After Much Tribulation, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, 1:127–28, 132–33; Doctrine and Covenants 59: 1-2

What impact could it have on your daily choices and spiritual growth if you strived to emulate the unwavering faith and courage of Polly Knight?

"Many people started making plans for the journey. In the revelation, the Lord called Missouri the land of the Saints’ inheritance, echoing biblical descriptions of a promised land “flowing with milk and honey.” There the Saints were to build the city of Zion.

Emily’s father was not eager to leave his family. Eliza was still sick and might die while he was away. Emily could see that her mother was worried as well. As committed as Lydia Partridge was to the cause of Zion, she was not used to being left to care for the children and home by herself. She seemed to know that her trials were only beginning.

Polly Knight was sick when she and the Colesville Saints settled on Leman Copley’s land. The farm had more than seven hundred acres of choice ground, offering enough space for many families to build homes, barns, and shops. Here the Knights could start over and practice their new faith in peace, although many worried that Polly would not be long with them.

Polly’s husband and sons worked quickly, making fences and planting fields to improve the land. Joseph and Bishop Partridge also encouraged the Colesville Saints to consecrate their property according to the law of the Lord.

After the settlement started taking shape, however, Leman withdrew from the church and told the Colesville Saints to get off his property. With nowhere else to go, the evicted Saints asked Joseph to seek the Lord’s direction for them.

“You shall take your journey into the regions westward,” the Lord told them, “unto the land of Missouri.”

Now that they knew Zion would be in Missouri, not Ohio, the Colesville Saints realized they would be among the first church members to settle there. They began to prepare for the journey, and about two weeks after the revelation, Polly and the rest of the branch left the Kirtland area and boarded riverboats that would take them west.

As Polly and her family floated down the river, her greatest desire was to set foot in Zion before she died. She was fifty-five years old, and her health was failing. Her son Newel had already gone ashore to buy lumber for a coffin in case she died before getting to Missouri.

But Polly was determined to be buried nowhere else but in Zion." (After Much Tribulation, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, 127–28)

"After three weeks of travel, Polly Knight arrived in Independence with the Colesville Saints. She stood feebly on the ground, grateful she had reached the land of Zion. Her body was rapidly failing, though, and two recent converts from the area brought her into their home so she could rest in relative comfort.

As the Knights searched the area for a place to settle, they found the countryside beautiful and pleasant, with rich land they could develop and farm. The people also seemed friendly, even though they were strangers. Unlike some of the elders from Kirtland, the Colesville members believed the Saints could build Zion there.

On August 2, the Saints in Missouri assembled several miles west of Independence to begin work on the first house in Zion. Joseph and twelve men from the Colesville Branch, who symbolically represented the tribes of Israel, laid the first log for the building. Sidney then dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of the Saints.

The next day, on a plot west of the courthouse in Independence, Joseph carefully laid a single stone to mark the corner of the future temple. Someone then opened a Bible and read from the eighty-seventh psalm: “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.”

A few days later, Polly died, praising the Lord for supporting her in her suffering. The prophet preached the funeral sermon, and her husband buried her body in a patch of woods not far from the temple site. She was the first Saint laid to rest in Zion.

The same day, Joseph received another revelation: “Blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments. For those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die shall rest from all their labors.”" (After Much Tribulation, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, 132–33)

"1 Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments.

2 For those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them." (Doctrine and Covenants 59: 1-2)

And here's the commentary entitled: "Who was Polly Knight?" : 

"Polly Knight and her husband, Joseph Knight Sr., were some of the first believers in Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling. Polly and Joseph gave vital support to the Prophet in the work of translating the Book of Mormon. The Knight family left Colesville, New York, to gather with the Saints in Ohio and were later commanded to move to Jackson County, Missouri. As they traveled, Polly’s health began to decline, but she was determined to see Zion before she died. She had been in Missouri only a few days when she passed away (see Saints, 1:127–28, 132–33). Doctrine and Covenants 59 was received on the day of her passing, and verses 1 and 2 might refer specifically to her."

If I strive to emulate the unwavering faith and courage of Polly Knight, I will be able to help more in building the Lord's kingdom with my eye single to God's glory. And then the promised blessings specifically given to Polly Knight will be given to me as well.