step taken by the Prophet and Judge Higbee after securing a boarding place was to call on the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. This was the following day, November 29. They proceeded to the house of the President, which they state they found to be a very large and splendid palace, decorated with all the fineries and elegance of this world. After some preliminary arrangements they were ushered into the presence of Mr. Van Buren. They handed him some of their letters of introduction which stated the object of their visit and as soon as the President read one of them, he looked up with a frown and said: “What can I do? I can do nothing for you! If I do anything, I shall come in contact with the whole state of Missouri.” The delegates were not to be denied a hearing without some effort, so they pressed the matter of their case with considerable vigor. The result was that President Van Buren promised to reconsider what he had said, and expressed deep sympathy with the Saints on account of their suffering.