“His name was Zelph. Some of his bones were brought into the camp and the thigh bone, which was broken, was put into my waggon and I carried it to Missouri.” —Wilford Woodruff1
On June 3, 1834, during Zion’s Camp’s march to Missouri, members of the camp, including Joseph Smith, unearthed the remains of a skeleton on a large mound in Illinois along with an arrowhead. People later reported that the skeleton was identified through revelation as Zelph, a "white Lamanite" who was a warrior under the great prophet Omandagus (or Onandagus).2
The accounts of Zelph's discovery vary among those who recorded the event, such as Wilford Woodruff, Moses Martin, and Levi Hancock. According to their accounts, Joseph said that Zelph was a noble figure who had fought in significant battles between the Lamanites and Nephites, serving under Omandagus, a leader known from the Hill Cumorah to the Rocky Mountains.3
