Come Up Hither to Zion: William Marks and the Mormon Concept of Gathering

by Cheryl L. Bruno, John S. Dinger

Come Up Hither to Zion: William Marks and the Mormon Concept of Gathering delves deep into the life of William Marks, a devoted follower of Joseph Smith and a key figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Marks's journey from a descendant of Puritan settlers to a fervent convert to Mormonism is a fascinating exploration of faith, community, and the quest for spiritual truth. As Marks navigates the tumultuous landscape of early Mormonism, readers are taken on a gripping journey through pivotal moments such as the banking crisis in Kirtland, the expulsion of Saints from Missouri, and the clandestine practice of plural marriage. However, Marks's story goes beyond mere historical events; it is a testament to the enduring struggle to define one's place within a religious tradition while attempting to balance devotion to the faith, interpersonal relationships, and personal integrity.

After the death of Joseph Smith, Marks found himself at the center of a power struggle among various groups claiming succession. His interactions with Brigham Young, James Strang, and others illuminate the diverse interpretations of Mormon doctrine and the differing visions of what Zion should be. From his involvement in defining moments in Mormonism to his break with Young and eventual ordination to the First Presidency of the Reorganized Church, Marks's life encapsulates the challenges and complexities of early Latter Day Saint history. Through meticulous research and insightful analysis, Come Up Hither to Zion sheds light on the intricate tapestry of beliefs and practices that shaped Marks's spiritual journey and offers a compelling exploration of the Mormon concept of gathering as both a physical and philosophical endeavor.

Genres: Mormonism

324 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Christopher Angulo]

What a fantastic new book! The book focuses on the life of William Mark's. As they note in the closing chapter, Marks has been largely overlooked in the various histories written about the early church. This book changes that approach and shows how Marks was deeply involved in many aspects, most importantly being Nauvoo's Stake President.

The most delightful aspect of this book is that it does not bore you with the usual sources and narratives that have been written about the various eras, Kirtland, Missouri, Nauvoo, etc. The authors included fresh sources and stories, nailing down Marks' involvement and impact on those periods.

I loved every second of reading this book. I gained new insights and a greater appreciation of the devotion and love that Marks had for the restored gospel. This will proudly sit on the shelf with my other favorite historical books.

As a bonus for finishing the text, the authors provide an appendix that contains Marks writings. It was an unexpected but greatly appreciated treat.

[Ryan Ward]

My review for the Association for Mormon Letters:

https://www.associationmormonletters....

The early years of the Mormon movement have been the subject of intense scrutiny. The period between the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the death of its founding prophet Joseph Smith and the assumption of the prophetic mantle by Brigham Young has been portrayed by various groups in ways that privilege specific aspects of the narrative and minimize others. As a result, the volatility of this period often doesn’t come through. Anyone who tries to follow the trajectory of the many men who entered, participated in, and were kicked out of the leadership hierarchy during this period, however, is likely to experience whiplash, as men are elevated to positions of leadership and influence to be just as quickly cut off from the church, sometimes reinstated.

In official histories of the LDS church, many of these men are painted with a broad brush that glosses over the specifics of their experiences, struggles and lives in the service of a faith-promoting narrative. Specifically, anyone excommunicated from the church or who left during any of the crises during its formative years, such as the banking failures in Kirtland or the massive rift torn in the church as a result of the practice of polygamy in Kirtland and later Nauvoo, are labeled apostate, while anyone who stood publicly by Joseph, defended him, or supported Brigham Young’s move to secure leadership of the church following Joseph’s death and followed him to Utah, are labeled faithful.

William Marks, the subject of this superbly written and illuminating biography by Cheryl Bruno and John Dinger, is one such man who has been swept under the rug of history, smeared as an apostate by the LDS church, praised as a faithful friend and companion of the prophet Joseph by the Reorganized church, and used by other Mormon sects for his influence and proximity to Smith to bolster their own restoration claims.

