HEBER'S FAREWELL TO CHATBURN--AN AFFECTING SCENE--HIS SYMPATHY FOR THE
POOR OF ENGLAND--THE APRIL CONFERENCE IN PRESTON--TWO THOUSAND SAINTS
ASSEMBLE--JOSEPH FIELDING APPOINTED TO PRESIDE OVER THE BRITISH
MISSION.
We left Apostles Kimball and Hyde, with their associates in the
ministry, visiting the various branches of the mission they had
founded, preparatory to taking farewell leave of the Saints and
sailing for America. They agreed to hold a general conference in
Preston on the 8th of April, the day before their departure.
"In the interval," writes Heber, "I went and visited the branches in
the regions of Clithero and Chatburn, and on the morning when I left
Chatburn many were in tears, thinking they should see my face no more.
When I left them, my feelings were such as I cannot describe. As I
walked down the street I was followed by numbers; the doors were
crowded by the inmates of the houses to bid me farewell, who could
only give vent to their grief in sobs and broken accents. While
contemplating this scene I was constrained to take off my hat, for I
felt as if the place was holy ground. The Spirit of the Lord rested
down upon me and I was constrained to bless that whole region of
country. I was followed by a great number to Clithero, a considerable
distance from the villages, who could then hardly separate from me. My
heart was like unto theirs, and I thought my head was a fountain of
tears, for I wept for several miles after I bid them adieu. I had to
leave the road three times to go to streams of water to bathe my
eyes."
"Who can read this," says Tullidge, beautifully, "without a feeling of
profound veneration for the great and good man whose memory is
enshrined in the hearts of the British Saints as their spiritual
father? That touching scene is enough to immortalize the character of
Heber C. Kimball as a true apostle of Christ; and the pathos is
actually heightened when he is seen alone by the wayside weeping, or
by the streams washing away those sacred tears."
Heber C. Kimball was indeed a true apostle of Christ, one of the
called and chosen; a prophet and a servant of God, in nature as well
as name.
The Prophet Joseph told him in after years that the reason he felt as
he did in the streets of Chatburn was because the place was indeed
"holy ground," that some of the ancient prophets had traveled in that
region and dedicated the land, and that he, Heber, had reaped the
benefit of their blessing.
It being known that the Elders were about to leave England, great
numbers flocked to hear them, and many were baptized. Their labors
were consequently very arduous. Says Elder Kimball:
"Some days we went from house to house, conversing with the
people on the things of the kingdom, and would sometimes be
instrumental in convincing many of the truth: and I have known as
many as twenty persons baptized in one day, who have been
convinced on such occasions. I have had to go into the water to
administer the ordinance of baptism six or seven times a day, and
frequently after having come out of the water and changed my
clothes, I have had to turn back to the water before I reached my
lodgings; this, too, when the weather was extremely cold, the ice
being from twelve to fourteen inches thick. The weather continued
so about twelve weeks, during which time I think there were but ten
days in which we were not in the water baptizing. The harvest was
indeed plenteous, but the laborers were few."
The following passage of reflections on the poor of England is worthy
of the great philanthropic heart of Heber C. Kimball:
"This was very extraordinary weather for that country, as I was
informed that some winters they had scarcely any frost or snow, and
the oldest inhabitants told me that they never experienced such a
winter before. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather,
several manufacturing establishments were shut up, and several
thousands of men, women and children were thrown out of employment,
whose sufferings during that time were severe; and I was credibly
informed, and verily believe, that many perished from starvation. Such
sufferings I never witnessed before. The scenes which I daily beheld
were enough to chill the blood in my veins. The streets were crowded
with men, women and children who begged from the passengers as they
walked along. Numbers of those poor, wretched beings were without
shoes or stockings, and scarcely any covering to screen them from the
inclemency of the weather; and daily I could discover delicate females
walking the streets gathering up the animal refuse, and carrying it to
places where they could sell it for a penny or half-penny. And thus
they lived through the winter. At the same time there were hundreds
and thousands living in wealth and splendor. I felt to exclaim, O
Lord, how long shall these things exist! How long shall the rich
oppress the poor, and have no more care or interest for them than the
brutes of the field, nor half so much! When will distress and poverty
cease, and peace and plenty abound! When the Lord Jesus shall descend
in the clouds of heaven, then the rod of the oppressor shall be
broken. Hasten the time, O Lord, was frequently the language of my
heart when I contemplated the scenes of wretchedness and woe which I
daily witnessed.
"Great numbers were initiated into the Kingdom of Heaven; those who
were sick were healed; those who were diseased flocked to us daily;
and truly their faith was great, such as I hardly ever witnessed
before, consequently many were healed of their infirmities. We were
continually employed day and night, some nights hardly closing our
eye-lids. The task was almost more than we could endure; but realizing
the circumstances of this people, their love of the truth, their
humility and unfeigned charity, caused us to use all diligence and
make good use of every moment, for truly our bowels yearned over
them."
