Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle Part 9

"During the ceremonies of the dedication, an angel appeared and sat near President Joseph Smith, sen., and Frederick G. Williams, so that they had a fair view of his person. He was a very tall personage, black eyes, white hair, and stoop shouldered; his garment was whole, extending to near his ankles; on his feet he had sandals. He was sent as a messenger to accept of the dedication. The Priesthood was organized according to the proper order. During the whole of the dedication each quorum was placed in its respective station.

Everything was conducted in the best of order, and profound silence maintained."

The Temple having been dedicated, the Apostles and Elders received their endowments, according to the promise of the Lord in Missouri.

Says Heber:

"We had been commanded to prepare ourselves for a solemn a.s.sembly. At length the time arrived for this a.s.sembly to meet; previous to which the Prophet Joseph exhorted the Elders to solemnize their minds, by casting away every evil from them, in thought, word and deed, and to let their hearts become sanctified, because they need not expect a blessing from G.o.d without being duly prepared for it, for the Holy Ghost would not dwell in unholy temples. This meeting took place soon after the house of the Lord had been dedicated. * * *

"When the Prophet Joseph had finished the endowments of the First Presidency, the Twelve and the Presiding Bishops, the First Presidency proceeded to lay hands upon each one of them to seal and confirm the anointing; and at the close of each blessing the whole of the quorums responded to it with a loud shout of Hosanna! Hosanna! etc.

"While these things were being attended to the beloved disciple John was seen in our midst by the Prophet Joseph, Oliver Cowdery and others. After this all the quorums arose in order, together with the three Presidencies; and the Twelve then presented themselves separately and individually before the First Presidency, with hands uplifted towards heaven, and asked of G.o.d whatever they felt to desire; and after each individual pet.i.tion the whole of the quorums answered aloud Amen! Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! To G.o.d and the Lamb, forever and ever, amen and amen!

"The 6th day of April being the day appointed for fasting and prayer, all the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, numbering about four hundred, met together in the House of the Lord to attend to further ordinances; none being permitted to enter but official members who had previously received their was.h.i.+ngs and anointings. Water being provided, the First Presidency, after girding themselves with towels, proceeded to wash the feet of the Twelve. After they got through the Twelve girded themselves and washed the feet of the Seventies. They then took their seats, each quorum seating themselves in their respective places and continued in fasting and prayer, prophesying and exhortation until evening. A sufficient quant.i.ty of bread having been provided to feed this whole a.s.sembly, it was broken by the First Presidency of the Church and Twelve, after which the congregation knelt while a benediction was p.r.o.nounced upon it by the First Presidency; and afterwards the Twelve took it and administered to the congregation. Then wine, also being provided, was blessed by the First Presidency and in like manner served to the congregation by the Twelve. This order of things is similar to that which was attended to by the Savior, amongst His disciples, previous to His ascension. The meeting continued on through the night; the spirit of prophecy was poured out upon the a.s.sembly, and cloven tongues of fire sat upon them; for they were seen by many of the congregation. Also angels administered to many, for they were also seen by many.

"This continued several days and was attended by a marvelous spirit of prophecy. Every man's mouth was full of prophesying, and for a number of days or weeks our time was spent in visiting from house to house, administering bread and wine, and p.r.o.nouncing blessings upon each other to that degree, that from the external appearances one would have supposed that the last days had truly come, in which the Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon all flesh, as far as the Church was concerned, for the sons and daughters of Zion were full of prophesying. In this prophesying great blessings were p.r.o.nounced upon the faithful, and also great cursings upon the unG.o.dly, or upon those who had smitten us. During this time many great and marvelous visions were seen, one of which I will mention which Joseph the Prophet had concerning the Twelve. His anxiety was and had been very great for their welfare, when the following vision was manifested to him, as near as I can recollect:

"He saw the Twelve going forth, and they appeared to be in a far distant land. After some time they unexpectedly met together, apparently in great tribulation, their clothes all ragged, and their knees and feet sore. They formed into a circle, and all stood with their eyes fixed upon the ground. The Savior appeared and stood in their midst and wept over them, and wanted to show Himself to them, but they did not discover Him. He (Joseph) saw until they had accomplished their work, and arrived at the gate of the celestial city; there Father Adam stood and opened the gate to them, and as they entered he embraced them one by one and kissed them. He then led them to the throne of G.o.d, and then the Savior embraced each one of them and kissed them, and crowned each one of them in the presence of G.o.d.

He saw that they all had beautiful heads of hair and all looked alike.

