Chapter X (1)

URGING THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE--TENDERS OF PEACE TO MISSOURI--PROPHET'S DISCOURSE ON ELIAS, ELIJAH, MESSIAH--LYMAN WIGHT'S PROPOSAL OF A SOUTHWEST MOVEMENT FOR THE CHURCH.

_Tuesday, March 5, 1844.--_I saw Hyrum Kimball at Bryant's store, and gave him a lecture on his resisting the ordinances of the city, by telling the captains of the steamboats they need not pay wharfage, &c.

Rode out with Emma.

At two, p.m., met with the City Council. I copy the minutes:--

_Special Session of the City Council_.

March 5, 1844, 2 p.m.

Names of members called. Quorum present.

Mayor stated that he had called the council, because that when the
wharf-master called on the steamboats for wharfage, the officers of
the boats declined paying, assigning as a reason that Hyrum Kimball
and -- Morrison had told them that they owned the land, and they
need pay no wharfage to the city; and he called the council to know
their views on the subject, as he had told Hyrum Kimball that he
should see the ordinances executed; and if the boats did not pay,
he should blow them up and all those who upheld them in resisting
the ordinances. Every measure is taken to palsy the hands of the
officers of the city; and I want to know how to remedy the evil, or
whether I shall abandon the ordinances, &c.

Alderman Harris said that it was the mayor's duty to enforce the
ordinances of the city, and that no man has a right to build a
wharf without leave from the city council.

Councilor Phelps suggested the propriety of licensing those who
owned wharves to collect a tax for the landing of the boat.

{235} Alderman Wells concurred.

Mayor said the land on the water's edge was a street.

Alderman Wells suggested the propriety of having the street worked
as soon as may be.

Councilor Phelps said, if Water street extended round the city,
then Kimball had been constructing a nuisance.

Mayor spoke in explanation, and said that Kimball said, if the city
would make a wharf, he would give up what he had done.

Councilor Orson Spencer said he wished the mayor to execute the law
of the city.

Councilor Brigham Young concurred.

Councilor W. W. Phelps proposed that Water street be worked the
whole length.

Councilor Taylor said, "I go in for executing the laws of the city."

Marshal stated that Morrison said he had a bond for a deed to
low-water mark, and the city could not take his personal rights,
and he objected to the boats paying wharfage.

Councilor Orson Pratt said, if Kimball or Morrison or any one else
has built wharves since that street was laid out, they could get no
damages.

Councilor Daniel Spencer considered the ordinance passed good, and
it ought to be enforced.

Councilor Hyrum Smith, believed it was our duty to stand up to the
ordinances.

Moved by Brigham Young that the city council instruct the Mayor to
order the supervisor to open Water street from Joseph Smith's store
north to the north line of the city.

Councilor Phelps approved of the motion, that the road might be
cleared from rafts, and the rafts might also pay license.

Councilor Warrington said the upper stone house was in the street.

Mayor said that was the greatest nuisance there was in the street.

Councilor Orson Spencer was in favor [i.e., of the motion to open
Water street.] Motion carried unanimously.

The governor having refused to issue commissions to the
aldermen-elect of the city, Councilor Whitney inquired who were
aldermen.

The mayor explained that if the governor refuses to grant a
commission, it does not disqualify the officer elect from acting in
his office; consequently, there is no virtue in the commission, but
the virtue of the office consists in the election.

Councilor Young thought they were aldermen all the time or none of
the time.

Mayor said he wanted all the aldermen to be added to the city
council.

{236} Alderman Wells said he considered the election made the
aldermen, and not the commission.

Mayor said if he had been elected alderman and filed his bonds, he
would act as councilor and magistrate.

[Sidenote: Packard's Memorial to Legislature of Massachusetts]

Noah Packard sent a memorial to the governor, senate, and house of representatives of Massachusetts, his native state, setting forth in detail the sufferings of the Saints in Missouri, and their expulsion from that state.

_Wednesday, 6--_Went to my office, and thence with Brother Phelps to Mr. Bryant's, to see him about his uniting with Hiram Kimball and others to resist the ordinances of the city.

The _Neighbor_ publishes the name of James Arlington Bennett as candidate for Vice-President.

_Thursday, 7.--_A splendid day; wind from the southwest.

_Minutes of a General Meeting in the Interest of the Temple_.

[Reported by Elders Willard Richards and Wilford Woodruff.]

A vast assembly of Saints met at the Temple of the Lord at nine
o'clock a.m., by a special appointment of President Joseph Smith,
for the purpose of advancing the progress of the Temple, &c.

The Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, was present; also of the Twelve
Apostles, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson
Pratt, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George
A. Smith; also the temple committee and about eight thousand Saints.

A hymn was sung by the choir; prayer by Elder Parley P. Pratt, when
another hymn was sung.

Patriarch Hyrum Smith took the stand and said, The object of the
meeting is to stir up your minds by way of remembrance. It is
necessary to have a starting-point, which is to build the Temple.

