XXV. JOSEPH SMITH THE PROPHET…

XXV. JOSEPH SMITH THE PROPHET

THE REALITY OF JOSEPH'S VISION. Our critics say it was an apparition that the Prophet Joseph saw, but he did not say so. He said the personages who appeared to him were real men, and there is nothing more improbable in his statement than in the recital in the Bible of the conception and birth of Christ, and of John the Baptist. To us has come the account of the birth, life and work of Christ, and there is nothing in the narrative to cause us to believe it more readily than that story of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Christ walked and talked and counseled with his friends when he came down from heaven over 1900 years ago. Is there any reason why he could not come again, why he should not visit this earth once more and talk with men today? If there is I should be glad to hear it.

The thing I want to impress upon you is that God is real, a person of flesh and bones, the same as you are and I am. Christ is the same, but the Holy Ghost is a person of spirit.

If Joseph Smith's teachings were untrue, then those of the Great Nazarene fall to the ground, for they are one and the same. You can't philosophize the truths of the gospel away, nor explain them by saying the prophet was a victim of apparitions, for they are real, tangible facts behind which stand a great mass of proof as good as has ever been offered to substantiate any statement. It is a comfort, a blessing, a delight to me, and I pray that it may ever be so to you.--Logan Journal, March 14, 1911.

SERVICE OF JOSEPH SMITH. Our faith in Jesus Christ lies at the foundation of our religion, the foundation of our hope for remission of sins, and for exaltation after death, {605} and for the resurrection from death to everlasting life. Our faith in the doctrines that have been restored through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith confirms and strengthens us and establishes beyond a question or doubt, our faith and belief in the divine mission of the Son of God. Joseph Smith was the instrument chosen of God and endowed with his authority to restore the holy priesthood, the power of God to bind on earth and in heaven,--the power of the priesthood by which men may perform ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind. Through Joseph Smith the gospel of repentance, baptism in water for the remission of sins, the baptism of the Holy Ghost and by fire have been restored, and the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, is made manifest through the spirit of truth. We are obligated to this humble servant that the Lord chose to lay the foundation of this work for the ordinances of the gospel of the Son of God, then and still unknown to the world, by which we may become united together as families, as kindreds, under the bonds of the new and everlasting covenant, for time and for all eternity. We are obligated to the Prophet Joseph Smith, as an instrument in the hand of the Lord, for the knowledge that we possess of the work which is necessary to be done in the house of God, for the salvation of the living and the redemption of the dead, and for the eternal union of souls who are united in this life by the power of God, under the bond of the everlasting covenant. We are indebted, or obligated at least, to the Prophet Joseph Smith, as the instrument in the hands of God, for the knowledge we now possess that a man cannot be exalted into the presence of God and the full enjoyment of his glory, alone. It was not designed for the man to be alone, for the man is not without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.--Oct. C. R., 1916, p. 3.

JOSEPH SMITH'S NAME WILL NEVER PERISH. God {606} lives, and Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God--living, not dead; for his name will never perish. The angel that visited him and declared God's message unto him, told him that his name should be held for good and for evil throughout the world. This prediction was made in the days of his youth, before the Church was organized, and before there was any prospect of that which has since been accomplished. The declaration was made, notwithstanding it then seemed an absolute impossibility; but from the day it was spoken until this moment, and from now on until the winding-up scene, the name of Joseph Smith, the prophet of the nineteenth century, has been, is being, and will be heralded abroad to the nations of the earth, and will be held in honor or contempt by the people of the world. But the honor in which it is now held by a few will by and by he increased that his name shall be held in reverence and honor among the children of men as universally as the name of the Son of God is held today; for he did and is doing the work of the Master. He laid the foundations in this dispensation for the restoration of the principles that were taught by the Son of God, who for these principles lived, and taught, and died, and rose from the dead. Therefore I say, as the name of the Son of God shall be held in reverence and honor, and in the faith and love of men, so will the name of Joseph Smith eventually be held among the children of men, gaining prestige, increasing in honor and commanding respect and reverence, until the world shall say that he was a servant and Prophet of God. The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Peace on earth, good will to men, is the proclamation that Joseph the Prophet made, and that is the same as his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, made to the world. That is the mission we are trying to fulfil, and the proclamation we are seeking to make to the world today. It is the mission that these young men have been chosen to proclaim, and be {607} witnesses of to the nations of the earth. It is their duty to see to it that this proclamation and this gospel of peace and good will shall be sent to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, under the whole heavens. God bless Israel, is my earnest prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.--Oct. C. R., 1907, pp. 125-126.

THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH. Brother Woodruff, in the course of his remarks, made the assertion that Joseph Smith was the greatest prophet that has ever lived, of whom we have any knowledge, save and except Jesus Christ himself. The world would say that he was an impostor; and the Lord said that his name should be had for good and for evil among all the nations of the earth; and this much, at least, so far as his name has become known, has been fulfilled. This prediction was made through the Prophet Joseph Smith himself, when he was an obscure youth, and when there was but little prospect of his name ever becoming known beyond the village where he lived. It was at an early period of his life, and at the beginning of the work that this prophecy or revelation was given, and it has been truly verified. Today there is not another man, perhaps, who has figured in religion, whose name is so wide-spread among the nations, as that of Joseph Smith. In connection with the work of which he was the instrument in the hands of God of laying the foundation, his name is spoken of in nearly every civilized nation upon the globe, for good or for evil. Where it is spoken of for good, it is by those who have had the privilege of hearing the gospel which has come to the earth through him, and who have been sufficiently honest and humble to receive the same. They speak of him with a knowledge which they have received by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through obedience to the principles which he taught, as a prophet and as an inspired man. They speak to his praise, to his honor, and they hold his name in honorable remembrance. They revere him, and they love {608} him, as they love no other man, because they know he was the chosen instrument in the hands of the Almighty in restoring the gospel of life and salvation unto them, of opening their understandings of the future, of lifting the veil of eternity, as it were, from before their eyes. Those who have received the principles which he promulgated know they pertain not only to their own salvation, happiness and peace, spiritual and temporal, but to the welfare, happiness, salvation and exaltation of their kindred who have died without a knowledge of the truth.

The work in which Joseph Smith was engaged was not confined to this life alone, but it pertains as well to the life to come, and to the life that has been. In other words, it relates to those who have lived upon the earth, to those who are living and to those who shall come after us. It is not something which relates to man only while he tabernacles in the flesh, but to the whole human family from eternity to eternity. Consequently, as I have said, Joseph Smith is held in reverence, his name is honored; tens of thousands of people thank God in their hearts, and from the depths of their souls, for the knowledge the Lord has restored to the earth through him, and therefore they speak well of him and bear testimony of his worth. And this is not confined to a village, nor to a state, nor to a nation, but extends to every nation, kindred, tongue and people where the gospel, up to the present, has been preached--in America, Great Britain, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and upon the islands of the sea. And the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hands of God in bringing forth to this generation, has been translated into the German, French, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, Hawaiian, Hindustani, Spanish, and Dutch languages, and this book will be translated into other languages, for according to the predictions it contains, and according to the promises of the Lord through Joseph Smith it is to be sent unto {609} every nation, and kindred, and people under the whole heavens, until all the sons and daughters of Adam shall have the privilege of hearing the gospel as it has been restored to the earth in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

The world presume that we have not received a knowledge of the truth. Those who are in ignorance in regard to the character, life, and labors of Joseph Smith, who have never read his revelations or studied or investigated his claims to divine authority, and are ignorant of his mission, revile him, sneer at his name, and ridicule his claims to prophetic inspiration, and called him an impostor in his day, except a few who hearkened to his instruction, and believed his testimony. The great majority of mankind then living who knew of Christ, deemed him an impostor, and considered him worthy to be put to death; precisely the same feeling existed towards Joseph Smith.

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Let us return to the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was accused of nearly everything that was vile, by his enemies, who, as is well known by the Latter-day Saints, were generally entirely ignorant of his true character and mission. What did Joseph Smith do? Was human blood found upon his hands? No, verily no. He was innocent. Was he a slanderer and vilified? No, verily, he was not. Did he wrongfully and unjustly accuse men of wickedness? No, he did not. Did he institute an order of things that has proved injurious to the human family? Let the people who have become acquainted with his doctrines, and with the institutions which he established upon the earth, and his own life's labor, answer.

He was born December 23, 1805, in the state of Vermont. His parents were American citizens, as had been their ancestors for generations. In the spring of 1820, he received the first supernatural or heavenly manifestation. {610} He was then fourteen years of age. Ordinarily we do not expect a very great deal from a boy who is only fourteen years of age, and it is not likely that a boy of that tender age could have become very vicious or wicked, especially when he was born and reared on a farm, apart from the corrupting vices of great cities, and free from contact with the debasing influence of vile associations. It is not likely that he spent many idle moments during the working years of his life, up to fourteen years of age; for his father had to labor for his living and earn it from the soil by the labor of his hands, being a poor man with a large family to support.

In 1820, as I have said, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which he claimed that God had declared that he was about to restore the ancient gospel in its purity, and many other glorious things. In consequence of this, Joseph Smith became very notorious in the neighborhood where he resided, and people began to regard him with a great deal of suspicion. He was at once called an impostor, and a few years later he was styled by his enemies, "old Joe Smith." His fame became known throughout the United States. He was called a "money digger," and many other contemptuous things. If you will look at his history, and at the character of his parents, and surroundings, and consider the object of his life, you can discover how much consistency there was in the charges brought against him. All this was done to injure him. He was neither old nor a "money digger," nor an impostor, nor in any manner deserving of the epithets which they applied to him. He had never injured anybody, nor robbed anybody--he never did anything for which he could be punished by the laws under which he lived.

When he was between 17 and 18 years of age, he received another heavenly manifestation, and some great and glorious things were revealed to him, and for four years subsequently he received visits from a heavenly messenger. {611} He did not claim he was in communication with wicked men or demons from the lower regions. He claimed he was in communication with Moroni, one of the ancient prophets who lived upon this continent. He was a good man when he lived here, and it is not likely that he had become wicked since he went away. This personage, he claimed, revealed to him the mind and will of the Lord, and showed him the character of the great work that he, in the hands of God was to be instrumental in establishing in the earth when the time should come. This was the labor that was performed by the angel Moroni, during the four years intervening between 1823 and 1827. In 1827 he received from the hands of the angel Moroni, the gold plates from which this book (Book of Mormon) was translated by him through the inspiration of the Almighty, and the gift and power of God unto him. I heard it read when I was a child. I have read it many times since, and I have asked myself, scores of times, have you ever discovered one precept, doctrine, or command, within the lids of that book, that is calculated to injure anybody, to do harm to the world, or that is in contradiction to the word of God as contained in the Bible? And the answer invariably came, No, not one solitary thing, every precept, doctrine, word of advice, prophecy, and indeed every word contained within the lids of that book, relating to the great plan of human redemption and salvation, are calculated to make bad men good and good men better.

Did Joseph Smith during the three years intervening between 1827 and 1830, while he was laboring with his hands for a scanty subsistence, dodging his enemies, and trying to evade the grasp of those who sought to destroy him and prevent the accomplishment of his mission, struggling all the while against untold obstacles and depressing embarrassments to complete the translation of this book, have much {612} chance of becoming wicked or corrupt? I do not think he had. When he had finished translating the Book of Mormon he was still only a boy, yet in producing this book he developed historical facts, prophecies, revelations, predictions, testimonies and doctrines, precepts and principles that are beyond the power and wisdom of the learned world to duplicate or refute. Joseph Smith was an unlearned youth, so far as the learning of the world is concerned. He was taught by the angel Moroni. He received his education from above, from God Almighty, and not from man-made institutions; but to charge him with being ignorant would be both unjust and false; no man or combination of men possessed greater intelligence than he, nor could the combined wisdom and cunning of the age produce an equivalent for what he did. He was not ignorant, for he was taught by him from whom all intelligence flows. He possessed a knowledge of God and of his law, and of eternity, and mankind have been trying, with all their learning, wisdom and power--and not content with that, they have tried with the sword and cannon--to extirpate from the earth the superstructure which Joseph Smith, by the power of God, erected; but they have signally failed, and will yet be overwhelmed by their efforts to destroy it.

Again, the world say that Joseph Smith was an indolent person. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized April 6, 1830. Joseph Smith was martyred in Carthage, Illinois, on the 27th day of June, 1844--fourteen years after the organization of the Church. What did he accomplish, in these fourteen years? He opened up communication with the heavens in his youth. He brought forth the Book of Mormon, which contains the fulness of the gospel; and the revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants; restored the holy priesthood unto man; established and organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an organization which has no parallel in all {613} the world, and which all the cunning and wisdom of men for ages has failed to discover or produce and never could have done. He founded colonies in the states of New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, and pointed the way for the gathering of the Saints into the Rocky Mountains; sent the gospel into Europe and to the islands of the sea; founded the town of Kirtland, Ohio, and there built a temple that cost scores of thousands of dollars; he founded the city of Nauvoo in the midst of persecution; gathered into Nauvoo and vicinity some 20,000 people, and commenced the building of the temple there, which when completed cost one million dollars; and in doing all this he had to contend against the prejudices of the age, against relentless persecution, mobocracy, and vile calumny and slander, that were heaped upon him from all quarters without stint or measure. In a word, he did more in from fourteen to twenty years for the salvation of man than any other man, save Jesus only, who ever lived, and yet he was accused by his enemies of being an indolent and worthless man!

Where shall we go to find another man who has accomplished a one-thousandth part of the good that Joseph Smith accomplished? Shall we go to the Rev. Mr. Beecher, or Talmage, or any other of the great preachers of the day? What have they done for the world, with all their boasted intelligence, influence, wealth, and the popular voice of the world in their favor! Joseph Smith had none of their advantages, if these are advantages. And yet, no man in the nineteenth century, except Joseph Smith, has discovered to the world a ray of light upon the keys and power of the holy priesthood, or the ordinances of the gospel, either for the living or the dead. Through Joseph Smith, God has revealed many things which were kept hidden from the foundation of the world in fulfilment of the prophets--and at no time since Enoch walked the earth has the Church of God been organized as perfectly as it is today, not excepting the dispensation of {614} Jesus and his disciples,--or, if it was, we have no record of it. And this is strictly in keeping with the objects and character of this great latter-day work, destined to consummate the great purposes and designs of God concerning the dispensation of the fulness of times.

The principle of baptism for the redemption of the dead, with the ordinances appertaining thereto, for the complete salvation and exaltation of those who have died without the gospel, as revealed through Joseph Smith, is alone worth more than all the dogmas of the so-called Christian world combined.

Joseph Smith is accused of being a false prophet. It is, however, beyond the power of the world to prove that he was a false prophet. They may so charge him, but you who have received the testimony of Jesus Christ, by the spirit of prophecy, through his administrations, are my witnesses that they have not the power to prove him false, and that is why they are so vexed about it. In my humble opinion many of our enemies know that they lie before God, angels and men, when they make this charge, and they would only be too glad to produce proof to sustain their accusations, but they cannot. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He lived and died a true prophet, and his words and works will yet demonstrate the divinity of his mission to millions of the inhabitants of this globe. Perhaps not so many that are now living, for they have in a great measure rejected the gospel, and the testimony which the elders of this Church have borne to them; but their children after them, and generations to come, will receive with delight the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the gospel which their fathers rejected. Amen.--Discourse delivered in Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Oct. 29, 1882. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 24, 1884, pp. 8-16.

PREDICTION OF JOSEPH SMITH FULFILLED. As the time remaining is so short, I think I could not do better than devote {615} it to continuing the subject dwelt upon by Brother Cannon.

The Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the Book of Mormon, contains indisputable evidence of the divine calling and mission of Joseph Smith. For instance, I will refer the congregation to the revelation given December 25, 1832, in relation to the great war of the Rebellion, with which all are more or less familiar (Doc. and Cov. 87). A portion of that revelation has been literally fulfilled, even to the very place indicated in the prediction where the war should commence; which, as was therein stated, was to terminate in the death and misery of many souls.

Again, in the revelation given in March, 1831, to Parley P. Pratt and Lemon Copley, the following remarkable prediction is found:

"But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed." (Doc. and Cov. 49:24, 25)

Who, let me ask, unless he was inspired of the Lord, speaking by the gift and power of God, at that remote period of the Church's history, when our numbers were few, when we had no influence, name or standing in the world--who, I would ask, under the circumstances in which We were placed when this prediction was made, could have uttered such words unless God inspired him? Zion is, indeed, flourishing on the hills, and it is rejoicing on the mountains, and we who compose it are gathering and assembling together unto the place appointed. I now ask this congregation if they cannot see that this prediction (which was made many years before the idea prevailed at all among this people that we should ever migrate and gather out to these mountain valleys) has been and is being literally fulfilled? If there {616} were no other prophecy uttered by Joseph Smith, fulfillment of which could be pointed to, this alone would be sufficient to entitle him to the claim of being a true prophet.