The impression this vision left on Brother Joseph's mind was of so acute a nature, that he never could refrain from weeping while rehearsing it."

"I continued through the winter," says Heber, "some of the time going to school, and the residue laboring with my hands, until May, 1836, when I enquired of the Prophet Joseph if I should go on a mission to preach, or go to school; he replied I might do either, for the Lord would bless me in the course I should pursue. Accordingly, on the 10th of May I left Kirtland and proceeded to Fairport, where I took steamboat and arrived in Buffalo the next day. From that place I pa.s.sed on to the northeast, preaching where doors were open, and baptizing for the remission of sins such as believed.

"June 13th, I arrived at Sackett's Harbor. I had the pleasure of meeting Brothers Luke Johnson and Orson Pratt, who were laboring with all their might for the cause of G.o.d in that region.

"From that place I went on the steamer _United States_ to Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and from thence pa.s.sed on about three miles from the village, when I was stopped by a shower of rain, which drove me into the house of Mr. Chapin for shelter, and making known my calling, the people immediately desired a meeting, and called in their neighbors, when I preached to them for about an hour. Many staid until midnight, and before I was up the next morning they called upon me requesting I should preach again that day in the school house, which I did, and at night it was again thronged with those who were eager to hear. The second morning they likewise called on me, and would not let me go until they knew the truth of my testimony, for by this time the country round was in an uproar of excitement. On the fourth morning I was called out of bed, and baptized three. I remained seven days preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, and baptized and confirmed seven. The promise was fulfilled, for those who believed spoke in tongues, and the sick were healed. A woman named Davis had been confined to her bed for five years, not able to do anything during that time, and scarcely able to sit up, who was given up to die by the doctors. I baptized and confirmed her a member of the Church, and at the same time prayed for her, and rebuked the disease, and commanded it to depart from her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

She began to amend from that very hour, and in less than one week she was performing her usual household duties, walked into the streets and attended meetings, to the astonishment of the people. Sister Chapin and others were also healed of their infirmities. Sister Davis'

husband was considered a staunch Universalist. He was convinced and baptized."

Thence I journeyed to Plattsburg, where I staid all night with a Mr.

Mansfield, who was very friendly to me. I then went in a steamer to St. Albans, Vt., and visited my friends in Sheldon and Bakersfield, traveled through various parts of Vermont, visited Wright's settlement on the top of the Green Mountains, where some were believing. I met Elder Solon Foster at Potsdam, preaching there once, and eight or nine bore testimony to the truth of the Gospel.

"After an absence of about five weeks I returned to Ogdensburg, met the brethren whom I had baptized, and they rejoiced at my return. When I got to the house of Brother Heman Chapin, he was grinding his scythe and fixing his cradle to commence cutting his wheat. I proposed to him if he would furnish me a tow frock and pantaloons to put on, and a rake, I would go into the field and rake and bind all he could cut. He declared there was no man living could do it. Said I, 'never mind, Brother Chapin, its nearly as easy for me to do it as to say it.' The next morning after the dew had pa.s.sed off we went into the field, commencing at a piece of wheat which he said had three acres in it.

Said I, 'go ahead, Brother Heman, we'll cut down this piece before dinner.' About the time he took the last clipp of the three acres I had it bound in a bundle before he had hardly a chance to look round, and about that time the horn blew to call us to dinner. We started back to his house; he never spoke or said one word to me, appearing rather confounded. The next Sabbath such a congregation of hearers I had never seen in the United States; for priests and people had come for twenty-five miles distance, to see and hear that "Mormon" who had performed a thing that had never before been done in that country, for Brother Chapin had proclaimed this occurrence unknown to me. I tarried several days in those regions, preaching and baptizing.

"August 25th, while we were a.s.sembled for a meeting our hearts were filled with joy by the arrival of Joseph Smith, Sen., the patriarch, and his brother John Smith, who were on a mission to bless the churches in the eastern states.

"On the 27th, the church, numbering twenty, that I had baptized, came together and received patriarchal blessings under the hands of President Joseph Smith, Sen.

"Sunday, 28th, Father John Smith preached at 10 a. m., and four of us bore testimony to the Book of Mormon and the truth of the work. In the afternoon we administered the sacrament, confirmed three and blessed the little children of the branch.

"Monday, 20th, we ordained Levi Chapin a Teacher and Alvin Simons an Elder to watch over the church. I then went to Black Lake, preached and baptized one; then preached at Potsdam and baptized another.

Returned to the towns.h.i.+p of Oswegatchie, called the church together at Ogdensburg, which numbered twenty-eight, and bade them farewell. I left the church rejoicing in the Lord, and many around believing the testimony.