With the assistance of the sisters, we expect to get the nails and
glass; and with the assistance of the brethren, we expect to do the
rest. I will proclaim in public and in private that the sisters
bought the glass and nails by penny subscription. Choose ye this
day whom ye will serve.

We shall call upon this vast multitude for a donation to buy powder
and fuse-ropes to blast the rocks in the quarry. We want the
brethren to at least do as much as the sisters.

{237} We do not intend to finish the Nauvoo House this season, but
to take all the hands and finish the Temple this summer, or the
walls of it, and get the roof on by December, and do off the inside
next winter; and about a year from this spring we will dedicate it.

We can do anything we undertake. We have power, and we can do great
things. In five years to come the work will progress more than it
has done for ten years past.

Isaiah said we should perform a marvelous work and a wonder. I
don't wonder he said so, if he saw this vast multitude; and I think
this people is abundantly able to build this temple, and much
depends upon it for our endowments and sealing powers; and many
blessings depend upon it.

President Joseph Smith then arrived, took the stand, arose, and,
after requesting Orson Pratt to come to the stand and take his
post, said:--

I do not know whether the object of the meeting has been told you
or not. I apologize for not coming sooner.

I have had so much on my mind since I saw you, that I hardly know
where to begin or what to say; but one of the grand objects I had
in view in calling this meeting was to make a few remarks relative
to the laws and ordinances of the city and the building of the
temple.

The reason I want to speak of the city ordinances is that the
officers have difficulty in administering them.

We are republicans, and wish to have the people rule; but they must
rule in righteousness. Some would complain with what God Himself
would do.

The laws or ordinances are enacted by the city council on petition
of the people; and they can all be repealed, if they wish it, and
petition accordingly.

At all events, the people ought not to complain of the officers;
but if they are not satisfied, they should complain to the
lawmakers by petition.

I am instructed by the city council to tell this people that if
there is any law passed by us which you dislike, we will repeal
it, for we are your servants. Those who complain of our rights and
charters are wicked and corrupt, and the devil is in them.

The reason I called up this subject is, we have a gang of simple
fellows here who do not know where their elbows or heads are.
If you preach virtue to them, they will oppose that; or if you
preach a Methodist God to them, they will oppose that; and the
same if you preach anything else; and if there is any case tried
by the authorities of Nauvoo, they want it appealed to Carthage
to the circuit court. Mr. Orsimus F. Bostwick's case had to go to
Carthage. Our lawyers will appeal anything to the circuit court.

{238} I want the people to speak out and say whether such men
should be tolerated and supported in our midst; and I want to know
if the citizens will sustain me when my hands are raised to heaven
for and in behalf of the people.

From this time I design to bring such characters who act against
the interests of the city before a committee of the whole; and I
will have the voice of the people, which is republican, and is
likely to be the voice of God; and as long as I have a tongue to
speak, I will expose the iniquity of the lawyers and wicked men.

I fear not their boiling over nor the boiling over of hell, their
thunders nor the lightning of their forked tongues.

If these things cannot be put a stop to, I will give such men into
the hands of the Missouri mob. The hands of the officers of the
city falter and are palsied by their conduct.

There is another person I will speak about. He is a Mormon--a
certain man who lived here before we came here; the two first
letters of his name are Hiram Kimball. When a man is baptized and
becomes a member of the Church, I have a right to talk about him,
and reprove him in public or private, whenever it is necessary, or
he deserves it.

When the city passed an ordinance to collect wharfage from
steamboats, he goes and tells the captains of the steamboats that
he owned the landing, and that they need not pay wharfage.

I despise the man who will betray you with a kiss; and I am
determined to use up these men, if they will not stop their
operations. If this is not true, let him come forward and throw off
the imputation.

When they appeal to Carthage, I will appeal to this people, which
is the highest court. I despise the lawyers who haggle on lawsuits,
and I would rather die a thousand deaths than appeal to Carthage,

Kimball and Morrison say they own the wharves; but the fact is,
the city owns them, sixty-four feet from high water mark. From the
printing office to the north limits of the city is public ground,
as Water street runs along the beach, and the beach belongs to the
city and not to individuals.

Another thing: I want to speak about the lawyers of this city. I
have good feelings towards them; nevertheless I will reprove the
lawyers and doctors anyhow. Jesus did, and every prophet has; and
if I am a prophet, I shall do it: at any rate, I shall do it, for I
profess to be a prophet.

The maritime laws of the United States have ceded up the right to
regulate all tolls, wharfage, &c., to the respective corporations
who have jurisdiction, and not to individuals.

Our lawyers have read so little that they are ignorant of this:
they {239} have never stuck their noses into a book on maritime law
in their lives, and, as Pope says:--

Shallow draughts intoxicate the brain;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring.

Our city lawyers are fools to undertake to practice law when they
know nothing about it.

I want from this time forth every fool to stay at home and let the
steamboats and captains alone. No vessel could land anywhere, if
subject to individual laws.