What is clear from reading this biography is that Marks was someone who was strongly converted to the gospel and stayed true to what he believed throughout his life. Amidst the turmoil and schisms of the early Mormon movements, he wanted nothing more than to live amongst the saints in fellowship and community. His principled stand against polygamy, something he abhorred, led to his being forced out of the LDS church following the moves by Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to consolidate power and authority after Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. He joined and left the restoration movements of James Strang and Charles Thompson before settling on the Reorganized church under Joseph Smith III where he spent his remaining years.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the book, despite it being impeccably written and rigorously researched and documented (with over 800 footnotes and two appendices of Marks’ writings), is how it brings the heretofore relatively unknown Marks to life on the page. Someone who has been mostly relegated to brief mentions or footnotes in previous treatments of these years is revealed to have played a crucial, if unsung role in the early church.

After joining the church at age 43, Marks ascended to the upper echelons of church and civil leadership. He was the Nauvoo stake president and the president of the high council, as well as a member of the Nauvoo city council. He served on the municipal court and was directly involved in many of the extradition cases against the prophet brought by Missouri. As a member of Joseph Smith’s inner circle, he was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Quorum of the Anointed, the Council of Fifty, and the Nauvoo Legion. Thus, as noted by Bruno and Dinger “a study of Marks in Nauvoo gives a glimpse into almost every major ecclesiastical and civil organization.”

Despite being an unwavering supporter and ally of Joseph Smith, Marks’ position as the president of the high council put him in a precarious position following the sudden death of the prophet. The crisis was inflamed due to the fact that a number of people and leadership bodies appeared to have a legitimate succession claim. Ironically, the body that likely had one of the weakest claims to leadership, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, eventually ascended to power, consolidating its control and eliminating rivals, either by reorganizing the leadership hierarchy or drumming people out of the church.

In the case of Marks, who as stake president and president of the high council had arguably the strongest claim to succeed Joseph as the leader of the church (Emma Smith supported his claim), Brigham Young and the other apostles subjected him to a litany of humiliations and loyalty tests, eventually leading to his voluntary separation from the saints (although Young claimed to have been willing to “whittle” him out of town, a reference to threatening violence upon those the hierarchy deemed insufficiently loyal until they fled). For Marks, whose tenure in church leadership had been characterized by humble and dedicated service, this questioning of loyalty to Smith and the church was devastating.

Aside from his potential competing claim to succeed Smith as the leader of the church, the other thing that drew the ire of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and made him an unworthy successor in their eyes was Marks’ unyielding condemnation of polygamy. He had never accepted the doctrine when Smith was practicing, and he viewed its adoption and continuation under Young and the Twelve’s leadership as a sign the church had gone far astray. In fact, he hated polygamy so much that when other sects of Mormonism he joined in later years adopted the practice, he immediately abandoned them. Perhaps seeing firsthand the wreckage of polygamy, including its direct role in the death of the prophet, had led him to view it as non-negotiable even though he had grudgingly put up with it in Nauvoo.

After all of the years Marks spends wandering in search of a community of saints, there is a palpable relief when he at last finds a home in the Reorganized church under Joseph Smith III. At this point, he has served in and left at least three Mormon movements. In the Reorganized church, he played a role in helping Joseph Smith III assume leadership of the church, served as his counselor in the First Presidency, and was put in charge of obtaining Joseph Smith’s manuscripts from Emma and publishing his translation of the Bible. He also provided critical information to the councils of the Reorganized church regarding Nauvoo polygamy, and the RLDS church was vehemently opposed to the doctrine and practice from its founding, going so far as to repudiate the “doctrine of sealing, as relating to marriage for eternity, [as] a heresy” due to its ties to polygamy.