"Thence I pursued my journey to Victor, Ontario County, where I met Vilate, my wife, who was visiting her friends, and I tarried a few days with them. Thence we pursued our journey to Buffalo. Here a magistrate came forward and paid five dollars for our pa.s.sage to Frankfort, a distance of one hundred and eighty miles. The pa.s.sengers were chiefly Swiss emigrants. After sitting and hearing them for some time, the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and I was enabled to preach to them in their own language. They seemed much pleased and treated us kindly. We had a very heavy gale while going up the lake, so that every pa.s.senger almost and some of the hands were very sick. Many were frightened, and one woman died, she being very feeble when she came on board. But we reached our destination without accident, and arrived in Kirtland, October 2nd. I was gone nearly five months, visited many of my friends, preached much, and baptized thirty. This was the first mission I took alone. The Lord was with me and blessed me, and confirmed the word with signs following."

CHAPTER XIII.

THE WORs.h.i.+P OF MAMMON--THE TEMPORAL ABOVE THE SPIRITUAL--THE KIRTLAND BANK--FINANCIAL DISASTERS--APOSTASY--HEBER SORROWS OVER THE DEGENERACY OF THE TIMES.

"Ill fares the land; to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth acc.u.mulates and men decay."

During the absence of Apostle Kimball in the east, a grievous change had come over the Church in Kirtland. The greed of gain, the spirit of speculation was abroad in the land. Mammon had reared his altars on consecrated ground; the money-changer was within the temple. The love of the things of earth had usurped, in many hearts, the love of the things of heaven, and comparatively few were free from the soul-destroying influence of idolatry. Idolatry? Yes; the bowing down to the modern Baal, the wors.h.i.+p of wealth--the G.o.d of gold--the l.u.s.t after the ways and pleasures of the world.

The order of Christ's kingdom is the order of creation: firstly spiritual, secondly temporal. When this order is subverted, "chaos is come again." Sorrow is the inevitable consequence of apostasy from the spiritual to the temporal. "To be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace." Does not the fall of man ill.u.s.trate this principle? Can he descend from heaven to earth without causing and enduring pain?

The spiritual must sway the temporal, the earthly be ruled by the heavenly. How else shall it be sanctified? It is the spirit in man that moves the body, not the body the spirit. In the Church, Christ's body, the spiritual must reign supreme. The temporal on the heart's throne is ever the usurper; the spiritual crowned and sceptred, ruler by right divine.

Jacob is spiritual; j.a.pheth is temporal. The mission of Israel and the mission of the Gentiles are as the poles antipodal; G.o.d's ways and man's ways, as heaven and earth apart.

"We were very much grieved," says Heber, "on our arrival in Kirtland, to see the spirit of speculation that was prevailing in the Church.

Trade and traffic seemed to engross the time and attention of the Saints. When we left Kirtland a city lot was worth about $150; but on our return, to our astonishment, the same lot was said to be worth from $500. to $1000., according to location; and some men, who, when I left, could hardly get food to eat, I found on my return to be men of supposed great wealth; in fact everything in the place seemed to be moving in great prosperity, and all seemed determined to become rich; in my feelings they were artificial or imaginary riches. This appearance of prosperity led many of the Saints to believe that the time had arrived for the Lord to enrich them with the treasures of the earth, and believing so, it stimulated them to great exertions, so much so that two of the Twelve, Lyman E. Johnson and John F. Boynton, went to New York and purchased to the amount of $20,000 worth of goods, and entered into the mercantile business, borrowing considerable money from Polly Voce and other Saints in Boston and the regions round about, and which they have never repaid."

The Prophet Joseph says of those times: "The spirit of speculation in lands and property of all kinds, which was so prevalent throughout the whole nation, was taking deep root in the Church. As the fruits of this spirit, evil surmising, fault-finding, disunion, dissension and apostasy followed in quick succession, and it seemed as though all the powers of earth and h.e.l.l were combining their influence in an especial manner to overthrow the Church at once and make a final end. The enemy abroad and apostates in our midst united in their schemes, flour and provisions were turned towards other markets, and many became disaffected towards me, as though I were the sole cause of those very evils I was strenuously striving against, and which were actually brought upon us by the brethren not giving heed to my counsel."

During this period, the Kirtland Safety Society was organized, with a view to controlling the prevailing sentiment and directing it in legitimate channels. The ablest and staunchest men in Israel, including the Prophet and most of the Apostles, were made officers and members of the a.s.sociation.