The corporation owns the streets of the city, and has as much right
to tax the boats to make wharves as to tax citizens to make roads.
Let every man in this city stay at home, and let the boat-captains,
peace-officers and everybody alone.

How are we to keep peace in the city, defend ourselves against
mobs, and keep innocent blood from being shed? By striking a blow
at everything that rises up in disorder.

I will wage an eternal warfare with those that oppose me while I
am laboring in behalf of the city. I will disgrace every man by
publishing him on the house top, who will not be still and mind his
own business. Let them entirely alone, and they will use themselves
up.

I was visited by an old gentleman this morning, who told me that
the spirit of mobocracy was about subsiding. A couple of merchants
in this city (I will not tell their names,) have told the country
people not to bring butter, eggs, &c., to Nauvoo for sale; at
least, so the people abroad say.

Now, if they will not let the people bring their produce, the
people will not buy their goods; and the result will be, the
merchants will get a spirit of mobocracy.

Another man (I will not call his name,) has been writing to the_
New York Tribune,_ some of the most disgraceful things possible
to name. He says, in that article, that there are a great many
donations to the Temple which have been appropriated to other
purposes.

His object evidently was to stigmatize the trustee and excite
prejudice against us abroad. But I pledge myself that whoever has
contributed any old shoes, harness, horses, wagons, or anything
else, if he will come forward, will show that every farthing is on
the book and has been appropriated for the building of the Temple.

I pledge myself that if he finds the first farthing that we cannot
show where it has been appropriated, I will give him my head for a
football.

He also states that the Temple cannot be built, it costs so much.
Who does not know that we can put the roof on the building this
season, if we have a mind to? By turning all the means from the
Nauvoo House and doubling our diligence we can do it.

{240} There are men in our midst who are trying to build up
themselves at our expense, and others who are watching for
iniquity, and will make a man an offender for a word. The best way
for such men is to be still. If I did not love men, I would not
reprove them, but would work in the darkness as they do.

As to who is the author of the article in the _Tribune,_ read it
and you will see for yourselves. He is not a lawyer; he is nearer
related to a doctor--a small man. (Mr. McNeil inquired if he was
the man.) No; I do not know you: you are a stranger. But I will
rest myself and give way for others.

President Hyrum Smith arose and made a few remarks. He compared the
lawyers to polliwogs, wigglers, and toads. He said they would dry
up next fall. "Those characters, I presume, were made in gizzard
making time, when it was cheaper to get gizzards than souls; for
if a soul cost $5, a gizzard would cost nothing: like tree toads,
they change color to suit the object they are upon. They ought to
be ferreted out like rats. You could describe them as you would a
hedgehog: they are in every hedge, stinking like the skunk." [1]

Charles Foster asked if Joseph meant him.

_Joseph_ said, "I will reply by asking you a question."

_Foster_: "That is no way."

_Joseph_. "Yes, that is the way the Quakers do. But Jesus said,
'Whose image and superscription is this?' Why did you apply the
remarks to yourself? Why did you ask if we meant you?"

_Foster_. "Then I understand you meant me."

_Joseph_. "You said it."

_Foster_. "You shall hear from me."

_Joseph_. "As Mayor, I fine you $10 for that threat, and for
disturbing the meeting."

Doctor Foster spoke in palliation of his brother Charles, and asked
Joseph to await, &c. He said, "He has not threatened you." Joseph
said, "He has." Doctor Foster said: "No one has heard him threaten
you," when hundreds cried, "I have!" Doctor Foster continued to
speak when the Mayor called him to order, or, said he, "I will fine
you."

William W. Phelps then read General Smith's "Views of the Powers
and Policy of the General Government of the United States;" after
which, it was voted, unanimously, with one exception, to uphold
General Smith for the Presidency of the United States.

{241} An article was also read by W. W. Phelps, entitled, "A Voice
of Innocence from Nauvoo," and all the assembly said "Amen" twice.

At thirty minutes past twelve, the meeting adjourned till two p.m.

When the people assembled according to the adjournment, choir sang
a hymn. Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt. Singing.

President Brigham Young addressed the congregation. He said: I wish
to speak on the duty of lawyers, as they have been spoken of this
morning. They were first among the children of Israel to explain
the laws of Moses to the common people.

I class myself as a lawyer in Israel. My business is to make peace
among the people; and when any man who calls himself a lawyer takes
a course to break peace instead of making it, he is out of the line
of his duty. A lawyer's duty is to read the law well himself, then
tell the people what it is, and let them act upon it, and keep
peace; and let them receive pay like any laboring man.

It is desirable for justices of the peace, when men call for writs,
to inquire into the merits of the case, and tell the parties how to
settle it, and thus put down lawsuits. To cure lawing, let us pay
attention to our business.

When we hear a story, never tell it again, and it will be a perfect
cure. If your brother mistreats you, let him alone; if your enemy
cheats you, let it go; cease to deal with men who abuse you. If all
men had taken the straightforward course that some have, we should
not have such disorderly men in our midst.

