Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle Part 46

"'Well, who holds the t.i.tle to the land, then?' I asked.

"'Heber C. Kimball,' she replied.

"I was dumb-founded. 'Well, I shall not buy it of him,' I said to myself, but I resolved to go and get the deed for her. Brother Kimball received me very kindly, and my feelings were somewhat softened towards him. Almost the first question he asked was: 'Have you got a lot yet?' 'Yes, sir,' I replied, and then told him I had come to get sister ------'s deed. 'Why, I cannot give her a deed,' said he, 'for she has never paid me for that lot.' I then told him what I had done, and he said with a smile, 'I told you you would have to come to me for a lot. Wait here a moment,' he added, and went into his office.

Returning presently, he handed me a deed for the land, made out in my name, and said: 'There, I'll make you a present of that deed, and you've already paid for the land; G.o.d bless you,' and we parted friends.

"Another incident I will relate:

"On the morning of the 15th day of April, 1865, my wife and I were going through the Temple block towards the Endowment House, as we had been previously requested by our Bishop to go and get our endowments.

I was in a very thoughtful mood and prayed silently in my own mind that the Lord would give me grace to always adhere to the truth and have my mind quickened by the Holy Ghost, so that I might always be able to decide between truth and error and to have courage to defend the principles of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

"We overtook President H. C. Kimball and were walking leisurely along, when Willard G. Smith overtook us and said to President Kimball, 'Have you heard the news? President Lincoln was a.s.sa.s.sinated last night while at the theatre in Was.h.i.+ngton. See the flags are at half mast.'

After some little conversation we entered the Endowment House. The thought of the sad death of President Lincoln weighed heavily on my mind, and made a deep impression on me. In going through the House Brother Kimball gave us a very impressive lecture. Fixing his eyes on me, he said:

"'Do you know that you will yet be called upon to stand in front of the enemy?' Then he paused for a reply.

"After studying a few seconds, I answered, 'No, sir.'

"Giving me a piercing look, he said: 'Don't you believe it.' I answered 'No, sir.'

"Gazing at me intently he said, 'Don't you believe what I say?' I answered 'How can I believe, when I have no evidence or knowledge of it?' 'You foolish man,' he said, 'If you had a knowledge you would not require any belief.'

"Pointing to me again, he said: 'You will yet be called upon to stand in front of the enemy, while bullets will fly around as thick as hail.

Yet not a hair of your head shall be hurt. Do you believe that?'

"After a little study I answered, '_No, sir_.' He seemed a little perplexed at my obstinacy and asked, 'Why don't you believe it?' I said, 'Because I have been in a hail-storm, and I know that it is impossible to be in a hail-storm without being hit, and if the bullets are to fly around me as thick as hail, I am sure I will be hit.' He said 'Don't you think if you saw them coming you could _juke_ them?' I said I thought I could. 'But,' said he, 'they come so quick you cannot do it.'

"Then fixing his eyes upon me, he said: 'The day will come when you will stand in the front rank in face of the enemy, while the bullets will fly around you like a hail-storm, but if you will live pure and keep your garments clean, not one hair of your head will be hurt. _Do you believe that?_'

"I said: 'Brother Kimball, I believe what you say.'"

ELDER EDWARD STEVENSON:

"I cheerfully contribute the following, concerning one of the greatest prophets of the nineteenth century--Heber C. Kimball: In 1856 a little group of friends, convened in the House of the Lord, were engaged in pleasant conversation on the isolated condition of the Latter-day Saints.

"'Yes,' said Brother Heber (by which name he was so familiarly known), 'we think we are secure here in the chambers of the everlasting hills, where we can close those few doors of the canyons against mobs and persecutors, the wicked and the vile, who have always beset us with violence and robbery, but I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy to the people of G.o.d. Then, brethren, look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall; for I say unto you there is a _test_, a TEST, a TEST coming, and who will be able to stand?'

"The emphasis with which those words were spoken I shall never forget.

"I was with Brother Heber on the occasion of his last meeting at Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, just previous to his death. He seemed full to overflowing; for over two hours he held the audience; that meeting and the deep instructions will endure in the hearts of true Saints while eternities roll on.

"While working with him in the House of the Lord in 1856-7, how often I have heard him speak against pride and covetousness and the fear of riches, being fearful of the Lord's displeasure and consequent judgments. Said he: 'If the Saints will repent, the Lord's wrath will be turned away, but they will not repent until it is too late.'"

