CONDITION OF THE CHURCH AT HOME--PRUNING OFF THE DEAD BRANCHES--A
DAY OF CHOOSING--APOSTATES CONSPIRE TO OVERTHROW THE CHURCH--
FLIGHT OF THE PROPHET FROM KIRTLAND--FALL OF OLIVER COWDERY AND
OTHER APOSTLES--"SHOW UNTO US THY WILL, O LORD, CONCERNING THE
TWELVE!"
While the Apostles are setting in order the Church in England,
preparatory to their departure for America, let us fly before them
over the sea and note some of the changes which have taken place since
they left Kirtland.
The Church had suffered terribly from the ravages of apostasy. At no
time in its history has it seemed so near destruction, as in the early
part of 1837, the period of the opening of the British Mission. The
causes are noted elsewhere in these pages, and deserve a niche in the
temple of memory for all time. The Ohio mobbings, the Missouri
persecutions, the martyrdom, the exodus, nor all that Zion's cause has
suffered since, have imperilled it half so much as when mammon and the
love of God strove for supremacy in the hearts of His people, and the
Saints, for a time forgetful of their high calling, laid aside their
spiritual mission and went groveling after "the beggarly elements of
the world."
Only once in the history of the work, has its almighty Author found it
necessary to reveal that "something new must be done for the salvation
of the Church."
That "something new," as we have seen, was a great spiritual movement,
to counteract the tendency to carnal or temporal things, which was
resting like the sleep of death upon the drooping eyelids of the Zion
of God.
To root out the deadly Upas-tree, rouse Zion from her slumber beneath
its pestilential shade, and prune off the withered branches from the
Tree of Life, was the first care of the Prophet after despatching the
Elders for England.
A conference assembled "in committee of the whole Church" at Kirtland,
on Sunday, September 3rd, 1837. At this conference the various quorums
of the Priesthood were presented to the people for their action.
President Sidney Rigdon presented the name of Joseph Smith, junior, to
the Church, to know if they still looked upon him as the President of
the whole Church, and would receive and sustain him in that position.
The vote was unanimous in the affirmative.
President Smith then presented Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G.
Williams as his counselors, and to constitute with himself the three
first Presidents of the Church. Elder Rigdon was sustained
unanimously, but the motion failed as to F. G. Williams. President
Smith then put in nomination Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, senior,
Hyrum Smith, and John Smith, as assistant counselors; these four,
together with the first three, to be considered the heads of the
Church. Carried unanimously.
It was voted that Newel K. Whitney continue to hold his office as
Bishop in Kirtland, and that Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter continue
to act as the Bishop's counselors.
The Twelve Apostles were then presented, one by one, when Thomas B.
Marsh, David W. Patten, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde,
Parley P. Pratt, William Smith and William E. McLellin, were received
and unanimously sustained in their Apostleship. Luke Johnson, Lyman
Johnson and John F. Boynton were rejected and cut off, though given
the privilege of confessing and making satisfaction. The cause of the
difficulty with Elders Boynton and Johnson was their "leaving their
calling to attend to other occupations."
Five members of the High Council were also objected to by the people,
and new ones chosen in their stead. John Gaylord, James Forster,
Salmon Gee, Daniel S. Miles, Joseph Young, Josiah Butterfield and Levi
Hancock were retained in office as Presidents of the Seventies, while
John Gold was rejected.
A similar conference was held at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri,
then the head-quarters of the Church in that region, on the 7th of
November 1837, and another on the 5th of February, 1838. The
Priesthood was reorganized and the Church set in order, in the same
manner as had been done in Kirtland. Hyrum Smith was sustained, in
lieu of Frederick G. Williams, as one of the three First Presidents,
in which office he had before been acting. Elder Boynton and the two
Elders Johnson were reinstated in the Quorum of the Twelve, though
later they again fell away. Bishops Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley and
Titus Billings were retained in office; while Presidents William W.
Phelps and John Whitmer were severed from the Church; the former
afterwards returned.
Against these brethren "Elder Lyman Wight stated that he considered
all other accusations of minor importance, compared to their selling
their lands in Jackson County; that they had set an example which all
the Saints were liable to follow. He said that it was a hellish
principle, and that they had flatly denied the faith in so doing."
