THE WORSHIP OF MAMMON--THE TEMPORAL ABOVE THE SPIRITUAL--THE KIRTLAND
BANK--FINANCIAL DISASTERS--APOSTASY--HEBER SORROWS OVER THE DEGENERACY
OF THE TIMES.
"Ill fares the land; to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay."
During the absence of Apostle Kimball in the east, a grievous change
had come over the Church in Kirtland. The greed of gain, the spirit of
speculation was abroad in the land. Mammon had reared his altars on
consecrated ground; the money-changer was within the temple. The love
of the things of earth had usurped, in many hearts, the love of the
things of heaven, and comparatively few were free from the
soul-destroying influence of idolatry. Idolatry? Yes; the bowing down
to the modern Baal, the worship of wealth--the god of gold--the lust
after the ways and pleasures of the world.
The order of Christ's kingdom is the order of creation: firstly
spiritual, secondly temporal. When this order is subverted, "chaos is
come again." Sorrow is the inevitable consequence of apostasy from the
spiritual to the temporal. "To be carnally-minded is death; but to be
spiritually-minded is life and peace." Does not the fall of man
illustrate this principle? Can he descend from heaven to earth without
causing and enduring pain?
The spiritual must sway the temporal, the earthly be ruled by the
heavenly. How else shall it be sanctified? It is the spirit in man
that moves the body, not the body the spirit. In the Church, Christ's
body, the spiritual must reign supreme. The temporal on the heart's
throne is ever the usurper; the spiritual crowned and sceptred, ruler
by right divine.
Jacob is spiritual; Japheth is temporal. The mission of Israel and the
mission of the Gentiles are as the poles antipodal; God's ways and
man's ways, as heaven and earth apart.
"We were very much grieved," says Heber, "on our arrival in Kirtland,
to see the spirit of speculation that was prevailing in the Church.
Trade and traffic seemed to engross the time and attention of the
Saints. When we left Kirtland a city lot was worth about $150; but on
our return, to our astonishment, the same lot was said to be worth
from $500. to $1000., according to location; and some men, who, when I
left, could hardly get food to eat, I found on my return to be men of
supposed great wealth; in fact everything in the place seemed to be
moving in great prosperity, and all seemed determined to become rich;
in my feelings they were artificial or imaginary riches. This
appearance of prosperity led many of the Saints to believe that the
time had arrived for the Lord to enrich them with the treasures of the
earth, and believing so, it stimulated them to great exertions, so
much so that two of the Twelve, Lyman E. Johnson and John F. Boynton,
went to New York and purchased to the amount of $20,000 worth of
goods, and entered into the mercantile business, borrowing
considerable money from Polly Voce and other Saints in Boston and the
regions round about, and which they have never repaid."
The Prophet Joseph says of those times: "The spirit of speculation in
lands and property of all kinds, which was so prevalent throughout the
whole nation, was taking deep root in the Church. As the fruits of
this spirit, evil surmising, fault-finding, disunion, dissension and
apostasy followed in quick succession, and it seemed as though all the
powers of earth and hell were combining their influence in an especial
manner to overthrow the Church at once and make a final end. The enemy
abroad and apostates in our midst united in their schemes, flour and
provisions were turned towards other markets, and many became
disaffected towards me, as though I were the sole cause of those very
evils I was strenuously striving against, and which were actually
brought upon us by the brethren not giving heed to my counsel."
During this period, the Kirtland Safety Society was organized, with a
view to controlling the prevailing sentiment and directing it in
legitimate channels. The ablest and staunchest men in Israel,
including the Prophet and most of the Apostles, were made officers and
members of the association.
Then came the financial crash of 1837, by which so many of the banking
and business houses of the country were prostrated. Nearly all the
banks, one after another, suspended specie payment, "and gold and
silver rose in value in direct ratio with the depreciation of paper
currency." The Kirtland Bank shared a similar fate to many others, and
went down in the whirlpool of financial ruin. One of the causes
alleged for its failure was the misfeasance of some of those who were
entrusted with the funds of the Bank. Heber says that Warren Parrish,
one of the clerks, "afterwards acknowledged that he took $20,000, and
there was strong evidence that he took more. Those of integrity in the
Church replaced the stolen money at the expense of all they had." A
counterfeit, falsely reputed to have been issued by the Bank, was also
used by its enemies as a means to effect its overthrow.
As usual the onus of responsibility was placed upon the shoulders of
the Prophet, although he had withdrawn from the institution some time
before. He was falsely accused of dishonesty and fraud, and condemned
beyond measure, by men in and out of the Church, as though he were the
sole and intentional cause of the catastrophe.
"This order of things," continues Heber, "increased during the winter
to such an extent that a man's life was in danger the moment he spoke
in defence of the Prophet of God. During this time I had many days of
sorrow and mourning, for my heart sickened to see the awful extent
that things were getting to. The only source of consolation I had, was
in bending my knees continually before my Father in Heaven, and asking
Him to sustain me and preserve me from falling into snares, and from
betraying my brethren as others had done; for those who apostatized
sought every means and opportunity to draw others after them. They
also entered into combinations to obtain wealth by fraud and every
means that was evil.
"At this time, I had many dreams from the Lord; one of them I will
relate. I dreamed that I entered the house of John F. Boynton, in
which there was a panther; he was jet black and very beautiful to look
upon, but he inspired me with fear; when I rose to leave the house he
stood at the door with the intention to seize on me, and seeing my
fear, he displayed his beauty to me, telling me how sleek his coat
was, and what beautiful ears he had, and also his claws, which
appeared to be of silver, and then he showed me his teeth, which also
appeared to be silver. John F. Boynton told me that if I made myself
familiar with him he would not hurt me, but if I did not he would. I
did not feel disposed to do so, and while the panther was displaying
to me his beauty, I slipped through the door and escaped, although he
tried to keep me back by laying hold of my coat; but I rent myself
from him. The interpretation of this dream was literally fulfilled.
The panther represented an apostate whom I had been very familiar
with. I felt to thank the Lord for this dream, and other intimations
that I had, which, by His assistance, kept me from falling into
snares."
The hour was approaching when Heber C. Kimball was destined to make
his great mark as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, to perform a
work that would perpetuate his memory, and make his name "a household
word" upon the lips of tens of thousands in both hemispheres.