PRESIDENT A. O. SMOOT:

"A short time before Brother Heber was taken ill with his last sickness, I drove through with him from Provo to Salt Lake. He was unusually free in his conversation, it being almost a ceaseless flow of prophecies in relation to individuals in and out of the Church. He foretold, with what I have since realized to be the greatest accuracy, what would befall certain men. Some of those of whom he prophesied are still in good standing, but many who were in good standing then, have fallen, as he said they would."

PRESIDENT A. F. MCDONALD:

"My first intimate acquaintance with President Kimball occurred in 1868, I being then in charge of the t.i.thing Office at Provo. He often called into the office to do business. His public discourses about this time were the most earnest and impressive that I had ever heard; and on several occasions in the Provo meeting house, he clearly foreshadowed the time of trial the Saints are now pa.s.sing through, and to a period still before us. He often used the language 'A test, a test is coming.'

"On one occasion, when he was stopping with us during a two days'

conference, he came into the t.i.thing Yard where I was busy putting up hay, and called me towards him and said: 'Do you want me at your house, or would you rather not have us there?' I answered that it was a pleasure and honor to have him there. Looking intently at me, he said: 'I want to say to you that you have seen your worst days; you have had some hard times and trials in the past, but from this time it will be better for you. In whatever you are called to do, or whatever you put your hands to accomplish, you will be prospered and prevail.'

This is true so far in my experience.

"On another occasion in 1863, during a two days' meeting in Provo, I invited several brethren to dinner. Brother Kimball was present.

During the chat at the table, conversation turned on the number of children I then had, being at that time six boys; hearing this reply he said: 'Yes, and the next, the seventh, will be a boy also, and he will be the n.o.blest, the most talented, and the greatest you have had.' Brother R. L. Campbell, who I remember was present, said in a free and jocular way: 'If it should come a girl, what then?' Upon which Brother Kimball observed; 'It will not come a girl, but a boy, and you will see it.' One year and four days after, a boy was born, and Brother Kimball, again attending a two days' meeting at Provo, called to see him and directed that he be blessed and given the name of 'Heber,' by which name he is known in our family and has grown to manhood, as we believe to fulfill the words spoken of him.

"On the night of Brother Kimball's accident at Provo, a short time before his death, I was with him. I took a silk handkerchief from my pocket and tied it over his head, and then suggested that I go and call on President B. Young, then at the house of Bishop Wm. Miller, to come and administer to him; but he said: 'I command _you_ to administer to me and anoint me with oil in the name of the Lord; do not be in the least afraid; you hold the same Priesthood and authority from G.o.d as President Young or myself, and G.o.d hears and answers the prayers of His humblest servants and people.' I administered to him accordingly, and he soon revived, becoming quite free and jocular with us, and about two o'clock in the morning at his suggestion I went home. On the following day, myself and wife called to see him. He was much improved and quite sociable, his conversation being original, incisive, and a continual feast of inspiration. As we were leaving he asked his wife (Lucy W.) to get my handkerchief that I had put on his head the previous night, and addressing my wife he said: 'Here, Betty, take this handkerchief, and be sure that you never wash it, but keep it as it is, and when you have sickness in your family, exercise the prayer of faith, and it will prove a blessing, and will be a bond between you and me for ever!' My wife has sacredly kept that handkerchief."

ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON gives a valued contribution in the following:

"In accordance with your request I furnish you with a brief outline of a discourse delivered by your grandfather, the late Heber C. Kimball, in 1867. The occasion was the usual afternoon service. Whether it was held in the Bowery or the old Tabernacle, I do not distinctly recollect, but think it was the latter. My memory is, however, quite distinct in relation to the subject of the discourse; especially the prophetic part of it, with which I was specially impressed.

"President Kimball opened by stating that there were many within hearing who had often wished that they had been a.s.sociated with the Prophet Joseph. 'You imagine,' said he, 'that you would have stood by him when persecution raged and he was a.s.sailed by foes within and without. You would have defended him and been true to him in the midst of every trial. You think you would have been delighted to have shown your integrity in the days of mobs and traitors.

"'Let me say to you, that many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble, trial and persecution that you can stand, and plenty of opportunities to show that you are true to G.o.d and his work.

This Church has before it many close places through which it will have to pa.s.s before the work of G.o.d is crowned with victory. To meet the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not till you obtain it. If you do not you will not stand.

"'Remember these sayings, for many of you will live to see them fulfilled. The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand? Do you believe it?