Again, in the revelation given February, 1834, this remarkable promise and prophecy is found:

"Verily I say unto you, I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour, unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour, and by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the Saints, to possess it for ever and ever." (Doctrine and Covenants 103:5-7)

Is there a person within the sound of my voice, or anywhere else upon the face of the wide earth, who can say that this promise has failed, that this prediction is not founded in truth, that so far it has not been fulfilled? I stand before this vast congregation, and am at the defiance of any human being to say that this was not pronounced by the spirit of truth, by the inspiration of the Almighty, for it has been fulfilled, and is being fulfilled, and that, too, in the face of opposition of the most deadly character; and what remains will be fulfilled literally and completely. And it is the fear in the heart of Satan that this will be the case that causes him to stir up his emissaries to oppose the kingdom of God and seek, if possible, to destroy this great and glorious work. For it is a living fact, a fact that fills the hearts of the righteous and God-fearing with unspeakable joy, and the hearts of the wicked and ungodly with consternation and jealous fear, that this work of God, this work of redemption and salvation in which we are engaged, is moving forward and is destined to continue in its onward march until the kingdoms of the world shall be subdued and brought {617} under the law of Almighty God. And that this will come to pass, I can assure you, the enemy of all righteousness comprehends as well as we do. Yes, he knows that this will eventually be the case, better than many who profess to have received the Holy Spirit in their hearts; and, therefore, he is diligently seeking to stir up the hearts of the wicked to fight against the Saints of God, until they are discomfited, and Zion is free.

These predictions concerning the triumph of the cause of God over the wicked who contend against them, were uttered by Joseph Smith in his youth, in the early rise of the Church when, to all human appearance, their fulfillment was absolutely impossible. At that time there were but few who could believe, that dared to believe the truth of these predictions. The few, comparatively, that did believe when they heard, were those whose minds had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit of Promise and who, therefore, were prepared to receive them. As these predictions have been fulfilled, so those not yet fulfilled will come to pass in the due time of the Lord; and as this latter-day work has so far grown and assumed force and power in the earth, so it will continue to do, and there is no power beneath the celestial kingdom that can prevent its growth, or the consummation of all that has been predicted concerning it.--Apr. C. R., Journal of Discourses, Vol. 25, 1884, pp. 97-101.

JOSEPH SMITH, THE BOY. To me there is a sweet fascination in the contemplation of his childhood and youth. I love to contemplate the innocence and the artless simplicity of his boyhood. It bears record that he was honest, that he was led by the Spirit of God to perform his wonderful mission. How could a child at his age be impelled by other than honest motives in the accomplishment of his high and holy calling? What he did he was led to do by the inspiration and guidance of his Heavenly Father, of this I feel assured.

{618} He was much like other children; his play was like that of his companions; his thoughts, like those of most children, were innocent, and consequently he was incapable of the knavery and connivance that his enemies declared he practiced. Though poor, his parents were honest and good; they delighted in the truth, and it was their honest desire to live according to the best light within them. Love and good will to all found expression in their hearts and actions, and their children were imbued with like sentiments. They were firm believers in God, and trusted in his watchcare over his children. They had frequently received manifestations of his loving kindness, in dreams, visions, and inspirations, and God had healed their little ones, in answer to prayer, when they were nigh unto death. It was in such an atmosphere that the boy was reared. Joseph was a remarkably quiet and well-disposed child who gave his parents little or no trouble. As early as the age of eight, he gave proof that besides being thoughtful, easily governed, and of sweet and loving disposition, he possessed the foundation principles of good character--filial affection, patience, endurance, courage.

Concerning his spiritual manifestations, is it reasonable to suppose that there could have been premeditated deceit on the part of the boy, and such a boy, in his simple statement of what he saw and heard? No; neither could the answer which the heavenly messenger gave to him, have been composed in the child's own mind. Joseph Smith's testimony concerning his heavenly manifestation, in later life, was as simple, straight-forward, plain, and true, as it had been in childhood; the fidelity, courage, and love implanted in and characteristic of his life in boyhood neither faltered nor changed with maturity. His wisdom came in revelations of God to him.

One marked illustration of his character was his love for children. He never saw a child but he desired to take it up and {619} bless it and many he did so bless, taking them in his arms and upon his knee. I have myself sat upon his knee. He was so fond of children that he would go far out of his way to speak to a little one, which is to me a striking characteristic of true manhood. He had a like true love for the human race. I know, and have known from my childhood, that he was a prophet of God, and I believe in his divine mission with all my heart; and in the authenticity and inspiration of the revelations which he received, and the Book of Mormon which he was instrumental in bringing forth.--Improvement Era, Vol. 21, December, 1917, p. 167.

JOSEPH SMITH, A RESTORER. I think it is wrong to count Joseph the Prophet one who fought old forms, in the sense that he established new principles and doctrines. He fought existing religious forms, it is true, but he merely became the means, in God's providence, to restore the old truths of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan of salvation, which is older than the human race. It is true, also, that his teachings were new to the people of his day because they had apostatized from the truth--but the principles of the gospel are the oldest truths in existence. They were new to Joseph's generation, as they are in part to ours, because men had gone astray, been cast adrift, shifted hither and thither by every new wind of doctrine which cunning men--so-called progressives--had advanced. This made the Prophet Joseph a restorer, not a destroyer, of old truths. And this does not justify us in discarding the simple, fundamental principles of the gospel and running after modern doctrinal ads and notions.--Improvement Era, Vol. 15, June, 1912, p. 737.

PLURAL WIVES OF JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. I can positively state, on indisputable evidence, that Joseph Smith was the author, under God, of the revelation on plural marriage. On this subject, we have the affidavit of William Clayton, private secretary of Joseph Smith, that he wrote {620} the revelation as it was given through the lips of the prophet and that he himself sealed to Joseph Smith as a plural wife, Lucy Walker, at Joseph Smith's own residence, on May 1, 1843. This lady is still living, in Salt Lake City, and is willing to testify at any moment to this fact. Following are some of the names of young ladies who were sealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, as testified to under oath by themselves--this during the lifetime of the prophet: Eliza R. Snow, Sarah Ann Whitney, Helen Mar Kimball, Fanny Young (sister to Brigham Young), and Rhoda Richards (sister to Willard Richards who was with the prophet at his martyrdom in Carthage jail). All these noble women have testified, under oath, giving names and dates, that they were sealed during his lifetime, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. These facts have been published in Jenson's Historical Record, and in the Deseret News, in years past; and I know, by the established and virtuous character of these noble women, that their testimonies are true.

A careful reading of the revelation on plural marriage should convince any honest man that it was never written by Brigham Young, as it contains references to Joseph Smith himself, and his family, which would be utterly nonsensical and useless if written by President Young. The fact is, we have the affidavit of Joseph C. Kingsbury, certifying that he copied the original manuscript of the revelation within three days after the date on which it was written. I knew Joseph C. Kingsbury well. Furthermore, the revelation was read by Hyrum Smith to a majority of the members of the High Council, in Nauvoo, at about the time it was given, to which fact we have the sworn statements of the members of the High Council.--Improvement Era, Vol. 5, October, 1902, p. 988.

WHAT DOES THE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM TEACH US? What does the martyrdom teach us? The great lesson that "where a testament is there must also of {621} necessity be the death of the testator" (Heb. 9: 16) to make it of force. Moreover, that the blood of martyrs is indeed the seed of the Church. The Lord permitted the sacrifice, that the testimony of those virtuous and righteous men should stand as a witness against a perverse and unrighteous world. Then, again, they were examples of the wonderful love of which the Redeemer speaks: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) This wonderful love they manifested to the Saints and to the world; for both realized and expressed their conviction, before starting on the journey to Carthage, that they were going to their death. They might have escaped; in fact, had but a few days before made the start for the Rocky Mountains, but were recalled by the groundless fears of false friends who made the accusation that they were fleeing from dangers that were equally as great towards the peace and happiness of the members of the Church as they could possibly be towards themselves.

Satan said to Job: "All that a man hath will he give for his life." Of the true servant, and where perfect love abides, that is not true! Joseph and Hyrum Smith returned and calmly went to their death, feeling that their lives were of no value to themselves if unvalued by their friends, or if they were needed as a sacrifice for the protection of their worthy followers. Their courage, their faith, their love for the people were without bounds, and they gave all that they had for their people. Such devotion and love left no doubt in the minds of those who enjoyed the companionship of the Holy Spirit that these good men and true were indeed the authorized servants of the Lord.

This martyrdom has always been an inspiration to the people of the Lord. It has helped them in their individual trials; has given them courage to pursue a course in righteousness and to know and to live the truth, and must ever be held in sacred memory by the Latter-day Saints who {622} have learned the great truths that God revealed through his servant Joseph Smith.--Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 51, June, 1916, p. 381.

DIVINE AUTHORITY OF JOSEPH SMITH AND HIS SUCCESSORS. I bear my testimony to you and to the world that Joseph Smith was raised up by the power of God to lay the foundations of this great latter-day work, to reveal the fulness of the gospel to the world in this dispensation, to restore the priesthood of God to the world, by which men may act in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and it will be accepted of God; it will be by his authority. I bear my testimony to it; I know that it is true.

I bear my testimony to the divine authority of those who have succeeded the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presidency of the Church. They were men of God; I knew them; I was intimately associated with them and as one man may know another, through the intimate knowledge that he possesses of him, so I can bear testimony to the integrity, to the honor, to the purity of life, to the intelligence, and to the divinity of the mission and calling of Brigham, of John, of Wilford and of Lorenzo. They were inspired of God to fill the missions to which they were called, and I know it. I thank God for that testimony, and for the spirit that prompts me and impels me toward these men, toward their mission, toward this people, toward my God and my Redeemer. I thank the Lord for it, and I pray earnestly that it may never depart from me--worlds without end.--Improvement Era, Vol. 14, Nov., 1910, p. 74.

GOD'S GUIDING HAND SEEN IN CHURCH HISTORY. In connection with this thought it may be proper, consistent and timely, for me to remark that each individual member of the Church assembled here this morning is a free man or a free woman, possessing to the utmost degree all the qualifications and characteristics of freedom, independent with {623} reference to individual action and choice, of every other man and of every other woman present. This being a fact, which is a fact, the unanimity exhibited on the part of the audience, with reference to the actions that have been taken, vindicate the belief and the assertion which I make, that the members of this congregation are certainly in harmony with the will of the Father. They are united; they see eye to eye; their sympathy is with one another and with the cause they represent. Their hearts are in the work in which they are engaged, and that because of their choice, because they have fully weighed all matters connected with their standing in the Church, and with regard to the course which they have taken today; they have, voluntarily, without coercion, without compulsion, without any restraint, except the restraint of their own consciences, shown that they see eye to eye, that they are one and are therefore entitled to be acknowledged of the Master as his own and as of him. I believe that there is not a freer, more independent nor a more intelligent people to be found anywhere in the world, who are more independent in choosing the course which they pursue, in the work that they perform and in everything that they have to do with, than the Latter-day Saints.

There is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in good standing, anywhere in all the world today that is not such by reason of his independence of character, by reason of his intelligence, wisdom and ability to judge between right and wrong and between good and evil. There is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ anywhere, in good standing, living a proper life, that would not hold up his hand against evil, against wrong, against sin, against the transgression of the laws of God, against unrighteousness or vice of any kind, with as much freedom and independence and with as firm determination as any other man or woman in the world.

I am thankful to have the privilege, this moment, of expressing {624} this my view and firm belief and my knowledge of the real character of the Latter-day Saints throughout the world. And, when I say Latter-day Saints, I mean members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded by God, through the instrumentality and agency of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was chosen of God and ordained and qualified and authorized to lay the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ, never more to be destroyed nor left to other people, never more to cease but to continue until the purposes of God shall ripen and be accomplished for the salvation of the children of men and for the redemption of the living, and of the dead who have died without a knowledge of the plan of life and salvation. In stating this I state results of my experience in associations with such men as those who laid the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ, from the Prophet Joseph Smith down to this moment.

As a child I knew the Prophet Joseph Smith. As a child I have listened to him preach the gospel that God had committed to his charge and care. As a child I was familiar in his home, in his household, as I was familiar under my own father's roof. I have retained the witness of the Spirit that I was imbued with, as a child, and that I received from my sainted mother, the firm belief that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God; that he was inspired as no other man in his generation, or for centuries before, had been inspired; that he had been chosen of God to lay the foundations of God's Kingdom as well as of God's Church; that by the power of God he was enabled to bring forth the record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, to revive and to reveal to the world the doctrine of Jesus Christ, not only as he taught it in the midst of the Jews, in Judea, but as he also taught it, and it was also recorded, in greater simplicity and plainness upon this continent, among the descendants of Lehi. As a child I was impressed, deeply, {625} with the thought, and firmly with the belief, in my soul that the revelations that had been given to and through Joseph the Prophet, as contained in this book, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, were the word of God, as were the words of the ancient disciples when they bore record of the Father and of the Son. That impression made upon me in my childhood has followed through all the vicissitudes of more than sixty years of actual and practical experience in the mission field, throughout the nations of the world, and at home in the midst of the authorized servants of God, who officiated in the name of the Father and of the Son to propagate, to build up, and to push forward the work inaugurated by the instrumentality of the boy Joseph Smith.

In my childhood, too, I was instructed to believe in the divinity of the mission of Jesus Christ. I was taught by my mother, a Saint indeed--that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he was indeed no other than the Only Begotten of God in the flesh, and that, therefore, no other than God the eternal Father is his Father and the author of his existence in the world. I was taught it from my father, from the Prophet Joseph Smith, through my mother who embraced the gospel because she believed in the testimony of Joseph Smith, and she believed in the honor, integrity and truthfulness of her husband; and all my boyhood days and all my years in the world I have clung to that belief; indeed, I have never had any serious dubiety in my mind, even in childhood; and when I could only imperfectly understand things with reference to the divinity of the mission of the Son of God, I accepted it as being true in the sense in which only it can be true; for in no other than the literal sense, as it is described in the scriptures of divine truth and in the testimonies of the prophets, can it be true that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe it. I have believed it all my life; but I owe to the Prophet Joseph Smith the fixed and unalterable confirmation of that belief, until it has come to be, {626} in my soul, a knowledge of the truth; and in so far as I have continued in the word of the Lord, I believe, I have been led to know the truth. I believe that I possess that freedom that comes from a knowledge of the truth, which teaches all men righteousness, virtue, honor, faith, charity, forgiveness, mercy, longsuffering patience and devotion to that which is good, and abstinence from that which is evil.

"The truth will make you free." Free from what? From error, free from doubt, and uncertainty, free from unbelief, free from the powers of darkness, free from the possibility of being tempted beyond your strength; but to resist error and to shun even the appearance of sin. This truth makes a man a Latter-day Saint. This knowledge of the truth makes you free to worship God and to love him with all your heart and mind and strength, and to do the next best thing--to love your neighbor as nearly as you possibly can as you love yourselves.

The truth that I have received teaches me that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, teaches me to accept without recourse, other than the full and free acceptance of that truth, that God Almighty, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Father of our spirits, the maker of heaven and earth, condescended to come down to this our mother earth, in person, in company with his beloved Son, and show themselves to Joseph Smith. I believe it. The truth has made me feel that this must be true. It cannot be error, for the Lord God Almighty could never build the structure that he has built upon the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, if it had been founded in error or untruth. This people never could have combined and adhered together, never could have been united, never could have seen eye to eye, never could have been one, in order that they might be acknowledged of God as his own, if we had been building upon error. If our foundations were laid in untruth and unrighteousness this could not be. But the Lord is at the bottom of this. Joseph {627} Smith was not at the foundation of it. He was not responsible, only so far as he was obedient to the will of the Father. God is responsible for this work. The Lord Almighty has made the promises concerning this work, not Joseph Smith, not Hyrum Smith. No other man has made true promises with reference to the future of Zion and to the building up of the kingdom of God in the earth, except God inspired him to do it. Not of himself has man ever done anything of that kind. The Lord is at the bottom; the Lord is at the top; the Lord is all the way through this work, and every fibre of it is in his keeping and is moved by his magic power and by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit. That is my testimony to you.

I believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, because more than ever I come nearer the possession of the actual knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, through the testimony of Joseph Smith contained in this book, the Doctrine and Covenants, that he saw Him, that he heard Him, that he received instructions from Him, that he obeyed those instructions, and that he today stands before the world as the last great, actual, living, witness of the divinity of Christ's mission and His power to redeem man from the temporal death and also from the second death which will follow man's own sins, through disobedience to the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank God for Joseph Smith. I believe in his mission, having accepted this great truth and his narration of it.

The greatest event that has ever occurred in the world, since the resurrection of the Son of God from the tomb and his ascension on high, was the coming of the Father and of the Son to that boy Joseph Smith, to prepare the way for the laying of the foundation of his kingdom--not the kingdom of man--never more to cease nor to be overturned. Having accepted this truth, I find it easy to accept of every other truth that he enunciated and declared during {628} his mission of fourteen years in the world. He never taught a doctrine that was not true. He never practiced a doctrine that he was not commanded to practice. He never advocated error. He was not deceived. He saw; he heard; he did as he was commanded to do; and, therefore, God is responsible for the work accomplished by Joseph Smith--not Joseph Smith. The Lord is responsible for it, and not man.

