SATAN ALARMED--THE POWERS OF EVIL CONSPIRE AGAINST THE ELDERS--CHAPELS
AND CHURCHES CLOSED AGAINST THEM--THE REVEREND MR. FIELDING IN HIS
REAL COLORS--THE WORK CONTINUES TO SPREAD--AN ARMY OF DEMONS ATTACK
THE ELDERS--THE DAWN AND VICTORY.
Meanwhile, the powers of darkness had taken counsel against these
servants of the Lord. Not without a struggle would Satan loose his
hold, and permit the gates of salvation to open for the eastern, as
they had already opened for the western hemisphere. The evil one had
seen that the Church in America was trembling on the verge of
dissolution. To give it fresh impetus, and infuse new life into the
seemingly sinking system, was the object of the Apostles' mission to
the shores of Albion. The opening of that mission it was Satan's fell
purpose to thwart, and for which he was now gathering, far and near,
the embattled hosts of hell.
The Elders might be said to have "stolen a march" on the Adversary, in
securing, already, three hearings at Vauxhall Chapel, with the
favorable results before noted. This much could not be retrieved, but
the enemy of righteousness hoped to prevent a repetition of such
scenes, and to hinder those who believed, from obeying the Gospel by
going down into the waters of baptism. For know, O reader--if thou art
a stranger to this truth--that Satan is well satisfied with their
condition who "only believe" in Jesus, if they are not "born of the
water" according to His righteous example and holy will.
[Illustration: Vauxhall Chapel, 1875.]
Acting on the principle, it may be presumed, that a thing to be
recovered should first be sought for where it was lost, the evil one
determined to use for his purpose the Reverend James Fielding, the
very man who had befriended the Elders, and given them their first
public opportunity of declaring the message they had been sent to
deliver. Strange enough after what had passed--though sufficiently
frequent, in similar phases, since those days, to be no longer a cause
of wonderment--he found that reverend gentleman in precisely the mood
best suited to his dark design. Like all who fear man more than they
love the Lord, preferring the praise and honors of the world to the
approval of a good conscience and the favor of their Maker, the
Reverend James Fielding, when he had noticed the marvelous effect of
the Elders' preaching, and contemplated the present and prospective
results, in the leading away of his flock to drink at other fountains
and browse in other pastures, shrank back appalled from the picture
presented to his view. Willing to sate his appetite for the new and
marvelous, and even obey a doctrine which promised worldly honors and
emoluments, he was not willing to humble himself "even as a little
child" and seek the kingdom of God at the sacrifice of every earthly
consideration.
Had he forgotten the text which, perchance, he had a hundred times
preached glibly from: "He that taketh not his cross and followeth
after Me, is not worthy of Me"? Or, like many other Christian divines,
"having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof," was he
satisfied to believe that those words had lost their meaning for this
generation? Be it as it may, here is the record that will meet him at
the day of judgment:
"The Rev. James Fielding, who had so kindly invited us to preach in
his chapel, learning that a number of his members believed our
testimony, and that some had requested to be baptized, shut his doors
against us and would not suffer us to preach in his chapel any more;
alleging for an excuse that we had preached the doctrine of baptism
for the remission of sins, contrary to our arrangement with him.
"I need scarcely assure my friends that nothing was said to him from
which any inference could be drawn that we should suppress the
doctrine of baptism. We deem it too important a doctrine to lay aside
for any privilege we could receive from mortals. Mr. Fielding had been
apprised of our doctrines before we saw him, having received several
communications from his brother Joseph, and his two sisters, Mary and
Mercy, who wrote to him from Canada, in which letters our doctrines
were clearly laid down. We likewise conversed with him on the subject
at our interview. He, having been traditioned to believe in infant
baptism, and having preached and practised the same a number of years,
saw the situation he would be placed in if he obeyed the Gospel; that
notwithstanding his talents and standing in society, he would have to
come into the sheepfold by the door, and after all his preaching to
others, have to be baptized himself for the remission of sins by those
who were ordained to that power. These considerations no doubt had
their weight upon his mind, which caused him to act as he did; and
notwithstanding his former kindness he soon became one of our most
violent opposers.
"However, his congregation did not follow his example, they having
some time been praying for our coming, and having been assured by Mr.
Fielding that he could not place more confidence in an angel than he
did in the statements of his brother Joseph, respecting this people;
consequently they were in a great measure prepared for the reception
of the Gospel, probably as much so as Cornelius was anciently.
"Having now no public place to preach in, we began to preach at night
in private houses, which were opened in every direction, when numbers
came to hear and believed the Gospel."
Thus was Satan unsuccessful in stopping the spread of the work. The
smoking flax was bursting into flame, and all his efforts could not
quench it. Chapels and churches he might close, for of them he held
the keys, but the hearts of the humble and pure were in God's keeping,
and to these sacred temples His servants had ready access.
