Around this time, Joseph proclaimed a revelation that God had established a "promised land" for the Saints somewhere on the frontier. Joseph sent scouts westward in search of a suitable place for the establishment of "Zion." One of these scouts, Parley P. Pratt, encouraged Joseph to come to Independence, Missouri. When Joseph arrived, he declared that this was the "center place," the site God had established for the building of the "New Jerusalem" which would be a refuge for the gathering of the Saints in the last days before the end of the world.

A colony of Latter-day Saints was subsequently established in Independence (Jackson County) under the leadership of Bishop Edward Partridge, while Joseph himself rejoined the main body of the Saints in Kirtland.