I am happy to express to this audience my knowledge of the successors of Joseph Smith. They reared me, in part, so to speak. In other words, with them I journeyed across the deserts, by the side of my ox-team, following President Brigham Young and his associates to these barren wastes, barren as they were when we first entered this valley. I believed in him then, and I know him now! I believed in his associates, and I know them now; for I lived with them; I slept with them; I traveled with them; I heard them preach and teach and exhort, and I saw their wisdom which was not the wisdom of man but the wisdom of Almighty God. When President Young set his foot down here, upon this desert spot, it was in the midst of persuasion, prayers and petitions on the part of some Latter-day Saints who had gone forward and landed upon the coast of California, that beautiful, rich country, semi-tropical, abounding in resources that no inland country would possess, inviting and appealing for settlers at that time, and just such settlers as President Brigham Young could have taken there--honest people, people who were firm in their faith, who were established in the knowledge of truth and righteousness, and in the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy, and in the testimony of Joseph Smith which was a confirmation of the spirit of Christ and of his mission.

These people pleaded with President Young: "Come with us," they said, "and go to the coast. Go where roses bloom all the year round, where the fragrance of flowers {629} scents the air, from May until May; where beauty reigns; where the elements of wealth are to be found, and only need to be developed. Come with us."

"No," said President Young, "we will remain here, and we will make the desert blossom like the rose. We will fulfil the Scriptures by remaining here."

I heard him tell one of the Battalion boys who came back from California with a little buckskin sack of gold nuggets, and who shook them in the face of President Young, and said to him: "Look what we could get if we were to go to California! The land is full of gold;" but President Young pointed his finger (I was there and saw and heard it), and he said: "Brother --------, you may go to California, if you will. Those who want to go there can go, but we will remain here; and I want to tell you that those who remain here and obey counsel, in a few years will be able to buy out every one of you who go to California--ten-fold over."

(Bishop George Romney: "That is true; I know the man.")

Why, bless your soul, what did President Young know about Utah, at that early day? We did not know that there was even a lump of coal in existence in the land. I myself passed the first fall and winter after our entrance into this valley hauling wood out of Mill Creek canyon and Parley's canyon; and during that fall and winter I hauled forty loads of wood with my oxen and wagon out of these canyons. Every load I cut and hauled diminished the supply of wood for fuel for the future; and I said to myself: What will we do when the wood is all gone? How will we live here when we can't get any more fuel, for it is rapidly going? I followed that pursuit until it took me three days in the mountains with my ox-team and wagon, to get a load of wood for winter fuel; and what were we to do? Yet President Young said, "This is the place."

Well, ordinarily, our judgment and our faith would {630} have been tried, in the decision of the president, if we had not implicit confidence in him. If we had not known that he was the mouthpiece of God, that he was the real and legitimate successor of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we would have doubted his wisdom and we would have faltered in our faith in his promise and word; but no, we believed him, and we stayed; and so far as I am concerned, I am here yet; and I propose to remain here as long as the Lord wants me to stay. And what has developed?

Our good friends from the east used to come out here in the early days, and upbraid us. They said: "Why, it is the fulfilment of the curse of God upon you. You have been driven away from the rich lands of Illinois and Missouri into a desert, into a salt land."

I said: "Yes, we have salt enough here to save the world, thank God, and we may find use for it by and by."

Well, before the wood gave out entirely in the mountains, we discovered coal up here in Summit county, and then we began to discover it all along the mountains here, and we kept on discovering it, until at last we have learned that we have coal enough in Utah to furnish fuel for the whole world for a hundred years, if they want to come and get it. We have it right here, any amount of it; and they haven't got that in California; they come up here to get their coal.

We have discovered that this country was really the gold-mine country of the world; that here abounded silver as well as gold in greater abundance than in California. We have discovered now that some of our mountains here are practically made of copper, and men are hewing copper out of the mountains by millions of tons, so to speak, and coining it in the way of business into money; and thank the Lord, we do not have to go to Liverpool for the salt we use in making butter. We have it right here, just as good and {631} pure as the best they can fetch from England or anywhere else in the world; and this salt land has proven to be a boon, a consolation and a blessing beyond all power of description.

When the army came out here, in 1858, we wanted some bullets to go out and meet General Johnston and his forces that were coming in--not to kill them; we did not want the bullets to kill them; we just wanted the bullets to scare them with. Some of the boys went out here into the mountains with a pick and shovel, and they dug up lead, impregnated somewhat with silver. They brought it in, improvised a little furnace and ran out a few tons of lead. I had the honor of being associated with that little company of men, and I brought home with me some thirty or forty pounds of lead that we just quarried out of the hill with a pick and shovel.

When I rode up to the office here, to report to President Young my return from my mission over three years, the army was approaching, and he said to me: "Well, Joseph, have you got a horse?"

I said, "Yes, sir."

"Have you got a gun?"

I said, "Yes, sir."

"Have you got any ammunition?"

I said, "No, sir."

"Well," he said, "you report to Brother Rockwood, at the commissary office, and he will furnish you with ammunition, and you take your gun and go out to the front."

So I went home and sat up all that night, running bullets out of my mountain lead; reported the next day to Brother Rockwood, received a chunk of Mother Cadbury's cheese and some crackers, and started on my horse, with a brother-in-law, for the front. I spent part of the winter of 1858, and all of the spring and a portion of the summer of 1859, guarding Uncle Sam's troops; and we never hurt one of them, not one. We never molested a single individual of them; but we hedged up their way, and they camped out at {632} Fort Bridger all winter long, and we sent them salt to save them; and they rejected it, because they were afraid there was something in the salt, more than the savor of it. But I assure you the salt was pure and good.

Now, just before that time, I was a farmer. I had to plow my land and farm it, but I did not have a spear of grass or hay to feed my team, and how was I going to do my spring work? This valley produced mighty little hay at that time. I hitched up my team, my brother and I, and we drove sixty miles to the north and bought a couple of loads of wild grass hay, and carted that hay down sixty miles to feed our teams in order to plow our land. I used to think, how in the world are we going to live in Utah without feed for our teams. Just then the Lord sent a handful of alfalfa seed into this valley, and Christopher Layton planted it, watered it, and it matured; and from that little beginning, Utah can now produce a richer crop of hay than Illinois or Missouri can do. So the hay question was settled, and the coal question was settled. Then the question of producing food from the land. Why, it was a marvel. One good man cultivated his little farm for thirty years, without a change, and raised from fifty to sixty bushels of wheat per acre each year on his farm, during that entire period. So the soil is rich, and everything is favorable for Zion here where President Young determined that he would stay; if we had not stayed here, it is clear we would have been overwhelmed and swallowed up by the multitudes who rushed to California.

Now, my brethren and sisters, I know whereof I speak with reference to these matters, for I have come down through every atom of it, at least from the expulsion from the city of Nauvoo; in February, 1846, I stood upon the bank of the river and saw President Young and the Twelve apostles, and as many of the people of Nauvoo as had teams or could possibly migrate, cross the Mississippi {633} river on the ice. The river froze within a day or two, because of heavy frost, which enabled them to cross as they did, and thus the first real marvel and manifestation of the mercy and the power of God was manifest, in making a roadway across the Mississippi a mile wide at that place by which our people could go on their journey to the West. I saw them go. My brother was with them, and I wondered if I would ever see him again. We remained there in Nauvoo until September, 1846, when the city was besieged, at the mouth of the cannon and musket, and my mother and her family were compelled to take all that they could move out of the house--their bedding, their clothing, the little food they possessed, leaving the furniture and everything else standing in the house, and fled across the river, where we camped without tent or shelter until the war was over. The city was conquered, and the poor people that were left there were compelled to seek shelter somewhere else. From that moment on, I have been in the conflict. I have seen it and experienced it all the way through; and I am satisfied with my experience.

I bear record to you of the divinity of the work in which you are engaged, and, I bear record to you and testify that it has been the power of God, not that of President Young or of his associates, that has kept the people together and united them. By that power you have been able to come here this morning and with one united voice, and uplifted hands, sustain in the positions to which they have been chosen the men who have been called and appointed and ordained by virtue of authority from God, to preside over you and teach you things that are good to be taught and good to be known and observed, which will bring life and salvation to those who will hearken and be obedient.

The Lord bless you; the Lord bless the pure in heart throughout the world. May the Lord have mercy upon the suffering nations that are afflicted by this terrible calamity {634} of war. May he save the poor and the needy and the honorable among the children of men, to come eventually to a knowledge of his truth, that they may be saved in his kingdom.

Much could be said. Joseph Smith taught the building of temples. I can scarcely quit. Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hand of God in revealing the ordinances of the house of God that are essential to the salvation of the living and the dead. Joseph Smith taught these principles, and his brethren to whom he taught them have carried out his views. They have put his doctrine to the test. They have obeyed his counsel, and they have honored him and his mission and sustained him as man has never been sustained by any other people under God's heavens. So we will continue to sustain Joseph the prophet, and his work that he has accomplished among the children of men, and we will abide in the truth forever, by the help of God. Even so. Amen.--Sermon, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, July 8, 1917.

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XXVI. PERSONAL TESTIMONIES AND BLESSINGS

A TESTIMONY. I declare unto you in all candor, and in all earnestness of soul, that I believe with all my heart in the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that I am convinced in every fiber of my being that God raised him up to restore to the earth the gospel of Christ, which is indeed the power of God unto salvation. I testify to you that Joseph Smith was instrumental in the hand of the Lord in restoring God's truth to the world, and also the holy priesthood, which is his authority delegated unto man. I know this is true, and I testify of it to you. To me it is all-in-all; it is my life, it is my light; it is my hope, and my joy; it gives me the only assurance that I have for exaltation, for my resurrection from death, with those whom I have loved and cherished in this life, and with whom my lot has been cast in this world--honorable men, pure, humble men, who were obedient unto God and his commands, who were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, nor of their convictions or knowledge of the truth of the gospel; men who were made of the stuff of which martyrs are made, and who were willing at any moment to lay down their lives for Christ's sake, and for the gospel, if need be, which they had received with the testimony of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. I want to be reunited with these men when I shall have finished my course here. When my mission is done here, I hope to go beyond into the spirit world where they dwell, and be reunited with them. It is this gospel of the Son of God that gives me the hope that I have of this consummation, and of the realization of my desire in this direction. I have staked all on this gospel, and I have not done it in vain. I know {636} in whom I trust. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand upon the earth in the latter days, and, as Job has expressed it, "Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."--Oct. C. R., 1907, pp. 4, 5.

THIS IS GOD'S WORK--A TESTIMONY. My brethren and sisters, I desire to bear my testimony to you; for I have received an assurance which has taken possession of my whole being. It has sunk deep into my heart; it fills every fiber of my soul; so that I feel to say before this people, and would be pleased to have the privilege of saying it before the whole world, that God has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith is, was, and always will be a prophet of God, ordained and chosen to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fulness of times, the keys of which were given to him, and he will hold them until the winding up scene--keys which will unlock the door into the kingdom of God to every man who is worthy to enter and which will close that door against every soul that will not obey the law of God. I know, as I live, that this is true, and I bear my testimony to its truth. If it were the last word I should ever say on earth, I would glory before God my Father that I possess this knowledge in my soul, which I declare unto you as I would the simplest truths of heaven. I know that this is the kingdom of God, and that God is at the helm. He presides over his people. He presides over the president of this Church, and has done so from the Prophet Joseph down to the Prophet Lorenzo, and he will continue to preside over the leaders of this Church until the winding--up scene. He will not suffer it to be given to another people, nor to be left to men. He will hold the reins in his own hands; for he has stretched out his arm to do this work, and he will do it, and have the honor of it. At the same time God will honor and magnify his servants in the sight of the people. He will sustain them in righteousness. He will {637} lift them on high, exalt them into his presence, and they will partake of his glory forever and ever.

It is the Lord's work, and I plead with you not to forget it. I implore you not to disbelieve it; for it is true. All that the Lord said concerning this latter-day work will come to pass. The world cannot prevent it. The blind that will not see, the deaf that will not hear, cannot prevent the work from going on. They may throw blocks before the wheels, they may ridicule, they may malign, they may stir up the spirit of persecution and bitterness against the Saints, they may do all in their power to deceive the people and lead them astray; but God is at the helm, and he will lead his people to victory. Men and women may be deceived by the craftiness of the adversary and by the spirit of darkness that is in the world; they may be deceived with Christian Science, with hypnotism, with animal magnetism, with mesmerism, with spiritualism, and with all the other man-made and demon-stimulated isms which exist in the world; but the elect of God shall see and know the truth. They will not be blind, because they will see; they will not be deaf, because they will hear; and they will walk in the light, as God is in the light, that they may have fellowship with Jesus Christ and that his blood may cleanse them from all their sins.

May God help us to realize this. May he deliver us from secret combinations, and from the snares that are set to entrap our feet and to win our affections from the kingdom of God. I repeat what I have said scores of times, the kingdom of God is good enough for me. This organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meets all my wants, and I have no need to fly to organizations that are gotten up by men for the purpose of making money. I pray God that his kingdom may be sufficient for you, that you may abide in the truth, and not be led away {638} by those deceptive spirits that have gone forth in the world to lead men astray.

Spiritualism started in the United States about the time that Joseph Smith received his visions from the heavens. What more natural than that Lucifer should begin revealing himself to men in his cunning way, in order to deceive them and to distract their minds from the truth that God was revealing? And he has kept it up pretty well ever since. May God bless Israel, and preserve us in the truth. May he bless our president, prolong his years, and continue unto him the strength of body and mind that he possesses this day, and even more vigor as the years roll by. May the Lord have mercy upon our beloved brother, President Cannon, who is absent from us, and return him once more to his home, and to the bosom of the Church, if he has not willed otherwise. This is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.--Apr. C. R., 1901, pp. 72,73.

A TESTIMONY. There is no salvation but in the way God has pointed out. There is no hope of everlasting life but through obedience to the law that has been affixed by the Father of life, "with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning;" and there is no other way by which we may obtain that light and exaltation. Those matters are beyond peradventure, beyond all doubt in my mind; I know them to be true. Therefore, I bear my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, that he lives and that his Son lives, even he who died for the sins of the world, and that he arose from the dead; that he sits upon the right hand of the Father; that all power is given unto him; that we are directed to call upon God in the name of Jesus Christ. We are told that we should remember him in our homes, keep his holy name fresh in our minds, and revere him in our hearts; we should call upon him from time to time, from day to day; and, in fact, every moment of our lives we should live so that the desires {639} of our hearts will be a prayer unto God for righteousness, for truth, and for the salvation of the human family. Let us guard ourselves so that there may not come into our souls a single drop of bitterness, by which our whole being might be corroded and poisoned with anger, with hatred, envy and malice, or any sort of evil. We should be free from all these evil things, that we may be filled with the love of God, the love of truth, the love of our fellowmen, that we may seek to do good unto all men all the days of our lives, and above all things be true to our covenants in the gospel of Jesus Christ.--Apr. C. R., 1909, p. 6.

THE PLEDGE OF MY LIFE. I feel happy, this morning, in having the privilege to say to you that in the days of my childhood and early youth, I made a pledge with God and with his people that I would be true to them. In looking over the experiences of my life, I cannot now discern, and do not remember a circumstance, since the beginning of my experience in the world, where I have felt, for a moment, to slacken or relax in the pledge and promise that I made to God and to the Latter-day Saints, in my youth. And if there is a man, or a woman, in the world that can point out to me an instance, in all my life, where I have been untrue to my pledge, or promise, or covenant, I shall be glad to receive that information from that man or woman. As an elder in Israel I tried to be true to that calling; I tried to my utmost to honor and magnify that calling. When I became a seventy, I felt in my heart to be true to that calling, and I strove, with all the intelligence and fervor of my soul, to be true to it. I have no knowledge nor recollection of any act of mine, or any circumstance in my life where I proved untrue or unfaithful to these callings in the priesthood of the Son of God. Later in my life, when I was called to act as an apostle, and was ordained an apostle, and set apart to be one of the Twelve, I strove to honor that calling, to be true to it, and to my brethren, to the household of faith, and to {640} the covenants and obligations involved in receiving this holy priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. I am not aware that I ever violated one of my obligations or pledges in these callings to which I have been called. I have sought to be true and faithful to all these things. I have endeavored to be true to my family; and if ever I have violated one pledge or promise, or neglected one obligation that rests upon me in these relationships, I do not know it. And when I have made pledges to the people of God, or to the world, if ever I have violated those pledges I do not know it. Furthermore, I do not believe there is a man living who does know it, who can truthfully testify that I ever did violate those pledges.