Then came the stroke climacteric; the _dernier ressort_ of satanic
hostility.
"Saturday evening," says Heber C. Kimball, "it was agreed that I
should go forward and baptize, the next morning, in the river Ribble,
which runs through Preston.
"By this time the adversary of souls began to rage, and he felt
determined to destroy us before we had fully established the kingdom
of God in that land, and the next morning I witnessed a scene of
satanic power and influence which I shall never forget.
"Sunday, July 30th, about daybreak, Elder Isaac Russell (who had been
appointed to preach on the obelisk in Preston Square, that day,) who
slept with Elder Richards in Wilfred Street, came up to the third
story, where Elder Hyde and myself were sleeping, and called out,
'Brother Kimball, I want you should get up and pray for me that I may
be delivered from the evil spirits that are tormenting me to such a
degree that I feel I cannot live long, unless I obtain relief.'
"I had been sleeping on the back of the bed. I immediately arose,
slipped off at the foot of the bed, and passed round to where he was.
Elder Hyde threw his feet out, and sat up in the bed, and we laid
hands on him, I being mouth, and prayed that the Lord would have mercy
on him, and rebuked the devil.
"While thus engaged, I was struck with great force by some invisible
power, and fell senseless on the floor. The first thing I recollected
was being supported by Elders Hyde and Richards, who were praying for
me; Elder Richards having followed Russell up to my room. Elders Hyde
and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed, but my agony was so
great I could not endure it, and I arose, bowed my knees and prayed. I
then arose and sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our
minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and
gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half
(by Willard's watch). We were not looking towards the window, but
towards the wall. Space appeared before us, and we saw the devils
coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of
us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle. They appeared
to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in
the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I shall never forget the
vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me
in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented
itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. I perspired
exceedingly, my clothes becoming as wet as if I had been taken out of
the river. I felt excessive pain, and was in the greatest distress
for some time. I cannot even look back on the scene without feelings
of horror; yet by it I learned the power of the adversary, his enmity
against the servants of God, and got some understanding of the
invisible world. We distinctly heard those spirits talk and express
their wrath and hellish designs against us. However, the Lord
delivered us from them, and blessed us exceedingly that day."
Elder Hyde's supplemental description of that fearful scene is as
follows, taken from a letter addressed to President Kimball:
"Every circumstance that occurred at that scene of devils is just as
fresh in my recollection at this moment as it was at the moment of its
occurrence, and will ever remain so. After you were overcome by them
and had fallen, their awful rush upon me with knives, threats
imprecations and hellish grins, amply convinced me that they were no
friends of mine. While you were apparently senseless and lifeless on
the floor and upon the bed (after we had laid you there), I stood
between you and the devils and fought them and contended with them
face to face, until they began to diminish in number and to retreat
from the room. The last imp that left turned round to me as he was
going out and said, as if to apologize, and appease my determined
opposition to them, 'I never said anything against you!' I replied to
him thus: 'It matters not to me whether you have or have not; you are
a liar from the beginning! In the name of Jesus Christ, depart! He
immediately left, and the room was clear. That closed the scene of
devils for that time."
Years later, narrating the experience of that awful morning to the
Prophet Joseph, Heber asked him what it all meant, and whether there
was anything wrong with him that he should have such a manifestation.
"No, Brother Heber," he replied, "at that time you were nigh unto the
Lord; there was only a veil between you and Him, but you could not see
Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that
the work of God had taken root in that land. It was this that caused
the devil to make a struggle to kill you."
Joseph then related some of his own experience, in many contests he
had had with the evil one, and said: "The nearer a person approaches
the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to
prevent the accomplishment of His purposes."
An answer this, for the unbelieving and sophistical, who argue, with
the shallow reasoning of Job's comforters, that they have sinned most
who suffer most, and are ever ready to ascribe spiritual
manifestations, good or evil, to madness, drunkenness or imbecility.
It is needful, we are told, to experience opposites, to be enabled to
choose intelligently between them; and to those who have this
experience, and who "take the Holy Spirit for their guide," the way to
judge is as plain "as the daylight from the dark night."
'Tis Contrast sways unceasing sceptre
O'er vast Appreciation's realm;
E'en Gods, through sacrifice descending,
Triumphant rise to overwhelm.
So was it with the Apostles and Elders in Preston, after their
terrible encounter with the powers of evil, at Sunday day-break, July
30th, 1837. The Spirit of the Lord, with peace and joy that "passeth
understanding," dawned with the Sabbath sun upon their souls. They had
tasted of the bitter, and would thenceforth more fully know the sweet;
encompassed about by "the horror of darkness," they hailed with
ecstacy till then unknown, the glory of the golden morn.