Produced by the Mormon Texts Project (MormonTextsProject.org), with thanks to Katie Liston and David Cramer THE LIFE OF JOSEPH SMITH THE PROPHET BY GEORGE Q. CANNON SECOND EDITION Salt Lake City, Utah 1907 PREFACE. Joseph and Hyrum are now dead; but like the first martyr they yet speak. Their united voice is one of testimony, admonition and warning to the world. They lived men of God. They died pure and holy, sealing their testimony with their blood. No men ever suffered greater persecution than they: no men were ever less understood by their generation. It is in the hope that the Saints may find joy in reading of their beloved Prophet and Patriarch, and that the world may judge more fairly of these benefactors of mankind, that this book is written. To the Author its preparation has been a loving duty. In the midst of a somewhat busy and laborious life, he has found comfort in the contemplation of this great subject. The closing chapters, detailing the final sufferings upon earth of the Prophet of God and his ever-constant brother, were finished in prison for adherence to the principles which they taught, and for this, the Life is invested with a dearer regard. To send the work away now is like being torn from a beloved companion, when most the solace of his friendly presence is needed. In some respects this volume may be imperfect; the circumstances which surrounded its preparation were not favorable to the collection and arrangement of materials, but it is believed to be truthful and just. To many friends the Author is indebted for information here embodied; and he takes this occasion to thank them, hoping to live yet to meet them and express his gratitude in the flesh. That the sublime example and inspired teachings of Joseph the Prophet of the last Dispensation, may be of eternal benefit to all who read this Life, is the heart-felt wish of THE AUTHOR. Utah Penitentiary, October 1, 1888. CONTENTS. The Life of Joseph Smith the Prophet Preface The Ripened Time The Apostasy and the Restoration Joseph Smith at Nauvoo The "Choice Seer" CHAPTER I. Joseph's Humble Extraction--The Godliness and Fair Fame of His Ancestry--A Premonition of His Work CHAPTER II. Birth of Joseph--Family Circumstances--Toil and Poverty--Removal to New York--Intense Religious Excitement CHAPTER III. Light from the Scriptures--The Prayer and its Answer--"This is my Beloved Son: Hear Him"--Persecution and Scoffing of the Multitude--Joseph Doubts Himself and Supplicates for Renewed Help CHAPTER IV. The Angel Moroni Visits Joseph Thrice in One Night--A Record to be brought forth--vision of Cumorah CHAPTER V. A Mid-day Visitation--Joseph Confides in His Earthly Father--Cumorah and the Sacred Box--A New Probation is Fixed--Successive Visits and Ministrations of the Angel--Joseph's Growth in Godliness CHAPTER VI. Joseph's Willing Toil--Four Years of Waiting--He Finds Work in Pennsylvania--His Marriage with Emma Hale--The Probation Completed CHAPTER VII. Final Visit to Cumorah--Delivery of the Plates by the Angel Moroni--Solemn Caution to Joseph--Attacks by Assassins and Robbers--Poverty and Persecution--Help from Martin Harris--Removal to Pennsylvania CHAPTER VIII. Joseph Copies and Translates from the Plates--Martin Harris Again Comes Opportunely--Professor Anthon and the Characters--Martin's Labors as a Scribe--His Broken Trust--The Translation Lost to Joseph--The Prophet Punished for Willfulness CHAPTER IX. Oliver Cowdery is Sent of Heaven to Aid the Prophet--The Aaronic Priesthood is Brought to Earth by Christ's Forerunner--First Baptism of This Dispensation CHAPTER X. The Prophet's Brother Samuel Baptized by Oliver--Renewed Danger to the Work--Help From Fayette--Miraculous Interposition to Aid David Whitmer--Hyrum Smith and Others Believe and are Baptized CHAPTER XI. Eleven Chosen Witnesses View the Plates--Their Unimpeachable Testimony --Restoration of the Melchisedec Priesthood by Disciples of our Lord--The Apostleship Conferred--Other Baptisms--The Translation Completed CHAPTER XII. Organization of the Church at Fayette--Review of the Prophet's Labors--His Unpretentious Character--The Courage which Animated Him was shared by his Associates--The Witnesses and Early Members of the Church CHAPTER XIII. The All-Comprehending Character of Joseph's Inspiration--First Public Meeting of the Church after Organization--Believers Asking Baptism--Mobs seeking the Life or the Liberty of the Prophet--Twice Arrested and Acquitted--Joseph's Lawyer Hears a Mysterious Voice--Copying the Revelations CHAPTER XIV. Dissensions Within the Fold--Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page Lead the Whitmer's Astray--Mobs at Colesville and Persecution at Harmony--Isaac Hale and his Family Oppose Joseph--The Prophet Removes to Fayette--Prophetic Outline of the Gathering CHAPTER XV. The Second Conference of the Church--Harmony and Love Among the Elders--Accessions to the Congregation--the Mission to the Lamanites--Individual Revelations--God's Chosen Servants in Missouri CHAPTER XVI. Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge Join the Church--Joseph Commences the Translation of the Scriptures--Saints Commanded to Gather at Ohio--Joseph Migrates from New York--The Kirtland Saints Fall into Error--God's Power Manifested--Important Revelations CHAPTER XVII. Fourth General Conference--God Designates Missouri as the Place of Holding the Next Conference--Transgression of the Thompson Branch--Joseph Goes to the Place of the New Jerusalem CHAPTER XVIII. On the Borders of the Wilderness--Laying the First Log--Dedication and Consecration of the Land of Zion and the Temple Site--Back to Civilization--Sign Seeking and Violence CHAPTER XIX. A Methodist Priest Converted by a Miracle--Wants Power to Smite--The Prophet at Hiram Engaged in Translating--Order for Publication of the "Evening and Morning Star"--Man-made Commandments CHAPTER XX. A Night of Fury--The Murderous Mob at Hiram--Joseph Dragged from his Bed, and is Stripped, Bruised and Almost Slain by a Profane and Drunken Crowd Led by Apostates and Sectarian Ministers CHAPTER XXI. Departure of the Prophet from Hiram for the Consecrated Land in