I stand before you today, my brethren and sisters and friends, on the ground that I have tried to be true to God, to the utmost of my knowledge and ability; that I have tried to be true to my people, to the utmost of my knowledge and ability; and I have been true to the world in every pledge and promise that I have made to the world, notwithstanding there have been men who have shown a disposition to make it appear that I was a hypocrite, that I was two-faced; that I was one thing to the world and another thing in secret. I want it distinctly understood that those who have conveyed such an idea as this to mankind have been wilfully injuring me, wronging me, and falsifying me and my character before the people, and I want it distinctly understood those things must stop. They must stop at least among men who profess to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can endure to be maligned and persecuted by my enemies, who are also enemies of the Kingdom of God, but I do not want to be maligned and belied by men who profess to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neither intentionally nor otherwise. Now, I trust that you understand clearly what I mean. I do not know how I can make it much plainer or clearer, with the knowledge {641} that I have of language. Then, I repeat, as the Lord has helped me in the past to be true to my covenants, that I have entered into with him and with you, with my brethren, and with, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so by his help and by his blessing I propose to be true throughout the future of my life, whether I am permitted to live long or short; it matters not to me. While I live, I hope to be a true man, an honest man, a man who can face all mankind and, at last, who can stand before God, the judge of the quick and the dead, and not quail for what I have done in the world.--Oct. C. R., 1910, pp. 2,3.

A BLESSING. I bless you with all my soul, because you love the truth, and you manifest it. There is nothing in God's world that draws men and women so near to my heart as that they love the truth and that they love God, that they love the cause of Zion and are devoted to the interests of the Church. This endears men and women to my heart; I love them when they love this work and when they show their interest in it. It lifts my soul to heaven and fills it with joy unspeakable.--Oct. C. R., 1908, p. 97.

A TESTIMONY. My brethren and sisters, I know that my Redeemer lives. I know, as I know I live, that in person he has visited man in our time and day, and that we are not now dependent alone on the history of the past for the knowledge that we possess, of which record is borne by the Spirit of God, shed abroad in the hearts of all who enter into the covenant of the gospel of Christ. But we have the renewed and later witness and manifestation of heavenly visions and of the visitation of God the Father and Christ the Son to this their footstool; and they have in person declared their entity, their being, and they have manifested their glory. They have stretched forth their hands to accomplish their work--the work of God, and not the work of man--and while those who have been faithful shall be crowned with glory and honor in the presence of God, the {642} honor and the glory, the credit and the praise, for the continuance and for the advancement and growth of the kingdom of God in the earth, will be due to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, whose power and whose agency, whose influence and purpose, have been behind the work of God every moment since it was first given to man. It is by his power that it has grown and continued, and has become what it is, and it will continue to grow and spread, until it shall fill the earth with the glory of God, and with the knowledge of the Father and of the Son, whom to know is life eternal. This is my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, and I bear witness of it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.--Improvement Era, Vol. 12, September, 1909, p. 914.

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES. I know that my Redeemer lives. We have all the testimony and all the evidence of this great and glorious truth that the world has, that is, all that the so-called Christian world possesses; and in addition to all that they have, we have the testimony of the inhabitants of this western continent, to whom the Savior appeared and delivered his gospel, the same as he delivered it to the Jews. In addition to all this new testimony, and the testimony of the holy scriptures from the Jews, we have the testimony of the modern prophet, Joseph Smith, who saw the Father and the Son, and who has borne record of them to the world, whose testimony was sealed with his blood and is in force upon the world today. We have the testimony of others, who witnessed the presence of the Son of God in the Kirtland temple, when he appeared to them there, and the testimony of Joseph, and of Sidney Rigdon, who declared that they were the last witnesses of Jesus Christ. Therefore I say again, I know that my Redeemer lives; for in the mouths of these witnesses this truth has been established in my mind.

Besides these testimonies, I have received the witness {643} of the Spirit of God in my own heart, which exceeds all other evidences, for it bears record to me, to my very soul, of the existence of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I know that he lives, and that in the last day he shall stand upon the earth, that he shall come to the people who shall be prepared for him, as a bride is prepared for the Bridegroom when he shall come. I believe in the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I have every evidence that I need--at least enough to convince me, of the divinity of his mission.

I am proud to say that I have accepted, and have tried to keep and honor, every word that has proceeded from the mouth of God through him. As it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," no one will dare to accuse me of side-tracking from or refusing to obey any doctrine taught by or revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.--Improvement Era, Vol. 14, 1910, p. 73.

TESTIMONY. Now, there are many other things, but I cannot tell them all to you. I begin to feel that I am getting to be an old man, or rather a young man in an old body. I think I am just about as young as I ever was in my life in spirit. I love the truth today more than I ever did before, because I see it more clearly, I understand it better from day to day by the promptings and inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord that is vouchsafed to me; but my body gets tired, and I want to tell you, sometimes my poor old heart quivers considerably.--Oct. C. R., 1917, pp. 6, 7.

{644}

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH

AN APPRECIATION

President Joseph Fielding Smith, sixth and beloved President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has without question seen longer service in the Church than has any other living man. For sixty-five years he has been in the active ministry, under a great variety of callings; for fifty-one years he has held the apostolic calling; since 1867 he has been one of the general authorities of the Church; during seventeen years he has been President of the Church. No other man is so beloved in the Church. To advertise that President Smith will be at a meeting is to warn the people that standing room will be at a premium. His words are accepted as of inspired authority; his acts as of an honest man, tried long and severely in the crucible of life.

The confidence of the people in their President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, has not come alone from the exalted positions he has so long occupied. The Latter-day Saints have been gathered from all comers of the earth, and from all walks, after they had become convinced that the gospel as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is of certain truth. Intelligence rules in the earthly Zion. The leaders of the people are subjected to searching consideration by the people, and the confidence given them is in proportion to their deserts. It is, therefore, a noble tribute to the worthiness of the man Joseph F. Smith that he is the synonym for all that the people respect and hold dear.

Surely, this man who presides over the Church, and {645} whose life is an open book, has been prepared for his labor. If weakness were in him he would have had ample opportunity to fall. From his birth, the spirit of the great latter-day work has hovered over him; and with every passing year he has been immersed in the history of the Church.

When he was born, in Far West, on November 13, 1838, apostasy, jealousy, persecution and the beckoning hands of untruth were shaking the Church. The Church did not fall, but the hearts of the faithful were sorely tried, and even the baby, Joseph F., must have assimilated some of the solemnity of those days when the Church was being purified for its future work It was a preparation of noble extent to sit, in those early years, on the knees of his patriarch father or of his prophet uncle, even though the wide import of their conversation was not understood by the boy. It was a training in steely strength, even for the child, to witness the homecoming of the bodies of his murdered father and uncle. For such robbery of the dearest in life the human breast naturally and instinctively clamors for revenge. Yet, the whole life of the boy, grown to manhood, has been that of forgiving and loving, so that all may be made to see the truth. Who knows at what cost the man within has been conquered? The Church has suffered such unjust yet persistent opposition from the beginning that one wonders that it retains its gentle love for all the children of men.

It was splendid preparation for the man who was to be in God's harness all the years of a long life to witness the exodus of Nauvoo. Home and lands, household property and trinkets of sentiment--all had to be left behind. The driven people were in the desert with their God, and lo! their faith waxed strong. It was during the exodus that President Smith learned lessons of faith that never have been forgotten. Their cattle were lost and their hope was gone, but the praying mother, in communion with the Source of Truth, arose and went directly to the place where the {646} oxen had strayed. Though only eight years old, the boy drove an ox team across Iowa.

"In 1848, when nine years old, I drove a four-ox team across the plains to Salt Lake City," writes President Smith, in an album of a friend. That was training for the boy! From the days of that blistering, dusty journey there was no relapse to a longing for the easy things of life. After the arrival in the valley came the toilsome conquest of Widow Smith's farm. The father was gone and the children were young. Our President, from his own life, can understand the lot of the widow and the fatherless.

Then the mother died. The strong spirit and wise mind could no longer guide the boy. The father had been murdered in cold blood because he was fearless in the cause of truth; the mother had died from the strain and sorrow of a life tossed in the furious storm of those days; no material wealth was his. Thus stood the fourteen-year-old boy who was to become the leader of his people. Men are shorn of earthly support that they may grow strong in Godly ways!

The training had been severe, but of infinite value. When the boy was only fifteen years old he was called to go on a mission to the Sandwich Islands. By the labor of his hands he worked his way to California; by more labor, earned his passage to the islands. To object or to question was not possible for one who had survived his training. During that first mission the spirit of the work came upon him. In sermon, by visit, through his quiet influence, he led men and women into the way of everlasting truth. By the power of the priesthood he held, he healed the sick, drove out evil spirits, and brought peace to the souls of those who were heavy laden.

After nearly five years he was allowed to return home. Again he had to work his way. At last he was again with the body of his people in Salt Lake City, but penniless. The Lord does not always reward in gold and silver. He was not {647} permitted to remain home long, for mission succeeded mission. From the Sandwich Islands he was called to England for three years; then from England again to the Sandwich Islands. To preach the gospel without purse and scrip became the order of his life.

Joseph F. Smith's ceaseless devotion to the gospel did not escape the notice of the watchful, keen-eyed leader, Brigham Young, who loved with a mighty love the memory of the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was a joy to the Prophet Brigham Young to find one of the blood of the martyrs giving himself to the cause for which they died. In various ways did President Young test the materials of which Joseph F. Smith was made. However, the long and hard training of boyhood and the insistent discipline in the mission field had not been in vain. President Young found him loyal to his family, his country, his Church and his God. Not even his bitterest enemy will deny that President Smith is loyal.

After some years, on July 1, 1866, a beautiful and solemn day, President Brigham Young ordained Joseph F. Smith to the apostleship. A year later, in October, 1867, he was admitted to the quorum of the Twelve. If there can be any talk in the Church of Christ of earning a position, Joseph F. Smith had earned his place in the apostolic quorum, by his purity, his intelligence, his integrity and his activity in behalf of the Church. Moreover, the people of the Church delight to honor the blood of the Prophet who was God's instrument in the mighty work of the restoration of the gospel. Welcome was he, when he entered upon his work as one of the general authorities of the Church.

As a member of the quorum of the Twelve, Joseph F. Smith showed the same activity that had so emphatically characterized his former labors. From settlement to settlement he traveled, to counsel, to preach and to take active part in the building of the West, which was yet in its swaddling {648} clothes of conquest. Vigorous were his words wherever he went. Without doubt was his faith. His testimony of the gospel was as the highest knowledge. He was then as now a fearless champion of truth.

At the time Apostle Smith assumed a place among the general authorities of the Church, Utah conditions were rapidly changing. Many non-members of the Church, who had come in to share in the bounties of the desert made to blossom by the Saints, could not content themselves with their rich material harvest, but must needs take up arms against the Church. When the leaders of the Church were charged with disloyalty to the country, when their motives were painted as those of devils, when the whole system of "Mormon" faith was branded as the rottenest immorality, the people who remembered the days of Carthage and Nauvoo had difficulty to keep down the cry of vengeance. Across the weary desert they had trailed, leaving many by the way; in the sweat of their brows they had won the wilderness to their use, and all this that they might serve unmolested their holy God, in a worship founded on purity and truth. It was then that the clear-visioned, clear-thinking leaders raised their voices in protest against further injustice. Apostle Smith, a man of deep affections, had fought away from himself the desire for revenge for the beastly murder of his manly father; but, being a man of strength, he could not submit indifferently to the new injustice that was proposed. The Fighting Apostle they called him, as he hurled back the untruths about "Mormonism," and his relentless watchfulness became a deterrent power among those who planned evil for a good and peaceful people.

A fighting apostle he has always been--fighting for the cause of truth. Yet, Joseph F. Smith is temperamentally a man of peace. Gentle and kind are his ways. A gentleman, is the instinctive appellation bestowed upon him by all who meet him. In character, voice and manner he is {649} the dignified peace maker. Nevertheless, his loyalty is such, and his convictions are so firmly established, that evil may not be spoken about truth without arousing the lion within him. To measure the ground; to give the foe full place and warning, to try strength according to the laws of decency, but never to give quarter to evil or untruth or injustice--that is the method of Joseph F. Smith.

In time, the years of toil wore upon President Brigham Young, who asked that more counselors, to act as assistants, be given him. Among those whom he chose for this purpose was Joseph F. Smith. This indicated that during his apostolic career he had not forfeited the confidence of the president which he had won earlier in his life. When, at length, the great founder of Utah passed away, and the first presidency was again reorganized, the abilities and character of Apostle Smith made him, under God's inspiration, a counselor to President John Taylor. Under the administrations of Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, and Snow, for twenty-one years, President Smith remained as a counselor in the first presidency, until at length, in the providence of God, he became the president of the Church.

The vast gathering in the great Tabernacle, November 10, 1901, will ever be remembered by those present. The priesthood of the Church were seated according to their offices in the priesthood. One by one the quorums arose, elders, seventies, high priests and the others, and voted to sustain the appointment of Joseph Fielding Smith to the Presidency. In his vigorous, later manhood, his eye clear, his voice distinct, his spirit compelling, he was vividly the greatest among the thousands of able men, the flower of a vigorous people, who had assembled there that day.

The day was the fulfilment of prophecy, for, many years before, his attainment of the exalted position of the Presidency had been predicted with the voice of authority.

Of the administration of the affairs of the Church under {650} Joseph F. Smith's presidency nothing need be said--for we live in it and know its eloquent message. The stakes at home, the missions in Europe and in the islands of the sea, have been visited by the President in his official capacity. Prosperity, good will, spiritual power and growth, overshadow the Church. The stakes of Zion have been increased, the wards multiplied, hundreds of beautiful meeting-houses have been constructed, the priesthood has risen to a fuller recognition of its place in the Church, the temples have become crowded, new temples are being built, new converts have been added in mighty numbers, and in a thousand other ways has the Church prospered; and above all, in the face of a most bitter persecution, which has been heralded throughout the world, the faith of the people has increased until it is nigh unto impregnable. If any doubt all this, let him journey over the Church then visit one of the general conferences of the Church. There is faith in Israel!

Not only long but varied has been the experience of this great man who presides over the Church. True to the genius of "Mormonism," he has been closely identified with all the affairs of the community in which he has lived. For seven successive terms he was a member of the Utah legislature. When the Johnston army pantomime was in progress, President Smith joined the militia and assisted in making preparations to protect the homes of the people. He has helped to locate settlements and to find ways for bringing water upon the thirsting land. He has encouraged all legitimate business and, as far as time has permitted, has taken part in it. From his earliest life he has managed his farm, and even today, with his sons, has built one of the most modern livestock farms in the West, as an example to others.

Education, guided in schools, was largely denied him, but educated is President Smith. He has read widely, spoken with many men of many minds, and has thought deeply. {651} Of broad and generous sympathies with everything that is noble and good, he has acquired a culture, which none dares question. Schools, the public press, the theater, music and the fine arts have been encouraged by him. As a most illuminating sidelight upon his wisdom is the fact that if not all of a family can be educated, he insists that the girls must be given the first chance, for they are the mothers and makers of men.

To those who do not know President Smith, it must seem strange that the honors that have almost overwhelmed him have all come unsought. President Smith is a modest man. Like all truly great men he is not immersed in thoughts of his own greatness. Rather does he admiringly place the power he observes in other men above his own. Nevertheless, and most naturally, position after position involving trust has come to him, though he has never sought one. Those who must find flaws in the Church point out that President Smith is officially connected with many business enterprises. Yet, those who find fault with this condition will not realize that men who can be absolutely trusted to guard the affairs of others as they would their own, are everywhere sought after. President Smith's demonstrated integrity has brought many offices which no doubt he would gladly relinquish to others. But "Mormon," Jew, and Gentile know that as far as President Smith can control things, only honor and justice and simple honesty will prevail wherever he is found.

During the Smoot investigations it seemed as if the whole United States was arrayed against the relatively few people who, during half a century, had given themselves to the conquest of the Great American Desert. The charges filed against this people, if sustained, would make the "Mormon" people unfit to dwell in the "land of the free and the home of the brave." To face the investigating Committee on Privileges and Elections, composed of the best minds of the Senate and House of {652} Representatives of the United States Congress, many were subpoenaed. The first witness was President Smith. Fortunately, the hearing is preserved and printed so that all may read it. Matching mind and will and heart and sense against the great ones of the land, President Smith was easily their compeer. Read it. Who has ever heard of that hearing used as a campaign document against "Mormons"? When Joseph F. Smith's history is written, his mighty contest with the most authoritative body in the land will make his figure stand out in noble relief. Among the men of earth, high or low, President Smith is never at a disadvantage.

Those who had even slight acquaintance with President Smith were not surprised at the evidence of his power among men. In all his public work he is masterful. He is endowed with high physical attractiveness, his musical voice is compelling, his language chaste and correct, and his thoughts appeal to the intellect as well as to the emotions. Those who have seen him before the ten thousand, at the great Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, have no fear that he may not be measured with the men he meets.