Touching the prospects of the missionary work in England, he adds:
"The work kept spreading; the prospect of usefulness grew brighter and
brighter, and the field opened larger and larger; while the cries of
'Come, and administer the words of life unto us,' were more and more
frequently sounding in our ears. I do not remember during the last six
months I was in England of retiring to my bed earlier than midnight,
which was also the case with Brothers Hyde and Fielding.
"Sunday, April 8th, the day of the conference, came. The Saints began
to assemble at an early hour. By nine o'clock there were from six to
seven hundred present from various parts of the country. After the
meeting was opened by singing and prayer, we had a representation of
the following branches, viz.: Preston, Penwortham, Walkerfold,
Thornley, Ribchester, Chatburn, Clithero, Barshe Lees, Waddington,
Leyland Moss, Leyland Lane, Eccleston, Hunter's Hill, Euxton, Whittle,
Dauber's Lane, Bamber Bridge, Longton, Southport, Downham, Burnley,
Bedford, Alston, Brampton, Bolton, Chorley. The total number of Saints
represented were about two thousand, which, with the exception of the
branches in Preston, Bedford and Cumberland, were principally raised
up by my own labors, as I spent my time in the branches, except on
Sundays, when I preached in Preston. The branch in Preston numbered
about four hundred, that in Bedford forty, and the branch in
Cumberland sixty."
All this was the work of only eight months. Two thousand had been
baptized and enough branches organized to form the base work of three
or four conferences, incorporating in the missionary work about that
number of the counties of England. Thus the work had already widely
spread, yet only three or four Elders had been out in the ministry.
Heber C. Kimball himself had converted in eight months about one
thousand five hundred souls. He continues:
"We gave instructions to the official members, reminding them of their
several duties and callings, and the responsibilities which rested
upon them; pressing upon them the necessity of being humble and
faithful in the discharge of their duties, so that by patience,
meekness and love unfeigned, they might commend themselves to God, and
the Church of Jesus Christ, over whom the Holy Ghost had made them
guardians.
"Feeling it necessary for the good of the kingdom to leave someone in
authority over the whole church, I nominated Joseph Fielding to
preside, with Willard Richards as his first counselor, and William
Clayton his second counselor. The nominations met with the approbation
of the whole assembly, who agreed to hearken to their instructions and
uphold them in their offices. These brethren were then ordained to the
High Priesthood, and set apart to preside over the Church in England.
Eight Elders, several Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were set apart
and ordained to the several offices to which they were called. One of
the brethren ordained was going to Manchester, and another to the city
of London."
"We then confirmed forty individuals, after which about one hundred
children were blessed. The same day twenty persons were baptized for
the remission of sins. We then proceeded to administer the sacrament
to the numerous assembly, and gave some general instructions to the
whole church respecting their duty to God and to each other, which
were listened to with great attention.
"At this conference we were favored with the company of Elder Willard
Richards, also Elder Russell, who had returned from Cumberland. He met
with considerable opposition from his own kindred, as well as from
ministers of the different denominations, who sought every opportunity
to destroy his influence. Notwithstanding the great opposition he was
instrumental in bringing upwards of sixty souls into the kingdom of
God, and left them rejoicing in the truth, under the watchcare of
Elder Jacob Peart. Thus the great work was commenced in three places,
Preston, Bedford and Alston, which forcibly reminds me of the parable
of the leaven which the woman hid in the three measures of meal."
The conference closes with another of those almost dramatic pictures
with which this eventful history abounds.
"At 5 p. m.," says the Apostle, "we brought the conference to a close,
having continued without interruption from 9 a. m., and appointed 7
o'clock the same evening to deliver our farewell addresses. At the
appointed time we repaired to the 'Cock Pit' which was crowded to
excess. Brother Hyde and myself spoke to them concerning our labors in
that land, the success of the ministry, and the kindness we had
experienced at their hands, and told them we expected before long to
see them again, after we had visited the Church and our families in
America. When we spoke of our departure their souls were melted; they
gave vent to their feelings and wept like little children, and broke
out in lamentations like the following: 'How can we part with our
beloved brethren!' 'We may never see them again!' 'O, why must you
leave us!' I could not restrain my feelings, and they found vent in a
flood of tears. It would have been almost an impossibility for us to
have left this affectionate people, if we had not had the most
implicit confidence in the brethren who had been appointed to preside
over them in our absence; but knowing they had the confidence of the
Church, we felt that affairs would be conducted in righteousness.
"Immediately after dismissing the congregation we met the official
brethren, about eighty, and instructed them in their duties, and
dismissed at 1 o'clock the next morning."