I have no objection to any man coming here, but I will have nothing
to do with men who will abuse me at midnight and at noonday. Our
difficulties and persecutions have always arisen from men right in
our midst.

It is the lust of individuals to rob us of everything, and to take
advantage of divisions that may arise among us to build themselves
up. I feel that I want every man should stay and lift up holy hands
without dubiety, wrath or doubting.

To the men who own land here I would say: Do not think you can sell
your lands here, and then go off and spend it somewhere else in
abusing the Mormons. I tell you nay; for know it, ye people, that
Israel is here; and they are the head, and not the tail; and the
people must learn it. All those who have gone from us have gone
from the head to the tail.

The grand object before us is to build the temple this season.

We have heard the effects of slander, and we want a cure and balm;
and I carry one with me all the while, and I want all of you to
do the same. I will tell you what it is: it is to mind your own
business, and let others alone, and suffer wrong rather than do
wrong. If any take {242} your property away, let them alone, and
have nothing to do with them.

A spirit has been manifested to divide the Saints. It was manifest
in the last election. It was said, if they did not look out, the
Saints on the flat would beat the Saints on the hill.

Great God! how such a thing looks, that the Saints should be afraid
of beating one another in the election, or being beat? I would ask,
who built up this city? Would steamboats have landed here, if the
Saints had not come? Or could you, even the speculators, have sold
your lands for anything here, if the Saints had not come? They
might have sold for a few bear and wolf skins, but not for money.

If any of you wish to know how to have your bread fall butter-side
up, butter it on both sides, and then it will fall butter-side up.
Oppose this work, and it will roll over you.

When did this work ever stop since it began? Never. The only thing
the Saints now want to know is--what does the Lord want of us, and
we are ready to do it.

Well, then, build the Temple of the Lord. Keep the law of God, ye
Saints, and the hypocrite and scoundrel will flee out of your midst
and tremble, for the fire of God will be too hot for them.

I expect the Saints are so anxious to work, and so ready to do
right, that God has whispered to the Prophet, "Build the Temple,
and let the Nauvoo House alone at present." I would not sue a man,
if he owed me five hundred or a thousand dollars, should he come to
me and say he would not pay me.

Elder John Taylor remarked that it was said by some discontented
persons that the municipal officers of the city were acting in an
arbitrary manner, which was false. He then went to explain the
principles of Democracy, until it was announced that it would be
desirable to set a contribution on foot immediately to get fuse
rope and blasting powder, as a boat was coming down the river, and
the messenger was waiting to go down to St. Louis.

Elder Taylor paused awhile for this purpose, and a collection
amounting to about sixty dollars was made. He then continued his
speech: "When society was first organized they found themselves
without legislature, congress, house of lords, or anything of the
kind, every man was lord over his own house.

Difficulties began to arise, and the people began to contend and
combine together in governments. By-and-by, some two or three
requested that they might return to their original customs, and the
government said they might. This was the situation of this city in
the main, when we asked for a charter.

Of General Joseph Smith some are afraid, and think it doubtful
about his election; and, like the ostrich, stick their heads under
a bush, {243} and leave their bodies out, so that we can all see
them; and after this it will be a by-word--"That man is an ostrich
who hides his head in this cause." He spoke also on going on with
the temple.

President Brigham Young said--"Those who have not paid their
property tithing we shall call upon, and take dinner; and we had
rather be saved that trouble, and have them come up and pay. You
will want a blessing in the temple when it is done."

President Joseph Smith remarked:--In relation to those who give in
property for the temple. We want them to bring it to the proper
source, and to be careful into whose hands it comes, that it may
be entered into the Church books, so that those whose names are
found in the Church books shall have the first claim to receive
their endowments in the temple. I intend to keep the door at the
dedication myself, and not a man shall pass who has not paid his
bonus.

As to politics, I care but little about the presidential chair.
I would not give half as much for the office of President
of the United States as I would for the one I now hold as
Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion.

We have as good a right to make a political party to gain power to
defend ourselves, as for demagogues to make use of our religion to
get power to destroy us. In other words, as the world has used the
power of government to oppress and persecute us, it is right for us
to use it for the protection of our rights. We will whip the mob by
getting up a candidate for President.

When I get hold of the Eastern papers, and see how popular I am,
I am afraid myself that I shall be elected; but if I should be, I
would not say, "_Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you_."

What I have said in my views in relation to the annexation of Texas
is with some unpopular; the people are opposed to it. Some of the
Anti-Mormons are good fellows. I say it, however, in anticipation
that they will repent. They object to Texas on account of slavery.
Why, it is the very reason she ought to be received, so that we
may watch over them; for, of the two evils, we should reject the
greatest.

Governor Houston of Texas, says--"if you refuse to receive us
into the United States, we must go to the British Government for
protection."

