the Lord broke down the altar of Elkenah, and of the gods of the
land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the priest that he
died; and there was great mourning in Chaldea, and also in the
court of Pharaoh, which Pharaoh signifies king by royal blood.
Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham,
and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth. From
this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the
Canaanites was preserved in the land.
7. The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who
was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which,
in the Chaldean, signifies Egypt, which signifies, that which
is forbidden. When this woman discovered the land it was under
water, who afterwards settled her sons in it: and thus from Ham,
sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land. Now the
first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest
son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner
of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal. Pharaoh being a
righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely
and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order
established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of
the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of
Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth,
and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to
the Priesthood.
8. Now Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have
the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain
claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away
by their idolatry; but I shall endeavor hereafter to delineate
the chronology, running back from myself to the beginning of the
creation, for the records have come into my hands which I hold unto
this present time.
9. Now, after the priest of Elkenah was smitten, that he died,
there came a fulfillment of those things which were said unto me
concerning the land of Chaldea, that there should be a famine in
the land. Accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of
Chaldea, and my {527} father was sorely tormented because of the
famine, and he repented of the evil which he had determined against
me, to take away my life. But the records of the fathers, even the
patriarchs, concerning the right of Priesthood, the Lord my God
preserved in mine own hands, therefore a knowledge of the beginning
of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the stars, as
they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this
day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this
record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me.
10. Now, the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of
Ur, insomuch that Haran, my brother died, but Terah, my father,
yet lived in the land of Ur of the Chaldees. And it came to pass
that I, Abraham, took Sarai to wife, and Nehor, my brother, took
Milcah to wife, who were the daughters of Haran. Now the Lord said
unto me, Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred
and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee.
Therefore I left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the
land of Canaan; and I took Lot, my brother's son, and his wife, and
Sarai, my wife, and also my father followed after me, unto the land
which we denominated Haran. And the famine abated; and my father
tarried in Haran and dwelt there, as there were many flocks in
Haran; and my father turned again unto his idolatry, therefore he
continued in Haran.
11. But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother's son, prayed unto the
Lord, and the Lord appeared unto me, and said unto me, arise, and
take Lot with thee, for I have purposed to take thee away out of
Haran, and to make of thee a minister, to bear my name in a strange
land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession, when they hearken to my voice, for I am the Lord thy
God; I dwell in heaven, the earth is my footstool; I stretch my
hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the
fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains depart hence, and
behold they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.
My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning,
therefore, my hand shall be over thee, and I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee above measure; and make thy
name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy
seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry
and Priesthood unto all nations; and I will bless them through thy
name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after
thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and
bless thee, as their father, and I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee (that is, in thy
Priesthood), and in thy seed (that is thy Priesthood), for I give
unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in
thy seed after thee (that is to say, the {528} literal seed, or the
seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed,
even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of
salvation, even of life eternal.
12. Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and
withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart, thy servant has
sought thee earnestly, now I have found thee. Thou didst send thine
angel to deliver me from the gods of Elkenah, and I will do well
to hearken unto thy voice, therefore let thy servant rise up and
depart in peace. So I, Abraham, departed as the Lord had said unto
me, and Lot with me, and I, Abraham, was sixty and two years old
when I departed out of Haran. And I took Sarai, whom I took to
wife when I was in Ur in Chaldea, and Lot, my brother's son, and
all our substance that we had gathered, and the souls that we had
won in Haran, and came forth in the way to the land of Canaan, and
dwelt in tents, as we came on our way; therefore, eternity was our
covering, and our rock, and our salvation, as we journeyed from
Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan.
13. Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and
made an offering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might
be turned away from my father's house, that they might not perish;
and then we passed from Jershon through the land, unto the place
of Sechem. It was situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had
already come into the borders of the land of the Canaanites, and I
offered sacrifice there in the plains of Moreh, and called on the
Lord devoutly, because we had already come into the land of this
idolatrous nation.
14. And the Lord appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and
said unto me, unto thy seed will I give this land. And I, Abraham
arose from the place of the altar which I had built unto the Lord,
and removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and
pitched my tent there; Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; and
there I built another altar unto the Lord, and called again upon
the name of the Lord.
15. And I, Abraham, journeyed, going on still towards the south;
and there was a continuation of a famine in the land, and I,
Abraham, concluded to go down into Egypt, to sojourn there, for the
famine became very grievous. And it came to pass when I was come
near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me, behold Sarai, thy
wife, is a very fair woman to look upon, therefore it shall come
to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her they will say, she is
his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive:
therefore, see that ye do on this wise, let her say unto the
Egyptians she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live. And it came
to pass that I, Abraham, told Sarai, my wife, all that the Lord had
said unto me; therefore, say unto them, I pray thee, thou art {529}
my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul
shall live because of thee.
16. And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my
God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees; and I saw the stars,
that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto
the throne of God: and there were many great ones which were near
unto it: and the Lord said unto me, these are the governing ones;
and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me;
for I am the Lord thy God. I have set this one to govern all those
which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.
And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was
after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons
in the revolutions thereof, that one revolution was a day unto the
Lord, after His manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years
according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest;
this is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the
reckoning of Kolob.
17. And the Lord said unto me, the planet which is the lesser
light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night,
is above, or greater than that upon which thou standest in point
of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order,
because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest,
therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number
of days, and of months and of years. And the Lord said unto me, Now
Abraham, these two facts exist, behold thine eyes see it; it is
given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time,
yea, the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the
set time of the greater light, which is set to rule the day, and
the set time of the lesser light, which is set to rule the night.
18. Now the set time of the lesser light, is a longer time as to
its reckoning than the reckoning of the time of the earth upon
which thou standest; and where these two facts exist, there shall
be another fact above them; that is, there shall be another planet
whose reckoning of time shall be longer still; and thus there shall
be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until
thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of
the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God,
to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that
upon which thou standest. And it is given unto thee to know the set
time of all the stars, that are set to give light, until thou come
near unto the throne of God.
19. Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord face to face, as one man
talketh with another; and He told me of the works which His hands
had made; and He said unto me, My son, my son, (and His hand was
stretched out,) behold, I will show you all these. And He put His
hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which His hands had
made, {530} which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes,
and I could not see the end thereof; and He said unto me this is
Shinehah which is the sun. And He said unto me, Kokob, which is
star. And He said unto me, Olea, which is the moon. And He said
unto me, Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights
which were in the firmament of heaven. And it was in the night time
when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee and
thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the
number of sands so shall be the number of thy seeds.
20. And the Lord said unto me, Abraham, I show these things unto
thee, before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words.
If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall
be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of
all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto
me; now if there be two things, one above the other, and the moon
be above the earth, then it may be that a planet, or a star may
exist above it, (and there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall
take in His heart to do, but what He will do it;) howbeit that He
made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one
shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits,
notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no
beginning, they existed before; they shall have no end, they shall
exist after, for they are gnolaum or eternal.
21. And the Lord said unto me, these two facts do exist, that there
are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other, there
shall be another more intelligent than they: I am the Lord thy God,
I am more intelligent than they all. The Lord thy God sent His
angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah. I
dwell in the midst of them all; I, now, therefore, have come down
unto thee, to deliver unto thee the works which my hands have made,
wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens
above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over
all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I
came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences
thou hast seen.
22. Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that
were organized before the world was; and among all these there were
many of the noble and great ones, and God saw these souls that they
were good, and He stood in the midst of them, and He said, These I
will make my rulers; for He stood among those that were spirits,
and he saw that they were good; and He said unto me, Abraham, thou
art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there
stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those
who were with Him, We will go down, for there is space there, and
we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon
these may {531} dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if
they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command
them; and they who keep their first estate, shall be added upon;
and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in
the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they
who keep their second estate, shall have glory added upon their
heads for ever and ever.
23. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like
unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me and another answered and
said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate, and at
that day many followed after him. And then the Lord said: Let us
go down; and they went down at the beginning, and they (that is,
the Gods), organized and formed the heavens and the earth. And the
earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate; because they
had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon
the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon
the face of the waters.
24. And they (the Gods), said; Let there be light, and there was
light. And they, the Gods, comprehended the light for it was
bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided from
the darkness, and the Gods called the light day, and the darkness
they called night. And it came to pass that from the evening until
morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening
they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning of that
which they called day and night.
25. And the Gods also said: Let there be an expanse in the midst of
the waters and it shall divide the waters from the waters. And the
Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were
under the expanse, from the waters which were above the expanse,
and it was so, even as they ordered. And the Gods called the
expanse heaven. And it came to pass that it was from evening until
morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was
from morning until evening that they called day; and this was the
second time that they called night and day.
26. And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry,
and it was so, as they ordered; and the Gods pronounced the dry
land earth and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced
they great waters: and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. And the
Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb
yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose
seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it
was so, even as they ordered. And the Gods organized the earth to
bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth
herb from its own seed, yielding seed {532} after his kind, and the
earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit,
whose seed could only bring forth the same, in itself after his
kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. And it came to pass
that they numbered the days: from the evening until the morning
they called night. And it came to pass from the morning until the
evening they called day; and it was the third time.
27. And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the
heavens, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and
organized them to be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
for years and organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the
heaven, to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And the Gods
organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night, with the lesser light they
set the stars, also; and the Gods set them in the expanse of the
heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and
over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness.
And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered, until
they obeyed. And it came to pass that it was from evening until
morning that it was night; and it came to pass that it was from
morning until evening that it was day; and it was the fourth time.
28. And the Gods said, Let us prepare the waters to bring forth
abundantly the moving creatures that have life; and the fowl that
they may fly above the earth, in the open expanse of heaven, And
the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great
whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters
were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged
fowl after their kind; and the Gods saw that they would be obeyed,
and that their plan was good. And the Gods said, We will bless them
and cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in
the seas, or great waters; and cause the fowl to multiply in the
earth. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning
that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from
morning until evening that they called day; and it was the fifth
time.
29. And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living
creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts
of the earth after their kind; and it was so as they had said. And
the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their
kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth
upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.
And the Gods took counsel among themselves, and said: Let us go
down, and form man in our image, after our likeness, and we will
give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing, that creepeth upon the earth. So the Gods
went down {533} to organize man in their own image, in the image
of the Gods, to form they him male and female, to form they them;
and the Gods said We will bless them. And the Gods said, We will
cause them to be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth,
and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth. And the Gods said, Behold, we will give them every
herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the earth,
and every tree which shall have fruit upon it, yea the fruit of
the tree, yielding seed to them we will give it, it shall be for
their meat; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of
the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, behold we
will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb
for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized. And the
Gods said, We will do everything that we have said, and organize
them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass
that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and
it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they
called day, and they numbered the sixth time.
30. And thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the
hosts of them. And the Gods said among themselves, On the seventh
time, we will end our work, which we have counseled; and we will
rest on the seventh time from all our work which we have counseled.
And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the
seventh time they would rest from all their works, which they, the
Gods, counseled among themselves to form, and sanctified it. And
thus were their decisions, at the time that they counseled among
themselves to form the heavens and the earth. And the Gods came
down and formed these, the generations of the heavens and of the
earth, when they were formed, in the day that the Gods formed the
earth and the heavens, according to all that which they had said,
concerning every plant of the field, before it was in the earth,
and every herb of the field, before it grew; for the Gods had not
caused it to rain upon the earth, when they counseled to do them;
and had not formed a man to till the ground; but there went up a
mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his
spirit, that is the man's spirit, and put it into him, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
31. And the Gods planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there they
put the man, whose spirit they had put into the body, which they
had formed. And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life
also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good
{534} and evil. There was a river running out of Eden, to water the
garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.
