GEMS FROM THE WORDS OF HEBER--SPIRIT RAPPINGS--ADDRESS AT THE FUNERAL
OF MARY FIELDING SMITH--LOVE, UNITY AND THE COURAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS
--JOSEPH AND THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM--CULTIVATION OF SPIRITS--
HEAVEN AND HELL--ADMINISTRATION OF ANGELS AND THE SPIRITS OF THE
ANCIENTS--THE RESURRECTION--THE SPIRIT WORLD--THE CLAY AND THE
POTTER--A CAUSE OF APOSTASY--A MIRACULOUS CANE--THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN.
Before closing the record of his eventful career, we propose to
present here some gems from the public sayings of President Kimball,
as serving to show still further the spirit and character of the man,
his views of life and death, time and eternity, and likewise forming
links in the chain of his history that might otherwise be lacking. In
the hurry of his later years he kept no regular journal, as in the
earlier part of his life, thus leaving his biographer to gather
information from whatever sources were available.
These selections cover a period of years, from 1852 down to the time
of his death.
His first sermon published in the Journal of Discourses, happens to
touch on modern spiritualism. He says:
"The invisible world are in trouble; they are knocking, and rapping,
and muttering; and the people are inquiring of them to know concerning
the things of God, and there is not a soul of them can tell them
anything about the end of the world. They are in a dreadful situation;
and in the city of Rochester, near where I used to live, the last
information I received from there, there were one hundred and
thirty-five spiritual writers in that city. I have a brother-in-law
there, who is a Presbyterian priest; he couldn't enquire of God about
future things, so he enquired of the spirits; but they could not tell
him anything about the dead nor the living. They are just about as
intelligent in their revelations as this world are in theirs. They are
all in commotion--what is going to be done? I will tell you--God is
going to make a short work upon the earth, and the invisible world are
troubled about it."
His second published discourse was a funeral address in memory of Mary
Fielding Smith, the wife of Hyrum Smith, who died at his house
September 22nd, 1852. Here is his tribute to that estimable woman:
"As regards Sister Mary Smith's situation and circumstances, I have no
trouble at all, for if any person has lived the life of a Saint, she
has. If any person has acted the part of a mother, she has. I may say
she has acted the part of a mother, and a father, and a bishop. She
has had a large family, and several old people to take care of, and
which she has maintained for years by her economy and industry.
"One thing I am glad of, and I feel to rejoice in the providence of
God that things have been as they have. She came here sick on the
Sabbath, eight weeks ago last Sunday, for me to lay hands upon her.
She was laid prostrate upon her bed, and was not able to recover
afterwards. I felt as though it was a providential circumstance that
it so happened. She always expressed that she knew the thing was
dictated by the Lord that she should be placed in my house, though
accidentally. She probably would not have lived so long, had she been
where she could not have had the same care. On Tuesday evening, eight
weeks and two days since, she came here sick; from that time until her
death she was prayerful and humble. I have never seen a person in my
life that had a greater desire to live than she had, and there was
only one thing she desired to live for, and that was to see to her
family; it distressed her to think that she could not see to them; she
wept about it. She experienced this anxiety for a month previous to
her death. * * * I am glad I did right to Sister Mary, and took care
of her, and that my family had the pleasure of nourishing her; the
satisfaction that this gives me is worth more to me than a hundred
thousand dollars. Do I believe they know it in heaven? Yes, as much as
you do. I want to live all the time in righteousness, as I know that
God sees me and all the works of His hands." * * * * *
A lesson on love and unity is here given:
"The Gospel and plan of salvation that I have embraced, is music to
me; it is sweet to my body, and congenial to my spirit; and it is more
lovely than anything else I have ever seen since I have been in the
world. I love it, and that is why I love this people better than any
other people on God's earth, because there was never a better people;
that is, I am speaking of the majority of them.
"The world considers it to be quite ridiculous for us to be of one
heart and of one mind. It is this union among those who are faithful
'Mormons,' that makes the world afraid of us. * * Jesus says, '_Except
ye are one, ye are not mine_.' There is more oneness in this people
than in any other people that ever lived upon the earth. There was not
that oneness in the days of Jesus, and I suppose there never has been
since the days of Enoch. Because there was such a oneness among the
people of Enoch, and they could not continue to be one and live with
the people in the same world, God took them and their city with a part
of the earth to Himself, and they sailed away like one ship at sea
separating from another."
