The document summarizes events in early Latter-day Saint history when members settled in Jackson County, Missouri in an attempt to establish the city of Zion. It discusses how the Saints faced persecution from local residents, resulting in their crops and homes being destroyed. Joseph Smith received a revelation, now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 101, explaining that the Lord allowed these afflictions to come upon the Saints to chasten and purify them. The revelation taught that through enduring hardships with faith, the Saints could gain eternal perspective and redemption would come later.