And the Gods took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, to
dress it and to keep it; and the Gods commanded the man, saying: Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in
the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I,
Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord's time, which was after the
time of Kolob; for as yet, the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his
reckoning.
32. And the Gods said, Let us make an helpmeet for the man, for it
is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form
an helpmeet for him. And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon
Adam; and he slept, and they took one of his ribs, and closed up
the flesh in the stead thereof, and of the rib which the Gods had
taken from man, formed they a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said this was bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh,
now she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man;
therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall
cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were
both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. And out of
the ground the Gods formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call
them, and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should
be the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, to the fowl
of the air, to every beast of the field; and for Adam, there was
found an helpmeet for him.
Footnotes:
1. For an account of how the Prophet came into possession of the Book
of Abraham see this History Vol. II, pp. 235, 6, 8; also 286, and more
especially pp. 349-50, and _note_ p. 350.
2. The Book of Abraham was first published in the _Times and Seasons_
in two numbers, Vol. III, Nos. 9 and 10, March 1 and March 15, 1842,
respectively. In this form it was copied into the Prophet's history
with the several historical items which occurred between the dates of
the publication of the two parts, and in this form is found in the
_Millennial Star_, Vol. XIX, pp. 100-103 and 164-168; but it is now
thought proper to publish the Book of Abraham entire without dividing
it into two articles, as in the above named periodicals.
It is important to note also that the Book of Abraham was published in
the _Times and Seasons_ when the Prophet was responsible editor of the
periodical (he announces his editorial responsibility in No. 9 of Vol.
III, p. 710). Attention is called to this fact, in passing, because it
is contended on the part of some, that the doctrine of the plurality
of divine personages, as now understood by the Church, was not a
doctrine taught by Joseph Smith; whereas it is a doctrine of the Book
of Abraham, as will be seen by reference to it, published by him in a
periodical of which he was the responsible editor; and, moreover, the
Book of Abraham was often referred to by the Prophet in approving terms.
{535}
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Wentworth Letter. [1]
_March 1, 1842_.--At the request of Mr. John Wentworth, Editor and
Proprietor of the _Chicago Democrat_, I have written the following
sketch of the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-day
Saints, of which I have the honor, under God, of being the founder. Mr.
Wentworth says that he wishes to furnish Mr. Bastow, a friend of his,
who is writing the history of New Hampshire, with this document. As Mr.
Bastow has {536} taken the proper steps to obtain correct information,
all that I shall ask at his hands, is, that he publish the account
entire, ungarnished, and without misrepresentation.
I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on
the 23rd of December, A. D. 1805. When ten years old, my parents
removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years,
and from thence we removed to the town of Manchester. My father was
a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When about fourteen
years of age, I began to reflect upon the importance of being
prepared for a future state, and upon inquiring [about] the plan
of salvation, I find that there was a great clash in religious
sentiment; if I went to one society they referred me to one plan,
and another to another; each one pointing to his own particular
creed as the _summum bonum_ of perfection. Considering that all
could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much
confusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully,
believing that if God had a Church it would not be split up into
factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and
administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another,
principles which were diametrically opposed.
Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of
James--"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call
upon the Lord; while fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was
taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was
enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages,
who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness,
surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon
day. They told me that all religious denominations were believing
in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of
God as His Church and kingdom: and was expressly commanded "to go
not after them," at the same time receiving a promise that the
fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known
unto me.
On the evening on the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, while I was
praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious
promises of Scripture, on a sudden a light like that of day, only
of a far purer and more glorious appearance and brightness, burst
into the room, indeed the first sight was as though the house was
filled with consuming fire; the appearance produced a shock that
affected the whole body; in a moment a personage stood before me
surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was
already surrounded. This messenger {537} proclaimed himself to be
an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant
which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled,
that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was
speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the Gospel in
all its fullness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a
people might be prepared for the Millennial reign. I was informed
that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring
about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.
I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this
country and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief
sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments,
of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being
finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto me;
I was also told where were deposited some plates on which were
engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient Prophets that
had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times
the same night and unfolded the same things. After having received
many visits from the angels of God unfolding the majesty and glory
of the events that should transpire in the last days, on the
morning of the 22nd of September, A. D. 1827, the angel of the Lord
delivered the records into my hands.
These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of
gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not
quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings,
in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the
leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole.
The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of
which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small,
and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks
of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the art of
engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which
the ancients called "Urim and Thummim," which consisted of two
transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast
plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the
record by the gift and power of God.
In this important and interesting book the history of ancient
America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that
came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to
the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian Era. We are
informed by these records that America in ancient times has been
inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called
Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second
race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred
years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the
descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time
that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded {538} them
in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the
second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century.
The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This
book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this
continent after His resurrection; that He planted the Gospel here
in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that
they had Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists;
the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances,
gifts, powers, and blessings, as were enjoyed on the eastern
continent, that the people were cut off in consequence of their
transgressions, that the last of their prophets who existed among
them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies,
history, &c, and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should
come forth and be united with the Bible for the accomplishment of
the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular account
I would refer to the Book of Mormon, which can be purchased at
Nauvoo, or from any of our Traveling Elders.
As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, false
reports, misrepresentation and slander flew, as on the wings of
the wind, in every direction; the house was frequently beset by
mobs and evil designing persons. Several times I was shot at, and
very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the
plates away from me; but the power and blessing of God attended me,
and several began to believe my testimony.
On the 6th of April, 1830, the "Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints" was first organized in the town of Fayette,
Seneca county, state of New York. Some few were called and
ordained by the Spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to
preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, yet
were they strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought
to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with
the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and
prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying
on of hands. From that time the work rolled forth with astonishing
rapidity, and churches were soon formed in the states of New York,
Pennsylvania Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; in the last
named state a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson county:
numbers joined the Church and we were increasing rapidly; we made
large purchases of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace
and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic circle, and throughout
our neighborhood; but as we could not associate with our neighbors
(who were, many of them, of the basest of men, and had fled from
the face of civilized society, to the frontier country to escape
the hand of justice,) in their midnight revels, their Sabbath
breaking, horse racing and gambling; they commenced at first to
ridicule, then to persecute, {539} and finally an organized mob
assembled and burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped
many of our brethren, and finally, contrary to law, justice and
humanity, drove them from their habitations; who, houseless and
homeless, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children
left the tracks of their blood on the prairie. This took place
in the month of November, and they had no other covering but the
canopy of heaven, in this inclement season of the year; this
proceeding was winked at by the government, and although we had
warrantee deeds for our land, and had violated no law, we could
obtain no redress.
There were many sick, who were thus inhumanly driven from their
houses, and had to endure all this abuse and to seek homes
where they could be found. The result was, that a great many of
them being deprived of the comforts of life, and the necessary
attendances, died; many children were left orphans, wives, widows
and husbands, widowers; our farms were taken possession of by the
mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and hogs were taken,
and our household goods, store goods, and printing press and type
were broken, taken, or otherwise destroyed.
Many of our brethren removed to Clay county, where they continued
until 1836, three years; there was no violence offered, but there
were threatenings of violence. But in the summer of 1836 these
threatenings began to assume a more serious form, from threats,
public meetings were called, resolutions were passed, vengeance and
destruction were threatened, and affairs again assumed a fearful
attitude, Jackson county was a sufficient precedent, and as the
authorities in that county did not interfere they boasted that they
would not in this; which on application to the authorities we found
to be too true, and after much privation and loss of property, we
were again driven from our homes.
We next settled in Caldwell and Daviess counties, where we made
large and extensive settlements, thinking to free ourselves from
the power of oppression, by settling in new counties, with very
few inhabitants in them; but here we were not allowed to live in
peace, but in 1838 we were again attacked by mobs, an exterminating
order was issued by Governor Boggs, and under the sanction of
law, an organized banditti ranged through the country, robbed us
of our cattle, sheep, hogs, &c., many of our people were murdered
in cold blood, the chastity of our women was violated, and we
were forced to sign away our property at the point of the sword;
and after enduring every indignity that could be heaped upon us
by an inhuman, ungodly band of marauders, from twelve to fifteen
thousand souls, men, women, and children were driven from their
own firesides, and from lands to which they had warrantee deeds,
houseless, friendless, and homeless (in the depths of winter) to
wander as exiles on the earth, or to seek an asylum in a more {540}
genial clime, and among a less barbarous people. Many sickened and
died in consequence of the cold and hardships they had to endure;
many wives were left widows, and children, orphans, and destitute.
It would take more time than is allotted me here to describe the
injustice, the wrongs, the murders the bloodshed, the theft, misery
and woe that have been caused by the barbarous, inhuman, and
lawless proceedings of the state of Missouri.
In the situation before alluded to, we arrived in the state of
Illinois in 1839, where we found a hospitable people and a friendly
home; a people who were willing to be governed by the principles
of law and humanity. We have commenced to build a city called
"Nauvoo," in Hancock county. We number from six to eight thousand
here, besides vast numbers in the county around, and in almost
every county of the state. We have a city charter granted us,
and charter for a Legion, the troops of which now number 1,500.
We have also a charter for a University, for an Agricultural and
Manufacturing Society, have our own laws and administrators, and
possess all the privileges that other free and enlightened citizens
enjoy.
Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only
added fuel to the flame, it has spread with increasing rapidity.
Proud of the cause which they have espoused, and conscious of our
innocence, and of the truth of their system, amidst calumny and
reproach, have the Elders of this Church gone forth, and planted
the Gospel in almost every state in the Union; it has penetrated
our cities, it has spread over our villages, and has caused
thousands of our intelligent, noble, and patriotic citizens to
obey its divine mandates, and be governed by its sacred truths. It
has also spread into England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, where,
in the year 1840, a few of our missionaries were sent, and over
five thousand joined the Standard of Truth; there are numbers now
joining in every land.
Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in
Germany, Palestine, New Holland, Australia, the East Indies, and
other places, the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed
hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage,
mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the
truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it
has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every
country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall
be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.
We believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ,
and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not
for Adam's transgression.
{541} We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind
may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principle and ordinances of the Gospel
are: (1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3)
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; (4) Laying on of
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy and by
the laying on hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the
Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive
Church, viz.: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists,
etc.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions,
healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is
translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the
word of God.
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,
and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important
things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the
restoration of the Ten Tribes: that Zion will be built upon this
[the American] continent; that Christ will reign personally upon
the earth; and that the earth will be renewed and receive its
paradisiacal glory.
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to
the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same
privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and
magistrates, in obeying honoring and sustaining the law.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous,
and in doing good to _all men_; indeed we may say that we follow
the admonition of Paul, "We believe all thing, we hope all things,
we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all
things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report,
or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."
Respectfully, &c.,
Joseph Smith.
Footnotes:
1. The "Wentworth Letter" is one of the choicest documents in our
Church literature; as also it is the earliest published document by the
Prophet making any pretension to consecutive narrative of those events
in which the great latter-day work had its origin. It was published in
number 9 of Volume III of the "Times and Seasons," March 1st, 1841;
while the publication of that more pretentious History of the Church
under the title "History of Joseph Smith," of which these volumes are
but a reproduction, was not commenced until number 10, Volume III, of
the "Times and Seasons," March 15th, 1841. Introducing this "History
of Joseph Smith," in the "Times and Seasons" (Vol. III, p. 726) is
the following note referring to the Wentworth Letter and the more
pretentious "History."