Missouri--Accepted as the President of the High Priesthood--Returning from Zion, an attempt is made to Poison Him--Saved Under Bishop Whitney's Administration CHAPTER XXII. Brigham Young Receives the Gospel--His Memorable Meeting with the Prophet--His Constant devotion--"That Man will yet Preside over the Church"--A Revelation on Priesthood--Joseph Visits the Eastern States--His Numerous Labors--Prophecy Concerning the Civil War--Its Subsequent Fulfillment CHAPTER XXIII. Organization of the School of the Prophets--The Translation of the Scriptures--The Word of Wisdom Revealed--Joseph Selects Counselors--The Savior and Angels Appear after the Ordination--Lands Purchased in and around Kirtland CHAPTER XXIV. Threats of a Mob of Three Hundred at Independence--Purity Required of Church Members--Excommunication of Dr. P. Hurlbert--His Threats Against the Prophet--Pixley Joins the Mob--His Malicious Falsehoods--Meeting of a Base Element--Wicked Determinations--Destruction of the Saints' Printing Establishment--W. W. Phelps Driven from Home--Bishop Partridge and Elder Allen Tarred and Feathered--"You Must Leave the Country"--Another Meeting of the Enemy--The Saints Agree to Leave Jackson County CHAPTER XXV. The Corner Stone of the Kirtland Temple Laid--A Printing Establishment Opened--The Prophet's Mission to Canada--A Minister's Opposition--Baptisms--Persecutions at Kirtland--Wilford Woodruff Receives the Gospel CHAPTER XXVI. The Jackson County Persecutions--Appeal to Governor Dunklin--His Timid Reply--Heartless Drivings--A Brutal Murder--Boggs Allows the Mob to Organize as a Militia--Pitcher Placed in Command--Certain Men Taken in Custody by the Mob--Settlement in Clay County--Court of Inquiry CHAPTER XXVII. Hurlbert's Efforts to Destroy Joseph--High Councils Organized--The Camp of Zion--A Hard Journey--Rattlesnakes in Camp--The Prophet's Philosophy--Elder Humphrey's Experience CHAPTER XXVIII. Vain Appeal of the Jackson County Saints for Protection--The Approach of Zion's Camp--Attempts to Raise an Opposing Army--James Campbell's Prophecy and its Fulfillment--A Providential Storm--Remarkable Rise of Fishing River--Joseph States the Object of Zion's Camp--A Comforting Revelation CHAPTER XXIX. The Scourge of Zion's Camp--Joseph and Hyrum Attacked by Cholera--Their Deliverance--The Camp Disbanded--Threats Against the Prophet--His Fearlessness--Joseph Returns to Kirtland--Sylvester Smith's Charge of Impurity--The Prophet Vindicated--Visit to Michigan--The Law of Tithing CHAPTER XXX. The Calling of Christ's Apostles in the Last Dispensation of the Fullness of Times--Duties and Powers of the Twelve--Their Labors in the World--Organization of the Seventies CHAPTER XXXI. Joseph as a Restorer as well as a Prophet--The Book of Abraham--Joseph's Growth into Scholarship and Statesmanship--Difficulties with William Smith CHAPTER XXXII. Completion and Dedication of the Kirtland Temple--Sublime Visions to the Saints--The Words of the Divine Redeemer--Joseph's Grandmother Visits Him, then Dies in Peace--His Mission to the East CHAPTER XXXIII. Clay County Sorrowfully Bids the Saints to Migrate into the Wilderness--Joseph Sends a Dignified Letter to the Citizens--Continuance of Mob Autocracy in Jackson--Dunklin's Helplessness--The Saints Form the New County of Caldwell and Lay Out Far West CHAPTER XXXIV. The First Serious Apostasy and the First Great Missionary Movement--Dissensions at Kirtland, and Successful Labors in England--Joseph Meets John Taylor in Canada--Trials and Murderous Mobs at Painesville--The Prophet Wades Through Swamps in the Night, Carrying Sidney upon his back CHAPTER XXXV. John Taylor's Brave Defense of Joseph--The Prophet Encounters the Spirit of Apostasy in Missouri--Hyrum in the First Presidency--Brigham Young's Courage and Devotion--Joseph Driven from Kirtland--David W. Patten's Prophetic Objection--Sad Excommunications--Fate of Prominent Men--Adam-ondi-Ahman--The Gathering CHAPTER XXXVI. Peniston Arouses a Mob--His Exciting Speech Causes a Cruel Attack upon Twelve Unarmed Brethren--One Hundred and Fifty Mobocrats Drive them from the Polls--Adam Black's Promise--False Charges Against the Saints--The Sheriff of Daviess County Arrests Joseph--Boggs Orders the Raising of the Militia--The Prophet Perceives the Real Object of this Order CHAPTER XXXVII. Joseph Volunteers for Trial and Lyman Wight Follows--Beginning the Study of Law--The Trial Before a Coward Judge, with a Perjured Witness--Militia Called Out, but the Mob Practically Defies it--Boggs Continues the Work of Oppression CHAPTER XXXVIII. Bombardment of De Witt--Appeal of the Saints to Governor Boggs--His Heartless Reply--Joseph's Presence Encourages the Brethren--The Saints Leave their Possessions in De Witt--They go to Far West--Adam-ondi-Ahman Devastated--The Saints Organize for Defense--Joseph Controls a Mob who Design to Murder Him--Apostasy of Thomas B. Marsh--Death of David W. Patten--"Whatever you do Else, oh Do Not Deny the Faith." CHAPTER XXXIX. Boggs Issues an order of Extermination--General Atchison's Threat Against the Tyrant--Avard Organizes the Danites--The Haun's Mill Massacre--Far West Besieged--Three Noble Ones Refuse to Desert their Friends--Colonel Hinkle's Base Treachery--"These are the Prisoners I Agreed to Deliver up"--A Court-martial Sentences Joseph and his Companions to Death--General Doniphan's Noble Action--Demoniac Deeds Enacted in Far West CHAPTER XL. The Prophet's Life Saved by the Vanity of Lucas--Farewell of the Prisoners to their Families--On Toward Independence--Continued Ravages at Far West--General Clark's Inhuman Address--The Movement Against Adam-ondi-Ahman CHAPTER XLI. Joseph Preaches in Jackson and Fulfills his own Prophecy--Favor in the Eyes of their Captors--Drunken Guards--In Richmond Jail--Majesty in Chains--Clark's Dilemma--The mock Trial--Treason to Believe the Bible--Close of the Year 1838 CHAPTER XLII. The Pledge for the Poor Saints in Missouri--Brigham Young Driven Forth--Efforts to Secure the Prophet's Release--Removal to Gallatin--Examination of the Case by a Drunken Jury--Wholesale Indictment--Change of Venue to Boone--Escape from Missouri to Illinois CHAPTER XLIII. The