Note:  Jackson County was organized December 15, 1826; Independence was the first county seat; D&C references are from the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants.

 

(4/6/1830)
D&C 19:1a-1b; 2a-2d
...thou (Joseph Smith, Jr.) shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father... being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith; Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words, and commandments, which he shall give unto you, as he receiveth them... for by doing these things, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you... For thus saith the Lord God, him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good;

 

(3/7/1831)
D&C 45:12b-13b

call upon the inhabitants to repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me; and with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you, and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the most high God; and the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it; and it shall be called Zion. And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.

 

(8/1/1831)
D&C 58:11c
For, behold, verily I say unto you, The Lord willeth that the disciples, and the children of men, should open their hearts even to purchase this whole region of country (land of Zion), as soon as time will permit.

 

(8/12/1831)
D&C 61:3a-c

Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning, blessed the waters, but in the last days by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters;

wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters, and it shall be said in days to come, that none is able to go up to the land of Zion, upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart. And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my Saints, that they may partake the fatness thereof.

 

(9/22/1832)
D&C 83:8a-b

And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received, which vanity and unbelief hath brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all; and they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.

 

(1822-1823)
RLDS Church History, Vol 1, Chpt 10, Page: 204
Hearken, O ye elders of my church, and give ear to my word, and learn of me what I will concerning you, and also concerning this land unto which I have sent you; for verily I say unto you, Blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.  Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter and the glory which shall follow, after much tribulation. For after much tribulation cometh the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. Remember this which I tell you before that you may lay it to heart and receive that which shall follow. Behold, verily I say unto you, For this cause I have sent you that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come; and also that you might be honored of laying the foundation, and  bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand; and also that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things,  wine on the lees well refined, that the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail; yea, a supper of the house  the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited. Firstly, the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble; and after that cometh the day  my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come. Behold, I, the Lord, have spoken it.

 

(12/16/1833)
D&C 98:9f-g
and in order that all things be prepared before you, observe the commandments which I have given concerning these things, which saith, or teacheth, to purchase all the lands by money, which can be purchased for money, in the region round about the land which I have appointed to be the land of Zion, for the beginning of the gathering of my Saints; all the land which can be purchased in Jackson County, and the counties round about, and leave the residue in mine hand.

 

(6/22/1834)
D&C 102:8b
and I will soften the hearts of the people, as I did the heart of Pharaoh, from time to time, until my servant Baurak Ale, and Baneemy, whom I have appointed, shall have time to gather up the strength of my house, and to have sent wise men, to fulfill that which I have commanded concerning the purchasing of all the lands in Jackson County, that can be purchased, and in the adjoining counties round about; for it is my will that these lands be purchased, and after they are purchased that my Saints should possess them according to the laws of consecration which I have given;