"In the last number I gave a brief history of the rise and progress
of the Church, I now enter more particularly into that history, and
extract from my journal."
Referring again to this Wentworth Letter, I may say that for combining
conciseness of statement with comprehensiveness of treatment of the
subject with which it deals, it has few equals among historical
documents, and certainly none that excel it in our Church literature.
In it one has in a few pages (less than six of these pages) a
remarkably full history of the leading events in the Church, and
an epitome of her doctrines, from the beginning (the birth of the
Prophet, 1805) up to the date of publication, March, 1841, a period of
thirty-six years. The epitome of the doctrines of the Church, since
called "The Articles of Faith," and published by millions, has been
carried to all the nations of the earth and tribes of men where the
gospel has been preached. These Articles of Faith were not produced
by the labored efforts and harmonized contentions of scholastics, but
were struck off by one inspired mind at a single effort to make a
declaration of that which is most assuredly believed by the Church, for
one making earnest inquiry about the truth. The combined directness,
perspicuity, simplicity and comprehensiveness of this statement of the
principles of our religion may be relied upon as strong evidence of a
divine inspiration resting upon the Prophet, Joseph Smith.
{542}
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Bennett-Dyer Correspondence--The Prophet's Discourse on the Subject
of the Resurrection, and the Salvation of Children--Epistle of the
Twelve to the Saints in England Concerning Their Emigration to America.
[Sidenote: Tax Controversy.]
_Wednesday, March 2_.--I read the proof of the _Times and Seasons_,
as editor for the first time, No. 9, Vol. III, in which is the
commencement of the Book of Abraham; [1] paid taxes to Mr. Bagby, in
the general business office for county and state purposes, but refused
to pay the taxes in the city and town of Commerce, as the demand was
illegal, there being no such place known in law, the city and town of
Commerce having been included in the city plat of Nauvoo, but continued
by our enemies on the tax list for the purpose of getting more money
from the Saints; I commenced a settlement with Gilbert Granger on the
estate [Kirtland] of his father, Oliver Granger; and continued in my
office till nine in the evening, having received a visit from General
Dudley of Connecticut.
_Thursday, 3_.--I attended council in the general business office (over
the store) at nine o'clock a. m.
[Sidenote: Attempted Settlement with Gilbert Granger.]
In the afternoon, continued the settlement with Gilbert Granger, but
finally failed to effect anything, except to get Newel's note. [2]
Granger refused to give up the papers to me, which he had received
of his father, the same being Church property, although I presented
him deeds, {543} mortgages and paper to the amount of some thousands
against his father, more than he had against the Church.
I also wrote Hiram Barney, Esq., of New York, in reply to his letter
of the 24th of January, offering him one hundred dollars per acre, for
his twenty acres of land in this city, lying somewhere between the
Hotchkiss purchase on the north, and Galland's purchase on the south,
or to take an agency to sell the same.
[Sidenote: Book of Abraham Fac-simile.]
_Friday, 4_.--At my office exhibiting the Book of Abraham in the
original to Brother Reuben Hedlock, so that he might take the size of
the several plates or cuts, and prepare the blocks for the _Times and
Seasons_; and also gave instruction concerning the arrangement of the
writing on the large cut, [3] illustrating the principles of astronomy,
with other general business.
Attended city council, and moved "that when property is sold at
sheriff's, marshal's or constable's sale under ordinance of this city,
the persons having their property sold shall have the privilege of
redeeming the same, by paying the principal and fifteen per cent on
principal, with cost and charges, within thirty days after sale."
_Saturday, 5_.--Attended the city council, and spoke at considerable
length on the powers and privileges of our city charter; among
other business of importance, the office of registrar of deeds was
established in the city of Nauvoo, and I was chosen registrar by the
city council.
_Sunday 6_.--I preached at Elder Orson Spencer's near the Temple.
_Monday, 7_.--At the general business office. Peter Melling, the
Patriarch from England, brought to the office cash $13.47 1/2, and
clothing $65 from Parley P. Pratt and Amos Fielding, of England; I
transacted much general business and wrote the mayor as follows:
{544} _Letter of the Prophet to John C. Bennett--on Bennett's
Correspondence Anent Slavery_.
Editor's Office, Nauvoo, Illinois, March 7, 1842.
_General Bennett_:
Respected Brother:--I have just been perusing your correspondence
with Doctor Dyer, on the subject of American slavery, and the
students of the Quincy Mission Institute, and it makes my blood
boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and
oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things
cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule? I
fear for my beloved country--mob violence, injustice and cruelty
appear to be the darling attributes of Missouri, and no man taketh
it to heart! _O tempora! O mores_! What think you should be done?
Your friend,
Joseph Smith.
_Correspondence between Dr. C. V. Dyer and General J. C. Bennett_.
[4]
Chicago, January 3, 1842.
Dear Sir:--I am not sure that I am not indebted to you for your
last letter, not having answered it, as I remember. But as I
have been very sick during the long interval of my silence, you
will readily excuse any apparent neglect on my part. I thank you
for your paper sent me, the _Times and Seasons_, and have got
much information from it, and since that, from other sources, in
relation to the outrages committed upon the Latter-day Saints by
the authorities as well as the people of the state of Missouri;
and my blood boiled with indignation to see the whole Christian
world--and the whole political world, too, look tamely on, and
never raise a warning voice--a voice of expostulation, nor even
giving the facts in the case! O what outrages will not be allowed
or winked at by those in authority, and the people generally, if
they happen to be inflicted upon those who bear an {545} unpopular
name, espouse an unpopular cause, and are poor and obscure! It
seems as if we had again fallen upon the middle ages, when the
privileged classes could pour out their sympathies by the hour,
and the very circumstantial and minute details of the loss of
the life, or any other serious evil that befell one of their own
number; but they could write [of] of hear without emotion, and
even with satisfaction and joy, the history of the massacre of a
thousand defenseless women and children, if they belonged to the
common sort of people. Just read, for example, Madame de Sevigne's
account in a letter to her daughter, dated "Aux Rochers," 30
Oct., 1675, in the second volume of De Toquerville's Democracy in
America. What, my dear sir, do you think of the treatment which the
subject of American slavery receives at the hands of the American
press--amongst the people generally, and especially in the halls
of Congress? What think you of the sentencing of three men from
the Quincy Mission Institute in this state, a short time since,
to twelve years confinement in the penitentiary of Missouri, for
no crime at all, or only such as God would regard as a virtue?
Please look into this matter, and see if you cannot join with the
benevolent and fearless, and call the attention of the nation or
the state, to these outrages of Missouri, I send you a paper, and
mark one of the pieces for your perusal. Read it. I do not know
whether you have examined the whole subject of American slavery;
but if you have not, I beseech you to do so, and let me hear from
you. Is it not sin? Yes. Then is it not right to repent of it? Yes.
When? God allows not a moment. Is not repentance and abandonment
of sin safe, so long as God commands, and stands ready to look
after the consequences? Certainly so. Well, can any court, either
state or national, rob me of liberty for twelve years (even against
their own state laws), for acting precisely in accordance with the
letter and spirit of the Constitution of the United States, and the
precepts of Jesus Christ? Is it to be submitted to tamely, that
three men shall be immured in a dungeon for twelve years, torn from
their families and friends, and from society and usefulness, for
barely teaching a fellow being how to go to a place where he may
learn the sciences--have his own wages, aye, and his own person?
Let me hear from you. Have we not a right to sympathize with each
other?
I am, very sincerely, your friend and obedient servant,
Charles V. Dyer.
_Gen. John C. Bennett_.
Nauvoo, Hancock county, Illinois.
Nauvoo, Ill., January 20th, A. D. 1842.
Dear Sir:--Yours of the 3rd inst., accompanied by the _Genius
of Liberty_, containing the address of Alvin Stewart, Esq., is
before me, {546} and I seize upon this, the first, opportunity to
reply. You refer me to Madame de Sevigne's letter to her daughter,
dated "Aux Rochers," 30th Oct., A. D. 1675, in the second volume
of De Toquerville's Democracy in America; and ask me to examine
the subject of American slavery. I have done so: I gave it a full
and fair investigation years ago--I swore in my youth that my
hands should never be bound nor my feet fettered, nor my tongue
palsied--I am the friend of liberty, "Universal liberty," both
civil and religious. I ever detested servile bondage. I wish to see
the shackles fall from the feet of the oppressed, and the chains of
slavery broken. I hate the oppressor's grasp, and the tyrant's rod;
against them I set my brows like brass, and my face like steel; and
my arm is nerved for the conflict. Let the sons of thunder speak,
achieve victories before the cannon's mouth, and beard the lion in
his den; till then the cry of the oppressed will not be heard; till
then the wicked will not cease to trouble, nor the weary bondman be
at rest. Great God, has it come to this--that the free citizens of
the sovereign state of Illinois can be taken and immured within the
walls of a Missouri penitentiary for twelve long years, for such a
crime as God would regard as a virtue! simply for pointing bondsmen
to a state of liberty and law! and no man take it to heart? Never,
no never, no never! Let the friends of freedom arise and utter
their voice, like the voice of ten thousand thunders--let them take
every constitutional means to procure a redress of grievances--let
there be a concerted effort, and the victory is ours. Let the broad
banners of freedom be unfurled, and soon the prison doors will be
opened, the captive set at liberty, and the oppressed go free.
Missouri will then remember the unoffending Mormons in the days
of their captivity and bondage--when murder and rapine were her
darling attribute,--why, my heart is filled with indignation, and
my blood boils within me, when I contemplate the vast injustice and
cruelty which Missouri has meted out to that great philanthropist
and devout Christian, General Joseph Smith, and his honest and
faithful adherents--the Latter-day Saints, or Mormons; but the
time has passed, and God will avenge their wrongs in His own good
time. Dr. Dyer, put your hand upon your heart, and remember Zion.
Just investigate the wrongs which our people have suffered in their
unprecedented privations, the confiscation of their property, and
the murder of their friends--the persecutions of the Waldenses in
former ages were not to be compared to it, and history affords
not a parallel. Now let us make a strong, concerted, and vigorous
effort, for Universal Liberty, to every soul of man--civil,
religious and political. With high considerations of respect and
esteem, suffer me to subscribe myself,
Yours respectfully,
_Charles V. Dyer, M. D_. John C. Bennett.
{547} P. S. Gen. Smith informs me that there are white slaves in
Missouri [5] (Mormons) in as abject servitude as the blacks, and
we have, as yet, no means of redress! God grant that the day of
righteous retribution may not be procrastinated.
J. C. B.
_Letter of John C. Bennett to Joseph Smith--Anent the Dyer-Bennett
Correspondence_. [6]
Mayor's Office, City of Nauvoo, Illinois,
March 8, A. D., 1842.