Exodus Completed--A Fragment of its Agonies--The Woes of a Martyr's Widow, a Type of the General Suffering--Threat that one of Joseph's Prophecies should Fail--But it is Fulfilled by Courageous Apostles--Missouri's Punishment and Atonement CHAPTER XLIV. The Location of Commerce--Nauvoo, the Beautiful--Pity from Prominent Men in Illinois--A Day of Miracles--The Prophet Raises the Sick at the Sound of his Voice--Joseph Sounds the Trump of Warning--The Mission of the Apostles--Their Self-sacrifice and Courage--Conference at Commerce CHAPTER XLV. Reasons for an Appeal to Washington--Joseph and Companions Depart for the National Capital--The Prophet's Act of Physical Heroism--He sees Ingratitude--Martin Van Buren and Joseph Smith--The Latter's Scorn--Cowardice and Chicanery--"Your Cause is Just, but I can do Nothing for you." CHAPTER XLVI. The Mission of the Apostles--Miraculous Opening of their way to the Old World--Ordination of Willard Richards--Special Labors of Each Apostle--The First Immigrants to Zion--Joseph's Letters of Instruction and Comfort to Elders and Saints Abroad CHAPTER XLVII. Nauvoo the Beautiful--Events There During the Year 1840--Renewal of Outrages by the Missourians--Death of the Prophet's Father and Edward Partridge--Return of Williams and Phelps--Joseph's Hope for His City--Demand by Governor Boggs for the Prophet and His Brethren CHAPTER XLVIII. Joseph Smith at Nauvoo--His Physical and Mental Personality--Views of his Opponent Commentators--Testimony of the Spirit of His Inspiration CHAPTER XLIX. Dr. J. C. Bennett Joins the Church--Nauvoo City Chartered--Nauvoo University and Legion Organized--Joseph Smith Commissioned as Lieutenant-General of the State Militia--Temple Site--Dedication of the Temple--An Important Conference CHAPTER L. Joseph's Visit to Governor Carlin at Quincy--Arrest on the Old Requisition from Missouri--A Sheriff Nursed by his Prisoner--Judge Douglas Discharges the Prophet on Writ of _Habeas Corpus_--Browning's Eloquent Appeal--Death of Don Carlos Smith--Events at Nauvoo, Closing 1841 CHAPTER LI. The Power of Human Harmony--Changing Hell to Heaven--Joseph as a Servant--His Sketch of the Church--A Ringing Editorial--Organization of the Relief Society--Bennett Begins his Plots CHAPTER LII. Bennett's Impurities--His Cowardly Stab at the Prophet's Name and Life--Fellowship Withdrawn from the Evil-doer--Quoting his own Letters to Injure the Saints--Attempt to Kill Boggs--Absurd Charges Against "The Mormons"--Joseph's Horse, "Joe Duncan"--A Prophecy CHAPTER LIII. The Prophet Charged with being an Accessory to the Attempted Assassination of Boggs--Orrin Porter Rockwell Accused of the Crime--The Governor's Requisition--The Arrest--The Prophet's Desire for Peace--Wilson Law's Brave Words--Emma Smith's Noble Appeal to the Governor--Carlin's False Reply--Amasa M. Lyman Ordained an Apostle--Three Hundred and Eighty Faithful Volunteers CHAPTER LIV. Attempt to Capture Joseph--Reward Offered--Tricks to Entrap the Prophet--He Submits to Arrest--Visits Governor Ford--His Examination and Release--A Traitor's Threat CHAPTER LV. A Breathing Spell--Joseph's Anticipation of his Sacrifice--Many Prophecies and an Important Theological Epoch in the Early Part of 1843--Wrestling and Other Manly Sports--Extracts from his Sermons--Attack on the Nauvoo Charter--The Lull was Brief CHAPTER LVI. The Celestial Order of Marriage--Eternity and Plurality of the Covenant--The Revelation Written and Delivered to the High Council--Joseph, Hyrum and Others Obey it CHAPTER LVII. An Evil Quartette--Reynolds, Ford, Bennett and Owens--A New Writ--Joseph Kidnapped at Dixon and Threatened with Death--Efforts for Release on _Habeas Corpus_--a Wrestling Match--Entry into Nauvoo--Joseph Released--The Kidnappers ask for a Mob Army--Independence Day at Nauvoo CHAPTER LVIII. Growth of Nauvoo--The Mansion--Sidney Rigdon's Recreancy--Mobocratic Conventions at Carthage--Inciting the Missourians to Kidnap--The Prophet Checks a Bombastic Politician--Appeals for Redress--Joy on a Christmas Day--Orrin Porter Rockwell Back from Missouri CHAPTER LIX. Joseph Smith for President of the United States--An Inspired Candidate--His Views of the Powers and Policy of the General Government--How the Country could have Saved the Carnage of War CHAPTER LX. Pacific Address by the Prophet--The Mob ask God to Bless their Work of Massacre--Looking to the West--A Sublime Sermon--Apostates and their Work--Joseph Indicted for Polygamy CHAPTER LXI. The First and Only Issue of the Nauvoo "Expositor"--Its Murderous Purpose--Removal of a Nuisance and Eradication of its Cause--Trial of the Mayor and Others, and Their Acquittal in an Honest Court--Gathering of the Mobs--Threats of Extermination--Nauvoo Under Martial Law CHAPTER LXII. Joseph's Dream--His Last Public Address--Consciousness of his Impending Fate--His Love for his Brethren CHAPTER LXIII. Pontius Pilate Ford's Entrance upon the Scene at Carthage--The Old Cry of "Crucify!"--Joseph's Final Effort to Avert Danger from Nauvoo--Lack of Faith and Suspicions of Cowardice--A Fatal Blindness--Like a Lamb to the Slaughter--The Arms Demanded--Farewell to Nauvoo--At Carthage CHAPTER LXIV. Voluntary Yielding to Process--Joseph and Hyrum Charged with Treason--Ford's Cowardice and Falsehood--In Carthage Jail--The First Day and Night--Preaching to the Guards--Ford Leaves the Martyrs to their Fate CHAPTER LXV. Administration of the Holy Endowments--The work of the Closing Months --Union of Satanic Forces Against the Prophet--A Momentary Glance at him Before the Final Hour CHAPTER LXVI. The Last Day--Ford's Action at Nauvoo--Conspiracy Between the Guards and Murderous Mob Militia--The Prisoners Left to their Fate--"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"--The Assault and the Murder--The End Anecdotes and Sayings of the Prophet Appendix THE HOUR The Ripened Time. * * * _Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird_. _For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies_. * * * _Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues_. _For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities_. THE PROPHECY OF JOHN THE