"So long as we have no special rule in the church, as to people of color, let prudence guide; and while they, as well as we, are in the hands of a merciful God, we say: Shun every appearance of evil." — William W. Phelps¹

In the early 1830s, tensions in Independence, Missouri, grew as local settlers opposed the Church's views on slavery and preaching to Native Americans. William W. Phelps, editor of The Evening and the Morning Star, tried to address these concerns by stating that the Church had no special rule regarding people of color and would obey Missouri's laws. However, his remarks were misinterpreted, causing fear among locals. To calm tensions, Phelps printed a leaflet contradicting his previous publication by opposing the admission of free black people into Missouri and falsely stating that they would not be admitted into the Church.²

1. "Free People of Color," Evening and Morning Star, July 1833

2. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 16, 172-176; Times and Seasons, 1 October 1842, footnote 65, josephsmithpapers.org