_Esteemed Friend_:
Yours of the 7th inst. has been received, and I proceed to reply,
without undue emotion or perturbation. You ask, "When will these
things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again
bear rule?" I reply--once that noble bird of Jove, our grand
national emblem, soared aloft, bearing in her proud beak the
words "Liberty and Law," and that man that had the temerity to
ruffle her feathers, was made to feel the power of her talons; but
a wily archer came, and with his venomed arrow dipped in Upas'
richest sap, shot the flowing label from the eagle's bill--it
fell inverted, and the bird was sick, and is--the label soon was
trampled in the dust--the eagle bound and caged. The picture is
now before you in bold relief. What think you should be done? The
master spirits of the age must rise and break the cage, restore
the label, unbind the bird, and let her tower unfettered in the
air--then will the nation have repose, and the present minions of
power hide their faces in the dust. Many of Missouri's noble sons
detest her acts of cruelty and crime, and gladly would they wipe
them from the escutcheon of her fame, and will; yes they will lend
a helping hand--and all must help, for the time is at hand--and if
man, rebellious, cowardly, faltering man, will not do the work,
the thunderings of Sinai will wind up the scene--the blood of the
murdered Mormons cries aloud for help, and the restoration of the
inheritances of the Saints; and God has {548} heard the cry--and
the moral battle must be fought, and the victory won, he who
answers by fire will cause sword and flame to do their office,
and again make the Constitution and the laws paramount to every
other consideration--and I swear by the Lord God of Israel, that
the sword shall not depart from my thigh, nor the buckler from my
arm, until the trust is consummated, and the hydra-headed, fiery
dragon slain. This done the proud southron will no longer boast of
ill-gotten gain, or wash his hands in the blood of the innocent, or
immure the freemen of the prairie State within Missouri's sullied,
poisoned, deathly prison walls. Let us always take refuge under the
broad folds of the Constitution and the laws, and fear no danger,
for the day of vengeance will assuredly come when the Omnipotent
hand of the Great God will effect the restitution of the trophies
of the brigand victories of Missouri, and again place the Saints on
high.
Yours respectfully,
John C. Bennett.
_General Joseph Smith_.
_Tuesday, 8_.--Recommenced translating from the Records of Abraham for
the tenth number of the _Times and Seasons_, and was engaged at my
office day and evening.
_Wednesday, 9_.--Examining copy for the _Times and Seasons_, presented
by Messrs. Taylor and Bennett, and a variety of other business in my
office, in the morning; in the afternoon continued the translation of
the Book of Abraham, called at Bishop Knight's and Mr. Davis', with the
recorder, and continued translating and revising, and reading letters
in the evening, Sister Emma being present in the office.
I also wrote Edward Hunter, as follows--
_Letter of the Prophet to Edward Hunter--Business Transactions_.
Dear Sir:--I yesterday had the pleasure of receiving your letter of
February 10. Am much pleased that you have effected a sale, and are
so soon to be with us, &c.
I have purchased the lands you desired, and will use my influence
to have the improvements made which you wish. Brother Weiler
received your letter and says he will do what he can to have all
done.
The eight hundred dollars for the Temple and Nauvoo House, I wish
you to bring in goods, for which I will give you stock and credit
as soon as received.
I wish you to invest as much money as you possibly can in goods, to
{549} bring here, and I will purchase them of you when you come, if
we can agree on terms; or you can have my new brick store to rent.
I wish the business kept up by some one in the building, as it is
a very fine house, and cost me a handsome amount to build it. Some
eight or ten thousand dollars worth of goods would be an advantage
to this place; therefore, if you or some of the brethren, would
bring them on, I have no doubt but that I can arrange for them in
some way to your or their advantage.
As to money matters here, the State Bank is down, and we cannot
tell you what bank would be safe a month hence. I would say that
gold and silver is the only safe money a man can keep these times,
you can sell specie here for more premium than you have to give;
therefore there would be no loss and it would be safe. The bank you
deposit in might fail before you had time to draw out again.
I am now very busily engaged in translating, and therefore cannot
give as much time to public matters as I could wish, but will
nevertheless do what I can to forward your affairs. I will send you
a memorandum of such goods as will suit this market.
Yours affectionately,
Joseph Smith.
_Thursday, 10_.--Gave instructions concerning a deed to Stephen
Markham, Shadrack Roundy, and Hiram Clark, and letter of attorney from
Miss Smith to Edward Hunter, and did a great variety of business; rode
out; and in the evening attended trial at Brother Hyrum's office, the
City of Nauvoo _versus_ Amos Davis, for indecent and abusive language
about me while at Mr. Davis' the day previous. The charges were clearly
substantiated by the testimony of Dr. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard, and
others. Mr. Davis was found guilty by the jury, and by the municipal
court, bound over to keep the peace six months, under $100 bond; after
which I retired to the printing office with Emma, and supped with the
Twelve and their wives, who were spending the evening with Sister Hyde.
_Friday, 11_.
_Extract from the Legion Minutes_.
The Nauvoo Legion was on parade, commanded by Lieutenant-General
Joseph Smith in person. Several of the Twelve Apostles rode in
{550} the general staff as Chaplains. The line was formed at ten
o'clock, a. m., and soon the Legion marched from their usual place
of parade, below the Temple, to Water-street, in front of General
Smith's house, where the troops were inspected, and after a recess
marched west on the bank of the river, and taking a circuitous
route, resumed their usual post on the parade ground, and closed
the day in good order and with good feelings, and to the full
satisfaction of the Commander-in-Chief.
_Extract of High Council Minutes_.
In the evening President Smith attended the trial of Elder Francis
Gladden Bishop, at his (the president's) house. Elder Bishop
appeared before the High Council of Nauvoo on complaint of having
received, written, and published or taught certain "revelations"
and doctrines not consistent with the Doctrine and Covenants of the
Church. Mr. Bishop refusing to present the written "revelation" the
Mayor, (John C. Bennett) issued his warrant and brought them before
the council, when parts of the same were read by Mr. Bishop himself
to council, the whole mass of which appeared to be the extreme of
folly, nonsense, absurdity, falsehood and bombastic egotism--so
much so as to keep the Saints laughing, when not overcome by sorrow
and shame. President Joseph explained the nature of the case and
gave a very clear elucidation of the tendency of such prophets and
prophesyings, and gave Mr. Bishop over to the buffetings of Satan
until he shall learn wisdom. After a few appropriate observations
from Patriarch Hyrum and some of the council, the council voted
unanimously that Francis Gladden Bishop be removed from the
fellowship of the Church; President Joseph having previously
committed the "revelation" above referred to, to the flames.
_Saturday, 12_.--I presided over a court-martial of the officers of
the Nauvoo Legion at my own house, for the purpose of deciding upon
the rank and station of the several officers, and the more perfect
organization of the Legion.
_Sunday, 13_.--I was with my family.
_Monday, 14_.--Transacted a great variety of business at the office.
_Tuesday, 15_.--I officiated as grand chaplain at the installation of
the Nauvoo Lodge of Free Masons, at the Grove near the Temple. Grand
Master Jonas, of Columbus, being present, a large number of people
assembled {551} on the occasion. The day was exceedingly fine; all
things were done in order, and universal satisfaction was manifested.
In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the
Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office.
Some time previous to this [March 15th] Sister Elizabeth Morgan died at
London without medical aid, after calling for the Elders, &c., which
created much excitement, and a coroner's inquest was called by Mr.
Baker, who brought in a verdict of "natural death."
_The Prophet Becomes Editor of the Times and Seasons_.
This paper commences my editorial career: I alone stand responsible
for it, and shall do for all papers [i. e. Nos. of the _Times and
Seasons_,] having my signature henceforward. I am not responsible
for the publication or arrangement of the former paper; the matter
did not come under my supervision.
Joseph Smith.
We extract the following from the New York _Tribune_:
_Honor Among Thieves_.
"The paymaster of the Missouri Militia, called out to put down the
Mormons some two years since, was supplied with money some time
since, and started for Western Missouri, but has not yet arrived
there. It is feared he has taken the Saline slope."
We are not surprised that persons who could wantonly, barbarously,
and without shadow of law, drive fifteen thousand men, women and
children from their homes, should have among them a man who was so
lost to every sense of justice, as to run away with the wages for
this infamous deed; it is not very difficult for men who can blow
out the brains of children; who can shoot down and hew to pieces
our ancient veterans who fought in defense of our country, and
delivered it from the oppressor's grasp; who could deliberately and
in cold blood, murder men and rob them of their boots, watches,
&c., and whilst their victims were yet weltering in their blood,
and grappling with death, proceed to rob the widows' houses. Men
who can deliberately do this, and steal nearly all the horses,
cattle, sheep, hogs, and property of a whole community, and drive
them from their homes _en masse_, in an {552} inclement season of
the year, will not find many qualms of conscience in stealing the
pay of his brother thieves, and taking the "Saline slope." The very
idea of Government paying these men for their bloody deeds, must
cause the sons of liberty to blush, and to hang their harps upon
the willow, and make the blood of every patriot run chill.
The proceedings of that state have been so barbarous and inhuman
that our indignation is aroused when we reflect upon the scene. We
are here reminded of one of the patriotic deeds of the government
of that state, who after they had robbed us of everything we had in
the world, and taken from us many hundred thousand dollars' worth
of property, had their sympathies so far touched (_alias_ their
good name) that they voted two thousand dollars to the relief of
the "_suffering Mormons_," and choosing two or three of her noblest
sons, to carry their heavenly boon, these angels of salvation
came in the plentitude of their mercy and in the dignity of their
office to Far West. To do what? To feed its hungry and clothe its
naked with the $2,000? Verily nay! but to go into Daviess county
and steal the Mormons' hogs (which they were prohibited themselves
from obtaining under penalty of death) to distribute among the
destitute, and to sell where they could obtain the money. These
hogs thus obtained were shot down in their blood and not otherwise
bled; they were filthy to a degree. These, the Mormons' own
hogs, and a few goods, the sweepings of an old store in Liberty,
were what these patriotic and noble-minded men gave to the "poor
Mormons," and then circulated to the world how sympathetic,
benevolent, kind and merciful the Legislature of the State of
Missouri was, in giving two thousand dollars to the "suffering
Mormons." Surely "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
_Wednesday, March 16_.--I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the
sublime degree.
_Thursday, 17_.--The High Council withdrew the hand of fellowship from
Elder Oliver Olney for setting himself up as a prophet, and took his
license.
[Sidenote: Origin of the Female Relief Society.]
I assisted in commencing the organization of "The Female Relief Society
of Nauvoo" in the Lodge Room. Sister Emma Smith, President, and Sister
Elizabeth Ann Whitney and Sarah M. Cleveland, Counselors. I gave much
instruction, read in the New Testament, and Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, concerning the Elect Lady, and showed that the elect meant
to be elected to a certain work, &c., and {553} that the revelation
was then fulfilled by Sister Emma's election to the Presidency of the
Society, she having previously been ordained to expound the Scriptures.
Emma was blessed, and her counselors were ordained by Elder John Taylor.
_Friday, 18 and Saturday 19_.--At home and at my office engaged in
business, temporal and spiritual.
_Sunday, 20_.--I preached to a large assembly in the grove, near the
Temple on the west. The body of a deceased child of Mr. Windsor P. Lyon
being before the assembly, changed my design in the order of my remarks.
[The following is a brief synopsis of the Prophet's remarks, by
Elder Wilford Woodruff:]
_The Prophet's Sermon on Life and Death; the Resurrection and the
Salvation of Children_.
President Smith read the 14th chapter of Revelation, and said--We
have again the warning voice sounded in our midst, which shows
the uncertainty of human life; and in my leisure moments I have
meditated upon the subject, and asked the question, why it is that
infants, innocent children, are taken away from us, especially
those that seem to be the most intelligent and interesting. The
strongest reasons that present themselves to my mind are these:
This world is a very wicked world; and it is a proverb that the
"world grows weaker and wiser;" if that is the case, the world
grows more wicked and corrupt. In the earlier ages of the world a
righteous man, and a man of God and of intelligence, had a better
chance to do good, to be believed and received than at the present
day: but in these days such a man is much opposed and persecuted
by most of the inhabitants of the earth, and he has much sorrow to
pass through here. The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that
they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this
present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth;
therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have
reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall
soon have them again.