REVELATOR. THE APOSTASY AND THE RESTORATION. In the reign of Tiberius of Rome, the Lord Jesus was crucified. At the hour of the atonement, His Gospel was to the dominant earthly power only "a deadly superstition," [1] "a strange and pestilent superstition," [2] sought to be crushed at any cost by the ruthless power of the pagan empire. Thus came the persecutions of the early Christians, lasting until after Christianity, with irresistible power, had "sprung up, even in Rome, the common reservoir for all the streams of wickedness and infamy." [1] In the midst of these early tribulations, the plain and simple Gospel was becoming involved and mystified by the many opposing sects which professed to believe in Jesus; and yet it retained so much of divinity as enabled it to resist persecution and idolatry, and made it, in the fourth century, the established religion of Rome. This elevation was not achieved without some sacrifice of identity. And in the commingling with error, truth yielded much. [3] The Roman emperor, Constantine I., was led to show favor to the unpopular people; but his friendliness to Christianity demanded and received its price. He sought as much the welfare of the state as the progress of the religion to which he had been only in part converted; and when he exacted concessions of creed and principle, the Fathers felt forced to comply. It was Constantine who called the first Council of Nice. He presided over its opening session, and dictated its policy in accordance with his own imperial ambitions. [4] From that time on, for twelve hundred years, the Church of Rome grew in lustful power. The first great check was when the German monk, Martin Luther, with bared feet, fled in disappointment from the debauched court of Pope Leo X. Luther's courage partly stripped the idol of its awe-invoking cloak of mystery and dread threats; and never more did the whole civilized world crouch in terror at the feet of Rome. The freedom of thought heralded by the Reformation, at last found its abuse in the Age of Reason and the blasphemy of the French Revolution. At first rejecting Christianity for a dream of paganism restored, the infidels, in turn, exchanged pagan mythology, with its gods many, for their own new mythology, with its gods none. This tempest of profane unbelief was too violent to be enduring. A re-awakening to religious fervor was manifest in Christendom. Men gladly blotted from their memories the dread of the _auto-da-fe_; the inquisition dungeons and racks of Spain and Italy, the funeral fires of England, the witch-hanging and Quaker-driving of the New World, and all the atrocities sacrilegiously practiced as ceremonies of worship. Mankind turned back by thousands to find satisfaction for their inherent necessity--belief in a Higher Power. But that Higher Power was itself an unfathomable mystery. God had been misunderstood for centuries. Much of the world had known nothing of Him --His nature or His purposes--from the death of Christ's Apostles. The men who had known Him walked no more in the midst of mankind. Prophets and apostles, while they lived, taught their fellow-men that he was a distinct personality--a glorious Being in whose likeness man was created. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was declared "to be made like unto his brethren"--"made in the likeness of men"--and "in the likeness of sinful flesh;" yet inspired men claimed Him as being "in the form of God"--"the express image of His person"--"the image of the invisible God." But, as generations and centuries passed, true knowledge concerning the Creator faded away. A spiritual meaning concerning His personage and attributes was given to the testimony of those who had known Him. Modern sectarianism taught the world that God, the Father, of whose person Jesus was the "express image," was an all-pervading God of spirit--a Being who, without any tangible existence, is everywhere in the material world--a Being "without body, parts or passions," "whose center was nowhere and whose circumference was everywhere." Professing to have an understanding of the Deity, they differed but little from the Pantheists, who, rejecting a personal God, made bold avowal of an all-existing God of nature--the combined forces and laws which are manifested in the existing universe. Thus blinded, how could mankind offer true worship to the Lord of heaven and earth? The Eastern World had lost this knowledge of the Lord earlier than the Western Hemisphere. Upon the land of North America, four hundred years after the birth of our Savior and Master, there stood at least one man who knew the Lord God Almighty as a distinct personality, a Being capable of communicating Himself to man. That man was Moroni, the son of Mormon, whose testimony abides now and must abide through all the ages to come. [5] It was upon this land that Jesus last appeared to His brethren who dwelt in mortality; and it was predestined that upon this land man was to first receive a renewal of divine revelation. After the discovery of the hemisphere which had been so long concealed from the knowledge of those who had dwelt upon the other parts of the earth, nearly three centuries elapsed before a nation with a charter of liberty divinely ordained was established. In God's providence it was necessary that those who had been led here by His hand should receive political emancipation to prepare the way for the restoration of the gospel in its purity and the Church of Christ in the plenitude of its power. Political salvation had first been declared, that men's bodies might be free and their souls be filled with high aspirations to prepare for the greater enfranchisement and redemption which were to appear. The period succeeding the Revolution was filled with a veritable Babel of religious creeds. Every obsolete tradition was revived; every possible human fancy of doctrine was promulgated; and each found its upholding sect. Confusion and doubt waxed fat, feeding upon human fears. No earthly wisdom could bring peace to the sects or make harmony among the creeds. It became the ripe hour for the Heavens to open and with their Celestial light show to