Perhaps the best evidence of the high intellect of President Smith is shown in his clear understanding and explanation of the principles of the gospel. Men often sink to oblivion in quagmires of theological vagueness. In matters of theological doctrine the President is lucid as the noon-day light. Some few years ago, certain men, loving to conjecture the improbable, insisted on knowing what would happen if all the men holding the priesthood were to die, save one elder. At one of the great conferences (general), before ten thousand assembled Saints, President Smith, in one-half dozen sentences cleared up the whole subject. It would be the privilege and duty of the one remaining elder to organize again the whole Church with apostles, prophets, etc., according to the revelation. The powers and purpose and duty of the priesthood were thus driven into the understandings {653} of the people, as they never had been before. His sermons abound in such clarifying statements, backed by a simple, unfailing faith that looks for simplicity rather than mystery in the things of God.

Perhaps enough has been said. The man of whom we write is tender and gentle, and withal does not love much praise. To him and his families many children have been born. To them he is loyal with all his power, for he well knows that loyalty, with all other virtues, begins at home. Over his families he watches with tender solicitude. They in turn love him with an invariable love. It is common knowledge that when the children were young, his rest was not easy if he had not seen the little ones properly tucked away for the night. The same father-heart beats for the people whose accepted leader he is. The hearts of the people ache over the long hours he spends in the office working out the affairs of the Church, especially now that he is no longer as young as he once was. But, he is not to be dissuaded. He must see his people tucked away for the night, before his heart will be at peace. So works love! and who shall say him nay, whose care from boyhood has been the welfare of his people?

"Has this man no faults?" asks the green-eyed critic. To be sure he has, for he is mortal. But, this writing is not to show his faults; and indeed, the writer does not know them, any more than he knows the full virtue of this man who for eighty long years has lived his life openly among his people, and who is the freest from adverse criticism in his community. Men are not measured by their faults, but by their worthy deeds and qualities. In the scales of eternal justice the main requirement is that our virtues outweigh our failings. Curiously enough, the only current criticism of President Smith, among those who oppose him, is that he is too loyal to his people, his friends, his convictions. Is not that the eternal cry of the enemy who reaches out for deserters? {654} In every manly quality, friend and foe agree that he reaches above the majority of men.

Sure is our President of his reward. For him God will richly provide. Our question may rather be, has he had during the earth's journey, his full measure of reward? Have we done our full duty? For the cause of the Church he was bereft of father and mother. In the service of the Church he has been unable to use his splendid talents for the gathering of wealth--in our day he might justly be called a poor man. The ease of life has been denied him, for almost daily he has been "under orders." Above all, as a leader in Israel, the calumny and hatred of the Church have been heaped upon him. Only a few years ago, when past his prime, the most heartless persecution to which any member of the Church has been submitted was his. For several years an influential newspaper, standing at that time for the persecution of the Church, by means fair or foul, printed daily vile cartoons of President Smith and equally vile editorials about him and his work. Every indignity conceivable to the human mind was offered him because he was the embodiment of the Church.

Should the question be put to him, he would answer that he has had a rich reward. Perhaps he feels, let it be hoped he does, the outpouring of loving thoughts from the people whenever his name is mentioned. He has been blessed to serve. That is also a great reward for effort. His life has been crowned with the assurance, from all, that his work has been well done. That is the most satisfying reward.

May his health be preserved and his life be lengthened out. There is much work yet to be done, and men do not frequently rise to the fulness of his measure! At the beginning of his eighty-first year, the people give loving greetings and good wishes and heartfelt gratitude to Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.--Dr. John A. Widtsoe, 1918; also in Improvement Era, Vol. 18, November, 1914, pp. 38-45.

{655}

REMINISCENCES

The Era has asked me to write a few remembrances of incidents connected with my personal association with the late President Joseph F. Smith, while they are yet fresh in memory, and it is a pleasure to comply.

The first time I ever remember seeing Joseph F. Smith was in the then little village of Wellsville, in the year 1867. He was twenty-eight years of age, and had recently been chosen one of the twelve apostles. President Brigham Young and company were making a tour of the northern settlements, and the new apostle, Joseph F. Smith, was among the number. I heard him preach in the old meetinghouse at Wellsville, and I remarked at the time what a fine specimen of young manhood he was--strong, powerful, with a beautiful voice, so full of sympathy and affection, so appealing in its tone, that he impressed me, although I was a youth of but eighteen. He was a handsome man.

At that time I was clerking in a little store owned by Father Ira Ames, one of the old Kirtland veterans of the Church. Apostle George A. Smith was one of that company and he was entertained at Brother Ames' home, where I also lived. I recall that at the dinner table, Father Ames asked George A. who of the Smiths this young man Joseph F. was.

George A. replied that he was Hyrum's son; his mother, Mary Fielding Smith.

Brother Ames remarked that he looked like a likely young fellow, and George A. replied in about these words:

"Yes, I think he will be all right. His father and mother left him when he was a child, and we have been looking after him to try and help him along. We first sent him to school, but it was not long before he licked the {656} schoolmaster, and could not go to school. Then we sent him on a mission, and he did pretty well at that. I think he will make good as an apostle."

Some years ago I related this incident to President Smith, and he told me that the reason he had trouble with the schoolmaster was that the schoolmaster had a leather strap with which he used to chastise the children. He was a rather hard-hearted schoolmaster, one of the olden type that believed in inflicting bodily punishment.

President Smith said: "My little sister was called up (Aunt Martha, now living in Provo) to be punished. I saw the schoolmaster bring out the leather strap, and he told the child to hold out her hand. I could not stand for that. I just spoke up loudly and said, 'Don't whip her with that,' and at that he came at me and was going to whip me, and instead of him whipping me, I licked him good and plenty."

At the time of this incident, Joseph F. (for, by that name he was affectionately called) was about fifteen years of age. But he was a strong, powerful youth, and his big heart could not tolerate such punishment, especially if it bordered on the cruel, to be inflicted upon a little child.

Another incident which I have heard him relate which shows his courage and integrity, occurred when he was returning from his mission to the Sandwich Islands, in the fall of 1857. He came home by way of Los Angeles, by what was called the Southern Route. In that year Johnston's Army was on the move for Utah, and naturally enough there was much excitement and bitterness of feeling concerning the "Mormons." In southern California, just after the little train of wagons had traveled only a short distance and made their camp, several anti-"Mormon" toughs rode into the camp on horseback, cursing and swearing and threatening what they would do to the "Mormons." Joseph F. was a little distance from the camp gathering wood for the fire, but he saw that the few members of his own party had {657} cautiously gone into the brush down the creek, out of sight. When he saw that, he told me, the thought came into his mind, "Shall I run from these fellows? Why should I fear them?" With that he marched up with his arm full of wood to the campfire where one of the ruffians, still with his pistol in his band, shouting and cursing about the "Mormons," in a loud voice said to Joseph F.:

"Are you a 'Mormon'?"

And the answer came straight, "Yes, siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through."

At that the ruffian grasped him by the hand and said:

"Well, you are the ---- ---- pleasantest man I ever met! Shake, young fellow, I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions."

These incidents show the inherent bravery, courage, integrity of the man, and also tenderness and pity for the little helpless sister. These are the qualities upon which great men are builded.

In the spring of 1877, I was called to accompany President Smith on a mission to Europe. I was called by him to labor in the business affairs of the Liverpool office, and from that time until the day of his death, I think I have enjoyed his personal confidence more than any man living. When I look back on it all now, I can see what a treasure, a blessing, a favor from the Almighty it has been to me.

During the last eleven years, especially, I have traveled with him almost constantly whenever he has gone from home. I have been with him on three different trips to Europe, including the first missionary trip above mentioned, and on four trips to the Sandwich Islands. Everywhere, on all occasions, I have found him the same great, brave, true-hearted, noble and magnificent leader, so simple and unaffected, so entirely democratic and unassuming.

He was always careful with his expenditures, too. He abhorred debt, and no man have I ever known who was {658} so prompt to pay an obligation to the last penny. He could not rest until the Church was out of debt, and though hundreds of schemes, and many of them extra good schemes, too, were presented to him, which no doubt would have meant an increase of wealth for the Church, yet he resolutely set his face against debt; and would not, under any conditions or circumstances, involve the Church in that way. Neither would he himself become involved in debt in his own individual affairs, but he stuck persistently to the old motto, "Pay as you go."

Many of the older people now alive can recall that forty years ago, or even less, he was considered a radical, and many a one of that time shook his head and said, "What will become of things if that fiery radical ever becomes president of the Church?" But from the time he was made president of the Church, and even before that time, he became one of the most tolerant of men, tolerant of others' opinions; and while he would denounce sin with such righteous wrath as you would seldom see in any man, yet for the poor sinner he had compassion and pity, and even forgiveness, if sincere repentance were shown. None more ready than he to forgive and forget.

One touching little incident I recall which occurred on our first trip to the Sandwich Islands. As we landed at the wharf in Honolulu, the native Saints were out in great numbers with their wreaths of leis, beautiful flowers of every variety and hue. We were loaded with them, he, of course, more than anyone else. The noted Hawaiian band was there playing welcome, as it often does to incoming steamship companies. But on this occasion the band had been instructed by the Mayor to go up to the "Mormon" meetinghouse and there play selections during the festivities which the natives had arranged for. It was a beautiful sight to see the deep-seated love, the even tearful affection, that these people had for him. In the midst of it all I noticed a {659} poor old blind woman, tottering under the weight of about ninety years, being led in. She had a few choice bananas in her hand. It was her all--her offering. She was calling, "Iosepa, Iosepa." Instantly, when he saw her, he ran to her and clasped her in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her over and over again, patting her on the head saying, "Mama, Mama, my dear old Mama."

And with tears streaming down his cheeks he turned to me and said, "Charlie, she nursed me when I was a boy, sick and without anyone to care for me. She took me in and was a mother to me."

Oh, it was touching--it was pathetic. It was beautiful to see the great, noble soul in loving, tender remembrance of kindness extended to him, more than fifty years before; and the poor old soul who had brought her love offering--a few bananas--it was all she had--to put into the hand of her loved Iosepa!

On these ocean trips there was much spare time, and we often whiled away an hour or two playing checkers. He could play a good game of checkers, much better than I. In fact, he could beat me four times out of five, but once in a while, when I played more cautiously, and no doubt when he was more careless, I could beat him. If he was beating me right along and I made an awkward move, and could see instantly that I had moved the wrong checker, he would allow me to draw it back if I noticed it immediately; but on the other band, if I had beaten him for a game or two and should put my finger on a checker to draw it back, even though it were on the instant, he would call out with force enough, and that positive way of his, "No you don't, you leave it right there." It is in these little incidents that we show the human side of our natures.

He loved sport--manly sport. He was a natural athlete; and in his youth at foot-racing, jumping, wrestling, which were among the primitive sports of primitive days, he {660} was a match for anyone. In later years I had induced him to take up with the ancient and royal Scottish game of golf. He got so that he could play a very good game, excellent indeed for a man of his years. But on one occasion, down at Santa Monica, when we were playing, we were up within about one hundred feet of the flag at the hole we were making for. A light stroke should have driven the ball nearer the flag, but the inclination to look up as one tries to hit the ball got the best of him, and the consequence was he topped the ball and it rolled only a couple of feet or so. He bent over for the next stroke, and the one thing which all golfers most fear, and the hardest to overcome, is that habit of looking up or taking the eye off the ball just as you go to strike. This he did, the second time, when he topped it again and it moved but a few feet further. The third time he went up to it and hit it a whack that sent it rolling one hundred feet beyond the flag. His son, Wesley, who was playing with us, called out, "Why, papa, what did you do that for? You knew it would roll away down there in the ditch!" The President straightened up and said, with a smile, "Well, I was mad at it!" I have laughed hundreds of times at that, "I was mad at it."

Of course, we agreed well together, otherwise we would not have been companionable during all these years. But sometimes I could not fully agree with him on some matters that we discussed. I recall one night we were on shipboard returning from Europe, in 1906. It was a bright, moonlight night, and we stood there leaning over the railing enjoying the smooth sea and balmy summer night air. The Smoot investigation, which had just occurred a little while before and which had stirred up so much controversy throughout the land, was fresh in our minds, and we were talking of it. I took the position that it would be unwise for Reed Smoot to be re-elected to the United States Senate. I was conscientious in my objection, and I had marshaled {661} all the facts, arguments, and logic that I could; and I was well informed, I thought, on the subject, and had presented them to him in as clear and yet in as adroit a manner as I possibly could. It would take too much space here to go over the arguments, but it seemed to me that I had the best of it. I could see he began to listen with some little impatience, and yet he let me have my say, but he answered in tones and in a way that I shall never forget. Bringing his fist down with some force on the railing between us, he said, in the most forceful and positive manner:

"If ever the Spirit of the Lord has manifested to me anything clear and plain and positive, it is this, that Reed Smoot should remain in the United States Senate. He can do more good there than he can anywhere else."

Of course, I did not contend further with him, but accepted from that hour his view of the case and made it mine, too. Twelve years have passed since that time, and looking back on it now, I cannot help but think how marvelously and splendidly the inspiration of the Almighty has been vindicated, while my arguments, facts and logic have all fallen to the ground.

During the last six or eight years, hundreds of prominent people, Democrats as well as Republicans, passing through Salt Lake City, even Secretary McAdoo, himself, among them, have stated to President Smith that Utah had a great big man in the United States Senate in the person of Senator Reed Smoot. President Smith's judgment, or rather his inspiration in this matter, has been vindicated to the last degree.

As a preacher of righteousness, who could compare with him? He was the greatest that I ever heard--strong, powerful, clear, appealing. It was marvelous how the words of living light and fire flowed from him. He was a born preacher, and yet he did not set himself up to be such. He never thought highly of his own good qualities. Rather, he {662} was simple, plain and unaffected to the last degree; and yet, there was dignity with it all which enabled anyone and everyone to say: "He is a man among men!" I ask, as preacher, leader, teacher, husband, father, citizen and man, who among our mighty ones can be likened unto him?

He loved a good story and a good joke. There was a good laugh in him always. He had no patience with vile stories, but there was a fine vein of humor in him, and could relate incidents of his early life and entertain the crowd about him as few men ever could.

He was the most methodical in all his work of any person I ever knew. Every letter that he received had to be indorsed by him with the date and any other information, and all carefully filed away. He could not stand for disorder. Everything in connection with his work was orderly. He could pack his suitcase or a trunk and line out and smooth every piece of clothing in it so it would bold more and be better packed than if anybody else had done it. His clothes, too, were always clean. Most men as they grow old are likely to have their clothes more or less spotted through dropping food on their clothing. But not so with him. To his last day his clothes were as clean and as well taken care of as if he had been a young man of thirty.

He was a most strenuous worker and never considered saving himself at all. You could go up to his little office in the Beehive most any night when he was well, and find him writing letters or attending to some other work. Perhaps some dear old soul had written him a personal letter, and he would work into the night answering it with his own hand. Indeed, he over-worked himself and no doubt injured his strong constitution.

He was careless about eating--careless as to what he ate and when he ate. His living was exceedingly simple and plain. He rarely got to bed before midnight, and the consequence was he did not get sufficient sleep and rest.

{663} He was very fond of music and loved to sing the songs of Zion.

His love for little children was unbounded. During the trip we took last year down through the southern settlements to St. George and return, when the troops of little children were paraded before him, it was beautiful to see how he adored these little ones. It was my duty to try and get the company started, to make time to the next settlement where the crowds would be waiting for us, but it was a difficult task to pull him away from the little children. He wanted to shake hands with and talk to every one of them.

Once in a while someone would come up to him and say, "President Smith, I believe I am a kinsman of yours."

I knew then that we were good for another ten minutes' delay, for that great heart of his, that went out to every kinsman as well as to the little children, could not be torn away quickly from anyone claiming kinship with him.

I have visited at his home when one of his children was down sick. I have seen him come home from his work at night tired, as he naturally would be, and yet he would walk the floor for hours with that little one in his arms, petting it and loving it, encouraging it in every way with such tenderness and such a soul of pity and love as not one mother in a thousand would show.

While he was a hard-headed, successful business man, yet very few in this dispensation have been more gifted with spiritual insight than he. As we were returning from an eastern trip, some years ago, on the train just east of Green River, I saw him go out to the end of the car on the platform, and immediately return and hesitate a moment, and then sit down in the seat just ahead of me. He had just taken his seat when something went wrong with the train. A broken rail had been the means of ditching the engine and had thrown most of the cars off the track. In the sleeper we were shaken up pretty badly, but our car remained on the track.

{664} The President immediately said to me that he had gone on the platform when he heard a voice saying, "Go in and sit down."

He came in, and I noticed him stand a moment and he seemed to hesitate, but he sat down.

He said further that as he came in and stood in the aisle he thought, "Oh, pshaw, perhaps it is only my imagination;" when he heard the voice again, "Sit down," and he immediately took his seat, and the result was as I have stated.

He, no doubt, would have been very seriously injured had he remained on the platform of that car, as the cars were all jammed up together pretty badly. He said, "I have heard that voice a good many times in my life, and I have always profited by obeying it."

