After this, there was very little sickness in Nauvoo.  During the summer and fall of 1839 the city grew rapidly.  About this time seven of the Twelve left for their mission to England, of which you have been told, and the English Saints soon began to gather to Nauvoo.

Late in October, 1839, Joseph went to the city of Washington to lay the troubles of the Church before the authorities of the nation.  Joseph made the acquaintance of many leading men, among them John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay.  Martin Van Buren was president, and to him Joseph told of the wrongs they had suffered from the people of Missouri.  It was then that the president made the famous remark:  “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.”  His meaning, no doubt, was that the president of the United States had no right to interfere with the affairs of a state; but that all such troubles should be settled by the state itself.

[Illustration:  The Nauvoo Mansion.]

So Joseph returned without any help.  Meanwhile, Nauvoo grew into a large city.  Ten wards were laid off and organized.  April 6, 1841, the corner stone of the temple was laid.  Many public buildings were erected.  Good houses were built, and beautiful gardens soon bloomed around them.  On the outskirts of the city, fields of grain stretched as far as the eye could reach.  In 1842 there were 20,000 people in the city, and Nauvoo promised to be one of the largest cities in the West.

The fame of Joseph and the “Mormon” city spread, and many people came to see the wonder.  Missionaries were sent out to preach, the Times and Seasons published by the Church, printed many Gospel truths and much important history.  The militia was organized and the city had a well-drilled body of men called the Nauvoo Legion.  Peace and prosperity smiled upon them for a season, and it seemed that at last there would be a permanent stake of Zion established.

But it was not to be.  The hate that burned in the hearts of evil men had not grown less, but was only waiting for a chance to show itself.  Trouble again arose.  It would not be easy to understand the many causes that led to these troubles, but a few may be noted.

The Saints now had great power at the polls, the same as in Missouri.  The “Mormons” would not vote for men who would not give them their rights, and so many of these politicians became their enemies and stirred up the people against the Saints by their many lies.  Then, there were the jealousies of the sectarian preachers; and perhaps worse than all, the evil work of apostates.  Then it happened that a band of thieves troubled the neighborhood, and of course the “Mormons” were blamed.  It was not a hard matter to find excuses for a further persecution of the Latter-day Saints.