man the way out of the abyss into which he had fallen. It became the hour for the re-establishment of heavenly truth --the Gospel of Christ and its direct communications between God and humanity: a religion which should cast off alike the skepticism of "reason" and the shackles of superstition; a religion which should be bold in righteous faith and convincing in its revealed philosophy. By Divine aid the way had been paved for this renewal. For the greater part of eighteen hundred years humanity had been perverting the Gospel of Jesus, the Anointed. Then the Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, revealed themselves from heaven. This glorious manifestation was followed by the angel flying in the midst of heaven, who proclaimed that the restoration of the Gospel had come. Footnotes 1. Tacitus 2. Suetonius 3. Paganism, unable to oppose Christianity successfully, has done much to corrupt it, and in numberless ways had made inroads upon its purity. _Prof. T. M. Lindsay_, Glasgow. 4. The interest of the emperor [Constantine] was still (at the Council of Nice) primarily political and official, rather than personal. _W. Browning Smith_. 5. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold, when the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God, then will ye say there is no God? Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God and also, the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things, knoweth not the gospel of Christ. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and in Him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? THE MAN Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. May 15, 1844. _It is by no means improbable that some future text-book, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High--such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. * * * The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and what he has left us. * * * Burning questions they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter," he is reported to have said; "but I am as calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense and shall die innocent_." JOSIAH QUINCY'S "FIGURES OF THE PAST." THE "CHOICE SEER." In the day of Jesus, every act and every circumstance of His life was ridiculed and belittled by his jealous enemies. But the record of His career, from which the present world of Christians makes up its judgment of Him, was not written until all insignificant or paltry things had been forgotten; and now His character, illuminated by the eternal sunshine of heaven, stands outlined against the blue vastness of the past in sublime simplicity. Let us view Joseph Smith in the same light--see him as he towered in the full radiance of his labors; see him the reconciler of divergent sects and doctrines, the oracle of the Almighty to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. Joseph Smith had been a retiring youth--the Spirit made him bold to declare to rulers and potentates and all mankind, the Gospel again revealed. He had been a humble farmer lad--Divine authority sat so becomingly upon him that men looked at him with reverent awe. He had been unlearned in the great things of art and science--he walked with God until human knowledge was to his eye an open book, the Celestial light beamed through his mind. His lofty soul comprehended the grandeur of his mission upon earth; and with divine fortitude he fulfilled the destiny which God had ordained for him before the world was. When he had achieved the prime of his manhood, he seemed to combine all attractions and excellencies. His physical person was the fit habitation of his exalted spirit. He was more than six feet in height, with expansive chest and clean cut limbs--a staunch and graceful figure. His head, crowned with a mass of soft, wavy hair, was grandly poised. His face possessed a complexion of such clearness and transparency that the soul appeared to shine through. He wore no beard, and the full strength and beauty of his countenance impressed all beholders at a glance. He had eyes which seemed to read the hearts of men. His mouth was one of mingled power and sweetness. His majesty of air was natural, not studied. Though full of personal and prophetic dignity whenever occasion demanded, he could at other times unbend and be as happy and unconventional as a boy. This was one of his most striking characteristics; and it was sometimes held up to scorn by his traducers, that the chosen "man of God" should at times mingle as a man of earth with his earthly brethren. And yet it is a false ridicule; for Savior and prophets must, like other men, eat, drink and wear apparel. They have the physical necessities and the affections and enjoyments which are common to other men. And it is this petty human fact--that a divine apostle with an earthly body has hunger and thirst to appease, that he cannot always be prophesying, but has hours to smile with the gay and to weep with the saddened--which leaves him "without honor in his own country." But whether engaging in manly sport, during hours of relaxation, or proclaiming words of wisdom in pulpit or grove, he was ever the leader. His magnetism was masterful, and his heroic qualities won universal admiration. Where he moved all classes were forced to recognize in him the man of power. Strangers journeying to see him from a distance, knew him the moment their eyes beheld his person. Men have crossed ocean and continent to meet him, and have selected him instantly from among a multitude. [1] It was a part of Joseph Smith's great mission "to combat the errors of ages; to meet the violence of mobs; to cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; to cut the Gordian knot of powers; to solve mathematical problems of universities with truth--diamond truth." He performed a work, "not pagan ire, nor tooth of time, nor sword, nor fire, shall bring to naught." The Prophet's life was exalted and unselfish. His death was a sealing martyrdom, following after that which was completed upon Calvary for the redemption of a world. Footnotes 1. It was the author's privilege to thus meet the Prophet for the