This would certainly be bad policy for this nation; the British are
now throughout that whole country, trying to bribe all they can;
and the first thing they would do, if they got possession, would be
to set the negroes and the Indians to fight, and they would use us
up. British officers are now running all over Texas to establish
British influence in that country.

It will be more honorable for us to receive Texas and set the
negroes {244} free, and use the negroes and Indians against our
foes. Don't let Texas go, lest our mothers and the daughters of the
land should laugh us in the teeth; and if these things are not so,
God never spoke by any Prophet since the world began.

How much better it is for the nation to bear a little expense than
to have the Indians and British upon us and destroy us all. We
should grasp all the territory we can. I know much that I do not
tell. I have had bribes offered me, but I have rejected them.

The government will not receive any advice or counsel from me: they
are self-sufficient. But they must go to hell and work out their
own salvation with fear and trembling.

The South holds the balance of power. By annexing Texas, I can do
away with this evil. As soon as Texas was annexed, I would liberate
the slaves in two or three States, indemnifying their owners, and
send the negroes to Texas, and from Texas to Mexico, where all
colors are alike. And if that was not sufficient, I would call upon
Canada, and annex it.

Singing by the choir. Prayer by President B. Young.

[Sidenote: Arrival of Wm. Kay and Company of English Saints.]

The barque _Fanny_, Captain Patterson, arrived at New Orleans with 210 souls, led by Elder William Kay. They express, [the opinion] in a letter to the _Millennial Star,_ that no people ever had a more prosperous voyage than the Lord has favored this company with; and such a captain and crew, for kindness, could scarcely be met with, the captain frequently administering from the cabin stores unto the necessities of all who required it.

Elder John E. Page published an address to the inhabitants of Washington.

_Friday, 8.--_Very heavy rain all night, accompanied by thunder.

Bishop Miller arrived from the Pinery.

[Sidenote: Jas. A. Bennett Ineligible for Vice-President of U.S.]

At ten a.m., my scribe, Willard Richards, called to tell me that James Arlington Bennett was a native of Ireland, and therefore was not constitutionally eligible to be the Vice-President. He wanted to know who should be nominated for Vice-President. I told him to counsel with others upon that {245} point, when he said he would call a council this evening.

At seven p.m., the First Presidency, the Twelve, Bishop Miller, Levi Richards, W. W. Phelps, and Lucian Woodworth assembled in the Mayor's office, when W. W. Phelps read the following pacific communication, which I had previously dictated him to write:--

_A Friendly Hint to Missouri_.

One of the most pleasing scenes that can occur on earth, when a sin
has been committed by one person against another, is, to forgive
that sin; and then according to the sublime and perfect pattern of
the Savior, pray to our Father in heaven to forgive him also.

Verily, verily, such a friendly rebuke is like the mellow zephyr
of summer's eve--it soothes, it cheers and gladdens the heart
of the humane and the savage. Well might the wise man exclaim,
"A soft answer turneth away wrath; "for men of sense, judgment,
and observation, in all the various periods of time, have been
witnesses, figuratively speaking, that water, not wood, checks the
rage of fire.

Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
the children of God." Wherefore if the nation, a single State,
community, or family ought to be grateful for anything, it is peace.

Peace, lovely child of heaven!--peace like light from the same
great parent, gratifies, animates, and happifies the just and the
unjust, and is the very essence of happiness below, and bliss above.

He that does not strive with all his powers of body and mind,
with all his influence at home and abroad, and to cause others to
do so too--to seek peace and maintain it for his own benefit and
convenience, and for the honor of his State, nation, and country,
has no claim on the clemency of man; nor should he be entitled to
the friendship of woman or the protection of government.

He is the canker-worm to gnaw his own vitals; and the vulture to
prey upon his own body; and he is, as to his own prospects and
prosperity in life, a _felo-de-se_ of his own pleasure.

A community of such beings are not far from hell on earth, and
should be let alone as unfit for the smiles of the free or praise
of the brave.

But the peacemaker, O give ear to him! for the words of his mouth
and his doctrine drop like the rain, and distil as the dew. They
are like the gentle mist upon the herbs, and as the moderate shower
upon the grass.

Animation, virtue, love, contentment, philanthropy, benevolence,
compassion, humanity and friendship push life into bliss: and
men, a {246} little below the angels, exercising their powers,
privileges, and knowledge according to the order, rules, and
regulations of revelation, by Jesus Christ, dwell together in
unity; and the sweet odor that is wafted by the breath of joy
and satisfaction from their righteous communion is like the rich
perfume from the consecrated oil that was poured upon the head of
Aaron, or like the luscious fragrance that rises from the field of
Arabian spices. Yea, more, the voice of the peacemaker--

It is like the music of the spheres--
It charms our souls and calms our fears;
It turns the world to Paradise,
And men to pearls of greater price.

