In this revelation, Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson are called to go with Oliver Cowdery Peter Whitmer on a mission to the Lamanites. This was an assignment to leave Fayette, New York and go beyond the borders of the United States which at that time was the western side of the Missouri River in Kansas territory. This was a journey of fifteen hundred miles and notice the month of the revelation. They would be traveling in the winter, all most all of it walking and and having to depend on the generosity of those along the way for their food and lodging. During this trip, they waded through deep snow. It's hard to imagine how difficult a trip it was. They didn't have much success with the Lamanites, but while traveling through Kirtland, Ohio, Pareley P. Pratt had a strong impression they should stop and preach for a while. As a result, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams joined the church along with a number of others. And once the church settled in Kirtland, many more would join.
Ziba Peterson had been baptized 6 months previous to this revelation and was in his late teens or early twenties. Ziba was one of several who had a strong desire to teach the gospel to the Lamanites. In 1831, he was chastised by the Lord in a revelation for trying to hide his sins and three days later he confessed them. Two years later, he withdrew from the church and was excommunicated. In 1848, he took his family and moved to a mining town called Dry Diggins, California where he became a sheriff. He caught and hung three outlaws and then died shortly after that. And interesting side note is his widow moved to Napa Valley, California where she purchased land from the Lilburn Boggs, the former governor of Missouri who expelled the Saints.
No comments:
Post a Comment