first time. The occasion was the arrival of a large company of Latter-day Saints at the upper landing at Nauvoo. The General Conference of the Church was in session and large numbers crowded to the landing place to welcome the emigrants. Nearly every prominent man in the community was there. Familiar with the names of all and the persons of many of the prominent Elders, the author sought with a boy's curiosity and eagerness, to discover those whom he knew, and especially to get sight of the Prophet and his brother Hyrum, neither of whom he had ever met. When his eyes fell upon the Prophet, without a word from any one to point him out, or any reason to separate him from others who stood around, he knew him instantly. He would have known him among ten thousand. There was that about him, which to the author's eyes, distinguished him from all the men he had ever seen. JOSEPH SMITH'S LIFE AND WORK Joseph the Prophet. CHAPTER I. JOSEPH'S HUMBLE EXTRACTION--THE GODLINESS AND FAIR FAME OF HIS ANCESTRY--A PREMONITION OF HIS WORK. Joseph Smith was of humble birth. His parents and their progenitors were toilers; but their characters were godly and their names unstained. In the year 1638, Robert Smith, a sturdy yeoman of England, emigrated to the New World, the land of promise. He settled in Essex County, Massachusetts, and afterwards married Mary French. The numerous descendants of these worthy people intermarried with many of the staunchest and most industrious families of New England. Samuel, the son of Robert and Mary, born January 26th, 1666, wedded Rebecca Curtis, January 25th, 1707. Their son, the second Samuel, was born January 26th, 1714; he married Priscilla Gould, and was the father of Asael, born March 7th, 1744. Asael Smith took to wife Mary Duty, and their son Joseph was born July 12th, 1771. On the 24th of January, 1796, Joseph married Lucy Mack, at Tunbridge, in the State of Vermont. She was born July 8th, 1776, and was the daughter of Solomon and Lydia Mack, and was the granddaughter of Ebenezer Mack. The men of these two families, Smith and Mack, through several generations had been tillers of the soil. They were devout and generous, measurably prosperous in a worldly sense, and several of them were brave and steadfast soldiers through the early Colonial campaigns and the Revolutionary struggle. After the marriage of Joseph Smith with Lucy Mack, they settled, respected and happy, upon their own farm at Tunbridge. Here they were successful, financially, for a few years, until the dishonesty of a trusted friend and agent robbed them of their surplus means and left them plunged in debt. They freely sacrificed all of money value which they possessed, even homestead and Lucy's treasured marriage portion, and paid every just claim which was held against them. Left thus in absolute poverty, they sought to retrieve their loss of home; and Tunbridge, where they were known and respected, offered for a time a prospect of success. Soon afterwards, however, they removed to Sharon, where Joseph rented a farm from his father-in-law. This field he diligently tilled through the summer, and during the winter taught the village school. Comfort was restored to them; but they were destined to be still tried and sanctified by the tribulations of life. Honest and industrious, pious and benevolent, yet Joseph and Lucy saw themselves and their children pursued by poverty, illness and the cold neglect of their fellow-mortals. They repined not at their chastenings, but they marveled. God was teaching the parents the great lesson of personal humility; and they and their children were learning how fleeting is earthly wealth and how fallible is mere human friendship. For the choice seed which is to bring forth rich and perfect fruit, the Lord Almighty prepares the soil of His garden. The paternal grandfather of the Prophet was Asael Smith, a man of the strongest religious convictions, and yet a man whose broad humanitarian views were repugnant to many of the sectarians of the day. Upon one occasion, before the Prophet's birth, Asael Smith had a premonition that one of his descendants should be a great teacher and leader of men. To quote his words, as they are remembered and recorded by one who knew and heard him speak: "It has been borne in upon my soul that one of my descendants will promulgate a work to revolutionize the world of religious faith." It is not known if the young Joseph ever learned of this prophetic declaration, until after his own career had been made manifest. But Asael lived to see the dawn of the fulfillment of his words. Just before his death, the Book of Mormon, then recently printed, was presented to him. He accepted it, and with the light of inspiration which sometimes illumines the mind of man as the veil of eternity opens to his gaze, Asael solemnly warned his attendants to give heed to the Book, for it was true, and its coming forth heralded a renewal of the Gospel light. CHAPTER II. BIRTH OF JOSEPH--FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES--TOIL AND POVERTY--REMOVAL TO NEW YORK--INTENSE RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT. The circumstances and surroundings of the elder Joseph were of the humblest, when unto his house was born, on the 23rd of December, 1805, Joseph, the Prophet of the Last Dispensation. The family were still living in the little town of Sharon, in Windsor County, Vermont; and were, at the time, greatly impoverished. Very early, therefore, was the future Prophet compelled to learn the lessons of labor, patience and self-denial. The father was striving, with every faculty, to repair his shattered fortunes, that he might educate his children and provide for their comfort and well-being; but successive disasters consumed his little savings. After a time, he removed from Sharon, and later, in 1815, left the State of Vermont, locating at Palmyra, Ontario County, New York: in which place and the adjoining town of Manchester, whither the family moved four years afterward, they dwelt for several years. Here they engaged in clearing land and farming, the boys, including the young Joseph, giving their constant aid to the