What chance is there for infidelity when we are parting with
our friends almost daily? None at all. The infidel will grasp
at every straw for help until death stares him in the face, and
then his infidelity takes its flight, for the realities of the
eternal world are resting upon him in mighty power; and when every
earthly support and prop fails him, he {554} then sensibly feels
the eternal truths of the immortality of the soul. We should take
warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent, as we see the
infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle aged, as
well as the infant be suddenly called into eternity. Let this,
then, prove as a warning to all not to procrastinate repentance,
or wait till a deathbed for it is the will of God that man should
repent and serve Him in health, and in the strength and power of
his mind, in order to secure His blessing, and not wait until he is
called to die.
The doctrine of baptizing children, or sprinkling them, or they
must welter in hell, is a doctrine not true, not supported in Holy
Writ, and is not consistent with the character of God. All children
are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the moment that
children leave this world, they are taken to the bosom of Abraham.
The only difference between the old and young dying is, one lives
longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other,
and is freed a little sooner from this miserable, wicked world.
Notwithstanding all this glory, we for a moment lose sight of it,
and mourn the loss, but we do not mourn as those without hope.
My intention was to have spoken on the subject of baptism, but
having a case of death before us, I thought proper to refer to that
subject. I will now, however say a few words upon baptism, as I
intended.
God has made certain decrees which are fixed and immovable: for
instance,--God set the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens,
and gave them their laws, conditions and bounds, which they cannot
pass, except by His commandments; they all move in perfect harmony
in their sphere and order, and are as lights, wonders and signs
unto us. The sea also has its bounds which it cannot pass. God
has set many signs on the earth, as well as in the heavens; for
instance, the oak of the forest, the fruit of the tree, the herb
of the field--all bear a sign that seed hath been planted there;
for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb
bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth
after any other law or principle. Upon the same principle do I
contend that baptism is a sign ordained of God, for the believer in
Christ to take upon himself in order to enter into the kingdom of
God, "for except ye are born of water and of the Spirit ye cannot
enter into the kingdom of God," said the Savior. It is a sign and
a commandment which God has set for man to enter into His kingdom.
Those who seek to enter in any other way will seek in vain; for God
will not receive them, neither will the angels acknowledge their
works as accepted, for they have not obeyed the ordinances, nor
attended to the signs which God ordained for the salvation of man,
to prepare him for, and give him a title to, a celestial glory; and
God had decreed that all who will not {555} obey His voice shall
not escape the damnation of hell. What is the damnation of hell? To
go with that society who have not obeyed His commands.
Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the
will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby
God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved, and enter
into the kingdom of God, except faith in Jesus Christ, repentance,
and baptism for the remission of sins, and any other course is in
vain; then you have the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost.
What is the sign of the healing of the sick? The laying on of hands
is the sign or way marked out by James, and the custom of the
ancient Saints as ordered by the Lord, and we cannot obtain the
blessing by pursuing any other course except the way marked out by
the Lord. What if we should attempt to get the gift of the Holy
Ghost through any other means except the signs or way which God
hath appointed--would we obtain it? Certainly not; all other means
would fail. The Lord says do so and so, and I will bless you.
There are certain key words and signs belonging to the Priesthood
which must be observed in order to obtain the blessing. The sign of
Peter was to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, with
the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost; and in no other way is
the gift of the Holy Ghost obtained.
There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of
the Holy Ghost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was
baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the
truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this sign or
ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth
of God, would have left him. Until he obeyed these ordinances and
received the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands,
according to the order of God, he could not have healed the sick or
commanded an evil spirit to come out of a man, and it obey him; for
the spirits might say unto him, as they did to the sons of Sceva:
"Paul we know and Jesus we know, but who are ye?" It mattereth
not whether we live long or short on the earth after we come to a
knowledge of these principles and obey them unto the end. I know
that all men will be damned if they do not come in the way which He
hath opened, and this is the way marked out by the word of the Lord.
As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will
come from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there
will not be "added unto their stature one cubit," neither taken
from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in
their bodies, and not blood. Children will be enthroned in the
presence of God and the {556} Lamb with bodies of the same stature
[7] that they had on earth, having been redeemed by the blood of
the Lamb; they will there enjoy the fullness of that light, glory
and intelligence, which is prepared in the celestial kingdom.
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their
labors and their works do follow them."
The speaker, before closing, called upon the assembly before him
to humble themselves in faith before God, and in mighty prayer and
{557} fasting to call upon the name of the Lord, until the elements
were purified over our heads, and the earth sanctified under our
feet, that the inhabitants of this city may escape the power of
disease and pestilence, and the destroyer that rideth upon the face
of the earth, and that the Holy Spirit of God may rest upon this
vast multitude.
At the close of the meeting, President Smith said he should attend
to the ordinance of baptism in the river, near his house, at two
o'clock, and at the appointed hour, the bank of the Mississippi
was lined with a multitude of people, and President Joseph Smith
went into the river and baptized eighty persons for the remission
of their sins, and what added joy to the scene was, that the
first person baptized was M. L. D. Wasson, a nephew of Mrs. Emma
Smith--the first of her kindred that has embraced the fullness of
the Gospel.
At the close of this interesting scene, the administrator lifted
up his hands towards heaven, and implored the blessing of God to
rest upon the people; and truly the Spirit of God did rest upon the
multitude, to the joy and consolation of our hearts.
After baptism, the congregation again repaired to the grove, near
the Temple, to attend to the ordinance of confirmation, and,
notwithstanding President Smith had spoken in the open air to the
people, and stood in the water and baptized about eighty persons,
about fifty of those baptized received their confirmation under his
hands in the after part of the day.
While this was progressing, great numbers were being baptized in
the font.
{558} After this, I baptized a large number in the font myself.
_An Epistle of the Twelve to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in its Various Branches and Conferences in
Europe. Greeting_:
Beloved Brethren.--We feel it our privilege and a duty we owe
to the great and glorious cause in which we have enlisted, to
communicate to you at this time, some principles which if carried
into effect, will facilitate the gathering of the Saints, and
tend to ameliorate the condition of those who are struggling
with poverty and distress, in this day when the usual means of
support seem to be cut short to the laboring classes, through the
depression that everywhere prevails in the general business mart
of the civilized world. Our situation is such in these last days,
and our salvation spiritually is so connected with our salvation
temporally, that if one fail, the other necessarily must be
seriously affected, if not wholly destroyed. God has made us social
beings; He has endowed us with capacities for enjoying each other's
society, and it is our duty to bring those powers and privileges
into exercise, so far as we can, and for this it is our duty to
strive by all lawful and expedient measures within our reach.
While we remain in this state of existence, we need food and
raiment, habitations and society, and without these our enjoyments
must be greatly limited, and the real object of our existence
diminished, if not wholly destroyed. Though the Saints should
possess all the common gifts of the Spirit of God, and yet remain
destitute of those comforts so much needed for the sustenance of
their bodies, they would be comparatively miserable; but when they
arrive at that state of perfection, and are clothed upon with the
more special gifts and power of increasing the widow's oil and
meal, or if receiving their food from the ravens, like Elijah,
they will not need to bestow so much attention on every trifle of
the passing moments, as they now do; and until that period arrives
they will recollect that to be in the exercise of the fullness of
spiritual blessings they must be watchful and careful to provide
things honest in the sight of all men for the sustenance and
comfort of all these frail, perishable bodies. That we may be
instruments in the hands of God of thus promoting your present and
future temporal and spiritual welfare, we write you at the present
time.
Many of you are desirous of emigrating to this country, and many
have not the means to accomplish their wishes, and if we can assist
you by our prayers and our counsels to accomplish the desires of
your hearts in this thing, so far we will rejoice and be satisfied.
You not only wish to emigrate to this section of the earth, but you
desire also to have some laudable means of comfortable subsistence
after you arrive {559} here, and this also is important. How then,
shall these things be accomplished and your souls be satisfied? We
answer, by united understanding and concert of action.
You all, or most of you, have trades or different kinds of
business, with which you have been long familiarized, and in
which you would like to continue for the purpose of procuring a
subsistence; and a great proportion of your occupation is such that
no employment can be had in this city or vicinity; for instance:
there are no cotton manufactories established here, and many of you
know no other business. You want to come here, and when here, want
to continue your labors in your accustomed branches of business;
but you have no means to get here, and when here there are no
factories, and yet factories are needed here, and there would be a
ready market for all the fabrics which could be manufactured.
Now comes the concert of action; if the Church will arise unitedly;
if the brethren will individually feel that the great work of
the Lord is depending on themselves as instruments to assist in
carrying it forward; and will unite all their means, faith and
energy, in one grand mass, all that you desire can speedily be
accomplished. A short time only will elapse before you yourselves
will be astonished at the result, and you will feel that your
desires are more than realized.
While the Saints are united, no power on the earth, or under
the earth can prevail against them; but while each one acts for
himself, many, very many, are in danger of being overthrown.
God has promised all things to those who love Him and keep His
commandments; then why be afraid that one should get a little more
than another, or that one should gain, for a little moment, what
another might lose; when Jesus has promised that the faithful shall
be one with Him, as He is one with the Father, and shall possess
all things in the due time of the Lord; not by stealth, not by
force, not by the sword, but by the gift of the Father, through
faithfulness to His commands; and the more they shall suffer, while
they work in righteousness on the earth, the greater will be their
reward, the more glorious their kingdom, the more extended their
power, when they shall arrive in the celestial paradise.
Knowing and feeling these things as we do, and having respect unto
the recompense of reward to be revealed hereafter, regardless of
all necessary privation and labor to accomplish what our Master has
given us to do, and desiring not to possess the kingdom alone, but
that all the honest in heart should be united with us in the great
and glorious work of building up Zion and her stakes, we will call
upon you, dear brethren, to unite with us, all with one accord, to
do what? To do the very things you desire should be done; to convey
you to the place where you are, and then put you in possession of
all the means {560} you may need for your support; so that you
may enjoy the fullness of the blessings belonging to the sons and
daughters of Zion's King.
Had we means we would not ask your aid; we would gladly send the
ships of Tarshish to bear you across the great waters, we would
bring you to our homes, to our firesides; we would provide you
habitations, lands and food, when you arrive among us. Our hearts
are large enough to do all this, and a great deal more; but we have
not the means; we have to labor for our own subsistence, as well
as attend to those things which are laid upon us of the Lord, and
which concern the whole Church as much as ourselves.
It is not the will of heaven that any one should be put in
possession of all things without striving for them. Where much is
given, much is required; and he who has but one talent, must be as
diligent in the use thereof as he that has ten, or he will lose his
talent and his blessing; and it becometh him who hath but one, five
or ten, to use them in the most economical manner possible, or he
will not have enough to bring him hither; and that he who hath five
pounds may have enough and to spare to him who hath but one, or in
other words to help the brethren to accomplish with a little what
otherwise would require much more than they can command, is the
object of this Epistle.
Had we the means we would send vessels of our own, laden with
flour, meats, fruits, and all sea stores necessary for the comfort
of the brethren on the water, so that they would have nothing more
to do than go on shipboard, and land at New Orleans; from thence we
would take them on our steamers, and bring them to this place, for
this is the best place for the Saints to stop at for the present.
There may be other places where individuals might have the prospect
of adding at once, more rapidly to their pecuniary interest,
than they could here; but we can only say, it is the will of the
Lord that the Saints build Nauvoo, and settle therein or in the
vicinity; and we know assuredly that those who give heed to every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord, will be richer
eventually--and not far distant--than those who may seem to prosper
more by following their own inclinations.