"'How is it now? You have the First Presidency, from whom you can get counsel to guide you, and you rely on them. The time will come when they will not be with you. Why? Because they will have to flee and hide up to keep out of the hands of their enemies. You have the Twelve now. You will not always have them, for they too will be hunted and will have to keep out of the way of their enemies. You have other men to whom you look for counsel and advice. Many of them will not be amongst you, for the same reason. You will be left to the light within yourselves. If you don't have it you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall.'

"The main object of the discourse was to impress the people with the importance of having light and knowledge direct from G.o.d within themselves. The prophetic part was given as the leading reason why they should be in possession of an individual testimony, as it defined to some extent the character of the trials to which the Saints would be subjected. That Brother Kimball's predictions have been, in part, at least, already fulfilled, must be clear to all who are familiar with the events of the last few years. In the course of his remarks on the occasion in point he several times said: 'You will have all the persecution you want and more too, and all the opportunity to show your integrity to G.o.d and truth that you could desire.'

"The foregoing statement is probably not as absolutely correct as could have been given immediately after the delivery of the discourse, but it is so in substance. Probably there are many others who heard it who will remember it when it is brought to their recollection."

ELDER HENRY W. NAISBITT adds this endors.e.m.e.nt:

"I was present on the occasion when President Heber C. Kimball delivered the discourse described in the foregoing communication, and the statement as therein given is correct, as I remember it."

WM. H. BEARD ESQ. sends the following from his home in Spiceland, Indiana:

"In the spring of 1884, I called at the home of your father, the late lamented H. K. Whitney, and while there had the pleasure of viewing a fairly executed portrait of the deceased President Kimball, and having previously read something of him as viewed by Gentile historians, I conceived the idea of learning from his own people, those who had known him long and well, his religious and social standing, during some of the most eventful periods of his life. I conversed with quite a number of persons who claimed to have known him, and the universal expression was 'he was a true, n.o.ble and worthy man.' In glancing over the musty pages of a reporter's book used on that occasion I find an account of the following interview with an old-time friend of the deceased, written with an unsteady hand, but still legible, and marked with conspicuous head lines. I give the report just as it appears, thinking, perhaps, you may find in it a few facts worthy of remembrance.

"The gentleman who favored me with this interview, was bending beneath the weight of acc.u.mulated years, but he seemed to possess an extraordinarily brilliant mind, coupled with a remarkable gift of memory. After extending the usual courtesies due a stranger, I ventured to ask: 'Will you please tell me what you know of the late Heber C. Kimball?' A pleasant smile lit up his face, and in a calm, steady voice he proceeded in substance as follows. 'I have known President Kimball for more than half a century. I knew him in his youth, through all the changing developments of his early manhood, and when his hair was whitened, and his cheeks furrowed by the approach of age. He was a brave, n.o.ble and dignified man, possessing more true virtues than the world will ever know. He was an affectionate husband, a devoted father and a kind and generous friend. He always had consolation for the despondent, a helping hand for the needy, and a tear for the sorrowing and afflicted. In oratory he was not eloquent, but his thoughts were always expressed in such a calm, pleasing and effective manner as to deeply impress his hearers. He was strong in his religious convictions, thoroughly familiar with every tenet of the Mormon faith, and a fervent advocate of the right. He admired true manliness in every relation of life, and was always found on the side of justice and truth. He firmly believed in the ultimate triumph of the church, and often spoke of the wrongs endured by the Latter-day Saints in their continuous struggles for religious freedom. He was a leading light for his oppressed people, and no one ever knew him unfaithful to his trust, or unduly exacting in his official life. He loved to share our sorrows, and enjoy our happiness, for he had a warm and generous heart. His mind was broad and searching, and had he possessed a penchant for military renown, he could have succeeded admirably as a commander of armies. As a statesman he could have been an honor to the republic, and had it not been for his unpopular faith he could have filled almost any position in life to which humanity aspires. In the death of this great man the Church has lost one of its most valued members; but our society through all the coming years, will remember him in their prayers, and continue to contribute sacred tears to his memory and great moral worth.'"

As an appropriate ending for this chapter, we append a truthful tribute from the pen of PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON:

"Heber Chase Kimball was one of the greatest men of this age. There was a certain n.o.bility about his appearance as well as his disposition that would have made him conspicuous in any community, and the Church of Jesus Christ afforded ample scope for the exercise of his ability, and the trying scenes through which he pa.s.sed called into play his best powers.

"He was a man of commanding presence, with eyes so keen as to almost pierce one through, and before which the guilty involuntarily quailed.