A PECULIAR REVELATION--DETERMINATION OF ENEMIES TO PREVENT ITS
FULFILLMENT--START TO FAR WEST TO FULFILL REVELATION--OUR ARRIVAL
THERE--HOLD A COUNCIL--FULFILL REVELATION--CORNER STONE OF THE TEMPLE
LAID--ORDAINED TO THE APOSTLESHIP--LEAVE FAR WEST--MEET THE PROPHET
JOSEPH--A CONFERENCE HELD--SETTLE OUR FAMILIES IN NAUVOO.
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, asked the Lord what His will was concerning
the Twelve, and the Lord answered in a revelation, given July 8th,
1838, in which He says: "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."
It will be observed that this differs from nearly all other revelations
in this respect: a fixed day and a stated place were given for the
commencement of the mission. When the revelation was given, all was
peace and quietude in Far West, Missouri, the city where most of the
Latter-day Saints dwelt; but before the time came for its fulfillment,
the Saints of God had been driven out of the State of Missouri into
the State of Illinois, under the edict of Governor Boggs; and the
Missourians had sworn that if all the other revelations of Joseph
Smith were fulfilled, that should not be. It stated that the day and
the place where the Twelve Apostles should take leave of the Saints,
to go on their missions across the great waters, and the mobocrats
of Missouri had declared that they would see that it should not be
fulfilled.
It seemed as though the Lord, having a foreknowledge of what would
take place, had given the revelation in this manner to see whether the
Apostles would obey it at the risk of their lives.
When the time drew near for the fulfillment of this commandment of the
Lord, Brigham Young was the President of the Twelve Apostles; Thos. B.
Marsh, who was the senior Apostle, had fallen. Brother Brigham called
together those of the Twelve who were then at Quincy, Illinois, to
see what their minds would be about going to Far West, to fulfill the
revelation. The Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon,
Lyman Wight and Parley P. Pratt were in prison in Missouri, at the
time; but Father Joseph Smith, the Patriarch, was at Quincy, Illinois.
He and others who were present did not think it wisdom for us to
attempt the journey, as our lives would be in great jeopardy. They
thought the Lord would take the will for the deed. But when President
Young asked the Twelve what our feelings were upon the subject, we
all of us, as the voice of one man, said the Lord God had spoken, and
it was for us to obey. It was the Lord's business to take care of His
servants, and we would fulfill the commandment, or die trying.
To fully understand the risk the Twelve Apostles ran in making this
journey, my readers should remember that Lilburn W. Boggs, governor
of the State of Missouri, had issued a proclamation, in which all the
Latter-day Saints were required to leave that State or be exterminated.
Far West had been captured by the militia, who were really only an
organized mob; the citizens had been compelled to give up their arms;
all the leading men who could be got hold of had been taken prisoners;
the rest of the Saints--men women and children--had to flee as best
they could out of the State to save their lives, leaving all their
houses, lands and other property which they could not carry with them
to be taken by the mob. In fact they shot down the cattle and hogs of
the Saints wherever they could find them, and robbed them of nearly
everything they could lay their hands upon. Latter-day Saints were
treated with merciless cruelty and had to endure the most outrageous
abuses. It was with the greatest difficulty that many of them got out
of the State, especially the prominent men; for there were many men of
that State at that time, who acted as though they thought it no more
harm to shoot a "Mormon" than a mad dog. From this brief explanation
you will be able to understand why some of the brethren thought we
were not required to go back to Far West to start from there upon our
mission across the ocean to Europe.
Having determined to carry out the requirement of the revelation, on
the 18th of April, 1839, I took into my wagon Brigham Young and Orson
Pratt; and Father Cutler took into his wagon John Taylor and George A.
Smith, and we started for Far West.
On the way we met John E. Page, who was going with his family, to
Quincy, Illinois. His wagon had turned over, and when we met him he was
trying to gather up a barrel of soft soap with his hands. We helped him
get up his wagon. He drove down into the valley below, left his wagon,
and accompanied us on our way.
On the night of the 25th of April, we arrived at Far West, and spent
the night at the home of Morris Phelps, who was not there, however,
himself; he, having been taken prisoner by the mob, was still in prison.
On the morning of the 26th of April, 1839, notwithstanding the threats
of our enemies that the revelation which was to be fulfilled this day
should not be, and notwithstanding that ten thousand of the Saints had
been driven out of the State by the edict of the governor, and though
the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, with other leading men
were in the hands of our enemies, in chains and in prison, we moved
on to the temple grounds in the city of Far West, and held a council,
and fulfilled the revelation and commandment given unto us, and we
performed many other things at this council.
We excommunicated from the Church thirty-one persons, who had
apostatized and become its enemies.