On another occasion, at a function which was held in the palatial home of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. McCune, he made an extended talk to the gathering. He then said that when a certain brother who had been called to a responsible position in the Church was chosen for that position, he himself had never heard this spiritual voice more plainly and more clearly telling him what to do, than in this naming of the individual who was to be called for that certain office.

He lived in close communion with the Spirit of the Lord, and his life was so exemplary and chaste that the Lord could easily manifest himself to his servant. Truly he could say, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Not every servant can hear when He speaks. But the heart of President Smith was attuned to the Celestial melodies--he could hear, and did hear.

What shall I say of the grand and glorious work that he has done in rearing the large and splendid family that he leaves behind? What a noble work for any man! Indeed no man without great nobility of soul could have accomplished it. Is not this bringing up a good family, and a large {665} family of good citizens, good men and women, good for the Church, for the State, and for the Nation? Is not this, I say, about the most God-like piece of work that a man can do in this world? The thinking mind, who goes into this question deep enough, will see that here is the work, not only of a man, of a great man, but of a God in embryo. The whole Church can take pride in the vindication of this great principle which he had so successfully wrought out. No ordinary man could accomplish that. Happy the wife who can call him husband. Happy and blessed indeed the children who call him father. Never was man more moral and chaste and virtuous to the last fiber of his being than he. Against all forms or thoughts of licentiousness, he was set, and as immovable as a mountain. "Blessed are the pure in heart," and as he was the very purest--he shall see God.

It is written that a truly great man is known by the number of beings he loves and blesses, and by the number of beings who love and bless him. Judged by that standard alone, where is his equal to be found in all this world!

I can say of Joseph F. Smith as Carlyle said of Luther, that he was truly a great man, "great in intellect, in courage, in affection, and in integrity. Great, not as a hewn obelisk, but as an Alpine mountain." No heart ever beat truer to every principle of manhood and righteousness and justice and mercy than his; that great heart, encased in his magnificent frame, made him the biggest, the bravest, the tenderest, the purest and best of all men who walked the earth in his time!

"His life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a Man!'"

--Charles W. Nibley, Presiding Bishop of the Church, Improvement Era, Vol. 22, January, 1919, pp. 191-198.

{666}

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

It was John Locke, the great characteristic English philosopher, who, at the age of thirty, wrote:

"I no sooner perceived myself in the world, but I found myself in a storm which has lasted hitherto."

To Joseph F. Smith, who is among the greatest and most unique and notable individualities of that peculiar people, the Latter-day Saints, this sentence of Locke's is especially applicable. Only, his was enveloped in storm before he could perceive. He is the son of Hyrum Smith, the second patriarch of the Church, and brother of the Prophet Joseph. His mother was Mary Fielding, of English origin, a woman of bright and strong mind and of excellent business administrative qualities.

It was during the Missouri troubles. Governor Boggs had issued his order to exterminate the "Mormons." On the first day of November, 1838, through the heartless treachery of Colonel Hinkle, Joseph and Hyrum and several other leaders of the people were betrayed into the hands of an armed mob under General Clark. They were to be taken prisoners, and confined in jail, and perhaps shot. On the following day, these betrayed leaders were given a few moments to bid farewell to their families. Under a strong guard of militia mobocrats, Hyrum was marched to his home in Far West, and, at the point of the bayonet, with oaths and curses, was ordered to take his last farewell of his wife; for his "doom was sealed" and he was told that he would never see her again. Imagine such a shock to his companion! It would have overpowered and come near ending the life of an ordinary person. But with the natural strength of her mind, coupled with the sustaining care of God, she was upheld in this fiery trial with its added miseries {667} to follow. It was on the 13th day of the same month of November, 1838, in the midst of plunderings, and scenes of severest hardships and persecution, that she gave birth to her first-born, who was named Joseph Fielding Smith. In the cold of the following January, leaving four little ones, under the care of her sister, Mercy R.--children of her husband by a former wife, then dead--she journeyed in a wagon with her infant to Liberty Jail in Clay county, where the husband and father was confined, without trial or conviction, his sole offense being that he was a "Mormon." She was permitted to visit him in jail, but was later compelled to continue her flight from Missouri with her children, to seek shelter in Illinois.

Such were the stormy environments of birth, and such was the first pilgrimage of the infant Joseph who has since compassed the earth and the islands of the sea, promulgating and defending the principles for which his father endured imprisonment and later martyrdom, and for which his mother suffered untold persecution and distress.

Joseph's early years were spent amidst the agitations which culminated in the martyrdom of his uncle and his father on the memorable 27th day of June, 1844. After the abandonment of the city by the Twelve, and when the majority of the Saints had been driven from Nauvoo, in September, 1846, his mother fled from the city and camped on the west side of the Mississippi River, among the trees on its banks, without wagon or tent, during the bombardment of the city by the mob. Having later succeeded in making exchanges of property in Illinois for teams and an outfit, she set out for Winter Quarters, on the Missouri River. Joseph, a lad of only about eight years, drove a yoke of oxen and a wagon most of the distance through the state of Iowa to Winter Quarters, and his other occupation, after leaving Nauvoo, was principally that of herd boy.

On these western plains he drank in the freedom of {668} the spirit of the West, and developed that physical strength which, notwithstanding his later sedentary occupation, is still observable in his robust, erect and muscular form.

He is a lover of strength and a believer in work. "Labor is the key to the true happiness of the physical and spiritual being. If a man possesses millions, his children should still be taught how to labor with their hands; boys and girls should receive a home training which will fit them to cope with the practical, daily affairs of family life, even where the conditions are such that they may not have to do this work themselves; they will then know how to guide and direct others," said he, in a recent conversation with the writer.

The great and overpowering desire of all the Saints was to obtain means to gather to the Valley. For this purpose various kinds of labor were sought in Iowa and neighboring states, from farming to school teaching. In the fall of 1847, he drove a team for his mother to St. Joseph for the purpose of securing provisions to make the coveted journey to the Salt Lake Valley, in the spring following. The trip was successfully made.

It was in the fall of that year, while tending his mother's cattle near Winter Quarters, that he experienced one of the most exciting incidents of his life. The cattle were their only hope of means for immigration to the Valley. This fact was deeply impressed upon the boy, so that he came to view them as a precious heritage, as well as a priceless charge given to him as a herd boy. He understood the responsibility; and that is much, for neither Joseph, the boy, nor Joseph, the man, was ever known to shirk a duty or prove recreant to a responsibility.

One morning, in company with Alden and Thomas Burdick, he set out upon the usual duties of the day. The cattle were feeding in the valley some distance from the settlement, which valley was reached in two ways, one {669} over a "bench" or plateau, the other through a ravine or small canyon. The boys each had a horse. Joseph's was a bay mare, swifter than the others. Alden suggested that Thomas and Joseph go the short route to the left, over the "bench," and he would go up the canyon to the right, so that they would meet in the valley from the two directions. The suggestion was gladly adopted, and the two set out with youthful frolic, and soon arrived at the upper end of the valley, where the cattle could be seen feeding by a stream which divided it in the center and wound down the canyon from the direction of the settlement. Having the day before them, they amused themselves with "running" their horses, and, later, in "jumping" them over a little gully in the upper part of the valley. As they were engaged in this amusement, suddenly a band of twenty or thirty Indians came into view around a point in the lower end of the valley, some distance below the cattle. Thomas first saw them, and frantically yelled, "Indians," at the same time turning his horse for the "bench" to ride for home. Joseph started to follow, but the thought came to his mind, "My cattle, I must save my cattle!" From that moment, only this thought filled his mind; everything else was blank and dark. He headed his horse for the Indians, to get around the herd before the reds should reach it. One Indian, naked like the others, having only a cloth around the loins, passed him, flying to catch Thomas. Joseph reached the head of the herd, and succeeded in turning the cattle up the ravine just as the Indians approached. His efforts, coupled with the rush and yells of the Indians, stampeded the herd, followed by Joseph, who by keeping his horse on the "dead" run, succeeded for some time in keeping between the herd and the Indians. Here was a picture! the boy, the cattle, the Indians, headed on the run for the settlement! Finally the reds cut him away from the herd, whereupon he turned, going down stream a distance, then circling around {670} the ravine to the right, to reach the cattle from the other side. He had not gone far in that direction when other Indians were seen. They started for him, overtaking him as he emerged from the valley. He still spurred his horse, going at full speed, and while thus riding, two of the naked reds closed up beside him in the wild race, and took him, while the horses were going at full speed, one by the left arm and the other by the right leg, and lifted him from the saddle, for a moment holding him in the air, then suddenly dropping him to the ground.

Undoubtedly he would have been scalped but for the timely appearance of a company of men going to the hay fields, on the opposite side of the ravine, which scared the thieving Indians away, they having obtained both the boys' horses for their pains. In the meantime Thomas had given the alarm. Two relief companies were formed in the settlement, one a posse of horsemen under Hosea Stout, who went up the canyon and found the cattle with Alden Burdick (the pursuing Indians having abandoned the chase from fright), while the other took the "bench" route, and discovered Joseph, who with them spent the day in a fruitless search for the Indians and the cattle supposed to have been stolen. "I remember, on my way home," says Joseph, "how I sat down and wept for my cattle, and how the thought of meeting mother, who could not now go to the Valley, wrung my soul with anguish." But happily, his bravery and fidelity to trust, which are indissolubly interwoven with his character as a man, had saved the herd.

Leaving Winter Quarters in the spring of 1848, they reached the Salt Lake Valley on September 23, Joseph driving two yoke of oxen with a heavily loaded wagon the whole distance. He performed all the duties of a day watchman, herdsman and teamster, with other requirements imposed upon the men. Arriving in Salt Lake City, he again had charge of the herds, interchanging with such labors as {671} plowing, canyon work, harvesting and fencing. During this whole time he never lost an animal entrusted to his care, this notwithstanding the numerous large wolves abounding in the country.

His education was obtained from his mother who early taught him, in the tent, in the camp, on the prairie, to read from the Bible. He has had no other, save that sterner education gathered from the practical pages of life. But his opportunities in later years have not gone unused, and there are few college-bred men who delight more in books than Joseph. He is, too, a fair judge of the manner and matter of books. His leisure for reading is limited, owing to his constant employment in the affairs of the Church; but he loves to read books of history, philosophy, science; and has specially delighted in such authors as Seiss and Samuel Smiles, who may be said to be his favorites. He is fond of music, of which, though not a judge, he is a great lover, especially enjoying the music of the human voice.

In 1852 his mother died, leaving him an orphan at the age of fourteen. When fifteen years of age, he, with other young men, was called on his first mission to the Sandwich Islands. The incidents of the journey to the coast by horses, his work in the mountains at a shingle mill for means to proceed, and the embarkment and journey on the Vaquero for the islands, are sufficient for a long chapter in themselves; while his labors in the Maui conference, under President F. A. Hammond, his efforts to learn the language in the district of Kula, his attack of sickness, the most severe of his life, caused by the Panama fever, and his other labors and varied, trying experiences while there, would fill a volume. He says, "Of the many gifts of the Spirit which were manifest through my administration, next to my acquirements of the language, the most prominent was perhaps the gift of healing, and by the power of God the casting out of evil spirits, which frequently occurred."

{672} One incident shows how the Lord is with his servants: Joseph was studying the language, being alone with a native family in Wailuku. One night, while he sat by a dismal light poring over his books in one corner of the room where dwelt a native and his wife, the woman was suddenly possessed; she arose and looking toward Joseph made the most fearful noises and gestures, accompanied by terrible physical contortions. Her husband came on his bended knees and crouched beside him, frightened to trembling. The fear that our young missionary felt under those circumstances was something indescribable, but presently it all left him, and he stood up facing the maniac woman, exclaiming: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I rebuke you." Like a flash, the woman fell to the floor like one dead. The husband went to ascertain if she were alive, and pronounced her dead. Then he returned, and set up a perfect howl, which Joseph likewise rebuked. What should Joseph do? His first impression was to get away from the horrid surrounding, but upon reflection he decided that such action would not be wise. His feelings were indescribable, but having rebuked the evil, it was subdued, peace was restored, and he proceeded again with his studies. These are the class of experiences that bring a lone missionary, young as he was, close to the Lord.

After his release, and while returning from the mission in Hawaii, this incident occurred: At Honolulu he went on board the barque Yankee, on October 6, 1857, and with a company of elders landed in San Francisco, about the end of the month. With Edward Partridge, he went down the coast to Santa Cruz County, Cal., and from thence with a company of Saints, under Captain Charles W. Wandell, southward to the Mojave river, where he and others left the company and made a visit to San Bernardino on their way to the Salt Lake Valley. It must be said that the feeling against the "Mormons," first, on account of the exaggerated {673} reports of the Mountain Meadows massacre, and secondly, because of the coming of Johnston's army to Utah, was exceedingly bitter on the coast. As an illustration: While they were in Los Angeles, a man, William Wall by name, came near being hung because he had confessed he was a "Mormon." A mob of men had passed sentence on him, and had prepared every detail to hang him. It was only through the wise counsel of a man among them, whose better judgment prevailed, that he was not hung. This man pointed out to the mob that here was a man who had not been near Utah when the massacre took place, a man who had no sympathy with it, who could in no way be counted as a criminal. Why should he suffer? And so Wall was finally discharged and given time to get out of the country. It was under such conditions, and such prevailing sentiment, that President Smith, then a lad of nineteen, found himself on his journey home, and on his trip to San Bernardino.

With another man, and a mail carrier, he took passage in a mail wagon. They traveled all night, and at daylight stopped near a ranch for breakfast. The passenger and the mail carrier began to prepare breakfast, while Joseph went a short distance from camp to look after the horses. Just while the carrier was frying eggs, a wagon load of drunken men from Monte came in view, on their road to San Bernardino to kill the "Mormons," as they boasted.

The oaths and foul language which they uttered, between their shooting, and the swinging of their pistols, were almost indescribable and unendurable. Only the West in its palmiest frontier days could produce anything like its equal. They were all cursing the "Mormons," and uttering boasts of what they would do when they met them. They got out at the ranch, and one of them, tumbling around, caught sight of the mail wagon, and made his way towards it. The passenger and the mail carrier, fearing for their safety, had retired behind the chaparral, leaving all the {674} baggage and supplies, including the frying eggs, exposed and unprotected.

Just as the drunken man approached, President Smith came in view on his way to the camp, too late to hide, for he had been seen. The ruffian was swinging his weapon, and uttering the most blood-curdling oaths and threats ever heard against the "Mormons." "I dared not run," says President Smith, "though I trembled for fear which I dared not show. I therefore walked right up to the camp fire and arrived there just a minute or two before the drunken desperado, who came directly toward me, and, swinging his revolver in my face, with an oath cried out: 'Are you a ---- ---- ---- "Mormon?"'"

President Smith looked him straight in the eyes, and answered with emphasis: "Yes, sir'ee; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through."

The desperado's arms both dropped by his sides, as if paralyzed, his pistol in one hand, and he said in a subdued and maudlin voice, offering his hand: "Well, you are the ---- ---- pleasantest man I ever met! Shake. I am glad to see a fellow stand for his convictions." Then he turned and made his way to the ranch house. Later in the day, on seeing President Smith, he only pulled his slouch hat over his eyes, and said not a word.

In 1858, Joseph F. Smith joined the militia which intercepted Johnston's army, serving until the close of hostilities, under Colonel Thomas Callister. He was later chaplain of Colonel Heber C. Kimball's regiment, with the rank of captain. He took part in many Indian expeditions, and was in every sense a minute man in the Utah militia.

In the spring of 1860, though only about 22 years of age, he was sent on a mission to Great Britain. As he had no money, he and his cousin Samuel H. B. Smith, each drove a four-mule team over the plains to Winter Quarters to pay their way. It happened that the owners of these teams were {675} rank apostates, so that when the young men arrived at their destination, it was very well known that they were Latter-day Saints. They were moneyless, and decided finally to go to Des Moines where they tried without success to get something to do. They hunted for work in the harvest fields, but found no one who wished to employ them. The feeling was still bitter against the "Mormons" in this region, for it was only about fourteen years since the remnant of the Saints had been driven from Nauvoo. One day they met a man who asked them who they were, and where they were going, and having been told that they were going to England on a mission, the man stated that he had a sister in England whom he wished to emigrate, and asked that they take the money with them for her emigration. He stated that they might use it as they saw fit; provided on arrival they would let his sister have the money to pay her passage to America. They agreed to this, and immediately went on their way to Burlington where they took a steamer for Nauvoo; but when they got on board they learned that the steamer would not land at that place, as they had been told; and they also heard the most bitter imprecations against the Latter-day Saints, uttered in the most profane and indecent language.

Landing at Montrose, where the boat took on freight, the feeling was still more bitter. The Saints were cursed, and boasts were made of what evil would befall any "Mormon" who would dare to make his appearance. Getting on board the skiff next morning, which was to carry them over to Nauvoo, the young men found that the spirit of the mob was just as bitter as ever, but it was not known here that they were "Mormons." Several men asked them who they were, and their replies were evasive. Finally, a Catholic priest came to them and asked where they were from. "Oh! from the West," was the reply.