family work. With the severest toil they could only compass a frugal mode of life. But they wasted no time in useless repining. They were able to pay their obligations, to maintain their honest name, to live in happiness, and to devote some hours of each week to the rudimentary education of the younger children. The offspring of Joseph and Lucy Smith, with the dates and places of their birth, are named as follow: [1] Alvin, born February 11th, 1798, at Tunbridge, Vermont. Hyrum, born February 9th, 1800, at Tunbridge, Vermont. Sophronia, born May 18th, 1803, at Tunbridge, Vermont. Joseph, born December 23rd, 1805, at Sharon, Vermont. Samuel, born March 13th, 1808, at Tunbridge, Vermont. Ephraim, born March 13th, 1810, at Royalton, Vermont. William, born March 13th, 1811, at Royalton, Vermont. Catherine, born July 8th, 1812, at Lebanon, New Hampshire. Don Carlos, born March 25th, 1816, probably at Palmyra, New York. Lucy, born July 18th, 1821, probably at Palmyra, New York. The first quarter of the nineteenth century was a time of intense religious excitement, and New York and surrounding states were the scenes of many revivals and much strife. Not only among preachers and exhorters was the enthusiasm manifested, but the people themselves became much exercised over their sinful condition, and ran here and there in a wild search for the salvation for which their souls seemed to yearn. The movement originated with the Methodists; but it soon spread to other sects in the neighborhood, until the whole region was infected by it, and the greatest excitement was created, in which all the good effects of a revival were swallowed up in bitter contests of opinions and the strife of words between the adherents of the various creeds. The Smith family inclined towards the Presbyterian faith, and the mother, two sons and a daughter united themselves with that church. Joseph was at the time in his fifteenth year--just at an age, with his limited experience, he might be deemed most susceptible to the example of others. He listened and considered, yet could not profess the faith of his family. The clergymen of other sects assailed him; but although he became somewhat partial to the Methodist creed, their soft words and direful threats were alike unavailing. The tempest could not reach the depths of the boy's nature. Unknown to himself he was awaiting the hour when the divine message should stir the waters of his soul. Footnotes 1. See NOTE 1., APPENDIX. CHAPTER III. LIGHT FROM THE SCRIPTURES--THE PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER--"THIS IS MY BELOVED SON: HEAR HIM"--PERSECUTION AND SCOFFING OF THE MULTITUDE-- JOSEPH DOUBTS HIMSELF AND SUPPLICATES FOR RENEWED HELP. Joseph was earnest beyond his years; but he was not of a nature to become a prey to morbid feelings. He was neither terrified by the awful threats of the revivalists into a ready acceptance of their dogmas, nor driven by their divisions and strife into unbelief in revealed religion. The all-absorbing question with him was: Which of these churches is the church of Christ? Under the influence of his great desire to know the truth and the correct path which led to salvation, he made a thoughtful analysis of the proffered creeds. Can it be wondered at that he was bewildered in the labyrinth of paths, each of which claimed to be the heavenly way? When at divers times he thought of uniting himself with some one of the churches, his further investigation each time revealed some false mysteries. Dissatisfied with their claims and pretensions, and conscious of his own want of knowledge and how easily he might err in a matter of such vital and eternal importance, he was led to seek for guidance from a righteous source. He had recourse to the word of God. Searching the scriptures for comfort and light, one happy and most fortunate moment he read these sacred words: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Like a flash of sunlight through lowering clouds, the import of a mighty truth burst upon Joseph's mind. He had been vainly asking help from men who had answered him out of their own darkness. He determined now to seek assistance from God. A modest fear might suggest: Who was he that he should dare to approach the great Creator's throne? But there was the plain promise. He could not doubt it, without doubting his Maker. He felt that he lacked wisdom; and to such as he, asking of God, there was the divine pledge to hear and give without upbraiding. It was one morning in early springtime of the year 1820, that Joseph felt the earnest prompting and adopted the holy resolve. He walked into the depths of a wood, which stood near his home, and sought a little glade. There, in trembling humility, but with a faith which thrilled his soul--alone, unseen of man, he fell upon his knees and lifted his voice in prayer to God. While he was calling upon the Almighty, a subtle and malignant power seized him and stilled his utterance. Deep darkness enveloped him; he felt that he was in the grasp of Satan, and that the destroyer was exerting all the power of hell to drag him to sudden destruction. In his agony he called anew upon the Lord for deliverance; and at the moment when he seemed to be sinking under the power of the evil one, the deep gloom was rolled away and he saw a brilliant light. A pillar of celestial fire, far more glorious than the brightness of the noon-day sun, appeared directly above him. The defeated power fled with the darkness; and Joseph's spirit was free to worship and marvel at his deliverance. Gradually the light descended until it rested upon him; and he saw, standing above him in the air, enveloped in the pure radiance of the fiery pillar, two personages of incomparable beauty, alike in form and feature, and clad alike in snowy raiment. Sublime, dazzling, they filled his soul with awe. At length, One, calling Joseph by name, stretched His shining arm towards the other, and said: "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON: HEAR HIM!" As soon as Joseph could regain possession of himself, to which he was encouraged by the benign and comforting look of the Son, and by the heavenly