Then came the financial crash of 1837, by which so many of the banking and business houses of the country were prostrated. Nearly all the banks, one after another, suspended specie payment, "and gold and silver rose in value in direct ratio with the depreciation of paper currency." The Kirtland Bank shared a similar fate to many others, and went down in the whirlpool of financial ruin. One of the causes alleged for its failure was the misfeasance of some of those who were entrusted with the funds of the Bank. Heber says that Warren Parrish, one of the clerks, "afterwards acknowledged that he took $20,000, and there was strong evidence that he took more. Those of integrity in the Church replaced the stolen money at the expense of all they had." A counterfeit, falsely reputed to have been issued by the Bank, was also used by its enemies as a means to effect its overthrow.

As usual the onus of responsibility was placed upon the shoulders of the Prophet, although he had withdrawn from the inst.i.tution some time before. He was falsely accused of dishonesty and fraud, and condemned beyond measure, by men in and out of the Church, as though he were the sole and intentional cause of the catastrophe.

"This order of things," continues Heber, "increased during the winter to such an extent that a man's life was in danger the moment he spoke in defence of the Prophet of G.o.d. During this time I had many days of sorrow and mourning, for my heart sickened to see the awful extent that things were getting to. The only source of consolation I had, was in bending my knees continually before my Father in Heaven, and asking Him to sustain me and preserve me from falling into snares, and from betraying my brethren as others had done; for those who apostatized sought every means and opportunity to draw others after them. They also entered into combinations to obtain wealth by fraud and every means that was evil.

"At this time, I had many dreams from the Lord; one of them I will relate. I dreamed that I entered the house of John F. Boynton, in which there was a panther; he was jet black and very beautiful to look upon, but he inspired me with fear; when I rose to leave the house he stood at the door with the intention to seize on me, and seeing my fear, he displayed his beauty to me, telling me how sleek his coat was, and what beautiful ears he had, and also his claws, which appeared to be of silver, and then he showed me his teeth, which also appeared to be silver. John F. Boynton told me that if I made myself familiar with him he would not hurt me, but if I did not he would. I did not feel disposed to do so, and while the panther was displaying to me his beauty, I slipped through the door and escaped, although he tried to keep me back by laying hold of my coat; but I rent myself from him. The interpretation of this dream was literally fulfilled.

The panther represented an apostate whom I had been very familiar with. I felt to thank the Lord for this dream, and other intimations that I had, which, by His a.s.sistance, kept me from falling into snares."

The hour was approaching when Heber C. Kimball was destined to make his great mark as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, to perform a work that would perpetuate his memory, and make his name "a household word" upon the lips of tens of thousands in both hemispheres.

CHAPTER XIV.

ZION'S s.h.i.+P AMONG THE BREAKERS--"SOMETHING NEW MUST BE DONE TO SAVE THE CHURCH"--HEBER C. KIMBALL APPOINTED TO OPEN THE BRITISH MISSION--SPIRITUAL THINGS TO THE FRONT--RIGHTING THE s.h.i.+P--HEBER'S PROPHECY TO WILLARD RICHARDS--"YEA, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, THOU SHALT GO WITH ME"--THE DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND.

At this crisis in the affairs of the Church, the Lord revealed to Joseph that "something new" must be done for its salvation. The good s.h.i.+p Zion, storm-tossed and tempest-driven, her sails rent, her timbers sprung, a portion of her officers and crew in open mutiny, was drifting with fearful rapidity toward the rocks and breakers of destruction.

Joseph was denounced as a "fallen prophet" by men who had been his immediate friends and confidential advisers, and the divinity of his mission was being doubted by many who had received through him a testimony of the truth, the gift of the Holy Ghost, a knowledge of G.o.d and Christ, whom to know is life eternal.

"No quorum in the Church," says he, "was entirely exempt from the influence of those false spirits who were striving against me for the mastery. Even some of the Twelve were so far lost to their high and responsible calling, as to begin to take sides, secretly, with the enemy."

What "new thing," under these circ.u.mstances, was destined to "save the Church?" In what way was Joseph's mission, as a prophet of the living G.o.d, to be revindicated in the eyes of the Saints and of the world?

"On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837," says Heber C. Kimball, "the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand, above the sacrament table, on the Melchisedek side of the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, 'Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: 'Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.'"

The thought was overpowering. He had been surprised at his call to the apostles.h.i.+p: now he was overwhelmed. Like Jeremiah he staggered under the weight of his own weakness, exclaiming in self-humiliation: "O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!"