FATHER CORNER BAPTIZED--THE APOSTLES VISIT THE REVEREND ROBERT
AITKEN--HEBER ATTACKED WITH CHOLERA--THE WORK IN OTHER PARTS--SECOND
CONFERENCE AT MANCHESTER--BRIGHAM ACCOMPANIES HEBER TO LONDON--
CONVERSION OF THE REV. JAMES ALBION.
The first baptism in London took place on Monday the 31st of August,
the day following the events related in the last chapter. It was
"Father Corner" who offered himself as a convert to the Elders, and it
was Heber C. Kimball who baptized him. The ceremony was performed at
the Public Baths, after which the new member was confirmed under the
hands of the three Apostles at his own house.
Thus was laid the foundation of the London Conference.
Leaving Elder Woodruff for several days, Heber and George A. went to
Deptford, for the purpose of establishing a branch there. While they
were gone, Brother Woodruff made the second convert--a woman. He also
obtained from the directors of a Methodist chapel permission to preach
in a school-house at Bowl Court, Shoreditch.
Sunday morning, September 6th, the Apostles filled the appointment
made by Elder Woodruff, who preached first, followed by Elders Kimball
and Smith. These were the first gospel sermons delivered by the Elders
in a meeting house in London, though they had each addressed an
audience briefly, at Temperance Hall, on the subject of temperance.
In the afternoon they preached again out of doors in Tabernacle
square; and in the evening returned to preach in the Methodist school
house. When they arrived, however, they discovered that a plan had
been formed by several preachers of that denomination for one of their
own number to occupy the evening, fearing lest some should receive the
testimony of these "dangerous men" from America. Already had the
Methodists of London taken the alarm.
Discovering this ministerial intrigue against them the three Apostles
went their way, but that evening they found four persons who received
their testimony and offered themselves for baptism.
On the Monday following, Heber and George A. visited the celebrated
Robert Aitken. He received them courteously, and acknowledged that
their doctrines were scriptural, but said he was fearful of deception.
At this period he was in a very disturbed state of mind concerning
Mormonism, for the mission which the Apostles brought from America
seemed so much like a surprise-fulfillment to him of the glowing
sermons of his own ministry. Probably Mormonism troubled Robert Aitken
more than it did any other man in England, and it is not a little
singular that soon afterwards he returned to the Orthodox Established
Church from which he had dissented, and became again one of its
ministers.
On the evening of the day they visited the Rev. Mr. Aitken the Elders
opened their course of sermons in Temperance Hall, St. George's Road,
but they had no audience worthy the occasion. About thirty only were
said to be present; but Apostle Woodruff preached to them for over an
hour, and then Heber followed. At the close they paid "seven and
sixpence" for the hall for the evening--a large sum from the pockets
of these Evangelists at that time, yet they trusted in the Lord for
future results.
Thus having made an opening in London, Wilford Woodruff returned a
while to superintend his former field of labor; but Heber C. Kimball
and George A. Smith remained to hold the situation.
On the 19th of September Heber was stricken down with cholera. The
attack was so severe that it seemed as if he could not live till
morning. He rallied, however, and by the blessing of God was raised up
to continue his labors. The next morning, being the Sabbath, he went
into the water and baptized four persons.
Meanwhile the work in other parts had been making rapid headway. After
much labor it had at length been firmly established in Scotland, under
the presidency of Orson Pratt; and had been carried into Ireland and
the Isle of Man by Apostle John Taylor. Several of the native Elders
had also penetrated Wales. President Brigham Young, in the absence of
Parley P. Pratt, who had gone to America to bring his family to
England, had been busy publishing the _Millennial Star_, the hymn book
and Book of Mormon, in which labors he was assisted by Willard
Richards. The emigration of the Saints to America had also commenced.
Thus was the good work rolling on.
On the 6th of October, 1840, was held the second general conference at
Manchester. There were present of the Twelve, Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Willard Richards, Orson Pratt, George A. Smith, and Wilford
Woodruff. Orson Pratt presided.
It was found that twenty-seven conferences had been organized at this
period, besides many branches not then incorporated. The
representation showed an increase since the last general conference of
one thousand one hundred and thirteen members; twenty-five Elders;
ninety-six Priests; fifteen Teachers, and thirteen Deacons. Several
places of special interest may be noted as represented: London, by
Heber C. Kimball; members, eleven, Priests, two; Birmingham, four
members; Glasgow, by Elder Mulliner, one hundred and ninety-three
members, eight Elders, seven Priests, five teachers and three Deacons;
Edinburgh, by Orson Pratt, forty-three members and two Priests;
Manchester, by Brigham Young, members, three hundred and sixty-four;
Elders, four; Priests, twenty-seven; Teachers, six; and one Deacon;
Wilford Woodruff's Conferences, members, one thousand and seven;
Elders, nineteen; Priests, seventy-eight; Teachers, fifteen, and one
Deacon. Altogether three thousand, six hundred and twenty-six members
of the Church were represented, more than double the number reported
at the Conference six months before.