Thus was the line of demarcation being drawn. Thus were "the
inhabitants of Zion" commencing to "judge all things pertaining to
Zion." There had been a day of calling; a day of choosing now had
come, and they who were "not Apostles and Prophets" were beginning to
be known.
During the absence of the Prophet and Elder Rigdon in Missouri,
whither they had gone to superintend the work of purification, Warren
Parrish, John F. Boynton, Luke Johnson, Joseph Coe, and others, in
Kirtland, dissented from the Church and combined together for its
overthrow. They were encouraged and assisted by apostates and
prominent Elders of the Church in Missouri. These dissenters called
themselves "the Church of Christ," the "old standard," openly
renouncing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and
denouncing the Prophet Joseph and all who adhered to him, as heretics.
So bitter became the apostate and mobocratic spirit in Kirtland, that
they who raised their voices in defense of the Prophet of God, at once
endangered their lives. Apostle Brigham Young, who stood firm and
immovable at Joseph's side, was forced to flee to save himself from
the fury of the enemy, who were enraged at his bold, outspoken stand
in favor of the Prophet, and against his foes and traducers. Three
weeks later, on January 12th, 1838, the Prophet and President Rigdon
also fled from Kirtland, for Missouri, followed by human blood-hounds,
armed and thirsting for their lives, a distance of two hundred miles.
Kirtland was now no longer a fit abiding place for the Saints. The
faithful of the body of the Church commenced migrating to Missouri,
where the work of purification went on.
At Far West, in April, 1838, Presidents Oliver Cowdery and David
Whitmer were excommunicated from the Church. The charges sustained
against the former were for urging vexatious law-suits against the
brethren, slandering President Joseph Smith, contempt of the Church in
not attending meetings, leaving his calling in which God had appointed
him by revelation, for the sake of filthy lucre, and turning to the
practice of law; disgracing the Church by being connected in the bogus
business, dishonesty, and, finally, for "leaving or forsaking the
cause of God, and returning to the beggarly elements of the world, and
neglecting his high and holy calling, according to his profession."
President Whitmer was charged with not observing the Word of Wisdom;
neglecting meetings and possessing the same spirit as the dissenters,
writing letters to the dissenters in Kirtland, unfavorable to the
cause of God and the character of His Prophet, neglecting the duties
of his calling and separating himself from the Church, and signing
himself President of the Church of Christ, after being cut off from
the Presidency, in an insulting letter to the High Council.
On the same day Apostle Lyman E. Johnson was excommunicated, and soon
after Apostle William E. McLellin fell away.
On the 8th of July, 1838, at Far West, the Prophet Joseph and the
remainder of the Twelve met in solemn council and unitedly besought
the Throne of Grace for guidance, light and help.
"Show unto us Thy will, O Lord, concerning the Twelve!"
Such was the burden of their prayer, to which the Lord made answer as
follows:
"Verily, thus saith the Lord, let a conference be held
immediately, let the Twelve be organized, and let men be appointed
to supply the place of those who are fallen. Let my servant Thomas
remain for a season in the Land of Zion, to publish my word. Let
the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do
this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long
suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will
provide for their families, and an effectual door shall be opened
for them, from henceforth; and next spring let them depart to go
over the great waters, and there promulgate my Gospel, the
fullness thereof, and bear record of my name. Let them take leave
of my Saints in the city Far West, on the 26th day of April next,
on the building spot of my house, saith the Lord. Let my servant,
John Taylor, and also my servant John E. Page, and also my servant
Wilford Woodruff, and also my servant Willard Richards, be
appointed to fill the places of those who have fallen, and be
officially notified of their appointment."
John Taylor and John E. Page were ordained Apostles December 19th,
1838, and Wilford Woodruff on the 26th of the following April. Willard
Richards received his ordination in Preston, England, after the
arrival there of the Apostles in April, 1840. George A. Smith was
added to the quorum the same day that Wilford Woodruff was ordained,
to fill a vacancy caused by the fall of another of the Twelve. All,
save John E. Page, who fell from grace a few years later, have won
immortal fame in Israel, and left to posterity the legacy of a
spotless name.
Let us now return to the Apostles and their work in England.