The power of unity and the courage of the righteous are thus
portrayed:
"When Brother Brigham and myself and others left Kirtland to go to
Missouri with Joseph Smith, was there any fear in us? No. It never
entered into our hearts from the day we started to the time we
returned. I had a spirit on me as much superior to this earth, as the
earth is superior to the degraded spirits of the wicked that dwell on
its face. It was the Spirit of the Lord that stood by me, and diffused
strength into my body, and into my limbs, until the very hair of my
head felt all alive. Did they fear us in that upper country? Yes, they
ran as though they were never going to stop in the world. We felt
perfectly able to clear out that country to Nova Scotia, and we could
have done it, with two hundred and five men, if the Lord had commanded
us, as the Gideonites in days of old. Yes; two hundred and five men,
with the Spirit and power of God upon them and their faces shining
like the sun, it cannot be told what they could accomplish, neither
can we form any conception of it."
Here is a testimony that Joseph gave the keys of the Kingdom to the
Twelve:
"Since Brother Joseph stepped behind the vail, Brother Brigham is his
lawful successor. I bear testimony of what Brother Joseph said on the
stand at Nauvoo, and I presume hundreds here can bear witness of the
same. Said he, 'these men that are set here behind me on this stand, I
have conferred upon them all the power, Priesthood, and authority that
God ever conferred upon me.' There are hundreds present this day who
heard him utter words to that effect more than once. The Twelve had
then received their endowments. Brother Joseph gave them the
endowments, and keys and power were placed upon them by him, even as
they were placed upon him by Peter, James and John, who ordained him.
That is true, gentlemen, because they held the Apostleship last, and
had the authority to confer it upon him, or any whom the Father had
chosen. Brother Joseph called and ordained the twelve Apostles of the
last days, and placed that power upon them."
Relative to the cultivation of spirits he says:
"If you do not cultivate yourselves, and cultivate your spirits in
this state of existence, it is just as true as there is a God that
liveth, you will have to go into another state of existence, and bring
your spirits into subjection there. Now you may reflect upon it, you
never will obtain your resurrected bodies, until you bring your
spirits into subjection. I am not talking to this earthly house of
mine, neither am I talking to your bodies, but I am speaking to your
spirits. I am not talking as to people who are not in the house. Are
not your spirits in the house? Are not your bodies your houses, your
tabernacles or temples, and places for your spirits? Look at it;
reflect upon it. If you keep your spirits trained according to the
wisdom and fear of God, you will attain to the salvation of both body
and spirit. I ask, then, if it is your spirits that must be brought
into subjection? It is; and if you do not do that in those bodies, you
will have to go into another estate to do it. You have got to train
yourselves according to the law of God, or you will never obtain your
resurrected bodies."
Here is a view of the location of heaven and hell:
"You are talking about heaven and about earth, and about hell, etc.;
but let me tell you, you are in hell now, and you have got to qualify
yourselves here in hell to become subjects for heaven: and even when
you have got into heaven, you will find it right here where you are on
this earth. When we escape from this earth, we suppose we are going to
heaven. Do you suppose you are going to the earth that Adam came from?
That Eloheim came from? Where Jehovah the Lord came from? No. When you
have learned to become obedient to the father that dwells upon this
earth, to the Father and God of this earth, and obedient to the
messengers He sends--when you have done all that, remember you are not
going to leave this earth. You will never leave it until you become
qualified, and capable, and capacitated to become a father of an earth
yourselves. Not one soul of you ever will leave this earth, for if you
go to hell, it is on this earth; and if you go to heaven, it is on
this earth; and you will not find it anywhere else."