bliss which pervaded his own soul, he found words to ask, which of all the multitude of churches upon the face of the globe had the gospel of Christ; for up to this time it had never entered his mind to doubt that the true church of the Lamb, pure and undefiled, had an existence somewhere among men. But the answer came that no one of the creeds of earth was pure, and that Joseph must unite himself with none of them. Said the glorious Being: "THEY DRAW NEAR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME; THEY TEACH FOR THE DOCTRINE THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN, HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT THEY DENY THE POWER THEREOF." Even in the transport of his vision, Joseph felt amazed at the instruction. But the Heavenly Personages continued to commune with him, and repeated Their command that he should not ally himself with any of the man-made sects. Then They and Their enclosing pillar of light passed from his gaze, and he was left to look into the immensity of space. The boy's faith in the promises of God had now deepened into knowledge. He had been assailed by the power of evil, until it seemed he must succumb--that the limit of human endurance was passed. And in that instant of deepest despair, he had been suddenly transported into the blaze of celestial light. He had seen with his own eyes the Father and the Son, with his own ears he had heard Their eternal voice. Over this untaught youth at least, the Heavens were no longer as brass. He had emerged from the maze of doubt and uncertainty in which he had so long groped, and had received positive assurances on the matter nearest his heart from Him, whom to know was anciently declared to be life eternal. Emboldened, satisfied, and happy beyond expression, Joseph's first thought was of his loved ones. He must impart the glorious truth to them. His parents and his brethren listened, and were lost in awe at his straightforward recital. He next sought his old friends the ministers, those who had affected such an interest in his welfare and who would nave so willingly acted as his guides toward heaven. His first experience with these gentlemen was somewhat discouraging. A Methodist preacher who had formerly cultivated the utmost friendship, and who probably had acquired considerable influence with him, was soon informed by Joseph of the Heavenly manifestation. The pious man treated the communication with contempt, and curtly replied that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days, they having ceased with the Apostles, and that the whole thing was of the Devil. Other ministers, and in fact the religious portion of the entire neighborhood, as the event became more widely known, united in the determination to overwhelm with ridicule and abuse that which they found themselves unable to silence by argument. Joseph had been a great favorite among his neighbors, his gentle ways had made him beloved by all; he now was hated and reviled. He had been especially sought after by the clergy because of his diligence, earnestness and humility in striving to secure the grace of God; he now was stigmatized as a dissolute dreamer, a worthless knave and an an arrant hypocrite. A boy of fourteen is seldom the object of universal conversation and comment in his locality; yet this youth's enemies did not rest short of lifting him to an eminence where he could the better be seen and scorned of all men. His family were made to share the vindictiveness and contumely exhibited toward him which at last reached such a pitch that an attempt was actually made to assassinate him. The family, on hearing the report of the gun, rushed from the house only to find the marks made by the crouching murderer at the side of the path, and the leaden missiles embedded a short distance from the spot. But persecution, slander and cruel outrage were all unable to change the steadfast testimony of Joseph. Three years passed away, during which time he was true to his trust through toil and poverty, through scorn and tribulation. The heavens no more opened to his view in this trying period; but the youth, who was fast maturing--growing in strength and understanding--was able to show the staunchness of his nature while he waited in patience and humility for the additional light which he had been led to expect. Yet Joseph was human, with human loves and human wants. He sorrowed to find himself and his kindred cast off by all their old associates, and he at times was forced into the society of persons who made few or no pretensions to religion. Doubtless the avowed infidels and unbelievers, whom he thus occasionally met, were no more lacking in genuine purity than were the self-righteous enthusiasts who shunned him except when they could devise some means for persecution and torture. But he had not yet learned to justly weigh the virtues and failings of others; and often he reproached himself with sinfulness because of his enforced associations. His quick conscience was apt to exaggerate every youthful foible, and he regarded many of his acts of thoughtlessness as offenses at which the Heavens must frown. At last he felt the imperative need of light and help from the source whence flows all truth. He acknowledged that he had fallen into many foolish errors and youthful weaknesses; and he prayed without ceasing for the pardon of every wrong which he had done. He plead earnestly that he might gain greater knowledge for his guidance, and asked for a manifestation, from which he might know concerning his state and standing before the Lord. Despite his own self-accusation, the answer to his prayer proves that his probationary period had been passed satisfactorily to the Heavens and that he was still unstained by any dark offense. CHAPTER IV. THE ANGEL MORONI VISITS JOSEPH THRICE IN THE NIGHT--A RECORD TO BE BROUGHT FORTH--VISION OF CUMORAH. It was on the night of the 21st of September, in the year 1823, that Joseph, having retired to his humble room, invoked an answer
{'title': 'The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by George Q. Cannon', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}