There it is, right there. In the picture I am pointing to the Burrows Mound, better known to the LDS as Zelph Mound. Here is the short story. After crossing the Quincy River in Illinois, a group of men with Joseph Smith climbed a small hill East side of the river. This was Zion's Camp. Two hundred plus men coming from as far as New York were in the process of marching to Jackson, Missouri to defend the Saints and reclaim their land. This little climb took them to one of dozens of Indian mounds in the area. Joseph gave permission for the men to dig. Close to the surface, a skeleton of a large man was unearthed. Comparing the thigh bone to Joseph's (he was 6'+ tall) they determined the remains to be of a person 6 feet 8" tall. The bones, having been exposed to the air, quickly disintegrated. What was left was a arrow head lodged between his ribs. Soon after this experience, Joseph was given a vision. It was revealed to him that they were in the land of the Book of Mormon. Zelph, a righteous Lamanite, lived during the last great battles that annihilated the Nephities. (Remember, the Nephites are the bad guys now.) He served under a righteous King named Onega known from the Rockey Mountains to the East sea. There are several accounts by the brethren who recorded their stories in journals. Joseph wrote about this in a letter to Emma. Now for the rest of the story: Zions Camp made it to the Missouri border bearing the flag that said PEACE. They were met by a large group of men led by the governor, who told them if they crossed the state line, they would all be killed. They returned to their homes without firing a shot. Several things came out of this experience. One was that most of the future Church leaders came from this group. Another, Joseph told them after having traveled 1500 miles, they had just crossed the Land of the Book of Mormon. (Go to the comments on this post and read what is going on here with the mound and the LDS members in this area.)
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Here the current story with the Zelph Mound and the member of the Church in the area. The Church's scout troop helps maintain the area. Because the mound still contains a large amount of artifacts and more skeletal remains, its location is not well known. It is on US Forest Service land and they have the area under servailence. The members believe there will be a visitors center in the area some day as pertaining to Zions Camp. The Zelph Mound will totally excavated, cleared off and turned into a visitors site. There are eight other smaller mounds at the base of the mound.
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