So much to preface this friendly hint to the state of Missouri:
for, notwithstanding some of her private citizens and public
officers have committed violence, robbery, and even murder upon
the rights and persons of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, yet compassion, dignity, and a sense of the principles of
religion among all classes, and honor and benevolence, mingled
with charity by high-minded patriots, lead me to suppose that
there are many worthy people in that state who will use their
influence and energies to bring about a settlement of all those old
difficulties, and use all consistent means to urge the State, for
her honor, prosperity, and good name, to restore every person she
or her citizens have expelled from her limits, to their rights,
and pay them all damage, that the great body of high-minded and
well-disposed Southern and Western gentlemen and ladies--the
real peace-makers or a western world, will go forth--good
Samaritan-like, and pour in the oil and the wine, till all that
can be healed are made whole; and after repentance, they shall be
forgiven; for verily the Scriptures say, "Joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety-and-nine just
persons that need no repentance."

Knowing the fallibility of man, considering the awful
responsibility of rejecting the cries of the innocent, confident
in the virtue and patriotism of the noble-minded Western men,
tenacious of their character and standing, too high to stoop to
disgraceful acts, and too proud to tolerate meanness in others;
yea, may, I not say, without boasting that the best blood of the
West, united with the honor of the illustrious fathers of freedom,
will move, as the forest is moved by a mighty wind, to promote
peace and friendship in every part of our wide-spread, lovely
country.

Filled with a love almost unspeakable, and moved by a desire
pleasant as the dew of heaven, I supplicate not only our Father
above, but also the civil, the enlightened, the intelligent, the
social, and the best inhabitants of Missouri--those that feel bound
by principles of honor, justice, moral greatness, and national
pride, to arise in the character of {247} virtuous freemen from
the disgrace and reproach that might inadvertently blur their good
names, for want of self-preservation.

Now is the time to brush off the monster that, incubus-like, seems
hanging upon the reputation of the whole State. A little exertion,
and the infamy of the evil will blacken the guilty only, for is it
not written, "The tree is known by its fruit?"

The voice of reason, the voice of humanity, the voice of the
nation, and the voice of Heaven seem to say to the honest and
virtuous throughout the State of Missouri, wash yourselves, make
you clean, lest your negligence should be taken by the world, from
the mass of facts before it, that you are guilty!

Let there be one unison of hearts for justice; and when you
reflect around your own firesides, remember that fifteen thousand
once among you, now not, but who are just as much entitled to the
privileges and blessings you enjoy as yourselves, like the widow
before the unjust judge, are fervently praying for their rights.

When you meditate upon the massacre at Haun's mill, forget not that
the Constitution of your State holds this broad truth to the world,
that none shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, but by
the judgment of his peers or the law of the land.

And when you assemble together in towns, counties, or districts,
whether to petition your legislature to pay the damage the Saints
have sustained in your State, by reason of oppression and misguided
zeal, or to restore them to their rights according to Republican
principles and benevolent designs, reflect, and make honorable,
or annihilate, such statute law as was in force in your state in
1838,--_viz._: "If twelve or more persons shall combine to levy war
against any part of the people of this state, or to remove [them]
forcibly out of the state or from their habitations, evidenced by
taking arms and assembling to accomplish such purpose, every person
so offending shall be punished by imprisonment in the Penitentiary
for a period not exceeding five years, or by a fine not exceeding
five thousand dollars and imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six months."

Finally, if honor dignifies an honest people, if virtue exalts
a community, if wisdom guides great men, if principle governs
intelligent beings, if humanity spreads comfort among the needy,
and if religion affords consolation by showing that charity is the
first, best and sweetest token of perfect love, then, O ye good
people of Missouri, like the woman in Scripture who had lost one of
her ten pieces of silver, arise, search diligently till you find
the lost piece, and then make a feast, and call in your friends for
joy.

With due consideration, I am the friend of all good men,

JOSEPH SMITH.

NAUVOO, ILL., March 8, 1844.

[Sidenote: St. Louis Comment on the Prophet's Candidacy.]

{248} Brother George A. Smith brought the information that Brother Farnham had just returned from St. Louis, and said the people in that place were saying, "Things have come to a strange pass. If Joe Smith is elected President, he will raise the devil with Missouri; and if he is not elected, he will raise the devil anyhow."

[Sidenote: Copeland of Tennessee Considered as Candidate for Vice-President.]

It was agreed that Colonel Solomon Copeland, living at Paris, Henry county, Tennessee, should be written to on the subject of the Vice-Presidency; and that Elder Wilford Woodruff should write the letter, and invite him to visit us, and see if he would suffer his name to run for that office.

_Saturday, 9.--_Met in the City Council, and gave my reasons in favor of the repeal of the hog law. [The subject was discussed at some length.]

Council adjourned for one hour. In the afternoon City Council rejected the petition to repeal the hog law.

[Sidenote: Matter of Wharfage.]

I proposed to license Hiram Kimball and Mr. Morrison, who own the land opposite to the wharf, to make wharves and collect wharfage; then the city can dispense with a wharf-master; that Kimball and Morrison pay a tax for the landing of every boat; and they could tax the boat, or not, as they liked.