Brethren, we wish not to control you or your means; it is not
for our peace or interest; nay, rather, it is a source of labor,
trouble and anxiety to have ought to do with the pecuniary business
of the Church, which we would gladly avoid, could we do it, and do
our duty--could we do it, and the things desired be accomplished,
and we stand guiltless where God hath placed us--and for this
reason we desire to make such arrangements as will most tend to
leave the business in your own hands, or in the hands of those
whom you shall select; men of your own acquaintance, in whom you
can repose confidence that they will execute {561} their trust
in righteousness. And that our plans may be understood by you,
and carried into execution, we have sent unto you our beloved
brother, Elder John Snyder, the bearer of this Epistle, and other
Epistles also, previously written by us to you; and we beseech you,
brethren, to receive him as a servant of the Most High, authorized
according to the order of the kingdom of heaven, and assist him by
all lawful means in your power, to execute the mission entrusted
to him; for great events depend upon his success; but to none will
they be greater than to yourselves.
Our authority for thus sending Brother Snyder to you, is found in
the "Book of the Law of the Lord," page 36, as follows--
"Nauvoo, December 22, 1841. The word of the Lord came unto Joseph
the Seer; verily thus saith the Lord--Let my servant John Snyder
take a mission to the Eastern continent, unto all the conferences
now sitting in that region, and let him carry a package of epistles
that shall be written by my servants the Twelve, making known unto
the Saints their duties concerning the building of my houses, which
I have appointed unto you, saith the Lord, that they may bring
their gold, and their silver, and their precious stones, and the
box tree, and the fir tree, and all fine wood to beautify the place
of my sanctuary, saith the Lord, and let him return speedily, with
all means which shall be put into his hands: even so. Amen."
In this revelation, the brethren will discover their duty in
relation to the building of the Temple of the Lord in Nauvoo, and
the Nauvoo House; and we call upon them with united cry to give
heed unto the things written, and help to build the houses which
God has commanded, so that Brother Snyder may speedily return
with means to strengthen the hands of the laborers, and adorn and
beautify the Tabernacle of Jehovah.
Brethren, while you are thus preparing to send up your offerings
to this place, if you will act in concert with our well beloved
brother, Elder Parley P. Pratt, and the regularly constituted
authorities of the Church in England; and collect as great an
amount of cotton, linen, and woollen goods, silks, cutlery, and
hardware, &c., even all the varieties of goods which might be
useful in this country, and which can be obtained by the brethren
in this time of monied scarcity, and forward the same to us
by Brother Snyder, or your own agent, in company with him, or
otherwise, and at other times, we will pay you for those goods, in
lands, in or out of the city, in houses, cattle, and such kind of
property as you may need; and with those goods we will purchase
lands, &c., flour, meat, and all things necessary for a sea voyage,
which can be had cheaper here than in England, and charter ships,
and forward the same to England, or such places as emigration may
require, and bring back {562} in return a ship load of emigrants,
at a cheaper rate than they can now emigrate; while, at the
same time, those who remain can continue to collect and forward
merchandize as before, which will give us the means of continuing
our purchases here, of keeping ships passing and repassing, and of
building manufacturing establishments ready for the brethren when
they arrive in our midst.
While the great depression of the moneyed institutions continues
as it now is, the people are compelled to resort to all laudable
measures to effect those exchanges of property which are necessary
to accomplish their designs in removing from one place to another,
and from one kingdom to another; and by a faithful execution of
the plans proposed above, much, very much, may be effected in
emigration without the aid of cash, or with very little, at the
most; and goods may be obtained to advantage for houses and lands
which the brethren may have to dispose of, and in payment of debts
due them, when it would be impossible for them to sell for cash
at any price, or get their pay for debts due them even at a great
discount, and thus thousands and tens of thousands may be made to
rejoice in this land of plenty, while, were it not for a concert
of action, they might remain where they are for years, or never
have the opportunity of appearing among us on this side the great
waters, until the morning of the first resurrection.
But, brethren, we want to see you here. We long to see all here who
want to be here, and none others, for we desire the increase of
those who love God and work righteousness, that Zion's cords may be
lengthened, and her stakes strengthened; though the country is free
to all who will abide her laws, and we have no disposition to cast
out any from our midst who will submit thereto.
For many particulars in relation to the times and course of
emigration, and many other important items connected with the
general and particular interest of the Church, we would refer
you to our former epistles, as to enter into a particular and
minute detail of all items referred to in this epistle, would
be impossible. Brother Snyder will enter into the subject more
minutely, and with the assistance of the presidency among you, will
unfold the same, so that no one need misunderstand.
The brethren need not suppose that this thing is of our own
imagination, simply; or that the result thereof, if fully carried
into execution, will be of doubtful character. We have been
guided by the Spirit of the Lord in our deliberations concerning
the matter; and have been instructed by the Prophet of the Most
High, even Joseph, the Seer and Revelator, for the Church, whose
instructions to us are as the voice of the Lord, and whose
admonitions we ever regard as true and faithful, and worthy the
confidence of al who profess the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
{563} We have been with him in prosperity and adversity, in
sickness and health, in public and private, in all situations
where men may reasonably associate with each other, and know that
his words are true, his teachings sacred, his character unsullied
among men of truth, and that he is what the Church acknowledge him
to be, a man of God, and the spokesman of the Most High unto His
people; and we bear this testimony unto the world, calling on all
the honest in heart to uphold him by their faith and prayers, that
he may live long, enjoy much, and accomplish great things for the
kingdom which he has been the honored instrument of establishing
on the earth in these last days, even that he may lead a great
multitude into the celestial kingdom.
That the Saints may enjoy the teachings of the Prophet; those
teachings which can be had only at this place, so that they may
go on from knowledge to knowledge even to perfection, they want
to come up hither; and that the plans before suggested may by
facilitated, let some individuals with capital come immediately and
build factories--individuals who have the means, understand the
business, and are capable of superintending the concerns thereof.
There is every natural advantage at this place for facilitating
such an order of things; water, wood, and coal in abundance, and
it only wants the hand of the laborer to bring them forth in form
suited to their several uses; and, while the gold and the silver
are secreted by the hands of unprincipled speculators, let us go
forward and accomplish without gold or silver, that which might be
more easily and expeditiously done with it.
Let the brethren ever remember the admonitions we have so often
given, that Zion is not to be built up without labor, fatigue, and
trial of the faith of many; that when John saw the great company on
Mount Zion, he saw those who had come up through great tribulation;
he also saw those who had endured great tribulation after they had
arrived, and before the kingdom was completed.
The Saints of this day are of the number John saw, and those--and
those only who are willing to endure tribulation, as good soldiers,
without murmuring--will eventually find their names enrolled in the
Lamb's Book of Life, and obtain an inheritance in the holy city.
To all those who are desirous of sharing in the poverty and
sufferings incident to new countries and the children of the
kingdom, we would say, come up hither, and help us to bear the
burden, and you shall share the riches, glory and honors of the
kingdom. And those who are not willing to suffer afflictions,
losses, crosses, and disappointments with the people of God, may as
well stay away and be destroyed, as to come here and perish, for
perish they must who cannot abide a celestial law, and endure to
the end in all meekness, patience, and faithfulness.
{564} Inasmuch as Elder Levi Richards has asked for counsel, we
would recommend him to return to Nauvoo, as soon as circumstances
shall permit.
Praying that you may be blessed with wisdom, intelligence, and
perseverance, in every good word and work, so that you may
accomplish your desires, and help to roll on the great work in
which you have enlisted, we subscribe ourselves your brethren and
fellow laborers in the kingdom of patience. Amen.
Brigham Young, President.
Heber C. Kimball,
William Smith,
Orson Pratt,
John E. Page,
Lyman Wight,
Wilford Woodruff,
John Taylor,
Geo. A. Smith.
Willard Richards, Clerk.
City of Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, March 20, 1842.
Footnotes:
1. No. 9 of the _Times and Seasons_ was evidently not published on
time, since it is supposed to have been published on March the first,
and here is an account of the proofs being read on the second of March.
2. This refers doubtless to Bishop Newel K. Whitney.
3. This refers to Fac-simile No. 2, p. 521, which was published in the
_Times and Seasons_ in double page size.
4. The correspondence between Dr. Dyer, Chicago, and Dr. John C.
Bennett, referred to in the Prophet's letter above, is thought to be
of sufficient importance to be inserted in the body of the History,
though heretofore, when the history of the Prophet has been published,
it has been omitted. The case of the three men from the Quincy
Mission Institute being imprisoned for twelve years; in the Missouri
penitentiary "for no crime at all, or only as such us God would regard
as a virtue"--"for barely teaching a fellow being," as Dr. Dyer naively
put it, "how to go to a place where he may learn the sciences, have his
own wages, aye, and his own person." This case was one in which the
three men had violated some local law of the state of Missouri against
encouraging slaves to leave their masters for the purpose of going
into free states as the national fugitive slave law was not then in
existence, and was not enacted until 1850.
5. The "slaves" here referred to are explained in an editorial note
in the _Times and Seasons_ in which the above correspondence appears
(Vol. III, No. 10) to mean children of Mormon parentage still in
Missouri--"the children of murdered parents; others of Mormon parents
now in this city"--Nauvoo. The charge of their being "slaves" is
far-fetched and was made only because of the severe stress of feeling
experienced by the Saints when contemplating things that related to
Missouri, and some allowance must be made for the bombast, bragadocio
and hypocrisy of John C. Bennett.
6. Because of its bearing upon the character of John C. Bennett, as
also to complete this Dyer-Bennett correspondence, the letter of
John C. Bennett to the Prophet in answer to the note of the latter,
introducing this whole correspondence, the following communication is
inserted.
7. It must be remembered that the above report of the Prophet's
remarks, as also the report of the King Follett sermon (preached in
April, 1844, and which will appear in Volume V of this history), where
the same matter of infants being enthroned in power while remaining of
the same stature as when on earth, and at the time of their death, is
mentioned--were reported in long hand and from memory, so that they
are very likely to contain inaccuracies and convey wrong impressions.
This matter of children after the resurrection remaining of the same
stature as at their death is well known to be such an error. The writer
of this note distinctly remembers to have heard the late President
Wilford Woodruff, who reported the above sermon, say, that the Prophet
corrected the impression that had been made by his King Follett sermon,
that children and infants would remain fixed in the stature of their
infancy and childhood in and after the resurrection. President Woodruff
very emphatically said on the occasion of the subject being agitated
about 1888-9, that the prophet taught subsequently to his King Follett
sermon that children while resurrected in the stature at which they
died would develope to the full stature of men and women after the
resurrection; and that the contrary impression created by the report
of the Prophet's King Follett sermon was due to a misunderstanding
of his remarks and erroneous reporting. In addition to this personal
recollection of the writer as to the testimony of the late President
Wilford Woodruff, the following testimony of Elder Joseph Horne and
his wife, M. Isabella Horne, on the same subject is important. The
statements here copied were delivered in the presence of President
Angus M. Cannon, of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion, and Elder Arthur
Winter, at the residence of Brother Horne, in Salt Lake City, on
November 19, 1896, and were reported stenographically by Arthur Winter,
the Church official reporter.
_Sister M. Isabella Horne said_:
"In conversation with the Prophet Joseph Smith once in Nauvoo, the
subject of children in the resurrection was broached. I believe it was
in Sister Leonora Cannon Taylor's house. She had just lost one of her
children, and I had also lost one previously. The Prophet wanted to
comfort us, and he told us that we should receive those children in the
morning of the resurrection just as we laid them down, in purity and
innocence, and we should nourish and care for them as their mothers.
He said that children would be raised in the resurrection just as
they were laid down, and that they would obtain all the intelligence
necessary to occupy thrones, principalities and powers. The idea that
I got from what he said was that the children would grow and develop
in the Millennium, and that the mothers would have the pleasure of
training and caring for them, which they had been deprived of in this
life.