After this Conference Elders Woodruff and Smith returned to London,
while Heber remained for a time with President Young in Manchester,
waiting to accompany him to the metropolis; the latter having resolved
to visit London and assist his co-laborers in the arduous work of
building up that important conference.
The two Apostles set out upon their journey on the 25th of November,
1840. On their way they stopped at the Potteries in Staffordshire,
where they met Elder George A. Smith, who was paying a visit to his
former field of labor, having left Brother Woodruff in London. They
also went to Birmingham, where Elder Lorenzo Snow was then laboring.
On the 30th they took train for London, and arrived there the same
evening.
They found Brother Woodruff "well and in good spirits," but with a
tale to tell of his experience since he saw them last, "whose lightest
word" was well calculated to "harrow up the soul."
It will be remembered that Heber C. Kimball and his confreres, who
opened the British Mission in 1837, had a terrible encounter with evil
spirits on the day of the first baptisms in Preston. A similar ordeal
had been experienced by Apostle Woodruff on the night of the first
Sabbath after his return from Manchester.
Himself and Elder Smith had held a sacrament meeting that day at
Father Corner's, with a few Saints who had gathered there, during
which "the Spirit bore testimony that there would be a great work done
in London."
Satan, it seems, was also aware of this fact, and it displeased him
mightily.
That night, while lying in his bed, meditating upon the mission in
that city and determining to warn its inhabitants, and "overcome the
powers of darkness," a personage appeared to the Apostle Wilford whom
he took to be the "Prince of darkness." "He made war with me," says
the Apostle, "and attempted to take my life. As he was about to
overcome me I prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ for
help. I then had power over him, and he left me, though much wounded.
Afterwards three persons, dressed in white, came to me and
administered to me, when I was immediately healed and delivered of all
my troubles."
Such, in brief, was the thrilling tale told by Apostle Woodruff to his
fellow servants in Christ, on their arrival in the British capital.
The next evening, December 1st, President Young preached his first
sermon in London at Barnett's Academy, 57 King's Square, Goswell Road.
Heber C. Kimball followed him. The President remained about ten days
in London, and then returned to Manchester.
In a letter to his wife, written about this time, Heber gives somewhat
of a detailed account of the President's visit to the metropolis, and
other events that were happening in different parts of the mission:
LONDON, December 3rd, 1840.
MY DEAR VILATE:--
"I feel to rejoice to hear from you once more. Elders Young and
Woodruff and myself have been traveling all day to see some of the
sights of this great city. We visited the Tower of London. We
entered into one room 150 feet by 33; there, arranged in regular
and chronological order, were no less in number than twenty-two
equestrian figures, representing many of the most celebrated kings
of England, accompanied by their favorite lords and men of rank,
all of them, together with their horses, in the armor of the
respective periods when they flourished,--many, indeed, in the
identical suits in which they appeared while living. There were
500,000 stands of arms, and cannon, taken from all parts of the
world, in their conflicts with other nations; and all the jewelry
and crowns of the kings and queens. I wish you could see them,
for we can see better than we can write about them. We went to see
the Thames tunnel; from thence returned home to our lodgings. Mrs.
Morgan presented me with a letter from you, dated Oct. the 11th. *
* * I felt to rejoice at hearing from you, that you are still
alive and in good spirits, and to hear of the good times that you
have in Nauvoo, and the good tidings that President Smith is
laying before the Saints; I should like to be there if it was
right in the sight of God. But I feel no liberty as yet to come
home, but I think I shall soon. I want to see you and my little
children, and I want to see Brother Joseph, Brother Rigdon and
Brother Hyrum, and all of my old friends that have gained my
affections, that have stood through thick and thin, through evil
reports as well as good; they are the ones that I wish to live
with on earth, and I believe I shall; for I have no desire for
anything else but to press forward for the celestial world. I
don't expect to find much rest this side of that, but I feel to
prepare for the worst and hope for the better. I have strong
sensations of what is coming on the earth. I shall not be
disappointed if I get home about the time to have a little sport
with my brethren. As you say, a hint to the wise is sufficient. I
am sorry to hear that some of our brethren have denied the faith,
that is, some of them that went from this country, but it is just
what I expected, and told them so; they thought they were going to
be fostered by the Church in that place; they might have known
better, for they knew the Saints had been driven, and robbed of
all their goods, and they could not expect help from them, but
rather the reverse. I don't know but they think it will hinder the
work of the Lord if they turn away; they are mistaken there, for
it will advance the work just as much for them to turn away as it
will for them to remain; so it is all the same with the Lord. The
Savior says we cannot do anything against the truth, but for it. I
have got so I feel perfectly easy about these things, for they are
the work of God and not the work of man. I know no other way than
to be subject to the powers that be. I pray my Father will give me
this disposition, for I wish to be in the hand of God as the clay
in the hands of the potter. The Lord has His own way of doing His
own work, and we have got to submit to Him instead of His
submitting to us. I feel well in mind--never felt better in my
day--but I am afflicted in body with bad colds. The weather is
cold and wet, and the smoke is so bad some of the time that they
have to light up their lamps in the middle of the day, it is so
dark. It is very unhealthy for me, and it is so for my brethren.