The Female Relief Society met twice in the assembly room, and sanctioned "The Voice of Innocence From Nauvoo," and then adjourned for one week to accommodate others who could not get into the room at either of the meetings.

[Sidenote: Death of King Follett.]

Our worthy brother, King Follett, died this morning occasioned by the accidental breaking of a rope, and the falling of a bucket of rock upon him while engaged in walling up a well, and the men above were in the act of lowering the rock to him.

{249} KING FOLLETT BIOGRAPHY.

Elder Follett was one of those who bore the burden, in common with
others of his brethren, in the days when men's faith was put to the
test. He was a native of Vermont and moved many years since into
Cuyahoga county, Ohio.

There, for the first time, he heard the Gospel preached, united
with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the spring
of 1831, and has been a sharer in the afflictions through which the
Saints have passed from that time until the time of his death.

He shared in the violence of Missouri persecution, was cast into
prison, and endured many months' imprisonment; and, after long
delay, obtained a trial on the charges preferred against him, and
was honorably discharged, being acquitted of all the crimes with
which a band of wicked persecutors could charge him.

All the persecutions he endured only tended to strengthen his faith
and confirm his hope; and he died as he had lived, rejoicing in the
hope of future felicity.

Having united with the Church in the forty-first year of his age,
he filled up the prime of his life in the service of his God, and
went to rest in his fifty-sixth year, being fifty-five years, seven
months, and fourteen days old when he slept the sleep of death.

So the righteous pass, and so they sleep, until the mandate of Him
for whom they suffer and in whom they trust shall call them forth
to glory, honor, immortality and eternal life.

_Sunday, 10.--_Frost in the night; beautiful day. South wind.

Brother King Follett was buried this day with Masonic honors.

I attended meeting at the stand, and preached on the subject of Elias, Elijah, and Messiah. [A sketch of which was reported by Elder Wilford Woodruff, as follows]:--

_Discourse of the Prophet.--Elias, Elijah, Messiah_.

There is a difference between the spirit and office of Elias and
Elijah. It is the spirit of Elias I wish first to speak of; and in
order to come at the subject, I will bring some of the testimony
from the Scripture and give my own.

In the first place, suffice it to say, I went into the woods to
inquire of {250} the Lord, by prayer, His will concerning me, and I
saw an angel, and he laid his hands upon my head, and ordained me
to a Priest after the order of Aaron, and to hold the keys of this
Priesthood, which office was to preach repentance and baptism for
the remission of sins, and also to baptize. But I was informed that
this office did not extend to the laying on of hands for the giving
of the Holy Ghost; that that office was a greater work, and was to
be given afterward; but that my ordination was a preparatory work,
or a going before, which was the spirit of Elias; for the spirit
of Elias was a going before to prepare the way for the greater,
which was the case with John the Baptist. He came crying through
the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight." And they were informed, if they could receive it, it
was the spirit of Elias; and John was very particular to tell the
people, he was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
Light.

He told the people that his mission was to preach repentance and
baptize with water; but it was He that should come after him that
should baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost.

If he had been an imposter, he might have gone to work beyond his
bounds, and undertook to have performed ordinances which did not
belong to that office and calling, under the spirit of Elias.

The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation
of God, which is the Priesthood of Elias, or the Priesthood that
Aaron was ordained unto. And when God sends a man into the world to
prepare for a greater work, holding the keys of the power of Elias,
it was called the doctrine of Elias, even from the early ages of
the world.

John's mission was limited to preaching and baptizing: but what
he did was legal; and when Jesus Christ came to any of John's
disciples, He baptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost.

We find the apostles endowed with greater power than John: their
office was more under the spirit and power of Elijah than Elias.

In the case of Phillip when he went down to Samaria, when he was
under the spirit of Elias, he baptized both men and women. When
Peter and John heard of it, they went down and laid hands upon
them, and they received the Holy Ghost. This shows the distinction
between the two powers.

When Paul came to certain disciples, he asked if they had received
the Holy Ghost? They said, No. Who baptized you, then? We were
baptized unto John's baptism. No, you were not baptized unto John's
baptism, or you would have been baptized by John. And so Paul went
and baptized them, for he knew what the true doctrine was, and he
knew that John had not baptized them. And these principles are
{251} strange to me, that men who have read the Scriptures of the
New Testament are so far from it.

What I want to impress upon your minds is the difference of power
in the different parts of the Priesthood, so that when any man
comes among you, saying, "I have the spirit of Elias," you can know
whether he be true or false; for any man that comes, having the
spirit and power of Elias, he will not transcend his bounds.

John did not transcend his bounds, but faithfully performed that
part belonging to his office; and every portion of the great
building should be prepared right and assigned to its proper place;
and it is necessary to know who holds the keys of power, and who
does not, or we may be likely to be deceived.

That person who holds the keys of Elias hath a preparatory work.
But if I spend much more time in conversing about the spirit of
Elias, I shall not have time to do justice to the spirit and power
of Elijah.