"This was sometime after the King Follett funeral, at which I was
present."
_Brother Joseph Horne_ said:
"I heard the Prophet Joseph Smith say that mothers should receive their
children just as they laid them down, and that they would have the
privilege of doing for them what they could not do here, the Prophet
remarked: "How would you know them if you did not receive them as you
laid them down?" I also got the idea that children would grow and
develop after the resurrection, and that the mothers would care for
them and train them."
"We hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and correct
account of the statements made by Joseph and M. Isabella Horne on the
subject mentioned."
Angus M. Cannon.
Arthur Winter.
We have read the foregoing, and certify that it is correct.
Joseph Horne.
M. Isabella Horne.
In the Improvement Era for June, 1904, President Joseph F. Smith in an
editorial on the Resurrection said:
"The body will come forth as it is laid to rest, for there is no growth
or development in the grave. As it is laid down, so will it arise, and
changes to perfection will come by the law of restitution. But the
spirit will continue to expand and develop, and the body, after the
resurrection will develop to the full stature of man."
This may be accepted as the doctrine of the Church in respect to the
resurrection of children and their future development to the full
stature of men and women; and it is alike conformable to that which
will be regarded as both reasonable and desirable.
{565}
CHAPTER XXXIII.
A Mason's Estimate of Nauvoo and the Prophet--Organization of the
Female Relief Society--"Try the Spirits"--The Prophet's Editorial.
_Monday, March 21, 1842_.--I commenced a settlement with William Marks,
who had loaned money and property to the Church at various times.
_Tuesday, 22_.--I was at the general business office through the day,
and at home in the evening.
The following is from the _Advocate_, printed at Columbus, the
residence of Grand Master [i. e. grand master mason] Jonas:
Nauvoo and the Mormons.
Mr. Editor.--Having recently had occasion to visit the city of
Nauvoo, I cannot permit the opportunity to pass without expressing
the agreeable disappointment that awaited me there. I had
supposed, from what I had previously heard, that I should witness
an impoverished, ignorant and bigotted population, completely
priest-ridden, and tyrannized over by Joseph Smith, the great
prophet of these people.
On the contrary, to my surprise, I saw a people apparently happy,
prosperous and intelligent. Every man appeared to be employed in
some business or occupation. I saw no idleness, no intemperance,
no noise, no riot--all appeared to be contented, with no desire to
trouble themselves with anything except their own affairs. With
the religion of these people I have nothing to do; if they can be
satisfied with the doctrines of their new revelation, they have a
right to be so. The Constitution of the country guarantees to them
the right of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own
conscience, and if that can be so easily satisfied, why should we
who differ from them complain?
But I protest against the slanders and persecutions that are
continually heaped upon these people. I could see no disposition on
their part to be otherwise than a peaceable and law-abiding people,
and all they ask of the country is to permit them to live under the
protection of the {566} laws, and to be made amenable for their
violations. They may have among them bad and desperate characters,
and what community has not? But I am satisfied the Mormon people,
as a body, will never be the aggressors or violators of the law.
While at Nauvoo I had a fine opportunity of seeing the people in
a body. There was a Masonic celebration, and the Grand Master of
the state was present for the purpose of publicly installing the
officers of a new lodge. An immense number of persons assembled
on the occasion, variously estimated from five to ten thousand
persons, and never in my life did I witness a better-dressed or
a more orderly and well-behaved assemblage; not a drunken or
disorderly person to be seen, and the display of taste and beauty
among the females could not well be surpassed anywhere.
During my stay of three days, I became well acquainted with
their principal men, and more particularly with their Prophet,
the celebrated "Old Joe Smith." I found them hospitable, polite,
well-informed and liberal. With Joseph Smith, the hospitality of
whose house I kindly received, I was well pleased; of course on
the subject of religion, we widely differed, but he appeared to
be quite as willing to permit me to enjoy my right of opinion,
as I think we all ought to be to let the Mormons enjoy theirs;
but instead of the ignorant and tyrannical upstart, judge my
surprise at finding him a sensible, intelligent, companionable and
gentlemanly man. In frequent conversations with him he gave me
every information that I desired, and appeared to be only pleased
at being able to do so. He appears to be much respected by all the
people about him, and has their entire confidence. He is a fine
looking man about thirty-six years of age, and has an interesting
family.
The incorporated limits of Nauvoo contains, it is said, about
seven thousand persons; the buildings are generally small and
much scattered. The Temple and Nauvoo House, now building, will
probably, in beauty of design, extent and durability, excel any
public building in the state, and will both be enclosed before
winter.
From all I saw and heard, I am led to believe that, before many
years, the city of Nauvoo will be the largest and most beautiful
city of the west, provided the Mormons are unmolested in the
peaceable enjoyment of their rights and privileges, and why
they should be troubled while acting as good citizens, I cannot
imagine; and I hope and trust that the people of Illinois have no
disposition to disturb unoffending people who have no disposition
but to live peaceably under the laws of the country, and to worship
God under their own vine and fig tree.--An Observer, Adams County.
_Extract from a Letter from Elder E. P. Maginn, Salem,
Massachusetts_.
I am on a visit to assist Elder Erastus Snow in his successful
and {567} extended field of labor in this branch. Sixty-five have
been obedient to the faith of the Gospel, and hundreds of others
almost persuaded. In Boston near forty have obeyed through the
faithful labors of Elder Freeman Nickerson. I have been absent
from Peterborough two weeks; have preached three or four times in
Boston, Salem, Marblehead, Chelsea, &c., and purpose returning to
Peterborough next Sunday, where I have been laboring with good
success, thirty-six have obeyed since last fall; at New Salem,
Massachusetts, thirty-five to forty have obeyed since August last;
Leverett, eighteen or twenty; Gilsum, New Hampshire, twenty to
thirty. I have preached from one to three times every day, and
cannot fill one in twenty of the calls for preaching; there is the
greatest excitement in this country that I ever beheld during my
travels since I left Nauvoo--a period of near three years, in which
I have traveled through eighteen states and British provinces.
_Wednesday, 23_.--In council with Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards
and others at my office.
[Sidenote: Organization of the Relief Society.]
_Thursday, 24_.--I attended by request, the Female Relief Society,
whose object is the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow
and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes.
Its organization was completed this day. Mrs. Emma Smith takes the
presidential chair; Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Whitney and Sarah M. Cleveland
are her counselors; Mrs. Elvira Cole is treasurer, and our well-known
and talented poetess, Miss Eliza R. Snow, secretary. There was a
very numerous attendance at the organization of the society, and
also at the subsequent meetings, of some of our most intelligent,
humane, philanthropic and respectable ladies; and we are well assured
from a knowledge of those pure principles of benevolence that flow
spontaneously from their humane and philanthropic bosoms, that with the
resources they will have at command, they will fly to the relief of
the stranger; they will pour in oil and wine to the wounded heart of
the distressed; they will dry up the tears of the orphan and make the
widow's heart to rejoice.
[Sidenote: Character of the Mormon Women.]
Our women have always been signalized for their acts of benevolence
and kindness; but the cruel usage that they {568} received from the
barbarians of Missouri, has hitherto prevented their extending the
hand of charity in a conspicuous manner; yet in the midst of their
persecution, when the bread has been torn from their helpless offspring
by their cruel oppressors, they have always been ready to open their
doors to the weary traveler, to divide their scant pittance with the
hungry, and from their robbed and impoverished wardrobes, to divide
with the more needy and destitute; and now that they are living upon
a more genial soil, and among a less barbarous people, and possess
facilities that they have not heretofore enjoyed, we feel convinced
that with their concentrated efforts, the condition of the suffering
poor, of the stranger and the fatherless will be ameliorated.
We had the privilege of being present at their organization, and were
much pleased with their _modus operandi_, and the good order that
prevailed. They are strictly parliamentary in their proceedings.
An earthquake at Falmouth this morning.
_Friday, 25_.--Attending to a variety of business; counseling, &c.
[Sidenote: Mission of John Snyder.]
_Saturday, 26_.--Elder John Snyder received his final instructions from
the President, and received his blessing from Elder Brigham Young, with
the laying on of the hands of President Joseph Smith, John E. Page and
Willard Richards, and started for England this day.
_Sunday, 27_.--After speaking to the Saints for some time on the
subject of baptism for the dead, I baptized one hundred and seven
individuals.
[The following brief extract is from Elder Woodruff's journal.]
_Synopsis of the Prophet's Sermon on Baptism for the Dead_.
This was an interesting day. A large assembly met in the grove near
the Temple. Brother Amasa Lyman addressed the people in a very
{569} interesting manner. He was followed by Joseph, the Seer,
who made some highly edifying and instructive remarks concerning
baptism for the dead. He said the Bible supported the doctrine,
quoting 1 Cor., xv: 29: "Else what shall they do which are baptized
for the dead, if the dead rise not at all, why are they then
baptized for the dead?" If there is one word of the Lord that
supports the doctrine of baptism for the dead, it is enough to
establish it as a true doctrine. Again; if we can, by the authority
of the Priesthood of the Son of God, baptize a man in the name of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, for the remission of
sins, it is just as much our privilege to act as an agent, and be
baptized for the remission of sins for and in behalf of our dead
kindred, who have not heard the Gospel, or the fullness of it.
After meeting closed, the congregation again assembled upon the
banks of the river, and Joseph, the Seer, went into the river, and
baptized all that came unto him.
I also witnessed the landing of 170 English brethren from the steamer
_Ariel_, under the presidency of Elder Lyman Wight; also about $3,000
worth of goods for the Temple and Nauvoo House.
_Monday, 28_.--I was at the office. Received Parley P. Pratt's
donations from England, and attended to a variety of business; as also
on the 29th and 30th.
The following extract is from a letter received from Elder Lorenzo D.
Barnes--
Bristol, March 28, 1842.
_Letter of Lorenzo D. Barnes to Parley P. Pratt--Reporting Labors_.
_Elder Pratt_.
Much Esteemed Brother:--I am happy to be able to state to you
that I arrived here in safety and in health on Saturday, the 26th
instant, after making a tour through a number of churches on my
way from Cheltenham, which place I left in the evening of the
14th; visited the church at Lea; in the neighborhood of which I
preached twice. I then went to Garway, where I preached five times
to overflowing congregations; from thence visited Abergavenny, and
preached three times. The work appears to be upon the onward march
in all these places. Many are inquiring after truth and embracing
it. The brethren and friends appeared very anxious for me to tarry
longer, but being desirous to commence my labors in this city, I
took my leave on Saturday, the 26th, and came _via_ Newport, by
the packet to this city, and preached {570} three times yesterday.
There appears to be a good feeling manifested here at present.
In the evening our hall was quite full, and the people listened
very attentively; persons of respectable appearance were present.
We intend getting a large hall, and putting out bills shortly.
Enclosed is an order for ten shillings, it being a donation for the
building of the Temple at Nauvoo, mostly from the branch of the
Church at Frogmarsh.
Yours in the bonds of the new covenant,
Lorenzo D. Barnes.
_Wednesday, 30_.--I met with the Female Relief Society, and gave them
some instructions, of which the following brief sketch was reported by
Miss Eliza R. Snow--
_Synopsis of the Prophet's Remarks to the Female Relief Society_.