It was the view of President Kimball that the angels are daily around
us. Says he:
"I am now in my fifty-fourth year; I am a Latter-day Saint, full in
the faith, and not only in the faith, but I have a knowledge of the
truth of this work. I know that God lives and dwells in the heavens;
for I have asked Him scores of times, and hundreds of times, for
things, and have received them. Is not that a pretty good proof that
He hears me, when I ask him for things and get them; and is not that a
proof that He lives, and dwells in the heavens? I think it is. I
suppose He dwells there. He could not dwell anywhere else, but in what
particular portion He dwells, I do not precisely know, though He is
not so far off as many imagine. He is near by, His angels are our
associates, they are with us and around about us, and watch over us,
and take care of us, and lead us, and guide us, and administer to our
wants in their ministry and in their holy calling unto which they are
appointed. We are told in the Bible that angels are ministering
spirits to minister to those who shall become heirs of salvation."
We have the spirits of the ancients, also, administering to the Saints:
"Who have you now in your midst? Have you Abraham and Isaac and the
Apostles Peter, James and John? Yes, you have them right in your
midst--they are talking to you all the time." * * * *
"Who are you to be subject to? You say you are willing to be subject
to God--to Jesus Christ. You are willing if Peter came along, to
listen to him. Well, Peter is here, John is here, Elias is here,
Elijah is here, Jesus is here, and the Father is here. What! in
person? If not in person, their authority is here, with all the power
that ever was or ever will be, to seal men and women up to
everlasting."
Of the imperishable part of man and of the resurrection, he says:
"So far as we are concerned, we were taken from the earth, and we may
expect to return to it again; and that portion of me which is pure,
after the dross of this mortality is separated from it, I expect will
be Brother Heber. It is that which will be resurrected; but all that
is not pure will remain; that is it will not go back into my body
again; and if there are ten parts out of the hundred which are dross
and corruption they will remain in the earth; I do not expect to take
that up again, but I expect to take up the purified element that will
endure forever; still the dross is beneficial in its place."
* * * * * *
"Now, will you go and pollute yourselves, and lose the right and title
to a resurrection, to dwell with the Saints, and with God the Father,
and His Son Jesus Christ, who is my brother?"
Of the departed Willard Richards and the labors of the Elders of
Israel in the spirit world, he gives quite a broad glimpse:
"He (Willard) has gone; and it will not be long before Brother Brigham
and Brother Heber follow after. He has gone to the world of spirits to
engage in a work he could not do if he had remained in the flesh. I do
not believe he could have done as much work for the general good of
the cause of God, had he remained in the flesh, as he can accomplish
now in the spirit; for there is a work to do there--the Gospel to
preach, Israel to gather, that they may purify themselves, and become
united in one heart and mind.
"What! in the spirit world? Have I not told you often that the
separation of body and spirit makes no difference in the moral and
intellectual condition of the spirit? When a person, who has always
been good and faithful to his God, lays down his body in the dust, his
spirit will remain the same in the spirit world. It is not the body
that has control of the spirit, as to its disposition, but it is the
spirit that controls the body. When the spirit leaves the body the
body becomes lifeless. The spirit has not changed one single particle
of itself by leaving the body. Were I to fall into a mud-hole I should
strive to extricate myself; but I do not suppose I should be any
better, any more righteous, any more just and holy when I got out of
it than when I was in it.
"Our spirits are entangled in these bodies--held captive as it were
for a season. They are like the poor Saints, who are for a time
obliged to dwell in miserable mud shanties that are mouldering away,
and require much patching and care to keep them from mingling with
mother earth before the time. They feel miserable in these old
decaying tabernacles, and long for the day when they can leave them to
fall and take possession of a good new house.
"It seems natural for me to desire to be clothed upon with immortality
and eternal life, and leave this mortal flesh; but I desire to stick
to it as long as I can be a comfort to my sisters, brethren, wives and
children. Independent of this consideration I would not turn my hand
over to live five minutes. What else could give birth to a single
desire to live in this tabernacle, which is more or less shattered by
the merciless storms which have beat upon it, to say nothing of the
ravages made upon it by the tooth of time? While I cling to it I must
of necessity suffer many pains, rheumatism, head-ache, jaw-ache and
heart-ache; sometimes in one part of my body and sometimes in another.
It is all right; it is so ordained that we may not cling with too
great a tenacity to mortal flesh, but be willing to pass through the
vail and meet with Joseph, and Hyrum, and Willard, and Bishop Whitney
and thousands of others in the world of spirits.
"Are they all together as we are to-day? I believe all Israel have to
be gathered; and to accomplish this the Elders, both in this and the
world of spirits, will go forth to preach to the spirits in prison.