"How far West?"

{676} "From the Rocky Mountains."

But the priest finally pinned them down by asking, "Are you 'Mormon' elders from Utah?"

President Smith says that under those circumstances, for a moment, never had temptation to deny the truth come to him with stronger force, but it was only for a moment. He answered, "Yes, sir, we are 'Mormon' missionaries on our way to England."

The reply seemed to satisfy the priest; and, contrary to expectations, it did not in the least increase the imprecations of the passengers. When they landed at Nauvoo, they went directly to the Mansion House, and, strange to say, the Catholic priest also stayed there. If they had not truthfully answered the queries on the boat, he would have found them out here, to their shame.

"I had never felt happier," says President Smith, "than when I saw the minister there, and knew that we had told him the truth about our mission."

On this mission he served nearly three years, returning in the summer of 1863; it was during these years that the intimacy between President George Q. Cannon, who presided over the mission, and Joseph F. Smith began; friendship and love for each other were engendered, which have since grown stronger through the intimate careers of two beautiful lives. On his return, President Young proposed at a priesthood meeting that Joseph and his cousin, Samuel, each be given a present of $1,000 to begin life with. President Smith realized in the neighborhood of $75 in provisions and merchandise, but mostly a legacy of much annoyance from certain people who entertained the current thought that he had thus obtained a small fortune. With the exception of the cost of his passage and stage fare home, which was sent him by his aunt, Mercy R. Thompson, amounting to about $100, he paid his own expenses throughout, as he had done on previous missions.

{677} President Smith has been too busy with his work to make money, and his temporal affairs are a strong testimony to his exclusive devotion to the public good.

He had only been at home a short time, when, in the early spring of 1864, he was called to accompany Ezra T. Benson and Lorenzo Snow on a second mission to the Sandwich Islands to regulate the affairs of that mission, which had been greatly disarranged by the well-known, shrewd and covetous actions of Walter M. Gibson. In this mission he acted as principal interpreter for the apostles. After Gibson was excommunicated from the Church, Joseph was left in charge of the mission, with W. W. Cluff and Alma L. Smith as his fellow-laborers. It was many months after Gibson had been cut off before his people left his jurisdiction and returned to the standard of the Church. Among the works accomplished by Joseph and his associates on this mission was the selection of the Laie plantation as a gathering place for the Saints, which was afterwards on their recommendation, purchased by a committee sent for that purpose by President Young, and which has proven a valuable possession for the mission, and for the Church in a general way. Joseph and his aids returned in the winter of 1864-1865.

It was while on this mission that the drowning incident occurred, mentioned in Whitney's sketch of President Lorenzo Snow. President Smith's part in the affair has never been fully told. The ship upon which they arrived lay anchored in the channel in which the sea was nearly always rough. A breakwater had been built, under shelter of which the natives skilfully steered their boats ashore. There was much danger, however, in approaching it. When it was proposed that the party should land in the ship's unwieldy freight-boat, President Smith strongly opposed the proposition, telling the brethren that at the breakwater there was great danger of capsizing, the boat being a clumsy old tub, {678} unfit for such a load. He refused to go ashore, and tried to prevail upon the others to abandon the attempt until a better boat could be obtained. He offered to go ashore alone, and to return with a safer boat to land the party. So persistent, however, were some of the brethren, that he was chided for his waywardness, and one of the apostles even told him: "Young man, you would better obey counsel." But he reiterated his impression of danger, refusing positively to land in that boat, and again offering to go alone for a better boat. But the brethren persisted, whereupon he asked that they leave their satchels with their clothes and valuables on the anchored ship with him, and that he be permitted to stay. This they reluctantly consented to do, and set out for land.

Joseph stood upon the ship and saw them depart, filled with the greatest apprehension for their safety. When the party reached the breakwater, he saw one of the great waves suddenly overturn the boat, dropping the company into twenty or thirty feet of water. A boat came out from shore, manned with natives, who set to work to gather them up, and obtained all but President Snow, when the boat which picked them up started for land. It was then that Elder W. W. Cluff demanded that they return for Brother Snow, who would otherwise have been abandoned and left for drowned. He was found and dragged into the boat for dead, his life being thus saved by Brother Cluff. All this time, Joseph stood in the greatest agony as a witness, helpless, on the deck of the ship. His first information of his companions' fate came from some passing natives who replied to his inquiry that one of the men (Brother Snow) was dead. But through the blessings of God and self-effort it was, fortunately, not quite so serious, his life having been restored.

Joseph had saved himself and the satchels, and he has always considered that while the brethren fatefully said of the incident: "It was to be," that a prevention in this case {679} would have been much better than a cure. The incident illustrates two predominating traits in his character: When he is convinced of the truth, he is not afraid to express himself in its favor to any man on earth. When he does express himself, it is often with such earnestness and vigor that there is danger of his giving offense.

On his return home, he labored in the Church historian's office for a number of years; also as clerk in the endowment house, succeeding Elder John V. Long in that capacity; being in charge, after the death of President Young, until it was closed. He had been ordained an apostle under the hands of President Young, on July 1, 1866, and on the 8th of October, 1867, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the year following, he was sent with Elder Wilford Woodruff of the Council of the Twelve and Elder A. O. Smoot to Utah county. Here he served one term in the Provo city council.

On February 28, 1874, he went on his second mission to England, where he presided over the European mission, returning in 1875, after the death of President George A. Smith. On his return he was appointed to preside over the Davis stake, until the spring of 1877, when he left on his third British mission, having first witnessed the dedication of the first temple in the Rocky Mountains, at St. George, April, 1877. He arrived in Liverpool, May 27, and was joined a short time afterwards by Elder Orson Pratt, who had been sent to publish new editions of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. When news arrived of the death of President Young, they were released, and returned home, arriving in Salt Lake City, September 27.

In August of the following year, he was sent with Elder Orson Pratt on a short eastern mission, visiting noted places in the history of the Church in Missouri, Ohio, New York and Illinois. It was on this trip that they had their {680} famous interview with David Whitmer. When the First Presidency was organized, in October, 1880, he was chosen second counselor to President John Taylor, who died July 25, 1887. He was chosen to the same position in the Presidency under President Woodruff; and holds it at present under President Snow.

It would require too much space to name his various civil positions held in Salt Lake City, and in the legislature of the territory, where he served the people long and faithfully. All my readers are familiar with the work of his recent years; it is like an open book to the whole people.

So he has been constantly in the service of the public, and by his straightforward course has won the love, confidence and esteem of the whole community. He is a friend of the people, is easily approached, a wise counselor, a man of broad views, and contrary to first impressions, is a man whose sympathies are easily aroused. He is a reflex of the best character of the "Mormon" people--inured to hardships, patient in trial, God-fearing, self-sacrificing, full of love for the human race, powerful in moral, mental and physical strength.

President Joseph F. Smith has an imposing physical appearance. Now completing his 62nd year, he is tall, erect, well-knit and symmetrical in build. He has a prominent nose and features. When speaking, he throws his full, clear, brown eyes wide open on the listener who may readily perceive from their penetrating glimpse the wonderful mental power of the tall forehead above. His large head is crowned with an abundant growth of hair, in his early years dark, but now, like his full beard, tinged with a liberal sprinkling of gray. In conversation, one is forcibly impressed with the sudden changes in appearance of his countenance, under the different influences of his mind; now intensely present, with an enthusiastic and childlike interest in immediate subjects and surroundings; now absent, the {681} nobility of his features, set in that earnest, almost stern, majesty of expression so characteristic of his portraits--so indicative of the severity of the conditions and environments of his early life.

As a public speaker, his leading trait is an intense earnestness. He impresses the hearer with his message more from the sincerity and simplicity of its delivery, and the honest earnestness of his manner, than from any learned exhibition of oratory or studied display of logic. He touches the hearts of the people with the simple eloquence of one who is himself convinced of the truth presented. He is a pillar of strength in the Church, thoroughly imbued with the truths of the gospel, and the divine origin of God's great latter-day work. His whole life and testimony are an inspiration to the young.

I said to him: "You knew Joseph, the prophet; you are old in the work of the Church; what is your testimony to the youth of Zion concerning these things?" And he replied slowly and deliberately:

"I was acquainted with the Prophet Joseph in my youth. I was familiar in his home, with his boys and with his family. I have sat on his knee, I have heard him preach, distinctly remembering being present in the council with my father and the Prophet Joseph Smith and others. From my childhood to youth I believed him to be a Prophet of God. From my youth until the present I have not believed that he was a Prophet, for I have known that he was. In other words, my knowledge has superceded my belief. I remember seeing him dressed in military uniform at the bead of the Nauvoo Legion. I saw him when he crossed the river, returning, from his intended western trip into the Rocky Mountains, to go to his martyrdom, and I saw his lifeless body together with that of my father after they were murdered in Carthage jail; and still have the most palpable remembrance of the gloom and sorrow of those dreadful days. {682} I believe in the divine mission of the prophets of the nineteenth century with all my heart, and in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and the inspiration of the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and hope to be faithful to God and man and not false to myself, to the end of my days."--Edward H. Anderson, in Lives of Our Leaders, and Juvenile Instructor, 1901.

{683}

LAST OF THE OLD SCHOOL OF VETERAN LEADERS.

Surrounded by members of his family, President Joseph F. Smith peacefully closed his active life upon earth, on Tuesday morning, at 4:50 o'clock, November 19, 1918, at his home, the Beehive House, Salt lake City, Utah. His noble work on earth is ended. He served the people of the Church in almost every useful private and public capacity all his life. He mounted, round by round, on the ladder of experience, as herd boy, pioneer, teacher, missionary, legislator, counselor; and for the past seventeen wonderful years was leader and mouthpiece of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Smith's administration began October 17, 1901, when he was chosen by the Twelve and set apart as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the choice being ratified by a special conference and solemn assembly of the priesthood, on Sunday, November 10, 1901. Hence, for a few days more than seventeen years, he stood at the head of God's "marvelous work and a wonder," upon the earth. His leadership was characterized by a steady growth of the people in both spiritual and temporal affairs. Much of their progress was stimulated by his forethought and consideration, by his inspiration from the Lord freely granted to the people, and by his ability to gather men about him who willingly co-operated with him for the advancement and progress of the Church, the state and the community. In both religion and business, he was conservative, staunch, firm, and yet progressive--a leader beloved and respected by all. Every Church worker among his nearest associates, as well as in the stakes of Zion, and in the {684} far flung missions of the world, fairly loved and admired him, and so did the members of the Church.

As editor of the Improvement Era and the Juvenile Instructor, and general superintendent of the Sunday Schools and Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, he was a stimulating power, a fountain of wisdom to his associates. Had he devoted himself to literary work, his success in that line would have been quite as marked as in public discourse and leadership.

He showed great tenderness and love for his large and honorable family. In his last address to his children, November 10, 1918, his heart's dearest sentiments were expressed to them in these words: "When I look around me, and see my boys and my girls whom the Lord has given to me,--and I have succeeded, with His help, to make them tolerably comfortable, and at least respectable in the world--I have reached the treasure of my life, the whole substance that makes life worth living."

He was ever anxious for the welfare of the young people, as well as the old, and every good effort for their advancement was sanctioned and supported by him. Even in the midst of the cares, burdens and anxieties of his active life weighing heavily upon him, he was never known to be too busy to give counsel, experience, testimony, helpful ideas, sympathetic consideration to workers or members of the Church who called upon him. His courtesy to all was proverbial.

The passing of President Joseph F. Smith marks an epoch in the history of the Church. He was the last of the old school of veteran leaders who pioneered and founded our commonwealth. The patience with which he bore the arduous labors of his life, fully, bravely, and cheerfully, will be a lasting inspiration to all who knew him. The story of his achievements for the Church, in spiritual and temporal {685} affairs, during his long administration, would make a volume of thrilling interest. His mortal lips are sealed in death, but his spirit lives forever. Beloved by all, the noble workman has gone to his rest, having done his full duty for the advancement of the "marvelous work and a wonder," established of the Lord, which must ever continue upon its triumphant march.--Edward H. Anderson, May, 1919.

INDEX.

Abraham, 39. Adam, 39. Administration, to sick, 256, Advancement, personal, helps Church, 131. Agriculture, 434. Almighty, see God. Amusements, 400, 401. Angel, 548. Anger, 268. Animal, 333. Apostle, 221, 222. labors in spirit world, 581. Apostleship, proselyting office, 217. Appetite, 300. Army, conduct of boys in, 531. message to boys in, 535. Atonement, 120. Authority, 125, 170. all should exercise, 208. gives power, 186. how administered, 186. know duties of, 187. man's relation to, 56. Authorities, pray for, 279. Auxiliary organizations, 179. place in Church, 479. relation to ward, 480.

Backbiting, 330. Baptism, see Ordinances. Baptism, 111, 117, 118, 121. when to b. children, 120. Bible, 57. Birth control, see Children. Birth control, 349, 362. Bishop, 225, 230, 233, 234. Blessing, how obtained, 60, 84, 296. for truth, 12. personal, 181, 635, 641. Books, 295, 405. Book of Mormon, witnesses to, 590. Boys, how achieve greatness, 419. lesson for, 418. taught industry, 432.

Calamity, Lesson in, 67. Calvin, 39, 500. Card playing, 410, 411, 412, 413, 415, 416. Chance, 408. Charity, see Poor, see also Tithing. Charity, 294. Child, see Birth control. Children, be true to, 353, 398. condition of in heaven, 569. consult parents, 201. do not pledge, 373. duties to teach, 365. filial affection, 393. how to give to, 371. in the resurrection, 574. relation to parents, 342. responsible for, 359. teach gospel, 369. teach Jesus' death, 370. training at home, 367. treatment of family members, 355. watch your, 365. what to teach, 365. when to baptize, 120. Church, see Officers. Church, see Priesthood, also Kingdom of God. Church ample for all organizations, 442. contempt is heritage, 425. democratic institution, 84. desires to be known, 139. destiny of, 91. devil against it, 464. duties paramount, 323. government, 178. house in order, 477. how officers chosen, 188. how vote in, 196. identity unchanged, 140. in advance of members, 131. is kingdom of God, 87. loyal, 518. man and, 131. message of, 89. mission to save, 88. no nationalities in, 141, 511. no neutrals in, 142. no classes in, 141. not in politics, 519. not man-made, 171. not partisan, 170, 517. offers peace, 89. personal advancement helps, 131. political parties and, 519. privilege to be associated with, 133. purpose and duty of, 87, 191. what it stands for, 192. worth of standing in, 133. Church Leaders, see Church Officers. Church Leaders, help them, 223. be courageous, 193. goodness of, 210. not self called, 209. purpose of visits, 250. what advocate, 114. Church Records, names to be in, 134. Church Schools, agriculture in, 435. object of, 441, 485. value of, 441. Christ, see also Jesus. Christ the great example, 22. his rest, 155. taught gospel to Adam, 39. Citizen, Saint good, 518. Classes, no classes in Church, 141. Clubs, no exclusive in Church, 418. College, see School, see University. Columbus, 39. Comforter, see Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit. Comforter, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, 73. Commandments, two great, 339. Commencement address, 334. Consecration, 299. Constitution, loyalty to, 512. Contention, 465. Cooperation, 443. Counsel, 200. Courage, leaders must have, 193. be not discouraged, 147. Courts, avoid, 322. Covenants, of Latter-day Saints 132. Criminals, 469.

Daughter, education of, 429. Dead, vision of redemption of, 596. work for, 593. Death and eternal progress, 371. nature of, 553. spiritual, 544. Debt, 325. Devil, arrayed against truth, 464. his knowledge, 464. Difficulty, settlement of, 53. Discouragement, 147, 421. Disobedience, treatment of, 139. Disturbance, Gospel causes, 146. Doctrine and Covenants, 56. Doctrine, where to expect false, 466. Duty, first to household, 386.

Earth, typical of heaven, 26. Edison, 39. Education, see School. Education, danger of false, 392. defined, 337. for eternity, 338. for women, 439. industrial pursuits, 427. practical, 430. value of practical, 428. Elders, 230. to proclaim gospel, 230. Elohim, 85. Enemy, in God's hands, 422, 423. love your, 421. our debt to, 423. prayer for, 424. those to fear, 426. Estates of, exaltation, 85. Eternal, life, 538. nature of salvation, 13. progress and death, 371. relations of family, 342. Eternity, educate for, 338. we live for, 348. Evidence, revelation and legal, 49. Evil, not caused by God, 69. fashions, 416. retreat from, 468. unchastity dominant, 386. Exaltation, estates of, 85. Excess, see Temperance, Moderation. Experiments, to be avoided, 337.

