Mormon History
False Prophecy About Missouri - 1831
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS - 57
Date: July 20, 1831
Place: Zion, Jackson County, Missouri
To: Elders of the Church
1 Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.
2 Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion.
3 And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse.
4 Wherefore, it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the saints, and also every tract lying westward, even unto the line running directly between Jew and Gentile;
5 And also every tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my disciples are enabled to buy lands. Behold, this is wisdom, that they may obtain it for an everlasting inheritance.
6 And let my servant Sidney Gilbert stand in the office to which I have appointed him, to receive moneys, to be an agent unto the church, to buy land in all the regions round about, inasmuch as can be done in righteousness, and as wisdom shall direct.
7 And let my servant Edward Partridge stand in the office to which I have appointed him, and divide unto the saints their inheritance, even as I have commanded; and also those whom he has appointed to assist him.
8 And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Sidney Gilbert plant himself in this place, and establish a store, that he may sell goods without fraud, that he may obtain money to buy lands for the good of the saints, and that he may obtain whatsoever things the disciples may need to plant them in their inheritance.
9 And also let my servant Sidney Gilbert obtain a license--behold here is wisdom, and whoso readeth let him understand--that he may send goods also unto the people, even by whom he will as clerks employed in his service;
10 And thus provide for my saints, that my gospel may be preached unto those who sit in darkness and in the region and shadow of death.
11 And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William W. Phelps be planted in this place, and be established as a printer unto the church.
12 And lo, if the world receive his writings--behold here is wisdom--let him obtain whatsoever he can obtain in righteousness, for the good of the saints.
13 And let my servant Oliver Cowdery assist him, even as I have commanded, in whatsoever place I shall appoint unto him, to copy, and to correct, and select, that all things may be right before me, as it shall be proved by the Spirit through him.
14 And thus let those of whom I have spoken be planted in the land of Zion, as speedily as can be, with their families, to do those things even as I have spoken.
15 And now concerning the gathering--Let the bishop and the agent make preparations for those families which have been commanded to come to this land, as soon as possible, and plant them in their inheritance.
16 And unto the residue of both elders and members further directions shall be given hereafter. Even so. Amen.
Mormons Have Held on to This False Prophecy and Other Nonsense
In the course of time from the creation, in the days of Peleg, or about the year 2200 B.C., Just prior to the confusion of the languages, the single continent of land that had continued from creation was divided to produce the hemispheres as we now know them. But notwithstanding this, the geographic location of the Garden of Eden was made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith by revelation as here in the land of America, in Jackson County, Missouri, with Independence as the center place. President Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, October 1968, Third Day—Morning Meeting, p.109
We should be grateful to the Prophet Joseph Smith because of the revelation which the Lord gave to him pointing out the place of the Garden of Eden, and to give us the information that when the earth is restored, as it surely will be, the great city New Jerusalem will be in the place where Eden was. Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols., 4:, p.24
America is a place of many great events. Here is where Adam dwelt, where the Garden of Eden was located. America was the place of former civilizations, including Adam’s, the Jaredites’, and Nephites’. America is also the place where God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith, inaugurating the last gospel dispensation on earth before the Savior’s second coming. President Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, Ensign (CR), November 1979, p.31