Where? Down in hell. I appeal to the Elders who have been from this
place to preach the Gospel to the world, if it was not like going from
heaven to hell. It is a world of sorrow, pain, death and misery, and
you cannot make anything else of it."
Here is something on death and the after life:
"As for death, I do not trouble myself much about it. When the time
comes for me to depart from this life and go into what we call
eternity, to pass through the vail, it is simply to leave the body to
rest awhile, and blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for their
sleep shall be sweet unto them. Death is merely a sleep of the body,
and all the fear I have concerning it is what arises from my
conditions. I was taught in my youth that after death I had to go
directly into the bowels of hell, and go down, down, down, because
there was no bottom to it. I am not troubled about any such thing as
that, for I never expect to see any worse hell than I have seen in
this world. And those who do not the works of righteousness, and are
not worthy to be gathered with the spirits of the Saints, will go into
precisely such society, in the world of spirits, as they are now in.
"The spirits of the Saints will be gathered in one, that is, of all
who are worthy; and those who are not just, will be left where they
will be scourged, tormented and afflicted, until they can bring their
spirits into subjection and be like clay in the hands of the potter,
that the potter may have power to mould and fashion them into any kind
of vessel, as he is directed by the Master Potter."
In another sermon, he thus enlarges upon his favorite theme of "the
clay in the hands of the potter:"[A]
[Footnote A: Heber's exposition of this theme was highly approved by
the Prophet Joseph, who declared it to be the true interpretation.]
"The potter tried to bring a lump of clay into subjection, and he
worked and tugged at it, but the clay was rebellious and would not
submit to the will of the potter, and marred in his hands. Then of
course he had to cut it from the wheel and throw it into the mill to
be ground over, in order that it might become passive; after which he
takes it again and makes of it a vessel unto honor, out of the same
lump that was dishonored. * * There may ten thousand millions of men
go to hell, because they dishonor themselves and will not be subject,
and after that they will be taken and made vessels unto honor, if they
will become obedient. * * Can you find any fault with that?"
He gives the following wise hint on one of the causes of apostasy:
"I will give you a key which Brother Joseph Smith used to give in
Nauvoo. He said that the very step of apostasy commenced with losing
confidence in the leaders of this Church and kingdom, and that
whenever you discerned that spirit, you might know that it would lead
the possessor of it on the road to apostasy. * *
"No man or woman can have the spirit of prophecy and at the same time
do evil and speak against their brethren; and you will find that man
or that woman barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of God, and
filled with disputations."
Next come some reminiscent allusions, coupled with a prophecy:
"How much would you give for even a cane that Father Abraham had used,
or a coat or ring that the Savior had worn? The rough oak boxes in
which the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were brought from Carthage, were
made into canes and other articles. I have a cane made from the plank
of one of those boxes, so has Brother Brigham and a great many others,
and we prize them highly and esteem them a great blessing. I want to
carefully preserve my cane, and when I am done with it here I shall
hand it down to my heir, with instructions to him to do the same.[A]
And the day will come when there will be multitudes who will be healed
and blessed through the instrumentality of those canes, and the devil
cannot overcome those who have them, in consequence of their faith and
confidence in the virtues connected with them. * * * *
[Footnote A: This cane is now in the possession of Bishop Abram A.
Kimball, who testifies that healing virtues attach to it.]
"If I had those relics of Abraham and the Savior which I have
mentioned, I would give a great deal for them. In England when not in
a situation to go, I have blessed my handkerchief and asked God to
sanctify it and fill it with life and power, and sent it to the sick;
and hundreds have been healed by it; in like manner I have sent my
cane. Dr. Richards used to lay his old black cane on a person's head
and that person has been healed through its instrumentality, by the
power of God. I have known Joseph hundreds of times to send his
handkerchief to the sick, and they have been healed. There are persons
in this congregation who have been healed by throwing my old cloak on
their beds."
This of the Church organization in heaven:
"When you go into heaven, into the celestial world, you will see the
Church organized just as it is here, and you will find all the
officers down to the Deacon. Our Church organization is a
manifestation of things as they are in heaven, and you are all the
time praying that the Church here may be brought into union and set in
order as it is in heaven."