Following his death in 1872 at age 79, Marks was slandered in statements and publications by leaders of the LDS church, including George Albert Smith and B.H. Roberts, as an apostate and enemy of Joseph Smith. Some even went so far as to accuse him of plotting with the mobs to murder Joseph and Hyrum. In response, Joseph Smith III and other members of the RLDS church publicly praised him as a stalwart and staunch ally of Joseph Smith, who never wavered in his support even when he disagreed with some of the doctrines taught by the prophet. As a result, Marks is known to most members of the LDS church as an apostate who left the church after the martyrdom, often mentioned alongside William Law as a bitter and vengeful enemy of the saints. Some have claimed that he was excommunicated.

Despite his crucial role in much of early Mormon history, until now no one has given his life the careful consideration and due diligence it deserves. But as shown convincingly by Bruno and Dinger, Marks was an earnest seeker who found truth in the gospel as preached by Joseph Smith. He resonated strongly with the idea of Zion and a gathering of faithful saints to live together in community. He searched for and worked toward the realization of this goal for the last half of his life, eventually finding acceptance and fellowship in the Reorganized church.

Overall, Come Up Hither to Zion is a wonderful and necessary addition to Mormon studies. Bruno and Dinger are to be commended for shining thrilling, revelatory light on this previously unlit corner of early Mormon history. Their carefully crafted book puts flesh and blood on the skeleton of the previously vague contours of what can only be described as an unremarkably remarkable life, giving a powerful and emotionally resonant snapshot into the beliefs, hopes, service, and struggles of those who sought for gathering and fellowship among early Mormon restoration movements.

[Chad]

Come Up Hither to Zion: William Marks and the Mormon Concept of Gathering by Cheryl L. Bruno and John S. Dinger is an enlightening biography that brings attention to a significant yet often overlooked figure in the early Latter Day Saint movement.


William Marks was an individual who had a knack for finances and management and was put into important positions in the early Church as a result. First, he played pivotal roles in the Church’s early history. Initially serving as stake president in Kirtland, he dedicated himself to stabilizing the Church financially during the economic collapse and the downfall of the Kirtland Safety Society. Upon moving to Nauvoo, Marks again became stake president and joined Joseph Smith’s inner circle of advisers, despite his refusal to accept plural marriage. From that position, if Marks had been willing to put himself forward, he could have legitimately been accepted as Joseph Smith’s successor after the Prophet’s assassination. Instead, Marks aligned himself with various successors, including Sidney Rigdon, the Quorum of the Twelve, James Strang, Charles B. Thompson, and finally Joseph Smith III. Each of these movements welcomed Marks for his legitimacy, though he eventually became disillusioned with most of them, except for the Reorganization. Marks served as a counselor to Joseph Smith III in the First Presidency until his death.


Bruno and Dinger’s biography provides valuable insights into both William Marks’ life and the various schisms and movements within the Latter Day Saint movement following Smith’s death. The book, for example, sheds light on the numerous Mormon factions that emerged in the Midwest between the departure of the Brighamites and the establishment of the Reorganization in the 1860s. The exploration of movements led by James Strang and Charles B. Thompson, seen through Marks’ experiences, is particularly revealing. It is fascinating to note how these movements initially thrived before faltering under their charismatic leaders as they went off the rails. I hadn’t realized, for instance, that Thompson’s group attempted to settle in the abandoned Kanesville/Council Bluffs area after the departure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members in the 1850s.


While direct sources from Marks are limited, the surviving letters from this period offer a rare glimpse into his reflections on these successor movements. The book also delves into Marks’ provocative claims about Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage, including that Smith told him he was repenting of the practice at the end of his life. The authors effectively contextualize these claims, noting that while Smith purportedly sought to end plural marriage, it remains uncertain whether this was a genuine attempt or a strategic maneuver to quell public opposition.

I highly recommend reading Come Up Hither to Zion: William Marks and the Mormon Concept of Gathering by Cheryl L. Bruno and John S. Dinger for those interested in a nuanced understanding of this often-neglected historical figure and the complex dynamics of early Latter Day Saint history.