The "Mission of the Twelve" was sung, and we then repaired to the
south-east corner of the temple ground, and, with the assistance of
Elder Alpheus Cutler, the master workman of the building committee,
laid the south-east chief corner stone of the temple, according to
revelation.
There were present of the Twelve Apostles: Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page and John Taylor, who proceeded to
ordain Wilford Woodruff and Geo. A. Smith, to the apostleship, and as
members of the quorum of the Twelve, in the places of those who had
fallen, as they had been called by revelation.
Darwin Chase and Norman Shearer, who had just been liberated from
Richmond prison, were also ordained to the office of Seventies.
The Twelve then offered up vocal prayer in the following order:
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, John
Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith, after which we sang
"Adam-ondi-Ahman."
The Twelve then took their leave of, and gave the parting hand to, the
following Saints, agreeable to revelation: A. Butler, Elias Smith,
Norman Shearer, Wm. Burton, Stephen Markham, Shadrach Roundy, Wm. O.
Clark, John W. Clark, Hezekiah Peck, Darwin Chase, Richard Howard,
Mary Ann Peck, Artimesia Granger, Martha Peck, Sarah Granger, Theodore
Turley, Hiram Clark, and Daniel Shearer.
Bidding good-by to the small remnant of the Saints who remained on the
temple ground to see us fulfill the revelation and commandments of God,
we turned our backs on Far West and Missouri, and returned to Illinois.
We had accomplished the mission without a dog moving his tongue at us,
or any man saying, "Why do you do so?"
We crossed the Mississippi river on the steam ferry, entered Quincy on
the 2nd of May, and all had the joy of reaching our families once more
in peace and safety.
There was an incident connected with our journey that is worthy of
record. While we were on our way to fulfill the revelation, Joseph, the
Prophet, and his companions in chains had been liberated, through the
blessings of God, from their enemies and prison, and they passed us.
We were not far distant from each other, but neither party knew it.
They were making their way to their families in Illinois, while we were
traveling to Far West into the midst of our enemies. So they came home
to their families and friends before our return.
May the 3rd was a very interesting day to me, as well as to others. In
company with five others of the quorum of the Twelve, I rode four miles
out of town to Mr. Cleveland's, to visit Brother Joseph Smith and his
family.
Once more I had the happy privilege of taking Brother Joseph by the
hand. Two years had rolled away since I had seen his face. He greeted
us with great joy, as did Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight, all of whom had
escaped from their imprisonment together. They had been confined in
prison six months, and had been under sentence of death three times;
yet their lives were in the hands of God, and He had delivered them,
and they were now mingling with their wives, children and friends, and
out of the reach of the mob. Joseph was frank, open and familiar as
usual, and our rejoicing was great.
No man can understand the joyful sensations created by such a meeting,
except those who have been in tribulation for the gospel's sake.
After spending the day together, we returned to our families at night.
On the day following, May 4th, we met in conference at Quincy, the
Prophet Joseph presiding, which caused great joy and rejoicing to all
the Saints.
On Sunday, May 5th, Joseph Smith addressed the assembly, followed by
Sidney Rigdon and the Twelve Apostles. The Spirit of the Lord was
poured out upon us, and we had a glorious day.
On May 6th, I met with the Seventies, and we ordained sixty men into
the quorums of Elders and Seventies. Brother Joseph met with the
Twelve, Bishops and Elders, at Bishop Partridge's house; and there were
a number with us who were wounded at Haun's Mill. Among them was Isaac
Laney, who had been, in company with about twenty others, at the mill,
when a large armed mob fired among them with rifles and other weapons,
and shot down seventeen of the brethren, and wounded more. Brother
Laney fled from the scene, but they poured a shower of lead after him,
which pierced his body through and through. He showed me eleven bullet
holes in his body. There were twenty-seven in his shirt, seven in his
pantaloons, and his coat was literally cut to pieces. One ball entered
one arm-pit and came out at the other.
Another entered his back and came out at the breast. A ball passed
through each hip, each leg and each arm. All these shots were received
while he was running for life, and, strange as it may appear, though he
had also one of his ribs broken, he was able to outrun his enemies, and
his life was saved. We can only acknowledge this deliverance to be by
the power and mercy of God.
President Joseph Young was also among the number. He also fled, and
although the balls flew around him like hail, he was not wounded. How
mysterious are the ways of the Lord!
Before starting on our missions to England, we were under the necessity
of settling our families. A place called Commerce, afterwards named
Nauvoo, was selected as the place at which our people should settle.
I left Quincy, in company with Brother Brigham Young and our families
on the 15th of May, and arrived in Commerce on the 18th. After an
interview with Joseph we crossed the river at Montrose, Iowa. President
Brigham Young and myself, with our families, occupied one room about
fourteen feet square. Finally Brother Young obtained another room and
moved into it by himself. Then Brother Orson Pratt and family moved
into the same room with myself and family.