08/01/2023
Close to where we lived during grad school is the sprawling metropolis of Paris, Illinois. Most of the noteworthy Illinois Church history occurred on the west side of the state, a somewhat gruesome five-hour drive on two-lane highways west of Paris, but a small piece of history also happened right there. A historical marker near the Edgar County courthouse, erected in 2000, commemorates this.
Paris, then home to only a few hundred people, became a stopover on a westward trek by the name of Zion's Camp - essentially an armed militia sent from Kirtland, Ohio, to Independence, Missouri, to assist members of the Church who were suffering from persecution. When a couple hundred members of Zion's Camp arrived in Paris to greet just about as many locals, confusion and some hostility ensued. This was not shocking. The group moved on westward after a few days, crossing the nearby Embarrass river (site of another historical marker), and for the secular Illinois Historical Society, this was the end of the story.
However, it was not really the end. As it turns out, after initial hostility and confusion, some members of Zion's Camp and Paris locals became friends, even to the point of staying in friendly contact (long before social media!) after the trek had continued on towards Missouri. Not much later, missionaries would pass through Paris often, preaching, spending the night with friends on their journeys, and eventually, baptizing several of their acquaintances. Elder Levi Jackman, one of those early missionaries, wrote in 1835:
"[We have] baptized five more since he wrote last," and "[have] established a branch in the area composed of twenty members in good standing, faith and fellowship." This branch in the obscure town of Paris continued to operate more or less continually even after the Saints left for Utah in 1846, and is now a ward within the Champaign Illinois Stake.
The Church of Jesus Christ is obscure also; it is not a world religion. Most of the world population is unfamiliar with its beliefs, and very possibly also with its existence. Similar to the residents of Paris, Illinois, I first was confused and perhaps a little hostile to the Church, until I actually took the time to study it and learn more. An essential of this discovery has been the kindness, encouragement, and friendship I have received from Church members.
For most people, hostility is very difficult to uphold in the face of positive exposure and friendship. As we remain a misunderstood (by and large) religion, our objective should be to ask not others to simply understand us, but to search out what we can contribute to mutual understanding. I am convinced that the members of Zion's Camp, no matter their spiritual insight and light, did not begin their appearance in Paris by preaching from the town square. Instead, they began as friends - sharing genuine conversation, meals, and shelter. Can we do the same for somebody today?