President Joseph Smith arose. Spoke of the organization of the
Female Relief Society; said he was deeply interested, that it
might be built up to the Most High in an acceptable manner; that
its rules must be observed; that none should be received into
it but those who were worthy; proposed a close examination of
every candidate; that the society was growing too fast. It should
grow up by degrees, should commence with a few individuals, thus
have a select society of the virtuous, and those who would walk
circumspectly; commended them for their zeal, but said sometimes
their zeal was not according to knowledge. One principal object
of the institution was to purge out iniquity; said they must be
extremely careful in all their examinations, or the consequences
would be serious.
All difficulties which might and would cross our way must be
surmounted. Though the soul be tried, the heart faint, and the
hands hang down, we must not retrace our steps; there must be
decision of character, aside from sympathy. When instructed, we
must obey that voice, deserve the laws of the kingdom of God, that
the blessing of heaven may rest down upon us. All must act in
concert, or nothing can be done, and should move according to the
ancient Priesthood; hence the Saints should be a select people,
separate from all the evils of the world--choice, virtuous, and
holy. The Lord was going to make of the Church of Jesus Christ
a kingdom of Priests, a holy people, a chosen generation, as in
Enoch's day, having all the gifts as illustrated to the Church in
Paul's epistles and teachings to the churches in his day--that it
is the privilege of each member to live long and enjoy health. He
then blessed the Saints.
_Monday, 31_.--In council at my office with Elders {571} Brigham Young,
John Taylor, Willard Richards, &c., and wrote an epistle to the Female
Relief Society, and spoke to the society in the afternoon.
_Friday, April 1, 1842_.--I was engaged in the general business office.
"_Try the Spirits"--The Prophet's Editorial in the Times and
Seasons_.
Recent occurrences that have transpired amongst us render it an
imperative duty devolving upon me to say something in relation to
the spirits by which men are actuated.
It is evident from the Apostles' writings, that many false spirits
existed in their day, and had "gone forth into the world," and
that it needed intelligence which God alone could impart to detect
false spirits, and to prove what spirits were of God. The world in
general have been grossly ignorant in regard to this one thing, and
why should they be otherwise--"for no man knows the things of God,
but by the Spirit of God."
The Egyptians were not able to discover the difference between the
miracles of Moses and those of the magicians until they came to
be tested together; and if Moses had not appeared in their midst,
they would unquestionably have thought that the miracles of the
magicians were performed through the mighty power of God, for they
were great miracles that were performed by them--a supernatural
agency was developed, and great power manifested.
The witch of Endor is a no less singular personage; clothed with a
powerful agency she raised the Prophet Samuel from his grave, and
he appeared before the astonished king, and revealed unto him his
future destiny. Who is to tell whether this woman is of God, and
a righteous woman--or whether the power she possessed was of the
devil, and she a witch as represented by the Bible? It is easy for
us to say now, but if we had lived in her day, which of us could
have unravelled the mystery?
It would have been equally as difficult for us to tell by what
spirit the Apostles prophesied, or by what power the Apostles spoke
and worked miracles. Who could have told whether the power of
Simon, the sorcerer, was of God or of the devil?
There always did, in every age, seem to be a lack of intelligence
pertaining to this subject. Spirits of all kinds have been
manifested, in every age, and almost amongst all people. If we go
among the pagans, they have their spirits; the Mohammedans, the
Jews, the Christians, the Indians--all have their spirits, all have
a supernatural agency, and all contend that their spirits are of
God. Who shall solve the mystery? "Try the spirits," says John, but
who is to do it? The learned, the {572} eloquent, the philosopher,
the sage, the divine--all are ignorant. The heathens will boast
of their gods, and of the great things that have been unfolded by
their oracles. The Mussulman will boast of his Koran, and of the
divine communications that his progenitors have received. The Jews
have had numerous instances, both ancient and modern, among them
of men who have professed to be inspired, and sent to bring about
great events, and the Christian world has not been slow in making
up the number.
"Try the spirits," but what by? Are we to try them by the creeds of
men? What preposterous folly--what sheer ignorance--what madness!
Try the motions and actions of an eternal being (for I contend that
all spirits are such) by a thing that was conceived in ignorance,
and brought forth in folly--a cobweb of yesterday! Angels would
hide their faces, and devils would be ashamed and insulted, and
would say, "Paul we know, and Jesus we know, but who are ye?" Let
each man of society make a creed and try evil spirits by it, and
the devil would shake his sides; it is all that he would ask--all
that he would desire. Yet many of them do this, and hence "many
spirits are abroad in the world."
One great evil is, that men are ignorant of the nature of
spirits; their power, laws, government, intelligence, &c., and
imagine that when there is anything like power, revelation, or
vision manifested, that it must be of God. Hence the Methodists,
Presbyterians, and others frequently possess a spirit that will
cause them to lie down, and during its operation, animation is
frequently entirely suspended; they consider it to be the power
of God, and a glorious manifestation from God--a manifestation of
what? Is there any intelligence communicated? Are the curtains
of heaven withdrawn, or the purposes of God developed? Have they
seen and conversed with an angel--or have the glories of futurity
burst upon their view? No! but their body has been inanimate, the
operation of their spirit suspended, and all the intelligence that
can be obtained from them when they arise, is a shout of "glory,"
or "hallelujah," or some incoherent expression; but they have had
"the power."
The Shaker will whirl around on his heel, impelled by a
supernatural agency or spirit, and think that he is governed by the
Spirit of God; and the Jumper will jump and enter into all kinds of
extravagances. A Primitive Methodist will shout under the influence
of that spirit, until he will rend the heavens with his cries;
while the Quakers (or Friends) moved as they think, by the Spirit
of God, will sit still and say nothing. Is God the author of all
this? If not of all of it, which does He recognize? Surely, such a
heterogeneous mass of confusion never can enter into the kingdom of
heaven.
{573} Every one of these professes to be competent to try his
neighbor's spirit, but no one can try his own, and what is the
reason? Because they have not a key to unlock, no rule wherewith
to measure, and no criterion whereby they can test it. Could any
one tell the length, breadth or height of a building without a
rule? test the quality of metals without a criterion, or point
out the movements of the planetary systems, without a knowledge
of astronomy? Certainly not; and if such ignorance as this is
manifested about a spirit of this kind, who can describe an angel
of light? If Satan should appear as one in glory, who can tell his
color, his signs, his appearance, his glory?--or what is the manner
of his manifestation? Who can detect the spirit of the French
prophets with their revelations and their visions, and power of
manifestations? Or who can point out the spirit of the Irvingites,
with their apostles and prophets, and visions and tongues, and
interpretations, &c., &c. Or who can drag into daylight and develop
the hidden mysteries of the false spirits that so frequently are
made manifest among the Latter-day Saints? We answer that no man
can do this without the Priesthood, and having a knowledge of
the laws by which spirits are governed; for as "no man knows the
things of God, but by the Spirit of God," so no man knows the
spirit of the devil, and his power and influence, but by possessing
intelligence which is more than human, and having unfolded through
the medium of the Priesthood the mysterious operations of his
devices; without knowing the angelic form, the sanctified look and
gesture, and the zeal that is frequently manifested by him for the
glory of God, together with the prophetic spirit, the gracious
influence, the godly appearance, and the holy garb, which are so
characteristic of his proceedings and his mysterious windings.
A man must have the discerning of spirits before he can drag into
daylight this hellish influence and unfold it unto the world in all
its soul-destroying, diabolical, and horrid colors; for nothing
is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the
influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of
God. Thousands have felt the influence of its terrible power and
baneful effects. Long pilgrimages have been undertaken, penances
endured, and pain, misery and ruin have followed in their train;
nations have been convulsed, kingdoms overthrown, provinces laid
waste, and blood, carnage and desolation are habiliments in which
it has been clothed.
The Turks, the Hindoos, the Jews, the Christians, the Indian; in
fact all nations have been deceived, imposed upon and injured
through the mischievous effects of false spirits.
As we have noticed before, the great difficulty lies in the
ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are
governed, and the signs by which they may be known; if it requires
the Spirit of God {574} to know the things of God; and the spirit
of the devil can only be unmasked through that medium, then it
follows as a natural consequence that unless some person or persons
have a communication, or revelation from God, unfolding to them the
operation of the spirit, they must eternally remain ignorant of
these principles; for I contend that if one man cannot understand
these things but by the Spirit of God, ten thousand men cannot; it
is alike out of the reach of the wisdom of the learned, the tongue
of the eloquent, the power of the mighty. And we shall at last have
to come to this conclusion, whatever we may think of revelation,
that without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God,
or the devil; and however unwilling the world may be to acknowledge
this principle, it is evident from the multifarious creeds and
notions concerning this matter that they understand nothing of
this principle, and it is equally as plain that without a divine
communication they must remain in ignorance. The world always
mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of
God, they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed,
stoned, punished and imprisoned the true prophets, and these had
to hide themselves "in deserts and dens, and caves of the earth,"
and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them
from their society as vagabonds, whilst they cherished, honored and
supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest
of men.
A man must have the discerning of spirits, as we before stated,
to understand these things, and how is he to obtain this gift
if there are no gifts of the Spirit? And how can these gifts be
obtained without revelation? Christ ascended into heaven, and
gave gifts to men; and He gave some Apostles, and some Prophets,
and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers. And how were
Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists chosen? By
prophecy (revelation) and by laying on of hands:--by a divine
communication, and a divinely appointed ordinance--through the
medium of the Priesthood, organized according to the order of God,
by divine appointment. The Apostles in ancient times held the
keys of this Priesthood--of the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and consequently were enabled to unlock and unravel all things
pertaining to the government of the Church, the welfare of society,
the future destiny of men, and the agency, power and influence of
spirits; for they could control them at pleasure, bid them depart
in the name of Jesus, and detect their mischievous and mysterious
operations when trying to palm themselves upon the Church in a
religious garb, and militate against the interest of the Church and
spread of truth. We read that they "cast out devils in the name of
Jesus," and when a woman possessing the spirit of divination, cried
before Paul and Silas, "these are the servants of the Most High God
that show unto us the way of salvation," they detected the {575}
spirit. And although she spake favorably of them, Paul commanded
the spirit to come out of her, and saved themselves from the
opprobrium that might have been heaped upon their heads, through
an alliance with her, in the development of her wicked principles,
which they certainly would have been charged with, if they had not
rebuked the evil spirit.
A power similar to this existed through the medium of the
Priesthood in different ages. Moses could detect the magician's
power, and show that he [himself] was God's servant--he knew when
he was upon the mountain (through revelation) that Israel was
engaged in idolatry; he could develop the sin of Korah, Dathan and
Abiram, detect witches and wizards in their proceedings, and point
out the true prophets of the Lord. Joshua knew how to detect the
man who had stolen the wedge of gold and the Babylonish garment.
Michaiah could point out the false spirit by which the four hundred
prophets were governed; and if his advice had been taken, many
lives would have been spared, (II Chronicles xviii) Elijah, Elisha,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and many other prophets possessed this
power. Our Savior, the Apostles, and even the members of the
Church were endowed with this gift, for, says Paul, (I Corinthians
xii), "To one is given the gift of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits." All these
proceeded from the same Spirit of God, and were the gifts of God.
The Ephesian church were enabled by this principle, "to try those
that said they were apostles, and were not, and found them liars,"
(Revelation ii: 2.)
In tracing the thing to the foundation, and looking at it
philosophically, we shall find a very material difference between
the body and the spirit; the body is supposed to be organized
matter, and the spirit, by many, is thought to be immaterial,
without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave
to differ, and state that spirit is a substance; that it is
material, but that it is more pure, elastic and refined matter
than the body; that it existed before the body, can exist in the
body; and will exist separate from the body, when the body will
be mouldering in the dust; and will in the resurrection, be again
united with it.