Times grow worse and worse in this country; the people are driven
almost to desperation; the times appear sad and gloomy. I had some
conversation with a Frenchman the other evening; he says it is
hard times in France; all lands seem to share in the same fate;
distress on all sides.
"I will begin where I left off at Liverpool on the 31st. I stated
to you that Elder Young and myself were going to Wales. This was
on Saturday,--the distance of twenty miles, seven miles by
steamboat, and the rest by coach. Got there in the evening--at the
town of Harder. On the Sabbath we preached twice; had as many as
could hear us; it appeared that everyone believed our testimony.
We were called to pray for the sick. One young man lay sick with
the fever, and a Methodist preacher received a blessing, and one
woman. They were healed, and began to proclaim it aloud to be the
power of God. Sunday was the 1st day of November; on the 2nd we
started back to Manchester by the way of Lynn; there were some
baptized the day we left. I heard there were about thirty others
ready to go forward the first opportunity. The six Methodist
preachers that sent for us are going to be baptized if they have
not been already. There has another work broke out in Wales,
fourteen miles from the place where we went. The last news we had
from them, there were fifty-two baptized. We received a line from
Elder Pratt yesterday, stating that there were about ninety
baptized in those two places. After we got to Manchester on the
5th, I took coach for Clithero in Yorkshire, thirty miles distant.
I preached four times in Clithero, once in Waddington, once in
Chatburn, once in Downham. I remained with them six days, and
baptized several while there. In a few weeks' time there have been
about forty baptized; these are some of them from the old
churches; the excitement seems to be as great as it was when I
first went into that place. There were scores that believed my
testimony that had formerly been much opposed to this work. The
opposition is great in that part. They collected in mobs to break
up my meetings, but did not carry their designs into execution.
The devil is mad, and the work spreads in all parts. They are
publishing pamphlets in all directions, and the papers are full of
all kinds of lies. If things continue as they have for a short
time past, we shall be driven from this country. In the places
that I have mentioned the spirit has been poured out upon them;
they speak in tongues, interpret, prophesy, dream dreams, see
visions, and there seems to be great humility. There seems to be a
revival through this land. * * * * * *
"On the 25th of November Elder Young and myself started for
London. I felt quite feeble when we started. I will continue my
epistle from the 5th of December. The day we started we went
twenty miles to Macklesfield, and stayed all night. There is a
church of nearly one hundred members there. It is a silk
manufacturing town of about 60,000 inhabitants. The next morning
we went to the potteries; stayed two nights; preached to the
Saints; the world's people came in throngs; they acted more like
devils than like men. There are many coming into the Church in
this place. The gifts are among the Saints; this makes the devil
mad. Many are turned out of their work because of their religion.
Many go hungry and look pale for the want of a little food to eat.
When I have a penny in my pocket it goes freely. I have taken
pains to ask them; some tell me they have not half enough to
eat--and have a little child to the breast at the same time. These
things are hard. I will stop, for I cannot paint the scenes that
are before me daily; these things grow worse and worse. From
there we went to Birmingham; found Elder Snow; on Sunday evening
heard him preach for the first time. After he got through Elder
Young and myself bore testimony. The Saints felt to rejoice, and
some believed. There are 300,000 inhabitants in that city and
only eighteen Saints.
* * * * * * * * *
"Sunday, the 6th. I have been to St. Paul's Church this forenoon
with the brethren. It was so dark they had to light up the church
with gas. A considerable part of this letter I have written in
the day time, and have had to write by a candle. It is very
disagreeable to me, and makes me feel bad and sick. Not one of us
feels well. Brother Smith's lungs are very bad; he will not be
able to stay in this country. He is at the potteries, where he
will remain until he goes home. * * *
"December 12th. You will think I have been lazy since I commenced
this. Elder Young left here yesterday for Herefordshire; it was
thought best for me to remain here for a short time with Elder
Woodruff. The prospect seems to be better than it has been. There
was one man baptized this week, and several more are believing. I
shall stay here about three weeks if all things go well. Now, my
dear Vilate, be of good cheer, for all things will go well; and
pray much, and hearken to counsel from those that are over you. *
* * My love to all of the Saints in Christ. Remember me to my
little children, and kiss them for me. Oh, how I want to see you
all!
I am your husband forever,
H. C. KIMBALL."
About this time the Reverend James Albion, an independent minister,
with his wife and daughter became favorably impressed with Mormonism.
He offered his chapel to Elders Kimball and Woodruff for them to
preach in, and told his congregation that he was a Latter-day Saint,
and should be baptized, and that they were no longer to consider him
their minister unless they followed his example and joined the Saints.
This made a great stir among his committee and congregation.
On the evening of the closing Sunday of the year, the Elders preached
by appointment of Mr. Albion in his chapel, to the largest
congregation they had addressed in London. There were present priests
and people of many denominations. While Elder Woodruff was speaking a
Wesleyan minister arose and opposed him, "which had a good effect, for
the congregation seeing the Spirit he was of, turned against him, and
the committee refused him permission to speak there any more." Thus
ended the Apostolic labors of the year.