Faith, see Testimony. Faith, 122. be true to, 322. reality of, 6. False teachings, 464. Family, 341. basis of government, 203. eternity of, 348. father presiding authority, 359. governed by love, 393. importance of filial affection, 393. large f. desirable, 352. mutual treatment, 355. should be example to, 357. Fashions, 349, 400, 416, 417. Fast day, 298, 306. Fasting, 299, 305. Father, duties of, 361. Father presiding authority of family, 359. Female, and male in heaven, 346. Final Judgment, and resurrection, 566. Find, search and, 151. First Presidency, not always apostles, 216. relation of members, 219. when to organize, 214. First Principles, 116, 121. Flattery, danger of, 392. Food, spirit needs, 262. Forestry, 437. Forgiveness, 421. Franklin, 39. Free agency, 58. Freedom, use of, 59. Saints to exercise, 59. Freeze, Mary A., funeral services of, 577. Future life, see Life Hereafter. Future life, condition in, 543.

Gambling, 407, 408. General authorities, see Church Leaders. General authorities, questions to, 223. temporal support of, 224. Gift of Holy Ghost, 124. Gift of tongues, 251. Gifts of Spirit, 471. Giving, to children, 371. God, directs work, 64. an eternal being, 78. attain blessings of, 60. at the helm, 168. do not limit, 69. extent of power, 69. fatherhood of, 37. fatherly love, 498. Father and Son distinct, 83. his rest, 71. his warfare, 71. how to secure blessings of, 84. inspires man, 75. man, and, 64. man in image of, 71. need of trust in, 79. not author of evil, 69. nothing temporal with, 85. purposes unchangeable, 41. personal knowledge of, 64. right to rule, 66. Saints to serve, 515. speaks to honest, 65. Spirit of, 73. strives with warring nations, 530. this God's work, 636. will to exalt men, 66. warfare, 71. work cannot be stopped, 94. Golden Rule, 424. Good, foundation in home, 380. Good Will, Church stands for, 192. Government, family at basis of, 203. Gospel, see Gospel principles. Principles of Gospel, 36. Gospel, all comprehensive, 104 be as broad as, 150. causes disturbance, 146. designed for temporal, 261. divinity of, 95. first principles of, 116, 121. greatest thing, 392. is simple, 11. men not ready for, 450. message, 89. message of love, 114. most important, 131. principles eternal, 14. preached in spirit world, 595. shield from terror, 109. should study, 323. taught to Adam, 39. teach to children, 369. trumpet, 110. where leads, 90. Gossip, 136. Grant, Heber J., 36. Grant, Rachel, 29. Gratitude, 328. Grave, redemption beyond, 550. Greatness, truest, 358.

Harmony, 159. Hate, of truth, 464. why Church is hated, 425. Heaven, condition of children in, 569. male and female in, 346. no marriage in, 350. typical of earth, 26. Heal, wounds, 331. High Council, duty of, 226. High priests, duties of, 225, 227. duties of quorums, 227. History, 295. Hobbies, 143. Holy Ghost, blasphemy against, 18. Holy Spirit, Comforter, 73. personage of spirit, 74. religion fruit of, 112. Spirit of Lord, 82. Holy Spirit, see Comforter, Holy Ghost. nature of influence, 72. Holy, venerate h. things, 355. Home, see Household. Home, 341. basis of, 378. child, and, 398. first duty to, 386. foundation of good in, 380. ideal, 378. motherhood, foundation of, 361. no substitute for, 375. not mortgage, 374, 382. secure, 380. training of children, 367. worship in, 377. Honest, God speaks to, 65. Honor, Church stands for, 192. reward of all, 10. Hopelessness, 146. Household, see Home. House of the Lord, see Temple. House of the Lord, children have rights in, 374. Husband, depends on wife, 363. duty to wife, 392. treatment of family, 355. wife in eternity, 392.

Identity, immortal, 28. Idler, 295. no place, 296. Ignorance, address on, 427. Image, man in God's, 71. Industry, 282. learn arts of, 432. Ingratitude, sin of, 339. Immortality, see Eternal. Immortality, indestructible identity, 28. Immortality of man, 16, 27. Injustice, how avoid, 268. Inspires, God i. man, 75. Inspiration, spirit of, 42. Intelligence, eternal, 32. Israel, to flourish, 91.

Jehovah, see Jesus. Jesus, see also Christ. Jesus, eternal, 39. first born, 85. is the Son, 85. teachers must believe in, 502. teach story of to children, 370. Judgment, use of judgment, 59.

Keys of Priesthood, distinction between and priesthood, 168. Kill, only for need, 334. Kimball, Heber C, 212. tribute to, 246. Kindliness, 332. Kingdom of God, see Church. Kingdom of God, is Church, 87. to continue, 92. Knowledge, is limited, 11. of devil, 464. of sin unnecessary, 467. Labor, blessings obtained by, 296. morals and, 430. unions, 521, 522. Language, use good, 333. Latter-day Saints, see Saints. Latter-day Saints, character of, 163. are as leaven, 90. Church in advance of, 131. conduct of boys in army, 531. covenants of, 132. free people, 58. good citizens, 518. law-abiding, 114. loyal to U. S., 512. must be workers and thinkers, 140. may know truth, 8. message to boys in army, 535. no cause for worry, 107. possess spirit of salvation, 91. requirements of, 326. to serve God, 515. . Latter-day work, God directs, 64. Leaders, see Officers, Church. Learning, ever learning, 427. Lesser Priesthood, see Priesthood. Lesser Priesthood, 234. be active, 233. Life, 333. Life hereafter, see Future Life. Life hereafter, 540, 542. our relation to, 540. Life, main purpose of, 338. not destroy wantonly, 333. the test of, 86. Light, let shine, 106. Lincoln, 39. Love, gospel message of, 114. your enemies, 421. govern family by, 393. one another, 425. Loyalty of Church, 518. United States proud of, 512. Luther, 39, 500.

Man, broad as Gospel, 150. cause versus, 90. destiny of, 77. dual being, 337. eternal spirit, 40. eternally responsible, 27. experiences like God's, 78. God and, 64. God inspires, 75. God's will to exalt, 66. greatest achievement, 4. his three conditions, 20. honor himself, 321. an immortal being, 86. love one another, 425. master of appetite, 300. to be master, 311. origin and destiny, 114. personal advancement helps Church, 131. possibilities, 83. respect rights, 354. settlement of difficulties, 53. Male, and female in heaven, 346. Manual training, 434. Marriage, 129, 341. eternal, 347. God-ordained, 341. none in heaven, 350. necessity of, 341. plural forbidden, 351. purpose of, 347. righteousness and, 343. Marriage, within Church, 350. Master, man to be, 311. Mechanic arts, 435. Melanchthon, 39, 500. Melchizedek Priesthood, restoration of, 236. Members, checks upon, 205. Messiah craze, 473. Ministering angels, 548. Misfortune not caused by God, 69. Missionaries, advice to, 454. all men not ready for gospel, 450. care of returned, 462. caution to, 460. duty when called, 463. elders as, 230. guard health, 461. how called, 444. kind wanted, 445. people generous to, 453. qualifications of, 445, 446. requirements of, 444. to teach, 447. what to teach, 447. Word of Wisdom, 457. work for returned, 463. Mob, danger of, 521. shun Spirit of, 520. Morals, and labor, 430. "Mormonism," defined, 87. Mortality, how rise above weakness of, 264. Moderation, 300, 305. Mortgage, do not mortgage home, 374, 382. evils of, 384. Mother, her love, 395. Motherhood, foundation of nation, 361. Mutual Improvement Associations, see _Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, see Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations_. Mutual Improvement Associations, importance of, 487. purpose of, 491.

Nationality, none in Church, 141, 511. Nation, foundation of, 361. God strives with warring, 530. Neglects, correct our, 281. Neighbor, honor your, 321. how to love, 339. Nephite apostles, 475. Neutrals, none in Church, 142.

Obedience, 129, 263. blessings from, 272. to ordinances indispensable, 265. value of, 267. Occupation, how to prepare for, 336. most desirable, 429. Officers, Church see Leaders. Officers, all necessary, 204. dependent on people, 197. duties of, 190, 193. how chosen, 188. order of vote for, 197. consult parents about children, 201. qualities of, 191. to set example, 195. One Mighty and Strong, 477. Ordinance, see Baptism, etc. Ordinance, obedience to indispensable, 265. sanctity of, 177. Organization, necessity of, 185.

Parents, in eternity, 79. consult, 201. duties of, 364. relation to children, 342. responsible for children, 359. of spirits, 85. Partisan, Church not, 517. Patent Medicines, 302. Patriarch, duties of, 225. Patriotism, importance of, 517. true, 516. Peace, key to, 529. when to come, 525. People determine officers, 197. Perfection, 163. Persecution, follows revelation, 57. Persistence, 165. Personal blessings, 635. Personal testimonies, 635. Philosophers, inspired by God, 39. Philosophy, 48, 295. Plan of Life, 88. Plan of Salvation, eternal nature of, 13. Pleasure hunting, 404. Pledge, do not p. children, 373. of my life, 639. Plural marriage forbidden, 351. wives of Joseph Smith, 619. Political Government, 503. Politics, and the Church, 519. Church not in, 519. Poor, see Charity and Tithing. Poor, 282. place in Church, 296. should be tithe-payers, 289. Prayer, 269, 273, 274. blessings follow, 281. for authorities, 279. how to pray, 275. practical, 276. Preexistence, 14, 114. Preside, who fit to, 206. President of Church, authority of, 219. all under his direction, 217, divine missions of, 211. inspired, 213. Presiding authority, father in family, 359. Presiding Bishopric, 222. Presiding officers, authority of, 230. composition, 478. Priesthood, 168. all officers necessary, 204. all should exercise authority, 208. authority of, 218. blessing upon, 224. conferring of, 169. definition and purpose of, 174. distinction between keys and, 168. duty of, 196. explanation of, 181. Priesthood, greater than its offices, 184. held alone by Joseph, 55. how authority administered, 186. how honor, 207. its offices, 216. jurisdiction of quorums, 188. keys held by Joseph alone, 55. keys of, 176. Lesser, 234. Lesser, be active, 233. many hold, 198. membership rolls, 207. mission of, 174. must be called, to preside, 217. nearly all hold, 197. obligations of, 206. order of, 215. order of presidency, 179. presiding authority, 178. privileged to bless, 182. responsibilities of quorums, 199. serious acceptance of, 185. sanctity of ordinances, 177. study Section 107, 205. truth will unite, 195. use of titles, 203. vote in, 196. what it is, 199, 173. Principles of the Gospel, not new, 36. Profanity, 303. Prohibtion, 302. Prosperity, foundation of, 443. Purity, see Unchastity. Purity, 390. Church stands for, 192.

Question, when to submit, 223. Quorum, see Priesthood. Quorum, responsibility of, 199.

Raffling, 407. gambling, 410, Reading, 295, 407. Recompense, the law of, 468, Redeemer, see Jesus. Redeemer, I know he lives, 80, 84, 642. Redemption, beyond grave, 550. vision of dead, 596. Relief Society, 179. duties of, 482. duty and purpose of, 484. object of, 483. purpose of, 482. Religion, be true to, 322. fruits of true, 90. spirit of, 152. Religion Classes, purpose and duties of, 502. Religious, not naturally, 148. Repentance, 123. change with, 117. fallacy of death-bed, 116. Responsibility, man's eternal, 27. personal, 84. Rest, for followers of Christ, 155. God's, 71. Resurrected beings parents, 85. Resurrection, 29, 85, 547, 564, 577, 584. condition of children, 569. final judgment, 566. status of children, 574. Retreat from evil, 468. Revelation, 128. enjoyed by all, 43. legal evidence and, 49. modern necessary, 45. new, 43. persecution follows, 57. proper channels for, 50. theory and divine, 47. value of, 42. when expect new, 46. Righteousness and marriage, 343. will prevail, 5. Rights, respect others', 354. Reward, according to works, 155. Rule, God's right to, 66. Sabbath, see Sunday. Sabbath, 300, 303. don't rob, 310. Sabbath, keep holy, 307. meaning of, 304. purpose of, 304. what do on, 304. Sacrament, 252. Saints, see Latter-day Saints. Salvation, see Plan of salvation. Salvation, 538. spirit of, 91. spiritual and temporal, 260. Saloon, 301. Saturday's work, 303. Save, mission of Church, 88. School, address to graduates, 334. need manual training, 432. Science, 48. defined, 6. Search, 151. Secret societies, 135. Secret organizations, 134. Seventy, duties of, 228, 229. how to replenish quorums, 229. Sick, order of administration to, 256. Singing, 324. Sin, degrees of sexual, 388. how cleansed, 116. knowledge of, unnecessary, 467. pardonable, 545. washed away by atonement, 120. Smith, Hyrum, meaning of martyrdom, 620. Smith, Joseph, 39, 604. Joseph, the boy, 617. Joseph, meaning of martyrdom, 620. a resource, 619. Joseph, name will not perish, 605. Joseph, plural wives of, 619. Joseph, prediction fulfilled, 614. Joseph, reality of first vision of, 604. Joseph will reveal himself, 52. Joseph restorer, 619. service of, 604. testimony about, 210. Smith, Joseph F., an appreciation, 644. a biographical sketch, 666. editorial on his death and life, 683. reminiscences, 655. Snow, Erastus, tribute to, 249. Snow, Lorenzo, 212. Social duties, 402. Soul, test of greatness, 332. Spirit, memories, 15. needs food, 262. preexistence of, 114. Spirit of God vs. Holy Ghost, 82. Spirit world, labors in, 581. preaching in, 595. Spiritual death, 20, 544. Spiritual gifts, 251. Spiritual and temporal, 260. Staines, W. C., 29. Stake, jurisdiction, 189. Stake Presidents, Counsel to, 225. duties of, 225. Stake Sunday School Board, 487. Stephenson, 39. Strong drinks, 301. Study the gospel, 323. Success, defined, 152. Sunday, see Sabbath. Sunday, need of worship, 305. Sunday School, how to teach, 368. object of, 485. principle of teaching, 485. qualification of teachers, 485. Stake Board, 487. teacher essential, 485. training of children, 367. Superstitions, 470, 472. Sympathize, with unfortunate, 294.

Tasks, respect daily, 358. Taylor, John, 212. Teach, what, 366. Teacher, dignity of calling, 235. beware of false, 466. essential in Sunday School, 485. Teacher, must believe in Christ, 502. principle of Sunday School, 485. qualification for Sunday School, 485. value of work, 236. Temperance, 300, 301, 305. Temple, care and need of, 594. ordinances unchanged, 593. Temporal death, 20. Temporal, gospel designed for, 261. and spiritual, 260. nothing, with God, 85. spiritual and, 260. Terror, gospel shield from, 109. Testimony, see Faith. Testimony, 158, 636, 638, 641, 643. how to acquire, 158. personal, 635. purpose of bearing, 258. use of, 257. Theory, 47. Thinkers, Latter-day Saints must be, 140. Time, cease to waste, 295. Tithe-payers, books open to, 293. a Church help, 289. Tithing, 282. commercialism and, 291. how used and accounted for, 293. law of revenue, 283. test a, 283. use of, 291. why instituted, 282. widow and, 286, 289. Tobacco, 301. True to family, 353. Truth, 1. blessings for, 12. Church stands for, 192. foundation of gospel, 1. from God, 6. gospel on foundation of, 112. how foundation laid, 9. how may know, 8. man saved by, 2. not superseded, 3. the fountain of, 36, 497. why hated, 464. will prevail, 5. will unite, 195. Twelve apostles, labors in spirit world, 581.

Unchastity, see Purity. Unchastity, danger of, 392. degrees of, 388. dominant evil, 386. how avoid, 263. Unfortunate, respect, 355. should sympathize with, 294. Unions, see Labor unions. United States, loyalty to Constitution, 512. loyalty of Saints, 512. origin and destiny, 512. Saints loyal to, 512. Unpardonable Sin, 545. Untruth, where to expect it, 466. Utah, guided to, 515. possibilities of, 630.

Venerate, 355. Violence, shun spirit of, 520. Virtue, Church stands for, 192. Vision, redemption of dead, 596. Vitality and patent medicines, 302. Vote, how in Church, 196. order of, 197. Vulgarity, 303.

War, attitude towards, 524. cause of, 523. conduct of boys in, 531. God strives with nations, 530. message to boys in, 535. Ward, relation to auxiliary organizations, 450. jurisdiction, 189. Warfare, God's, 71. Washington, 39, 500. Waste, 295. Watts, 39. Weakness, how rise above, 264. Wealth, 144. West, guided to, 515. Wicked, keep from, 426. Wife, and husband in eternity, 392. be true to, 353. determines husband, 363. treatment of family members, 355. Wisdom in everything, 305. Witchcraft, 470, 472. Woodruff, Wilford, 212. Women, practical preparation of, 439. Word of Wisdom, 305. missionaries and, 457. Work of Lord will grow, 92. Workers, Latter-day Saints must be, 140. World, not love Church, 425. Worry, no cause for, 107. Wounds, not inflict, 331.

Young, Brigham, 211. testimony to, 628. Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations, see Mutual Improvement Associations see _Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations. Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, 179. order of presiding, 180. Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, see Mutual Improvement Associations see _Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations. Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, 179. field of, 488. order of presiding, 180. Youth, address to, 334. look forward, 400.

Zion, no place for idlers, 296. to remain, 92.

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