This is the Elias spoken of in the last days, and here is the rock
upon which many split, thinking the time was past in the days of
John and Christ, and no more to be. But the spirit of Elias was
revealed to me, and I know it is true; therefore I speak with
boldness, for I know verily my doctrine is true.

Now for Elijah. The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that
ye have power to hold the key of the revelation, ordinances,
oracles, powers and endowments of the fullness of the Melchizedek
Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive,
obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of
God, even unto the turning of the hearts of the fathers unto the
children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, even
those who are in heaven.

Malachi says, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the
heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Now, what I am after is the knowledge of God, and I take my own
course to obtain it. What are we to understand by this in the last
days?

In the days of Noah, God destroyed the world by a flood, and He
has promised to destroy it by fire in the last days: but before it
should take place, Elijah should first come and turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, &c.

Now comes the point. What is this office and work of Elijah?
It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God
has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the
fathers, and the fathers to the children.

Now was this merely confined to the living, to settle difficulties
with {252} families on earth? By no means. It was a far greater
work. Elijah! what would you do if you were here? Would you confine
your work to the living alone? No; I would refer you to the
Scriptures, where the subject is manifest: that is, without us,
they could not be made perfect, nor we without them; the fathers
without the children, nor the children without the fathers.

I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important; and
if you will receive it, this is the spirit of Elijah, that we
redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which
are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first
resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those
who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven. This is the power
of Elijah and the keys of the kingdom of Jehovah.

Let us suppose a case. Suppose the great God who dwells in heaven
should reveal Himself to Father Cutler here, by the opening
heavens, and tell him, "I offer up a decree that whatsoever you
seal on earth with your decree, I will seal it in heaven; you
have the power then; can it be taken off? No. Then what you seal
on earth, by the keys of Elijah, is sealed in heaven; and this is
the power of Elijah, and this is the difference between the spirit
and power of Elias and Elijah; for while the spirit of Elias is a
forerunner, the power of Elijah is sufficient to make our calling
and election sure; and the same doctrine, where we are exhorted to
go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of laying on of hands, resurrection of the
dead, &c.

We cannot be perfect without the fathers, &c. We must have
revelation from them, and we can see that the doctrine of
revelation far transcends the doctrine of no revelation; for one
truth revealed from heaven is worth all the sectarian notions in
existence.

This spirit of Elijah was manifest in the days of the apostles, in
delivering certain ones to the buffetings of Satan, that they might
be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. They were sealed by the
spirit of Elijah unto the damnation of hell until the day of the
Lord, or revelation of Jesus Christ.

Here is the doctrine of election that the world has quarreled so
much about; but they do not know anything about it.

The doctrine that the Presbyterians and Methodists have quarreled
so much about--once in grace, always in grace, or falling away
from grace, I will say a word about. They are both wrong. Truth
takes a road between them both, for while the Presbyterian says
"once in grace, you cannot fall;" the Methodist says: "You can have
grace today, fall from it tomorrow, next day have grace again;
and so follow on, changing continually." But the doctrine of the
Scriptures and the {253} spirit of Elijah would show them both
false, and take a road between them both; for, according to the
Scripture, if men have received the good word of God, and tasted
of the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, it
is impossible to renew them again, seeing they have crucified the
Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame; so there is a
possibility of falling away; you could not be renewed again, and
the power of Elijah cannot seal against this sin, for this is a
reserve made in the seals and power of the Priesthood.

I will make every doctrine plain that I present, and it shall stand
upon a firm basis, and I am at the defiance of the world, for I
will take shelter under the broad cover of the wings of the work in
which I am engaged. It matters not to me if all hell boils over; I
regard it only as I would the crackling of the thorns under a pot.

A murderer, for instance, one that sheds innocent blood, cannot
have forgiveness. David sought repentance at the hand of God
carefully with tears, for the murder of Uriah; but he could only
get it through hell: he got a promise that his soul should not be
left in hell.

Although David was a king, he never did obtain the spirit and power
of Elijah and the fullness of the Priesthood; and the Priesthood
that he received, and the throne and kingdom of David is to be
taken from him and given to another by the name of David in the
last days, raised up out of his lineage.

Peter referred to the same subject on the day of Pentecost, but the
multitude did not get the endowment that Peter had; but several
days after, the people asked "What shall we do?" Peter says, "I
would ye had done it ignorantly," speaking of crucifying the Lord,
&c. He did not say to them, "Repent and be baptized, for the
remission of your sins;" but he said, "Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts iii.
19.)

This is the case with murderers. They could not be baptized for the
remission of sins for they had shed innocent blood.

Again: The doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows:--If
you have power to seal on earth and in heaven, then we should be
wise. The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and
daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal
glory. * * * * * * * I will walk through the gate of heaven and
claim what I seal, and those that follow me and my counsel.

The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should have. I have
been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest some of them
should, peradventure, repent.